Family Historian User Group

When I select Add/View Images> Select File the search defaults to a sub-folder on my C: drive in which I keep files before copying them to the Project Folder.

This would be fine but the default is not the root folder but a sub-folder relating to a specific family name rom which I selected a file months ago.

Even when I am including two files (e.g. Census is on two pages) it defaults back to that folder no matter from where the first has been selected.

Any ideas how to bring it back on track?

ID:6861

Does the problem arise only with census images, or with baptism/marriage images also?

Using Tools>Options>Census Settings, in the bottom right hand corner there is an option to 'Remember image folders'. I have this ticked (I think it may be ticked by default) and I find that AS then goes to whatever was the last folder I used for a particular census year. I haven't spotted a similar option for baptisms or marriages, although it might be there somewhere. I haven't used AS for baptisms or marriages so don't know what it normally does in those cases.

The box in the Census options is ticked.
It seems to be the same with all images - I will just have to keep trying.

makfai,

I'm not sure I have this totally correct, but I'm sure Nick will add his comments at some point if I've got it wrong.

My understanding is that AS remembers the last folder that was used for the census year that you are currently entering an image for.  I think it also assumes that you have a different folder for each census year and country and that you put all your censuses for that year and country in that folder.

I don't save images this way, so I always wanted to have AS remember the last folder used instead.  I believe that is why Nick added the option that Lorna referred to.

If you uncheck that option, AS will always remember the last folder used regardless of census year and country.  I'm not sure if that is what you want or not.

Here is a link to another post about this topic.

http://www.fhug.org.uk/cgi-bin/index.cg ... y&num=6131

Bill

My file hierarchy for research is based on family names and within each family folder I then have a separate folder for the type of record e.g. birth; marriage; death; census; military etc.

Often times I will create a folder (e.g. 'Recent Research') on my desktop into which I 'dump' all the recent downloads. I update to FH data using the AS adding/saving feature. I then move the files from my working folder (e.g. 'Recent Research') to their respective categories under the family name.

What was happening was that AS was just going to the same one sub-folder I had used way back. It did not matter what year the census was. It would go to the same folder. I could add/save one record from the 'Recent Research' folder but when I wanted to load the next image it would go back to the 'old' sub-folder.

I will try de-selecting that tick-box to see if that solves it.

Thanks for the info.

As Bill said, AS will remember the folder from which you last selected an image. By default for census entries it remembers a different folder for each census country/year. This is extremely helpful (one of the major strengths of AS in my humble opinion) if you use a different image folder for each census year. Now as you don't use that method this won't help you so you should un-tick that option.

You said:

AS was just going to the same one sub-folder I had used way back. It did not matter what year the census was. It would go to the same folder. I could add/save one record from the 'Recent Research' folder but when I wanted to load the next image it would go back to the 'old' sub-folder.

. This will be because you were selecting a different census/year.

Thanks Nick & Bill. I have unticked that box and will see how it goes[wink]

I have developed the problem of AS not going to the correct image folder but to the previous one used.

I am using AS 3.2.3 and FH 5.0.9 on Windows 8

The box to remember file location is ticked and the file structure is Project FolderMediacensusyear

Immediately after I converted to Windows 8 AS also copied the files directly into the Media folder, when I think it remembered the correct year.  But I discovered the links were broken in FH.  It was when I corrected the broken links that I think the problem started.

It performs the same way for baptisms and marriages.

The path's are different in windows 8, so AS will start 'learning' your paths from scratch, but will eventually remember all the new ones after each first new use.

I thought it should do that but it isn't.  It always reverts to the last used.

If you use Tools > Backup A.S. Options you can see what paths AS is using.

In the AS Backups folder, open AS Options Backup.xml in your browser and scroll to the end.
There under it list the paths for each country & year.

I presume the earlier <Value Name='CopyToImagePath' Value= and <Value Name='ImagePath' Value= apply to Baptisms, and Marriages, and Censuses when Remember image folders is not ticked.

When your file is open in AS, if you look at the File menu, does the third item in the menu say 'Make current file default' or 'Make current project default'?

Nick

It is ticked and says says 'Current Project is Default' but if I untick it it says 'Make Current Project Default'.

Mike

Under ASBackups there is no file called AS Options Backup.xml. There are only .GED files

In your project folder / project fh_data folder / Plugin Data/ Ancestral Soiurces.appdata check that the file ASProjectOptions.xml has not become read only (This has happened to me when I first started using W7, but only on one of my computer;s [My Laptop]).

AS will still work OK, but cannot save any changes until read only status is unticked.

John

No it is not read-only

You could try deleting the file that John mentioned (perhaps make a copy of it first) - make sure AS is closed when you do that. AS should recreate it again and begin to populate it with file paths as you create entries. If it still doesn't work then if you were to send me a copy of that file after you've used AS for a couple of census entries it might help me to see what is going on.

To obtain the BackupsAS Options Backup.xml file you must first use Tools > Backup A.S. Options.
But this command allows you to save the XML backup anywhere with any filename.

The ...Family Historian Projects\.fh_dataPlugin DataAncestral Sources.appdataASProjectOptions.xml file holds the same paths as the XML backup, but separately per Project.

tatewise said:
The ...Family Historian Projects\.fh_dataPlugin DataAncestral Sources.appdataASProjectOptions.xml file holds the same paths as the XML backup, but separately per Project.

Yes but it will use the paths in that file rather than those in the registry so if for some reason the file under Plugin Data isn't being updated then that would explain the problem, even if the entries in the backup file look correct.

Nick

Thanks I'll do as you suggest.  I have Family Historian on Dropbox as I use it on both my desktop and laptop computers.  I have looked at the ProjectOptions file and to my untutored eye it appears a mess!

For each census year there are three entries; one with Computer=Desktop, one with Computer=Laptop and one with nothing at the end of the entry.

It may take me some time but I will let you know what happens.

Yes it may look chaotic but there should be 3 entries for each - one for your laptop, one for your computer and a non-specific one to be used if a new PC appears in the list.

I suspect this will fix the problem and there is probably something I've not quite got right in the coding, related to your PC being upgraded and so the name of the computer hasn't changed but some of the paths have. I'll look into that.

If you could email me a copy of the 'broken' xml file and (assuming all begins to work as expected) the 'fixed' xml file then that would be much appreciated and may help me to track down the problem.

Best wishes

Nick