Family Historian User Group

Hi
I am hoping someone can help me with my problem? I downloaded FH7 at the beginning of the year and was just getting into the new program when I was diagnosed with cancer in June. I was given the all clear earlier this month and am now trying to get back into my various projects on Family Historian.

My family Historian is based on One Drive, but after downloading the last upgrade FH7.0.9I ran into a problem. When I opened up each of the projects they were blank. As I had backups for each project I used the latest back up and restored them. Each new project was shown thus (2) in the project window. My problem was the media, which is not lost as it is still held within the original project. Some media is shown in the new (2) project but when trying to link the X to the media in the original media it comes up with a message saying 'unable to load object 207. bad jpg file'. Now I could be wrong but I think the reason is because the media is within a different project. How can I get the media and project back together bearing in mind that there is quite a few folders within the project media folder and have now wish to lose all the media within those folders.

I have attached three screenshots which I hope will explain and have another 2 but was unable to upload them. Not sure why? Ideally I would like to get back to my three original projects with all media intact but unsure how to do this.
Please bear with me as my brain is not working to full capacity
Regards
Joan Chopping

Joan, there is a limit of 3 attachments allowed per posting. To attach more just post another reply.

I think I see why you are having problems with your Projects.

Your Project Window screenshot shows the project Location: is the default My Documents\Family Historian Projects
i.e. The full path would be something like C:\Users\Joan\Documents\Family Historian Projects
This is the folder that FH tends to revert to when it is re-installed, and probably happened when you installed FH v7.0.9.

But you say you keep FH on OneDrive and your File Explorer screenshot shows the full path to be like:
C:\ ...... \OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects
Most of your Project folders are clearly listed there.
However, that list differs from the Project Window list as OneNameStudy-Istance (2) is missing.

I think that if you change the Project Window Location: to reference C:\ ...... \OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects folder then all your original projects will return OK.
i.e.
Use More Tasks... > Project List > Choose Location for Projects... and browse to the OneDrive - Personal based Family Historian Projects folder instead of the one in the Documents folder.

In other words, it seems that you have two Family Historian Projects folders and FH is currently pointing to the wrong one, instead of the OneDrive version.

When you have satisfactorily resolved this problem, I strongly advise you to delete the C:\Users\Joan\Documents based Family Historian Projects folder to prevent any future confusion.

Hi Mike
Many thanks for your reply.
Went into the project window on FH as suggested and changed the path. The two projects Joan's Family Tree and the Woodcock Family Tree both have (2) as well as the original project. The Istance ONS is singular and on accessit comes up the message 'an error occurred while reading the file. Some parts of the file may not have loaded' This happened when I upgraded to 7.0.9 to all three projects. Have now tried all the projects and get the same message. The reason the ONS is singular might be because I did some work on it and backed it up?

Have attached 2 screenshots showing One Drive and PC. If I have to lose some work on the ONS then so be it but I can remember what it was.

I have to admit that I am getting confused by your descriptions. There are several conflicting sets of information that may explain the problem but I'm not sure which ones are important.

Backing up a Project does NOT change its name in any way.
When you restore a Project whose name already exists it creates a new Project with the number suffix to avoid overwriting the existing Project.

It would help to understand your screenshots if you could explain why you have two Family Historian Projects folders.
Why is there one in This PC Documents and another in OneDrive - Personal?
There also appear to be two sets of Backup folders but organised slightly differently. Can you explain?
It seems you have restored OneNameStudy-Istance in the This PC Documents case but not the OneDrive - Personal case.
But you have restored the other two projects to both Family Historian Projects folders. Please explain.

I notice that the OneDrive icon against each Project folder is a white cloud with a blue border.
That means the folders & files are held on OneDrive and only downloaded to your hard drive when required by FH.
That could explain the 'Some parts of the file may not have loaded' message, because FH did not wait for the download to complete. Have you always used OneDrive that way?

You say the problem happened when you upgraded to 7.0.9 to all three projects.
I don't understand what you mean by that. You should only install FH v7.0.9 once not three times.
What version of FH were you running before?

