* New User: how many projects for a family tree?

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KJo
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New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by KJo »

Good evening, I have just begun my journey on FH and have a question, please.
I'm reading through 'Getting the most from FH6,' in preparation for inputting our family tree. The guide suggests it is 'common to have one project and store all the family data in that'. My plan is to create a full family tree of all our ancestors and descendants, going back 4 generations where possible. Would creating one project run the risk of it all eventually becoming rather large and unwieldy?
My research starting point has been the four pairs of grandparents: would it not make sense to have 4 projects, one for each?
I'm guessing there's no right/wrong answer here, however, I would like to start in the right way, as it'll soon become more complicated! How might the decision taken now effect reports, etc., when the time comes for sharing the information with others?
I appreciate any and all views/suggestions. Thanks
(I am one of the folks on the 'Researching your Family Tree' course, run by Univ of Strathclyde via FutureLearn.)
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tatewise
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by tatewise »

Welcome to the FHUG.

As a newcomer I advise working through how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers and in this context take a look at the Family Historian Sample Project which has 4 Ancestral generations and 2 Descendant generations involving about 100 people.

However, that is still tiny by comparison with many FH users, who have thousands of relations going back many more than 4 generations all in one Project. FH is very good at handling very large family trees.

Most users, sooner or later, migrate to a single Project for several reasons.
Quite often, common ancestors to crop up that link different grandparent branches, and only possible in one Project.
You cannot easily present a full family tree to your descendants unless it is in one Project.
It easier to split one Project into branches, than merge several Projects into one.

I would suggest you start with yourself and your parents, and then your grandparents. Only then can FH automatically identify the relationship between you and your ancestors, so those can be included in Diagrams and Reports. Otherwise, with 4 Projects, how can Diagrams and Reports refer to people as say your great-grandparents when you are not included?

Do spend some time working through the newcomer documentation and tutorials, which will familiarise you with the main FH features, Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Plugins and Ancestral Sources. Also explore the rest of our [kb]|[/kb] including a section on research:index|> Genealogy Research. If anything is not clear then just ask. It may be a good idea to make an exploratory start, but be prepared to start over again when you realise how your techniques can be improved.

Are you an established genealogist who is just starting to computerise your research, or perhaps you are also new to family history research. Once you start going back through your family, you will need to record the documents that link your relatives together, such as Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates and Census Returns, and learn how to enter that information into FH.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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KJo
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by KJo »

Thank you, Mike. Exactly the information I need to know.
I am indeed working through 'Key features for newcomers,' as you suggest, and doing quite well in holding back my enthusiasm to get going!
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by davidm_uk »

Yes indeed, keep it all in one project. It was mainly because of that, that I discovered that my son and his wife shared the same ancestors 6 and 5 generations back respectively. Quite a shock all round that was!
David Miller - researching Miller, Hare, Walker, Bright (mostly Herts, Beds, Dorset and London)
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dewilkinson
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by dewilkinson »

For your information and as an example I have ~25,000 people with all their associated records and FH doesn't flinch. As has been said above, I would strongly recommend just one project. I too found a connection with my wife's family in the mid 1800s.

I moved from TMG to FH six months ago and think it was a great move. I would suggest you think seriously about how to store your electronic records. I have all mine in the FH Project Media folder with a separate folder for each person (in folders of 1,000 people). This means they get backed up by FH and when I need to move the project to a new laptop all the links will still work. I haven't however linked all my records, only those that I want to appear in the Focus window using the Link to Face option when needed.

Best of luck and enjoy your journey.
David Wilkinson researching Bowtle, Butcher, Edwards, Gillingham, Overett, Ransome, Simpson, and Wilkinson in East Anglia

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KJo
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by KJo »

Thank you all. Most helpful. I had assumed Dropbox would be the way to go to back-up. I'll explore the Media Folder.
I am new in all ways. It started four years ago when I was handed the school files for my grandfather, who no-one in the family knew anything about. We then discovered two sets of brothers who had been to the school, for 'destitute and homeless boys'. All the family detail was there, including tantalizing info about a military background. I have started collecting BMD, census & some military info, and now feel ready to input what I have so far in FH format.
Worth also mentioning that Alison Light's book, 'Common People,' has really inspired me to deepen the journey from a genealogical puzzle to family history.
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BillH
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by BillH »

Hi KJo,

Just a quick warning. Be careful how you use Dropbox to back things up. I find that Dropbox is not really a very good way to back things up. It is a way to keep a copy so it can be used by more than one device. If you delete something from Dropbox on your computer, it is gone from the cloud as well. If your files in Dropbox on your computer get infected by a virus or something else happens to them, then that also happens to the copy on the cloud.

