* A bug or is it me? Media export from one project to another

[Valkrider]

I have a one-name study where I have one project per country. Where I have a person born in one country who then emigrates I do an export and import of that individual / family between project files.

I have just exported a family from one project to another and told FH to copy the media to the new project too. This has worked sort of.

The images have all imported but they have become unlinked and have not kept the media folder structure.

Export folder
Media - Census
-Death Cert
-Marriage Cert
-Photos

Import Folder
Media - Census
-Death Cert
-Marriage Cert

Note there was no Photos sub-folder. The content of the Photos sub-folder has been copied in the root Media folder and the photos are not linked to the individuals.

Is this normal, a bug or have I done something wrong? PC not MAC on this occasion.

[Jane]

Can you take a look and post some more details of your process, so for example when you exported I presume you allowed FH to externalise the links? Then did the merge into your other Project, this should have left the media in the old Project folder, if you created an intermediate project did that correctly copy the media in?

I suspect it's a problem with how FH decides if it can retain the structure. Have you tried copying the media to the folders you want and then using the Repair links plugin?

[Valkrider]

Jane

I selected the export and then root person then in the dialog box I selected Add relatives and selected ancestors and then in the next dialog selected include spouses. I included everything (private notes etc) and it created the gedcom.

I switched projects and selected import and then suggest merges and combined the records and included import all media into project. I approved the couple of merges and all went well with no errors reported.

The only multimedia image left attached to the individuals is the death certificate in the appropriate sub-folder all photos have not been attached to the individuals just imported into the root media folder. No media is shown as not found in the multimedia tab, the links have been completely lost and the Photos sub-folder was not created.

[tatewise]

So to summarise, apart from putting images in \Media\ instead of \Media\Photos\, all the Multimedia were correctly migrated into the Project with perfect File Links.

What happens if you manually create the \Media\Photos\ folder in advance of the Merge?

Is it possible that some of the Multimedia already existed in the destination Project?
Did you check Merges on the Multimedia tab (and all the other tabs) not just the Individuals tab?

This is because every link between Individual Records and Multimedia Records is a two-way link and if the Multimedia end is missing then perhaps the link gets broken.

[Valkrider]

Mike I will answer below

So to summarise, apart from putting images in \Media\ instead of \Media\Photos\, all the Multimedia were correctly migrated into the Project

Yes

with perfect File Links.

No

What happens if you manually create the \Media\Photos\ folder in advance of the Merge?

I don't know next time I do a merge I will check it out.

Is it possible that some of the Multimedia already existed in the destination Project?

No they didn't it was all new photos.

Did you check Merges on the Multimedia tab (and all the other tabs) not just the Individuals tab?

No I didn't I didn't notice a multimedia tab on the merge dialog.

This is because every link between Individual Records and Multimedia Records is a two-way link and if the Multimedia end is missing then perhaps the link gets broken.

The link isn't broken it just doesn't exist.

[tatewise]

By "perfect File Links" I mean the Multimedia Record File Links to the Media files.
(Not the Individual links to Multimedia records).

The Multimedia tab for Merge is in the middle between Notes and Sources.

By "gets broken" I meant does not exist.

I'll do some experiments myself.

[EDIT]
My experiments confirm that the folder structure of the imported Media is lost on Merge, even if there are existing matching Media sub-folders. Every imported file is moved directly into the Media folder.

However, I cannot reproduce the lost links problem.
In fact I get the opposite problem. If any Multimedia already exist in both Gedcom, then FH does NOT automatically Merge them. That must be done manually on the Multimedia tab. But if overlooked, then duplicate Media files, Multimedia Records, and Multimedia tab links are created.

[DavidNewton]

I was concerned about this since at some time I am going to be doing a fair bit of merging. However, I am not seeing this problem.

I have imported one file into another. Both files have media folders with subfolders: BMD, Census, Photos, etc After the merge the imported media is sitting in the correct folder. and no media is sitting in the root of the Media folder structure.

David

Added in Edit. Just noticed that my Wills and Probate subfolders had slightly different names. However, the import folder was recreated in the Media folder during the merge.

[LornaCraig]

I don’t have time to experiment now, but it is odd that Mike and David are seeing different results. In Colin’s case there must be some critical difference between the Photos sub-folder and the other sub-folders which is making the merge handle them differently.

Colin, do you have a mixture of absolute and relative file paths? In the Export Gedcom dialog box did you keep Use Full File Paths for External Links or did you select Use Existing File Paths for External Links?

I have a vague recollection of a problem like this that was caused by using different types of file path. Sorry if this is not relevant.

[Valkrider]

No no difference in file paths.

I have some more photos and content to add in the next few days and will do some more experimenting.

[DavidNewton]

I think I have found out why I didn't have a problem. The experiment I conducted was to import and merge a FH project (complete with foldered media) into the then current project (also with foldered media) and with no GEDCOM export/import stage.

Since then I have looked into the process by creating a GEDCOM from a subset of a file and turning that into a project (the null merge). The media problem, in some form or other, seems to turn up no matter what choices are made during the export/import GEDCOM stage.

David

[tatewise]

Yes, after some more experiments, that explains it.
e.g.
Project A is the target Project using the File > Merge/Compare command.
Project B is another genuine Project holding the records to be merged.
Both projects have conventional Relative Media Links starting Project Data Folder - Media.
After Project A has imported Project B all the Media sub-folders of Project B are replicated in Project A.
This confirms David's posting.

I discovered that Project B does not even have to be a genuine Project.
It can be a Standalone Gedcom, even with Full File Paths, as long as it sits alongside its Media folder.

I think this only works for new Multimedia Records.
If any Multimedia Records in both A & B are actually merged then media files appear not to get copied.

In the other cases, 'exported' Project B is effectively a Standalone Gedcom with Full Media Links to files elsewhere.
Then all the Project B files are imported directly to the Media folder of Project A losing all the folder structure.

So the workaround is as follows:
Use File > Import/Export > Export > GEDCOM File and choose the records to export as usual.
For Multimedia Records select either Use Full File Paths or Use Existing File Paths.
IMPORTANT: Save the Gedcom in the project .fh_data folder alongside the master Gedcom file.
(Do NOT use the Public folder that is offered by default.)

Now when this Gedcom is merged/imported all the Media folders & files are correctly copied.

In other words the rules are the same as for creating a V4/V5 Project from a V2/V3 Standalone Gedcom.
The Gedcom file MUST be in the same folder as the Media folder containing the media folders & files.

[Valkrider]

Mike

So the workaround is as follows:
Use File > Import/Export > Export > GEDCOM File and choose the records to export as usual.
For Multimedia Records select either Use Full File Paths or Use Existing File Paths.
IMPORTANT: Save the Gedcom in the project .fh_data folder alongside the master Gedcom file.
(Do NOT use the Public folder that is offered by default.)

Which .fh_data folder the export one or the import one? I presume export.

[tatewise]

Yes, the one for the Project you export from, alongside the Public folder offered by default, so the Gedcom is next to the Media folder holding the images it links to.

I have updated how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia|> Exporting GEDCOM with Multimedia to reflect this new found wisdom.