* Copying Project data

[Robert129]

I have a very large project on V5 and have over time got all my settings; icons; expressions and everything else as I like it.

I now wish to start a new project which coincidentally will include a lot of of the places in Project 1 but as yet I do not have a primary individual to connect the 2 Projects together ( or continue / extend Project 1).

What I would like to do is copy Project 1 but without the individuals thus preserving all the details; icons; places and everything else in Project 1.

Is there an easy way of doing this or do I have to copy Project 1 and then delete all the individuals in it to start again.

I have looked at the Plugin store and cannot find anything that seems to fit the bill.

Any help is as always gratefully received.

Robert

[tatewise]

Almost all customisations, settings, icons, expressions, etc apply to all Projects, so there is no need to Copy anything.
That is why there is nothing in the Plugin Store.
See how_to:understanding_scope_of_features|> Understanding the Scope of Features for full details of which settings affect all Projects.

Of the things you mention, Places are the one exception.
This is because all the Tools > Work with Data entries, including Places, are compiled from your database.

If you were to Copy your Project and then delete all the Individuals and Families then all their Place fields would go with them, and the Tools > Work with Data > Places list would be empty.

Since there are so many similar Places, I suspect there may be other overlapping data, so why start a new Project?

How large is "very large"?
Many users have Projects running to tens of thousands of Individuals.

You do not need any connection between Individuals to add them to an existing Project.

[Robert129]

Current Project has over 53,000 records with automatic expressions for B, M, an d and Census records all linked to appropriate Icons.

I have created a new Project (it appears in the Project list) have added an individual and started to fill in in the appropriate Death details but there are no Sources in that Project so not one for Death that I can select and therefore no Icon appears.

Have I missed something if as you say Project settings are automatically copied when a new Project is created / opened?
Robert

[tatewise]

The key words are Settings and Records.

Settings (customisations, configurations, preferences, etc) are shared by Projects.

Records (Individual, Family, Note, Source, Repository, Multimedia, etc) are NOT shared.
These are the ones for which there is tab in the Records Window.

See how_to:understanding_scope_of_features|> Understanding the Scope of Features for full details of which settings affect all Projects.
The last section about the GEDCOM File is the only one that mentions Records that are per Project.

It sounds as if you do NOT create a Source Record for each Source Document.
I guess you have a Source Record for each class of events such as Birth, Marriage, Census, Death, etc.
This is known as Method 2 recording, so presumably you only have a handful of Source Records to create.

If there is significant overlap with your old Project 1 then there are two options:
(1) Stick with the old Project 1.
(2) Use File > Import/Export > Export > GEDCOM File and Add All Individuals, then tick every Exclude except Source (and perhaps Repository) also Multimedia Records > Exclude before OK.
Use File > Project Windows > New Project with this GEDCOM and delete all the Individuals and Families leaving just the Sources (and Repositories) which may still need some serious pruning.

BTW: ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources is a convenient way of creating Baptism, Marriage, Death, Burial & Census Events using Method 1 or Method 2.
If you used AS on Project 1 then all the templates should be there for Project 2 to quickly create Sources.

[Robert129]

I have 760 Source Citations from B, M, D with each separate entry per Country (6 Countries) so that is 18 different sources and expressions & Census from 1841 to 1911 (UK & Scottish). I do use AS for Census entries but not for BMD as I had so many entries before AS did Births and I wanted to keep uniformity that I have not done so with AS for these entries.

Other sources are per information that I have gleaned from other GEDCOM files and each has a separate source.

I want to keep all these Sources and Expressions for this and any future Project I may start. How therefore can I include this information in a brand new Blank Project should I need or want to?

Robert

[tatewise]

That would be option (2) above.

In the new Project you would also need to delete all the Method 1 "separate sources" just leaving the Method 2 BMD and Census sources.

Having done that it might be advisable to save a Backup copy of this Project in case you want to start a similar 3rd Project.

If it was me, I would stick with one Project to avoid the problem with Source Records and ensure that Expressions always work.

Expressions in Diagrams, Reports, Queries, Record Window Columns, etc are shared between Projects.
So you would need to take care that any changes to them in one Project do not upset other Projects.

BTW: It is usually possible to set up AS to be consistent with your existing methodology for recording BMD Events.