* Uncategorised Data Fields

[BobWard]

I just ran the "UDF list" Plug-In to see what results would be displayed. I was surprised to see that the results listed 275 individual records with UDFs.

I explored a couple of these records to see where a UDF might have been created. I noticed in every case that the listed records had several "Custom ID" sub-fields, all of which were related to "WikiTree".

When I first started working on my family tree several years ago, I had initially created the tree in WikiTree. When I finally purchased Family Historian, I imported my WikiTree gedcom file into FH.

Am I correct in assuming that these UDFs are the result of the Custom IDs that were created in WikiTree and subsequently imported into FH? None of the new records that I have created since using FH for the past 4 years have any Custom ID fields.

They do not seem to be causing any harm, but is there a safe way to remove these WikiTree Custom ID UDFs?

[Jane]

Just highlight the cells in the result set and press the delete key.

[tatewise]

Yes, as explained in how_to:handling_unrecognised_data_fields|> Handling Uncategorised Data Fields (UDF).

[BobWard]

Upon more detailed examination of the UDF list, I see that not only are WikiTree ID numbers being flagged as a UDF, but portions of the names of people are also getting listed as a UDF.

I have attached a screenshot of just a small sample of the UDF result set. You can see that my middle name "Lee" is listed as a UDF, as well as my father's middle name "Thomas", and my mother's middle name, "Marie", and her married name, "Ward".

What could be causing these names to be flagged as a UDF?

[tatewise]

Bob, that is all explained in the Knowledge Base article ~ did you read that?

If so, what exactly is not clear, so it can be improved?

It is not the names that are UDF, but the Data Ref Gedcom Tags _MIDN and _MARN and WWW that are unrecognised.

[BobWard]

Yes, I did open the Knowledge Base file and read most of it, but it started getting a little beyond my technical ability to fully understand what was going on, i.e., I did not make the connection that you referred to about the Data Ref Gedcom Tags being the problem. Now that you have focused my attention on that specific issue, I am beginning to see what you are talking about.

However, without fully understanding how the Data Ref Gedcom Tags are integrated into FH, what would happen if I were to just delete the _MIDN and _MARN and WWW tags from my UDF list? In other words, will that cause people's names to be deleted from my FH project file?

[tatewise]

Depends what you mean by names.

Yes, the names you mentioned listed on left in UDF Item column of your screenshot will be deleted along with the UDF tag.

However, the FH Name fields that appear in the main tab of each Property Box will remain, as shown in the Record column of your screenshot.

I will try and reword the Introduction to make it clearer that the UDF are the Gedcom Data Ref Tags and that when deleted the tag and its associated data value will both get deleted.

As with most databases, every field has a Name and a Value.
In Gedcom the Data Ref Tag is the Name, such as _MIDN and _MARN.
The Values can be any text, such as Thomas or Ward.
The UDF have unrecognised Tag Names but when the field is deleted both its Name and Value are deleted.

[BobWard]

By "names", I was referring to whether the name in the Property Box would be deleted, if I were to delete the UDF name tags. From your response, it sounds like the Property Box name will not be deleted or changed in any way. For example, that full name, e.g., "Robert Lee Ward" will still be fully intact in the FH database, even if I delete the "Lee" _MIDN tag.

If I am interpreting you correctly, then none of the names in any reports that I generate will also not be impacted by deleting the UDF name tags (_MIDN & _MARN). The WWW tags are all WikiTree related, so I see no harm in deleting all of those.

In summary, if I am again interpreting you correctly, the removal of the _MIDN, _MARN, and WWW UDF tags should not corrupt my FH database, i.e., all names will remain intact for generating reports, queries, etc.

[Jane]

That is correct, FH does nothing with UDF fields other than hold them. If you select the first column of the result set, by clicking on the first one scrolling to the bottom and shift clicking on the last one and pressing delete it will remove them all.

[Russell]

In summary, if I am again interpreting you correctly, the removal of the _MIDN, _MARN, and WWW UDF tags should not corrupt my FH database, i.e., all names will remain intact for generating reports, queries, etc.

Hi Bob

As has been mentioned, the deletion should not adversely affect your database. However, as you are rightly cautious, to give yourself that extra peace of mind I suggest that before doing anything else you create a full backup of your Project. It will only take a few minutes, but may save a lot of hair pulling should you have any issues afterwards

[BobWard]

Thanks for the re-assurance regarding my interpretation of what happens should I delete the UDFs. In my case, it sounds like they are just some unnecessary "clutter/debris" left over from my WikiTree gedcom import to FH several years ago.

And, yes, I always backup on at least a daily basis, sometimes more often, especially when experimenting with things like this.