* Auto Repair Links

[Electrovellum]

All of my media files are within the standard Media folder. I have had to reorganise Media by creating new folders within it and moving files around. I mistakenly thought that Auto Repair Links would relink the files by searching for them within Media and only then looking elsewhere. I now have links to old and backup versions of my project which are on lots of different drives. Disaster! I am now faced with manually relinking most of the Media & Sources links. Is there any way to constrain Auto Repair Links and stop it looking at my backup drives, etc? Any other advice on sorting the mess would be welcome.

Regards
Bob

[tatewise]

Sorry about that Bob, but the Auto Repair Links button does begin with the current Project folder as stated in the Help.
It actually starts looking down through the Media folders, then works out from Media folder as explained in the Help.
I have just tried it with media file copies elsewhere in the top of the Project folder outside the Media folder and broken links in the Media records for the same files, and it repaired correctly, ignoring the ones outside the Media folder.
However, it does rely on each filename & type NOT being changed, just the folders, otherwise it has nothing to match.
Please review what you are moving where and post some screenshot evidence of it going wrong.
See info:forums#posting_topics|> Posting Topics for advice on posting screenshots.

Assuming you have a Full Backup (as you should anyway) then you can put everything back where it started.
Do you need help with that? See glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery.

[LornaCraig]

That does sound odd, because the Help files state as follows:
"The search will begin with the current project folder, and ripple outwards from the current project, eventually including other fixed drives on your PC if necessary (and if there are any). "

You should be able to use the Re-map tool to Re-map within Project Data Folder. If you know exactly which folder each file is in (and you probably do, if you have organised the sub-folders by category) it should be possible to sort things out fairly quickly by selecting groups of items for one sub-folder at a time. In theory it should only need as many re-mapping operations as you have sub-folders.

If you think it will be easier to start by reverting to a version of the Gedcom from just before you used the auto-repair tool, try using File > Backup/Restore > Revert to Snapshot to restore the Gedcom file to its previous state. (You may also be able to restore using a Backup, but take care if it is a full backup of the entire project because that might revert to the original Media arrangement with no sub-folders.)

[tatewise]

Lorna has offered some alternative recovery techniques, but note that Re-Map of folders also relies on filename & type NOT having been changed, otherwise they will have to be done file by file.

[Electrovellum]

Thank you both for your comments, but I have to disagree with you. As you have described it, is as I would have expected. However, that is not what happened. I can only assume that it doesn't explore the folders correctly. I have many unchanged filenames which were picked up from different versions of the project on different drives but where the file is resident in a different folder within the project Media folder. Eg E:\Family Historian Projects\Murphy-McGovern (9) (2)\Murphy-McGovern (9) (2).fh_data\Media\Austin Murphy(1911-1968) -May McGovern(1913-1994)\Wahine Disaster.pdf which is the file in the current Media folder, but was located in C:\Users\rober\OneDrive\Archive\Family Historian Projects\The Murphy Tree\The Murphy Tree.fh_data\Media\Wahine Disaster.pdf

Regards
Bob Murphy

[tatewise]

Bob, it would be useful to discover what factors are causing FH to search incorrectly. It is mysterious.

I wonder if FH is confused by the current path of the File > Project Window > Location setting.
How does that setting in your system relate to the E:\Family Historian Projects folder and the C:\Users\rober\OneDrive\Archive\Family Historian Projects folder?

It may also be worth double-checking where FH thinks the Project is located by using File > File Statistics and reviewing the File Name: path shown at the top. How does that relate to the two paths you have listed?

[Electrovellum]

Hi Mike, I've corrected my problem by disabling the drives that FH was "erroneously" looking at and moving some of the other folders onto external drives, which I physically disconnected. FH then found the "missing" files which were in the Media folder all along, leaving me with those "genuinely" missing files to relink manually. Regrettably this doesn't solve the problem of what on earth went wrong! However, I've sorted my problem, although I am now nervous about using Auto Relink in the future. All I can think is that a lot of my files have a very long path, and I wonder if that played a part.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Bob

[Electrovellum]

Sorry, Mike, I forgot to say that the Location of the Project was correct and set to the default correctly. Bob

[tatewise]

I'm glad you found a workable solution Bob, but like you I would like to discover the cause of the problem.