Can you please confirm what type of Backup you perform? Is it Small Backup, Medium Backup, or Full Backup?
The reason I ask is that the Medium Backup & Full Backup includes all Media as long as it is held within the Project's own Media folder. Whereas in your original posting you say the Media is missing from the restored Backup. Also, you say the original Projects were blank yet they still contained the Media, which implies they are not blank

If you use the Tools > External File Links... command what does it say at the top of the File Links pane?
Does it say Project Data Folder or does it list a drive letter?

BTW: Do you use the File > Backup/Restore > Restore Backup command to restore your Backup .zip files?

Hi Mike
Apologies if I have confused you. I too was confused so delved into One Drive settings and discovered (it must have happened on a recent Windows 10 upgrade) that folders on the C: drive, eg. Pictures, Documents, and Desktop are now default on One Drive and cannot be moved or deleted. In other words the folder 'Documents' is mirrored. You can only stop the sync of the folder.

As I wasn't I aware of this and it is possibly how 'paths' have got muddled. Family Historian has been on One Drive for about 3/4 years and since moved (possibly copied) I have not had a problem with the software or upgrades. I admit I did not check the C drive for any remaining FH folders. As long as FH was working fine on One Drive everything was fine.

I always do a medium backup at the end of each session depending on which project I have been working on.

Please see screen shot for the External File Links.

I have checked and not lost any media, please see screen shot 2. I have highlighted the paths. The icons in screenshot 1 will not open.
Many thanks for your help and hope the above helps to clarify.
Regards
Joan Chopping

Joan, you forgot to post any screenshots, so I'm working in the dark and cannot answer some of the points

The fact that OneDrive now includes your Desktop, Documents & Pictures is useful but irrelevant to our discussion.
(Open the OneDrive Settings, then on the Back up tab, the Manage Backup button lets you stop including those folders.)

Although for many applications the ...\OneDrive - Personal\Documents folder is now the default Documents folder, that is NOT the case with FH. The Project Window Location: My Documents\Family Historian Projects still refers to the original C:\Users\Joan\Documents\Family Historian Projects folder.

However, none of that explains why all Projects and most of their restored backups with suffix (2) exist in two locations.
a) C:\Users\Joan\Documents\Family Historian Projects b) ...\OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects
Have you switched the FH Location: setting back and forth and tried restoring backups in both locations?

Mike
thank you again for your reply. I have found the backup that went into the wrong folder and think this is what might have caused the problem. It's size is 741.44KB and found in Documents: Family Historian: Backups dated 1/12/2021. The size matches the /earlier backups in One Drive: Personal: Family Historian. The size of the two later backups in the same folder are roughly 504KB, which the difference, I think, would account for the missing media?

Just a thought but can I delete the two lower size backups and move the rogue backup from the Documents folder into the backup folder it should have gone into and do a restore using that backup?

Please see attached screenshots that should have been in last reply. I did attach them so do not know what happened when I hit the submit button.
Regards
Joan

Yes, you can move the Backup zip files to wherever you think appropriate and delete any old ones that are obsolete.
FH does not perform any of that administration for you. You must do it in File Explorer.

I'm sorry but you have clouded the folder issue even further with your latest screenshots. You have now added
C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects to the potential Locations: as well as these two
a) C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects
b) C:\Users\2chop\Documents\Family Historian Projects

However, on a positive note, all those Media folders have green ticked circle icons, which says they are held locally on your PC hard drive as well as in the OneDrive cloud. That means that even without an Internet connection to OneDrive you will still be able to access those folders and files.

The Media that you have identified in that screenshot will only appear in the OneNameStudy-Istance (2) project if the FH File > Project Window... Location: is set to C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects.
The Tools > External File Links... screenshot confirms that is what you have currently chosen as your setup.

The Program Data Folder - Media list refers to the Media folder shown in your File Explorer screenshot.
i.e. They are integral with this Project folder.

However, the one 1899Electoral Roll media file is NOT integral with this Project folder.
It is actually held in the Joan's Family Tree project but in a different Location: listed at a) above!
That particular jpg must be moved to this Project's \Media\Electoral Rolls\ folder (note slightly different folder name).
Otherwise, it will NOT be included in the Medium Backups of this Project.

It looks like you have some tidying up to perform.
There should only be ONE Family Historian Projects folder (not three) in which all your Projects are held.
The Tools > External File Links... list for each Project should ONLY mention its Program Data Folder - Media.

