* Export of FH Named Lists to Gedsite

[E Wilcock]

I have been using flags more in fh - so the exportability of information from fh Flags or named lists might worry me and that needs another thread.

I am a good person to test software because I am very slow to work out what one needs to do. In case I have worried others with the information that Gedsite does not take Flag information from the source software (not all source programs use flags).

This is true but the fh flag information can be transferred to a Named list. And I think this does export to Gedsite?

The trouble is that trying to test this today, I used the fh sample Project and the plug in export Gedcom but I cant see list membership. Possibly because I have not made the correct selection. But I seem to remember a few weeks ago, that list membership from my own fh project did show up in Gedsite because I posted about it on the Gedsite list..

Export of fh Named Lists would be important to me where I used a flag to convey information that was not replicated in a specific Event Tag. Or because I used Secondsite to share and back up every scrap of research I had done in TMG. And might want to do the same with fh and Gedsite.

Could you perhaps clarify Mike?

May be I should mention that today on my first attempt to build a site Gedsite failed saying my GEDCOM file was in use by another process even tho I had closed fh. Gedsite blanked instantly after. But it then worked fine on a second attempt using the same GEDCOM export file.

[tatewise]

Exporting to GedSite is strongly influenced by my discussions with John Cardinal.
He has requested that the Export Gedcom File Plugin makes no changes to the standard FH Gedcom file other than to use UTF-8 character encoding and add the Fact Type Definitions including Sentence Templates.

His objective is that direct transfer of the standard FH Gedcom file to GedSite offers the same capabilities as via the Plugin except for the bonus of Fact Type Definitions with Sentence Templates to supplement the GedSite narrative mode. That is exactly what his Help page for Family Historian says.

So Named Lists and record Flags both are included in the Gedcom sent to GedSite.
However, at present GedSite seems to be ignoring them both, and there is little I can do about that.

In the Plugin on the Extra Options tab there are options for Named List Entry 1 _LIST and Record Flags 1 _FLGS.
So with those alternative settings your Named Lists and record Flags can become visible in GedSite.
I am not sure what GedSite features would allow them to be processed further.

BTW: I also find that the GedSite conversion of Gedcom to Website sometimes baulks, but is OK the next time.

[E Wilcock]

Mike, I did at one point have my Named list showing on a trial Gedsite from the Project I started in FH. The problem was (as I remember) that it listed everyone else from that list. And I assumed that John Cardinal was going to do something about the way it displayed, eventually. When he had dealt with more pressing matters.

I dont know what his eventual intention is but he has always been very helpful in the past.

If named lists are not part of gedcom and his objective with Gedsite is to open Gedcoms direct from any brand of software then you are right , in the long run he wont want fancy special exports to be required. His new policy seems reasonable when one thinks how his previous software which was tailored especially for TMG files became obsolete when TMG went out of production.

I have found your explanation very useful thank you.

I have for years used Second site to share data (rather than a gedcom) because I once had a confidential gedcom stolen from the organisation to whom I gave it, and uploaded without permission.
If Gedsite will not eventually include either named lists or flags from fh, then I have to have another think. May be always to replicate any flag or list data in an Event.

Not sure at the moment. And I can wait to see what John Cardinal does.

[tatewise]

One of the Plugin options I mentioned allows each Record Flag to be exported to GedSite as a synthetic Custom Event, so give that a go. Similarly, each Named List can become a Source record cited by all the members. So you have several options to make those non-standard Gedcom tags in FH into standard Gedcom for GedSite.

[E Wilcock]

Thanks Mike. I did have a look down the plug in list and wondered whether you had done anything. Very useful indeed.

My experience of a named list acting like a source in Gedsite (and listing everyone else in the source note) could have been the result of my blundering around with the plug in export some time ago. My early days with fh.

[JohnnyCee]

Evelyn,

As of today, 2 February, release 1.3.5 of GedSite imports FH flag values. For that reason, you should NOT use the plug-in option described by Mike to convert the flags into other types of GEDCOM records.

GedSite v1.3.5 imports FH flags into GedSite "Attributes" and those attributes can be displayed on the site and/or used to control other processing. So, for example, if you have a "Related_by_A" flag in FH, you can display a record that looks like this in GedSite output:

Relationship: Ancestor

The details are configurable, i.e., you define the label ("Relationship") and the value ("Ancestor"). As an ex-TMG user, you probably have several values in a single TMG flag. Using GedSite's Attribute item, you can make the output look like there was a single attribute ("Relationship"), but multiple values ("Ancestor", "Cousin", "Unrelated", etc.).

Also, you can control the members of a custom list using Attributes. GedSite has an Attribute filter term and so you can add a filter that essentially says, "Include this person in the list if they have the Related_By_A attribute". GedSite supports "AND" and "OR" terms, so your filter could be, "Include this person in the list if they have Related_By_A or Related_By_C or Related_By_M".

I asked Mike to have his plugin match the native GEDCOM format of FH as closely as possible, except for the inclusion of fact types and sentences, because GedSite is evolving rapidly and has a flexible and powerful GEDCOM import method that needs the data in the original format to make the best use of it. That is certainly the case here: flag values stored as facts are more difficult to use in GedSite than flag values stored as attributes.

[E Wilcock]

John I was very glad to get the email about the update, and to know that Gedsite will include flags and named lists from fh. Excellent.

I thank you too for these two additional updates on this Forum and the explanations.

I have a lot on at the moment with pressing research. And some DIY. So I havent downloaded the latest version yet and wont be creating a site at once - but when I have time and a clear mind to do it properly.

It is reassuring to know that with fh, I can continue to save and share all my research file through your software. I know it was always an intention, but it is great to have the reality now.