I could not help noticing that your Projects appear to have had a chequered past.
There appear to be multiple copies of similar Projects with similar Media filenames on various drives.
The current Project named Murphy-McGovern (9) (2) appears to have had multiple Restores causing the (9) (2) suffixes.

I wonder if this Project history has been compromised by the format of the Media links.
It is important to understand the difference between Relative and Absolute media File path links.

1. Relative links start with Media\ and only specify Media subfolders and filename.
2. Absolute links specify a full path from drive letter through folders down to filename.

These two formats are clearly identifiable in Tools > External File Links and in Media records.

Relative links are totally immune to Backups, Restores, Snapshots, Copy Project & Rename Project.
They will ALWAYS link to the Media folder within the CURRENT Project even when moved to another drive or PC.

Absolute links will retain their original full path throughout any of the above operations.
This can often lead to broken links if that full path does not exist.
BUT if say an Absolute link originally specified a file within the Project's Media folder, then after the above operations it would continue to refer to that file within the original Media folder and NOT within the new Project.
That could easily go unnoticed if the original Media folder and files continued to exist.
A clean-up and rearrangement of Media might change the original Media folder and the current Project resulting in many broken links.
Then when Auto Repair Links is used, the Absolute links that refer outside the Project might only look outside the Project on the original drive to find a matching filename.

This is only a hypothesis that I hope to prove with some experiments.
BUT can you confirm whether your Media links were Relative or Absolute or a mixture before you started the Media folder rearrangements.
If you have been using FH for a long time, Absolute links could easily be derived from older versions of FH before Projects were introduced.

[pafwilson]

Hello,

It seems I might have got into a bit of a similar pickle. I am guessing that I probably have absolute links, and with various moves over the years, the media links look incredibly complicated, even though the "Auto Repair Links" works and I can see all the Media when I view records. I just want to "clean up" as the path seems to include all the various places the media have been over time.

However, this is a typical path: D:\Lacie copied 6 August 2018\MY DOCUMENTS for transfer\My Bocuments\Family Historian Projects\August 2015\August 2015.fh_data\Media\folder for family historian\Images for FH\Florence May Badnall 2 (2).jpg

and yet I have now moved all media to the media folder within the project folder.

If these are indeed absolute paths, can I change them to relative paths and clean the whole thing up - I have over 1000 media and several thousand records so don't want to do each one manually by deleting it and re-entering a media link!

Over the years many duplicates of files have been made - I am not sure how and why, but my fault I am sure - and I have now deleted these but now need to check that I do not need to re-build links which might have linked to the duplicate which I have deleted!

Any simple common sense gratefully accepted....

Thank you.

Philip

http://www.whobegatwhom.co.uk/

[Jane]

1. Make a FULL backup of your Project
2. Use the Check and Repair Media Links to tidy up the links

You do seem to have lots of folders within your media folder so you might also want to tidy them up a bit and the use the Auto repair to find them again.

[pafwilson]

Thanks, Jane. This is what I did so now the ACTUAL folder structure is simple and as it ought to be but the huge links remain from the past when I look in FH Media. I had very old versions of FH so I think from reading previous posts that means all the links would have to be absolute from FH1 or 2. How can I clean up how FH media locates the files now I have tidied up the real file structure. All media are now within the media folder which is a subfolder of the main project folder. But FH still seems to go to the moon and back to locate them. Some of the references are to folders such as "folder for family historian" and "images" which I have now deleted. The D drive referred to in the path is an external drive I put everything on as a very temporary convenience when transferring stuff from my old PC to my new one! Sorry to be confused! Philip

[Jane]

Have you installed and run the plugin I included the link to previously

[Daulton]

I've just looked at my program after a long break and discovered that all of my media isn't there. I would like to stay out of the technical weeds because all of you have a completely different Family Historian vocabulary that I don't understand. That being said with complete humility and respect.