Mike
Thank you for your help so far and yes I have some tidying up to do but will do that once I have Family Historian back to working.
I checked both media files on ONS Istance and ONS Istance (2) on FH Projects One Drive and all the media is showing. ONS Istance is slightly more up to date.

Using the shortcut that was placed on the desk top after the last upgrade it opens up an ONS Istance (2). Going to Preferences/Startup it gives the path of PC/Documents/Family Historian/ONS Istance (2) and the media page is showing a lot of crosses. This I think is where the problem lies? Please see screenshot.

Can I, using the same shortcut, change the path on the Preferences/Startup to the FH Projects on One Drive? Will it cause problems? Will it put me back on track?

To be honest I don't know how these problems have arisen. I have not been well enough for the last 7/8 months to even contemplate doing any family history until now, so hopefully, fingers crossed this will be resolved.
Kind regards
Joan

What you are seeing is all associated with having three Family Historian Projects folders that hold three sets of Projects which are all different from each other even though they may have the same name.

It seems the Tools > Preferences > Startup setting is at fault and choosing the wrong Project.

So, in FH open the File > Project Window...
Check the Location: is C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects which is what you say holds the most complete Projects.

Right-click the name of the OneNameStudy-Istance Project that you believe is the latest and best version of your data, and choose the Set as Default Project option.
That should put a small green tick against that Project's name and you can click Open Project.
Double-check that is the Project with the best data and media.

Now check the Tools > Preferences > Startup setting which should specify C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects\OneNameStudy-Istance\OneNameStudy-Istance.fh_data\OneNameStudy-Istance.ged

Close FH and click the shortcut icon in the desktop.
Whenever FH is opened it uses the Tools > Preferences > Startup setting to decide which Project to open by default.
That should now be your preferred OneNameStudy-Istance Project that you Set as Default Project above.

If that all goes to plan, then report back and I will suggest what to do next to review the other Projects.

Well Mike it's all fun and games

Thank you, thank you, you have got my ONS back with all the media, etc which is fantastic but, somehow the other two projects showing in the project window 'Joan's Family Tree' and 'Woodcock Family Tree' both singular and (2) are all blank. Have checked the One Drive folder list and everything seems to be is as it should.

I checked Tools/Preferences /Startup for Joan's Family Tree and it is showing ........\One Name Study-Istance.ged. Please see screenshot. Should that be right?
Joan

Let us focus on the OneNameStudy-Istance Project.
I don't think you have followed my instructions to the letter.
If you had then the Default Startup File shown in your screenshot would be:
C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects\OneNameStudy-Istance\OneNameStudy-Istance.fh_data\OneNameStudy-Istance.ged

You say it is showing ...\OneNameStudy-Istance.ged but your screenshot says otherwise.

It is still showing ...\OneNameStudy-Istance (2).fh_data\OneNameStudy-Istance (2).ged just as you posted earlier today.

Did you follow the step to right-click the OneNameStudy-Istance Project and choose Set as Default Project, which should put a small green tick against its name. Did you then perform the subsequent steps to confirm it had been applied correctly.

Please post a screenshot of the entire File > Project Window....

Mike
Sorry if I have confused you but my Family Historian Projects has always stood alone on One Drive ie. C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive\ Family Historian Projects. Using this Istance (2) on this path all media, etc appears in Family Historian and using the shortcut was fine too.

If I use the ONS Istance in ......OneDrive\Documents\Family Historian Projects a lot of the media is not available and when I click on them the message says 'Sorry Photos cannot open this file because the format is currently unsupported, or the file is corrupted.' This folder is a mirror of the one held on PC\Documents\Family Historian Projects. Please see screenshot and one requested.
Joan

Joan, maybe you need to double-check what you say in your postings, because that is all I have to go on.
You can see more than I can, and I have to rely entirely on your descriptions.
e.g.
Yesterday you said: "I have checked and not lost any media, please see screen shot 2. I have highlighted the paths." and showed screenshots that highlighted C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects\OneNameStudy-Istance (2)\OneNameStudy-Istance (2).fh_data\Media.
Therefore, I thought C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Documents\Family Historian Projects was the best Location.

Earlier today you said: "I checked both media files on ONS Istance and ONS Istance (2) on FH Projects One Drive and all the media is showing. ONS Istance is slightly more up to date."
That says OneNameStudy-Istance is slightly more up to date than OneNameStudy-Istance (2).

