Family Historian User Group

Good morning,

On the list of Gedcom tasks, I have two trees not wanted. They are empty and when I click on themn
a notice comes up with "file not found". How can I delete these from the list. Thank you for any help
you can give me. Jean

See
Clean Out the Recent File List

Hello Jane,
Thanks for replying. To be honest I haven't a clue what it all means. In the Focus Window what do I click on.
Did you understand what I was trying to explain. Please try to help if you can.
Jean

In Jane's absence may I explain.

You cannot fix the problem anywhere in FH itself. In fact, you must close FH.

Follow the link to Clean Out the Recent File List and download the fhclrmrulist.exe application file.
After the download, double-click that .exe file to run it on your PC and it will completely empty the File > Gedcom File Tasks list, which is held in the Windows Registry.

Thank you. But will my other trees stay there. I don't want to lose them. I will try what you say
and let you know. Thank you. Jeaan

Jean, all the names of the trees will be removed from the list, but the files will still exist on the disk.

I wonder if you are not using FH to its full potential.
If you are relying on the File > Gedcom File Tasks list to open GEDCOM files, maybe you don't realise that it is better to create Projects from them, so they are listed in the File > Project Window. That makes more features available than with just GEDCOM files.

Are you familiar with FH Projects, or would you like to know about creating Projects?

Thank you Mike,

It really bothers my 80 year old brain. I am so worried about losing the
three trees I am working on. On the Gedcom Tasks list of tree names,
there are just two tree names I need deleted. They are completely empty just
the tree name remains. It is not a problem really but I like things to be
tidy, lol. Can I get back to you later if I decide on doing this Project thing. Jean

Is it possible to delete (rather than update) a Registry key via plugin? If it is technically possible, that seems a much simpler and more reliable option. It would need special permission from the plugin police to write to the Registry, but IMO that's far better than downloading and running a separate exe file.

Mark,
Judging from Miketate’s reply, you need to stop FH to clear the entries in the registry, so plugins wouldn’t work, as you need FH to be running in order to run a plugin

It depends on whether that particular key is overwritten when FH closes. If it is, there are other plugin techniques that will probably work. It will take 5 mins of experimenting tonight to find out for sure...

Confirmed - the recent file list is saved within FH and cannot be deleted while FH is open, as it is restored automatically on closing.

Rather than downloading and running a separate exe file, you can do exactly the same thing by opening a Windows Command Prompt (search for "cmd" in the Task Bar if you don't already have a shortcut) and typing in the following command (while FH is closed):
If a simple plugin is preferred, all we need is a very short script that includes this line in a batch file, along with a command to close FH, similar to the approach used in the new Backup and Restore FH Settings via Windows plugin.

IMO such technical discussions are likely to confound Jean even further.

Look at it more generally. Is downloading and running an exe file (which is browser-dependent, and likely to require extra steps to convince Windows Defender or your anti-virus that it is safe) really simpler than either a one line command (if you know your way around Windows) or running a plugin, which is a core FH skill??

tatewise wrote: ↑

26 May 2022 16:52

IMO such technical discussions are likely to confound Jean even further.

I completely agree. Playing with the registry is not for the inexperienced, too much risk of causing trouble if a mistake is made. At least by using an exe file, the user cannot modify it.

I see all your discussions, and you are right. I am totally confused.
You are all computer literate more than I will ever be. I have tried to correct
it but have succeeded in making it worse by adding more to the list. I have
decided to leave things as they are, or get another tree maker and start again. My
own tree has almost 800 individuals, so it will be a lot of work. Plus I am
doing two other trees for other people. I appreciate all you are doing in
trying to help me, but this is my last post. Thank you all so much.