Family Historian User Group

Not sure if this was a one off, but I'll see when I need to do another one.

I did a marriage and used one of my own auto-text for a tabular 1812-1837 that I've used many times. This time everything seemed fine as usual, but when I checked the text from source in FH, the table layout was all mucked up as if it forgot the column sizes and columns were sort of left justified.

Not sure if there have been any changes in this area or if it's a one off. I re-entered in AS to generate the auto-text, which was as expected and copy/pasted it to FH to fix the problem.

Ok, it happened again, the next time I did the same marriage auto-text.

Here is an image of the problem. The top one is what ended up in FH. The bottom is what was in AS auto-text window (looking fine), which I copy and pasted to FH (I copied before saving in AS just in case the problem occurred again. It looks like something has gone wrong with the column sizing as if it is 'fitting' the text in the cell and ignoring the column.
Looking at the raw Rich Text in FH, it looks like the the <table> definitions have gone walkabout.

<table="6000">
<row> <align="c"><font="Old English Text MT","script",0><fs="+4"><clr="00007F">Parish Register of a Marriage</font></fs> </clr> </row>
<row> <align="c"><clr="00007F">MARRIAGE Solemnised in the Parish of </clr>Rainham<clr="00007F"> in the Year </clr>1817 </row>
</table>

<table="4390|405|485|720">
<row> <rec=1,"James Mitchell",text> | <align="c"><clr="00007F">of </clr> | <align="c">this | <align="r"> <clr="00007F">Parish</clr> </row>
</table>
<table="6000">
<row> Bachelor </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">and</clr><rec=2,"Mary Ann Murdie",text></clr> \| <clr="00007F">of</clr> \| this \| <clr="00007F">Parish</clr> </row>
<row> Spinster </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">were married in this</clr>Church \| By Banns \| <clr="00007F">with Consent of</clr> </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">this</clr> \| Twenty third \| <clr="00007F">Day of</clr> </row>
<row> April<clr="00007F">in the Year One thousand eight hundred and</clr> \| Seventeen </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">By me</clr> \| J.Prout, Curate </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">This Marriage was solemnised between us{</clr> <rec=1,"James Mitchell",text> </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">{</clr> <rec=2,"Mary Ann Murdie",text> </row>
<row> <clr="00007F"> In the Presence of{</clr> \| John Mitchell,
Elizabeth Mitchell </row>
<row> <clr="00007F">No.</clr>32 </row>
</table>

========================================================================================

<table="6000">
<row> <align="c"><font="Old English Text MT","script",0><fs="+4"><clr="00007F">Parish Register of a Marriage</font></fs> </clr> </row>
<row> <align="c"><clr="00007F">MARRIAGE Solemnised in the Parish of </clr>Rainham<clr="00007F"> in the Year </clr>1817 </row>
</table>

<table="4390|405|485|720">
<row> James Mitchell | <align="c"><clr="00007F">of </clr> | <align="c">this | <align="r"> <clr="00007F">Parish</clr> </row>
</table>
<table="6000">
<row> Bachelor </row>
</table>
<table="485|3905|405|485|720">
<row> <clr="00007F">and</clr> | Mary Ann Murdie | <align="c"><clr="00007F">of</clr> | <align="c">this | <align="r"><clr="00007F">Parish</clr> </row>
</table>
<table="6000">
<row> Spinster </row>
</table>
<table="1620|840|2190|1350">
<row> <clr="00007F">were married in this</clr> | Church | By Banns | <align="r"><clr="00007F">with Consent of</clr> </row>
</table>
<table="3395|485|1400|720">
<row> | <align="c"><clr="00007F">this</clr> | Twenty third | <align="r"><clr="00007F">Day of</clr> </row>
</table>
<table="980|3670|1350">
<row> April | <clr="00007F">in the Year One thousand eight hundred and</clr> | Seventeen </row>
</table>
<table="1420|690|3890">
<row> | <align="c"><clr="00007F">By me</clr> | J.Prout, Curate </row>
</table>
<table="3200|2800">
<row> <clr="00007F">This Marriage was solemnised between us | {</clr> James Mitchell </row>
<row> | <clr="00007F">{</clr> Mary Ann Murdie </row>
</table>
<table="1580|200|4220">
<row> <clr="00007F"> In the Presence of | {</clr> | John Mitchell,
Elizabeth Mitchell </row>
</table>
<table="460|5540">
<row> <clr="00007F">No.</clr> | 32 </row>
</table>

If I copy & paste the AS table structure into an FH Note in Ctrl+Alt plain text mode then the rich text tables display OK.
Closing and opening FH retains the correct table layout.