I have just looked at the toolbar on my 6.something program and I don't see "Auto Repair Link". Could someone give me directions on how to re link my photos to my program? So far the program hasn't found any of my photos and they are all stored on all of my 3 attached hard drives.

I have not diddled with the location of my media files so I don't understand what has gone wrong. I suppose I will have to do some studying of how this program works. I am currently on Ancestry but would like to back up what I have there and be able to use the features on Family Historian.

Thank you all for your time and knowledge. It will be about 107 here in California so I'll be inside doing this. Hope the weather there is as pretty as I see on the travel shows.

[tatewise]

Daulton: The Auto Repair Links button is in the Tools > External File Links dialogue.

Philip: If the FH Media Link is:
D:\Lacie copied 6 August 2018\MY DOCUMENTS for transfer\My Bocuments\Family Historian Projects\August 2015\August 2015.fh_data\Media\folder for family historian\Images for FH\Florence May Badnall 2 (2).jpg
and that file still exists on your external D: drive in that folder path, then Auto Repair Links will do nothing because it thinks there is nothing to repair as the link works perfectly well.

I presume you have copied all your media files to the default Project Media folder on the C: drive such as:
C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Family Historian Projects\August 2015\August 2015.fh_data\Media\...
maybe in the same sub-folders as before, or maybe in a new sub-folder structure.

To get Auto Repair Links to work you must 'hide' the D: drive files, i.e. dismount that external drive.
Then in Tools > External File Links every file will have a X against it, showing it is a broken link.
Now Auto Repair Links knows there is something to repair and should tidy up those file paths.

[Daulton]

Oh boy!... Thanks for your reply. I just have been messing with that auto link repair that I found and I couldn't get it to do anything. I will see if I can find an address associated with the files like you have described. I guess I will disconnect both external drives to continue.
Is this problem something I did wrong? Really, I was just absent for several months while I worked on other projects. I'll be back in a minute after I see what I can see..

[Daulton]

Ok, so I disconnected my external drives and looked at the media files on FH and the extension doesn't look anything like your description and I couldn't find another place with media files. Mine all start like this..http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=imate&guide= (then at least a hundred numbers and symbols). Am I looking in the right place? I do not see an "X" anywhere.

[Daulton]

Ok...I'm reading better and I see in tools where there are Xed out files. Now I have to figure out how to initiate the link repair..

[tatewise]

That is a Project derived from a GEDCOM that you have (recently?) downloaded from Ancestry.
Those downloads do NOT include Media files at all, but just useless website links to trees.ancestry.com.
You cannot use Auto Repair Links to fix them.

See advice in how_to:import_from_ancestry|> Import from Ancestry website that repeats what I have just said, but does offer some other download methods that will download Media files.

[Daulton]

It looks like I'm following your directions and I have initiated a "repair" but nothing was repaired. I am running it again after "refreshing" it . I still have the Xs in front of the files and no links. Your description of my C file is exactly as you described.

[tatewise]

Yes, but there are no matching filenames (not folder names) in the External File Links dialogue, because they are all downloaded website links from Ancestry.
Unfortunately, you cannot download a GEDCOM from Ancestry and expect it to match Media files on your PC derived from some other Project/GEDCOM from years ago.

The entries in each External File Links item must end with the filename of a file somewhere on your PC.
Ideally those files should be within the C: drive Media folder of the same Project.

[Daulton]

I haven't downloaded a GEDCOM in since the second one, maybe accurately in 2018. The files are linked to the Ancestry program and look like this;
C:\users\Daulton\Documents\Family History Projects\Ruff_Family Daulton
Ok, I see your response below and I accept what you are saying about folders rather than files, (?) but I did load all the pictures that were on FH manually from my files and not from the Ancestry program. I did not load media files on a GEDCOM. I know you can't do that.
Did they get confused some way because they were the same photos as were on the Ancestry program? Is there a way to fix this rather than loading each picture again?
I am reading the previous comments and will go back and review..again since I just read the help topic.