Now you are saying the C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects folder is the best Location and that the OneNameStudy-Istance (2) Project is better than the OneNameStudy-Istance Project.

Do you see how the above statements all contradict each other regarding the best Location and the best Project?

Moving forward, it seems the best Location: is C:\Users\2chop\OneDrive - Personal\Family Historian Projects as shown in your latest screenshot. So do not change that unless we both agree to do so.

The current default (ticked) project is OneNameStudy-Istance (2) that will open automatically when you open FH.
That is the sole purpose of the Tools > Preferences > Startup setting. It has no impact on any other Projects.

So now let us review the other six Projects listed in your screenshot.
I notice that they have all been Last Updated very recently and since you started this discussion thread.
Can you please explain what you have been doing with them to cause them to be updated.
It would have been best to leave them unchanged as much as possible while investigating their status.

Can you compare OneNameStudy-Istance against OneNameStudy-Istance (2) please.
Use the File > File Statistics... command and compare the Count for each Item for the two Projects.
Use the Tools > External File Links... command, tick Show Broken Links Only and compare the two Projects.
Use the toolbar Media camera icon and View All Media. Do they all look OK in both Projects?
Let me know the results of this comparison. Which do you consider is the 'better' Project?

Mike
Apologies abound, slowly my brain is starting to work and clouds are clearing.
The only project that works within the C\Users\2chop\One Drive\Family Historian Projects is ONS Istance (2). All the other projects when opened up are completely blank including ONS Istance.
I have attached screenshots of the File Statistics and have no broken links. All the media, apart from one item that I know of, is in ONS Istance (2).
I cannot compare with ONS Istance as that is completely blank, so ONS Istance (2) is the better project.

My memory is shot to pieces with the cancer but I am almost sure I was able to open up Joan's Family Tree (2) and the Woodcocks Family Tree (2) prior to the change of location and the green tick.
Hoping this makes sense.
Kind regards
Joan

PS (by the way I did note someone else posted a question about blank projects??)

I am sorry about your medical problems.
What exactly do you mean when you say a Project is completely blank?
Can you use the File > Project Statistics... command and if so want are the Counts?

Is the Family Historian Sample Project similarly blank?

Hi Mike
Using the desktop shortcut to get into the Family Historian it takes me immediately to ONS Istance (2), which is perfect. From there I can go into file, close the current project and click ONS Istance and I get a blank project. Please see screen shot. I get the same for the other 4 projects in the menu and the Family Historian Sample Project.

If I go through the 'backend' of Family Historian, if I can use that term i.e File Explorer/One Drive-Personal/Family Historian Projects and click on each of the projects I get '(project name)fh_data.'. Click on that I get the menu which includes -cache, charts, media, logs, etc. If I click on media for each of the projects , all the media is there that should be there for all six projects and the Sample Project. Hope this makes sense?

I hope this helps.
Regards
Joan

Yes, that is definitely a blank Project, but I cannot explain how that could happen.

In a blank Project, if you use File > Backup/Restore > Revert to Snapshot... are any Snapshot Taken dates listed?
If so then try choosing one dated before the problems started, i.e. before 26 December 2021.
Does that get your data back?
If it is still blank, then try an even earlier Snapshot Taken date.

Hi Mike
Have gone through all 6 projects and found the following Snapshot dates before 26 Dec 2021

ONS Istance - 2 Mar 2021
ONS Istance (2) - 2 Sep 2021
Joan's Family Tree - 3 Mar 2021
Joan's Family Tree (2) - 21 Dec 2020
Woodcock Family Tree - 21 Dec 2020
Woodcock Family Tree (2) - 3 Mar 2021

Do these dates make sense to you? I ask your advice because I have not used the Revert to Snapshot before and ideally I really only want to revert two of the projects and wondering which ones to choose. The ONS Istance looks fine to me so should I leave that one alone?
Also when I went into the Revert Snapshot it came up with requesting a full back of the project before going ahead. Should I do this or will this upset the projects even more?
By the way I have no snapshot for the Sample Project. I very rarely use it.
Thank you for your patience.
Joan

You have again said that "ONS Istance looks fine" when I think you meant ONS Istance (2).
So don't change anything in ONS Istance (2) which I think is the only Project that is NOT blank.

