Family Historian User Group

Finally after much hesitation I have decided to upgrade from version 3, which I have loved using, to version 5. I'm looking forward to exploring some of the new features it will offer. However before I run headlong into installing the new software are there any activities I ought to undertake. I have two files that I work on. 1) my own family containing around 1000 people and 2) my descendants of the electress Sophia, which contains about 20,000 people. I have copies of the gee com files on my hard drive and backed up to a memory stick. Neither tree has any multimedia attached at present.

On my own family tree I was very lazy and did not record things like sources eg birth death and marriage records as well as census information. Can this now be added easily to my existing tree in version 5 or would it be better to start from scratch and build a new tree adding source information as I go?

David, you have GEDCOM backups, but you may need customisation backups.
Although upgrading from V3 to V5 should preserve all your custom Diagram, Query, Report, etc settings, it is safer to have backups.
Have a look at how_to:move_settings|> Move Family Historian Settings & Projects.
Although aimed at moving from PC to PC, it identifies what needs preserving and some techniques to use.

Once V5 is installed, you would be advised to convert your GEDCOM only data to use the Project structure.
See how_to:v4:understanding_projects|> Understanding Projects for details.
Also spend some time becoming familiar with the new V5 features.
See how_to:v4:introduction_-_what_s_new_in_v4|> Introduction to What's New in V4
and plugins:index|> Family Historian Plugins.

You should be able to add Source citations to your existing tree.
I would advise looking at ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources which makes entering such records into FH much easier.

New software now installed and have managed to import both into family historian and create projects for them.
Both trees look refreshingly familiar so i'm happy so far.

However I have hit my first very minor snag.

I tend to keep all my files saved on to a Memory stick rather than my C drive ( I also make a back up of the memory stick onto another stick for safety) I thought I would be able to save the new projects onto the memory stick directly using someting like File/save as but i cant find that under file. had a look at the help file but that tells me i can use the file saveas command but not where to find it.

The other thing I liked to do in version 3 was name my gedcom file with a date so for instance if I did some work today I would save it as lewis-2013-12-18.ged or Royal-2013-12-18.ged that way if I later found out I had made a complete hash of things I could always go back to an earlier version and strat again. Can I do that with Projects?

Grateful for any tips

Thanks

David, have a look at File > Backup/Restore which supports 3 modes each with date/time stamps.
For more info use Tools > Preferences > Backup tab to set your default options and click the Help button for full explanation, following link for the 3 Backup type descriptions.

Also the glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery has more advice.

If you don't like Backups then use File > Project Window select a Project and use More Tasks > Copy Project.

(BTW File > Gedcom File Tasks has a Save but that is for standalone V3 mode GEDCOM not Projects.)

You have two operational modes to choose from for locating your Projects:

(1) Keep your Projects in the default Location in the My Documents\Family Historian Projects\ folder and Backup your Projects to your memory sticks.

(2) Move your Projects to a Location on your memory stick in a folder such as D:\Family Historian Projects\ and Backup your Projects to your second memory stick.
First use File > Project Window select a Project and use More Tasks > Copy Project to copy to your memory stick into a folder such as D:\Family Historian Projects\, and repeat fro other Project.
To change Location use File > Project Window and click on the blue link next to Location: My Documents\Family Historian Projects and Choose Location to browse to your memory stick D:\Family Historian Projects\ folder.
To avoid any future confusion I would advise that you delete the Projects from your C: drive My Documents\Family Historian Projects\ folder.

All the above features are mentioned (albeit briefly) in how_to:v4:understanding_projects|> Understanding Projects.

Thank you very much Mike, Most helpful (as always)

Have been getting on really well with the new software. Have started to add sources, and add copies of my dads Birth Marriage and Death Certificates as multimedia files that is during the adding sources procedure. However they dont appear under the multimedia tab in the properties for my father where I might have expected them to be . Should they or do they have to be imported again?

1 was wondering though what the main benefit of adding images of the certificates is? I can see that they come up as icons at the end of reports but that doesnt seem to be worth the effort of scanning and importing them all. Can they be viewed fulsize easily elswhere?

Multimedia attached to sources does not show in the Multimedia tab, this is correct, they can appear in reports (just change the report settings to make them larger) and you can use the All Multimedia plugin to get a complete list and view them.
http://www.family-historian.co.uk/plugi ... try?id=262

Also when you have the fact selected hit the Show Multimedia icon below the source list to quickly open the Media linked to the source in the media window.

David,
Images of certificates etc would normally be attached to the event specifically and not to the person as a whole. Have you attached your certificate images to the person or to the event?
To add a picture to and event eg birth, open the property box of the subject at the facts page. Highlight the fact you wish to add a picture to and then click on the camera symbol in the small toolbar. In the panel that is then offered click on "add" and follow as appropriate {you will probably need "insert from file"]
One very good reason to scan all documents is that they can easily be viewed without the need to find and handle the original document.
Multimedia documents can be viewed full size [and larger] in the multimedia screen. If you read and work through paras 4 & 5 of the book "Getting the most from Family Historian" I am sure that the whole area of media in FH is explained much better that I could do it.

Peter E

Contrary to what Jane says, the Media image files can be viewed on the Multimedia tab, but it is the Multimedia tab of the Source record Property Box not the Individual Property Box.

You can open Source records directly from the Records Window via the Sources tab.
Alternatively, from the Individual Property Box select the Fact on the Main tab or Facts tab, then choose the Source in the yellow Sources pane and click the yellow triangular Go To Source Record button.

I would advise attaching your Media to Source records rather than Facts.
Most Sources are cited by several Facts, so it is better to attach the Media to one Source rather than many Facts.
Also Media associated with Sources display better and only once in Reports, whereas attached to Facts it may appear several times and dissociated from both Facts and Sources.

Regarding images in Reports see how_to:report_content_multimedia_format_layout|> Report Content, Media, Format & Layout especially the subsidiary page how_to:report_options:sources|> Report Options ~ Sources Tab.

Personally I just use the view source media in the multimedia window, rather than going via the source, but it's up to you.

Agreed, but as David is new to both FH V5 and to using Sources and Multimedia and putting them in Reports I though I would give a complete picture.