So it seems as if either AS does not copy the table codes into the GEDCOM correctly or FH does not open them correctly.

A little experimentation suggests FH does not like table definitions without any blank line between them.
Try using many of the right-click Modify Table options such as Insert/Move Rows/Columns... and tables vanish!

I've been using this and similar auto-text for a couple of years with no problem. Can't say exactly when the problem arose in relation to the very recent FH update (7.0.19) and the AS update (7.7.x). I have found several occurrences I hadn't noticed that show the same problem. Looking at others it seems to affect only things after 11th March (Last known good one), and not those with simple multiple row grid tables. In the last few days it's been mostly census/baptism/burial entries and some newer marriages which are all simple grids. It may be only since yesterday that this problem has occurred as that's when I did a few older register marriages like the example I posted. This implied it's to do with AS 7.7.x rather than FH.

It seems to be affecting where there are multiple tables adjacent to each other that allow for variable columns between rows. The Rich Text is valid as demonstrated by copy/paste from AS to FH, but something is going wrong between AS and the GEDCOM file. Looking at the GEDCOM file, which AS updates, the 'broken' entries are in the file with missing table definitions around the rows. Other good entries from the past are still fine, so FH isn't suddenly altering them, otherwise they'd all be broken.

Are you using AS 7.7.0 or 7.7.1?

If the 'broken' entries are in the GEDCOM file before FH has opened it then it must be a problem with AS rich text handling, but as you say, only where there are adjacent tables.

However, as I said, FH does not behave well with those adjacent tables if you try to edit them.
So maybe there is a fundamental problem with rich text adjacent tables.

I have found editing tables other than simple ones to be a no no in FH, and rarely need to do so. At most correcting a typo or name after the fact. FH does not like trying to edit complex table structures, but like AS you can do it quite 'happily' in the RAW RT edit mode. The rendering of the RT tables is fine, just the editing functionality for them in FH is rather 'limited' shall we say.

I did make some changes to the RTF->FH format and FH format->RTF converters in AS around the end of January in the testing phase. I didn't get any reports of issues like this since then so assumed all was OK. I wish you would get involved in the AS testing Chris so I can avoid having to upset users who are confronted with various updates immediately after an official release

Please can you send me your autotext template (nick at ancestralsources dot com) and I'll investigate.

Cheers

Nick

Will do tomorrow as it's a bit late.

I wish you would get involved in the AS testing Chris so I can avoid having to upset users who are confronted with various updates immediately after an official release

You asked me this two years ago when FH7 etc. came out and I was creating auto-text templates, and requesting stuff like .ORD etc. I even have your email in my address book for this purpose.

So, yes I'm in (already).

Also, as I have said before, as a retired software developer, I have sympathy for new releases suddenly throwing up unexpected bugs after all the testing you or others may have done. It goes with the territory. Best testing is users-in-the-wild, but it does make you feel wretched when you've put in all the hard work and missed some cases.

Hi Chris

Thanks for your template. I think I've fixed the problem now.

I've created a new update v7.7.2 though I'm not going to advertise it to all users yet as I'm conscious this would be the 3rd update this week and I don't want to annoy people.

Please try this and let me know if you have any more problems. I think the problem only occurred because of your use of multiple tables 'joined together'.

The 64 bit version is available here: Ancestral Sources v7.7.2 64 Bit
The 32 bit version is available here: Ancestral Sources v7.7.2 32 Bit

Nick

I have now had a chance to test the fix, and as expected the problem has been resolved. Thanks for your hard work, time to make another contribution.

ChrisRead wrote: ↑

16 Mar 2023 13:13

I have now had a chance to test the fix, and as expected the problem has been resolved. Thanks for your hard work, time to make another contribution.

That's good to know. I'll wait a few days before releasing this version officially to see if there are any more problems reported. Thanks for the generous donation - this is very much appreciated