I do use Dropbox, but I also have backup copies of all important files on an attached external hard drive (backed up daily) and on a removable external hard drive (which is backed up weekly, removed, and put into a fire proof safe).

Be careful!
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BobWard
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by BobWard »

KJo wrote:Thank you all. Most helpful. I had assumed Dropbox would be the way to go to back-up. I'll explore the Media Folder.
By all means, I would keep all your FH media in the default FH Media folder. Anytime that you add media to your project, FH will automatically ask you if it is ok to put it in the default FH media folder. I personally would not consider putting it anywhere else, that could be asking for potential broken media links somewhere down the road, e.g., restoring backups to a new computer. Be sure to read up on how to add media to your FH project.

Also, I keep multiple FH "full backups" on 3 external hard drives that are always in my possession, and, under my control. I do not feel comfortable sending data out to "cloud" services for storage - never know what might happen to it our there.

I also highly recommend keeping all your relatives in one project.
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AnneEast
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by AnneEast »

For even more safety I would recommend keeping one of those 3 external backups at someone else's house. Flood, fire ..... you never know!
Anne
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KJo
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by KJo »

All replies are so helpful. Thank you!
I now have a greater understanding of the role of Dropbox and the need to choose a more purposeful and secure back-up system. I will explore all your suggestions. My education re external hard drives begins...
Last edited by KJo on 19 Feb 2017 21:56, edited 1 time in total.
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BillH
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by BillH »

Anne,

Just thought I'd add that I rotate 4 full backups on 4 removable hard drives and once a month I take the most current one and store it in my safe deposit box at the bank. I am pretty serious about my backups. I backup my entire My Documents folder, all my pictures, music, and videos, as well as some other important files. I also keep a copy of my precious GEDCOM file in Dropbox which automatically gets synced to my tablet which has an app to automatically copy it to another folder so that I always have another backup of it handy. May seem like a bit much, but it has saved my bacon a few times. :D
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tatewise
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by tatewise »

Some of the topics in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers are Project Structure & Location and Backup & Recovery that reflect many of the points made here.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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davidf
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by davidf »

FH does not seem to be put off by the amount that you throw at it so there is much to be said for everything in a single project.

FH is not very good (if at all) at sharing data between projects - so you cannot have a common masterfile of sources that is used by two projects.

However I think there are some circumstances where you may want separate projects.

1. Where you need to be very careful about sensitive data - and want to "break a tree".
  • My mother was adopted and her adoptive parents are shown as my maternal grandparents in my main project. I know of her genetic family and her maternal half siblings know about us - but it is still sensitive. My mother also has a paternal half sibling, but for him to discover that might be a shock.
  • I therefore keep my mother's genetic family tree in a separate project kept well away from any uploading or sharing.
2. Where you are researching a family of similar or same surname who you are pretty certain are unrelated - due say to geography.
  • By keeping them in a different project, you can avoid confusion between say Cumberland England and Cumberland County, Rhode Island/Maine/Maryland, USA and you do not clutter up either project with "irrelevant" sources etc. It is also easier to avoid selecting the wrong individual - particularly individuals with a lot of missing data.
  • (Others will of course argue that you can discover some unexpected things when you discover that you have previously attached records to what you think is a new source!).
  • If you subsequently discover that your "USA Project" is related to your "UK Project" you can merge the files after ensuring that for instance all "place" data is sufficiently identified not to cause confusion.
David
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E Wilcock
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by E Wilcock »

I have always used separate projects, following my father who started the family research and put each family into a different file. Having small projects makes uploading to websites easier, they are easier to carry on my phone and easier to share with other researchers. Small trees were dictated when computer memory was expensive and I think it still proves convenient.

My husbands ancestors and my own are in different projects. Children are entered in detail only on their father's tree. And when each of our children married there were further separate projects for their partners.

My father's great aim in life was that children should know about their sixteen great great grandparents. It is no problem at all (when the moment comes) to combine families and branches to make ancestral trees for each grand child, adjusted for the age of the child who asks. It was quick in my previous software and will be even easier in fh.

Primary school genealogy does not work with huge trees. Kids ask for information about relatives who fought in the First World War, or who emigrated from one country to another.

I like my trees small and manageable - 1500-2000 people is my norm.
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KJo
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by KJo »

davidf and E Wilcock, thank you for taking the time to discuss some very good reasons to create separate family trees. As I mentioned, I'm very new to the practice of recording genealogy on software and I appreciate the depth of your responses. The FHUG is such a good way of communicating with experienced genealogists about important issues. Thanks again.
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Re: New User: how many projects for a family tree?

Post by tatewise »

A critical point is that whichever way you choose to go it is not irreversible.
I would advise you start with a single tree Project and if it becomes unsatisfactory then split it.
If you start with multiple tree Projects and that is unsatisfactory then they can be merged.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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