I have no idea whether those Snapshot dates make sense. I wasn't there!

However, for the 5 blank Projects, you have literally nothing to lose
So for each blank Project, pick the Snapshot Taken at the latest date prior to 26 December 2021.

Ignore the recommendation to take a Backup. They are blank Projects so there is nothing worth backing up!

I suggest you revert all 5 blank Projects to a Snapshot.
Then you can compare the original and (2) Projects in the way I described yesterday.

Perhaps start with the blank ONS Istance project and compare it with the good ONS Istance (2) project.
Then you can decide which is the best one to keep for future research.

Then revert Joan's Family Tree and Joan's Family Tree (2) so you can compare them.
Similarly, you can decide which is the best.

Finally, revert the Woodcock Family Tree and Woodcock Family Tree (2) and compare them.

Let me know how you get on and whether the Snapshots were useful. Then perhaps we can start tidying up.

Hi Mike
Using the shortcut to get into the application, I tried two of the blank projects, and each time got the message
'Unable to restore snapshot. Please close all applications, restart your PC and try again.'
I did a restart and the same message appeared on three of the blank projects.
Sorry.
Should I try a restore?
Joan

Mike
I did a Backup/Restore on Joan's Family Tree, and Woodcocks Family Tree and both successful.
Project Window now looks like this though - see screenshot below.
Time for a tidy-up??
Cheers
Joan

OK, that sounds good.
When you Backup/Restore a Project that already exists with a similar name then it will add the next number suffix and create another copy of the Project, so those (3) suffixes are perfectly normal.

I assume you have performed a 'sanity' check on the three 'successful' projects.
i.e.
Focus Window and Property Box looks OK for several people.
File > File Statistics... lists a reasonable Count for each Item.
File > Validate... does not report any problems.
Tools > External File Links... only lists Project Data Folder - Media and no C: drive media.
When you click Show Broken Links Only then no X media entries are listed.

If that all seems good then yes you can start tidying up the 'blank' Projects, etc.

1) The first step is to delete all the 'blank' Projects:
Open the File > Project Window... and select a 'blank' Project such as Joan's Family Tree (2).
Click More Tasks... > Delete Project... and OK the warning message.
Read through the Delete Project dialogue and if happy to delete everything listed then tick Please confirm at the bottom and then click Delete All. That will permanently delete all the files listed.
Repeat that process for all the 'blank' Projects.

2) The next step is to rename the remaining Projects:
Open the File > Project Window... and select a 'good' Project such as Joan's Family Tree (3).
Click More Tasks... > Rename Project... and remove the (3) suffix from its Name and click OK.

3) Reset the Family Historian Sample Project:
Open the File > Project Window... and click More Tasks... > Samples > Reset Sample Project

OneDrive may notify you that lots of files are being deleted and renamed. Just confirm you are happy with that.
When you've completed all the above steps, then let me know and post a screenshot of the tidied Project Window.

Wow Mike, almost there and looking good.
On checking the External File links found two or three media records outside of two of the projects but they are now sorted. All media within all three projects as should be.
There seemed to problem with trying to delete Joan's Family Tree but when the Project Window came up it was gone and only Joan's Family Tree (3) was there. It was only when I tried to rename it a message came up saying it couldn't rename as the name was still there.
Called up File Explorer and Joan's Family Tree folder is still there. Would this be safe to delete from the Project Folder?
Please see screenshots.
Regards
Joan

I'm not entirely sure.
There is a 'FH Backups-Woodcock Family' folder lurking in that 'Joan's Family Tree' folder.
Is that where all the Woodcock Family project backups reside?
If so, it should be moved up to the 'Family Historian Projects' folder alongside the other two 'FH Backups-...' folders.

It will then be safe to use File Explorer to delete the 'Joan's Family Tree' folder from the 'Family Historian Projects' folder.
Then the Project Rename should work correctly.

Since you have made some changes, it would be wise to use File > Backup/Restore > Medium Backup on all three Projects.
Do you have a strategy for saving those FH Backup compressed zip folders in specific folders?
Tools > Preferences > Backup > Default Backup Folder sets the default backup folder to be the same for all Projects.
Do you ignore that and choose a different folder for each Project or what?

I would be good to sort that out before performing any further tidying.