* Dates Gedcom 5.5

[jsphillips]

A little confused.
Apparently I am convinced that FH 6.2 uses latest date qualifiers ?
For example if one uses a period from the GRO index of Jan-March qtr 1899:-
In FH I use Q1 1899
in FTM 2014 uses bet Jan-Mar 1899
in Roots Magic Q Mar
If I export a GED file from one of these to another do they get converted ?
Additionally what does the latest standard say ? I would like to use the standard as defined
Thanks

[PeterR]

The GEDCOM Standard does not support quarter dates per se and an FH GEDCOM file stores a date such as Q1 1899 as follows:
n DATE BET JAN 1899 AND MAR 1899.

[tatewise]

See glossary:dates:quarter_dates|> Quarter Dates for a fuller explanation.

If you export/import the dates you mention between products using Gedcom then they may NOT get converted.
It depends on whether the products in question only recognise Gedcom Dates or they also recognise other formats.
e.g. FTM 2014 is so popular that other products may recognise its non-Gedcom Date formats.
This is all part of the wonderful world of Gedcom dialects in which many products do NOT follow the Gedcom standard.

Our Fix Date Fields Plugin converts non-Gedcom Date formats from many products to standard Gedcom Dates.

If you use FH as your master database then only standard Gedcom Dates are used.

[jsphillips]

thanks all
In FH 6.2 I enter GRO B M & D dates as say Q1 1901 to reflect a quarter date of between Janauary 1 to March 31 1901.
It is quicker on entry, to enter Q1 than the between notation. FH accepts this and still shows Q1 in its entry boxes and reports (not the btw)
That is why I wondered about the exports

[tatewise]

From a more general perspective, there are lots of things FH handles differently from the underlying Gedcom database.
Quarter Dates is one and is governed by Tools > Preferences > General > Use quarter date display format.

All Dates can be entered, and displayed in various formats depending on the qualifier.
See Help > Using Family Historian > How to... > Enter Dates
and Help > Using Family Historian > General Topics > Date Formats

Citation Assessment uses words such as Unreliable or Primary evidence but in Gedcom are just numbers 0 to 3.

[Gowermick]

As a pedant, I never use the quarter dates for births, marriages or deaths, other than in the GRO reference itself!

If someone's birth was registered in Q2, it is pointless using this as the birth date, as they could just as easily been born in the previous quarter! Even worse, if it was registered in Q1, even the birth year could be wrong!

The only time I deviate from using just the year, is when I have documentary evidence to support it, such as 1939 register, or Parish Registry entry.

[davidm_uk]

....and I would point out that the "new" GRO search for births and deaths uses the first letter of the last month of the quarter, i.e.
Q1 (Jan/Fem/Mar) = M
Q2 (Apr/May/Jun) = J
Q3 (Jul/Aug/Sep) = S
Q4 (Oct/Nov/Dec) = D

eg:
Birth

Capture1.JPG (16.92 KiB) Viewed 5614 times

Death

Capture2.JPG (15.76 KiB) Viewed 5614 times

[jsphillips]

again thank you all
I absolutely think FH is the best
I was not aware that I could alter the qtr phrasing and usage. Thanks for that but I will continue with Q1 etc,
I am also aware of the M J S and D within the GRO.
I have had many ancestors who were born in December but registerd in the Jan/March Qtr following.
Entering is ALWAYS done by exact date when known . A year to me is not as good as a GRO qtr date which at least limits to within 4/5 months.
Again this Qtr entry helps so that I can obtain a certificate quoting the reference.
This all started as I wished to export a GEDCOM copy of part of my file to my family, who had other genealogical programs. I was concerned how this GEDCOM would actually be handled by their programs other than FH
I am happy for all your help and if Mike you wish you can close this thread.