Family Historian User Group

FH 4.1.3 - Ancestral Sources v 2
I can load the gedcom from my project and I can load the sample project as a project but am unable to open the proj file for my own project.
The proj file does load into FH as expected.
What have I not done please?

ID:5911

As you are just starting, have you simply been opening your gedcom file in FH or have you imported it into a new project (this is how the project structure is created).
If you have just been opening your gedcom, then there is no project file for AS to open.

To check which method is working in FH do the following.

In FH use File > Project Window - is your project listed there?
If so then it is using the Project Structure.

In FH use File > Gedcom File Tasks - is your GEDCOM listed there but not the Project Window?
If so then it is a standalone GEDCOM file.

AS can load either formats via File > Open FH Project or File > Open GEDCOM File.

However, you are advised to use the Project Structure in FH.
See the Family Historian Getting Started guide on Understanding Projects.

Thank you for your help.
I double click a xxx.fh_proj file and it opens FH with the data as expected. I therefore assume that the fh_proj is not simply a shortcut to the Gedcom file which is in the project folder of the same name as the proj file.

However as you say it is not listed under Project Window and I have never used it that way.

I can also open the Gedcom file direct by going into the project folder but I understood it to be better to use the project structure and so have successfully been doing so (I thought).
I am not convinced that I am not using a Project as opposed to a Gedcom, which I never open direct or through FH File> etc.

Has the fh_proj file perhaps corrupted? It is 31 bytes and opened in Notepad it simply says [Family Historian] Version=4. Its type is Family Historian Project File.

If in Ancestral Sources you go to File->Open Project and then click on Browse... then if, for example, your project folder was called XXX, if you go into the folder XXX you'll find XXX.fh_proj and if you open that it should open the project.

Alternatively you could go to File->Open GEDCOM file... and navigate into the folder XXX then into folder XXX.fh_data and then open XXX.ged

Both will result in opening the correct project - it doesn't matter which you do. Once you've done that you may wish to click on File->Current Project is Default so that it opens automatically every time.

Hope that helps

Nick

Thank you. As I explained I did both of those things but only the GED in the project data directory worked. My concern was that by accepting that situation and proceeding I might be messing up the PROJECT part of the Gedcom, since there must be some reason for not normally, simply always opening the Gedcom. I don't know what difference using a Project makes but it would seem, nothing.
I will continue by simply using the Gedcom file.

Well yes no problem at all using the gedcom file, except it doesn't make sense to me that selecting the fh_proj file wouldn't work. You are definitely doing this via the File->Open Project and then click on Browse...? And the names of the project folder, the fh_proj and the GED files all match?

Can you confirm that following the GED file being opened the option says 'Curent Project is Default'. If it says 'Current File is Default' that does indicate a problem.

Nick

You say

it is not listed under Project Window and I have never used it that way.

I presume that Family Historian Sample Project is listed in the Project Window.

If you have a default FH installation set-up then the folders should look something like this: Where XXX is your Project name.

If it is not like that, then your Project may have been built somewhere else.
Where is it?
How did you create your Project initially?

Thank you again for continued assistance. You have solved the problem but...

The outer project folder shown XXX by tatewise was in fact YYYXXX. Everything inside YYY was identical to tatewise and I find that odd because when I access/open the project I am already inside YYY and have browsed to get there and so the path is available to AS by then.
FH recognised that set up and worked.
It 'seems' to me that AS, after being browsed, does not use the browsed path but instead uses a presumption of YYY from the project name, which as stated above does not seem right since I am inside YYY not outside.

That is where it went wrong. I might wish to work on several versions of the project with slightly different names within YYY but within 'Family Historian Projects' I might have several 'unrelated' projects. i.e.
Family Historian ProjectsYYYXXX-1
Family Historian ProjectsYYYXXX-2
Family Historian ProjectsZZZ???
Family Historian ProjectsAAA???
To use the system as italicised above cannot follow that system if YYY is not used in the path by AS.

The project was an old one that I did not wish to damage but wanted to continue from 2012. So I created a folder YYY-2012 and copied everything into it. Naturally, when opening the project I can only do so from within YYY and so no problem... except with AS.

OK this now makes sense to me.

Ancestral Sources is assuming that the names of the folder, project file and gedcom file have to match (which they usually do to be fair) as Mike illustrated:

C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXX
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXXXXX.fh_proj
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXXXXX.fh_data
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXXXXX.fh_dataXXX.ged

But you have situations where your folder (XXX-1) has a different name to the files and inner folder (XXX):

C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXX-1
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXX-1XXX.fh_proj
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXX-1XXX.fh_data
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsXXX-1XXX.fh_dataXXX.ged

I think on reflection that Ancestral Sources is being a bit too picky here and so I'll remove the requirement for the project folder to match the inner files and folders. When opening a Gedcom file that is part of the folder AS doesn't worry about it and I see that Family Historian isn't bothered either so I'm happy to go along with that.

This change will be in the next version out soon.

Nick

I am not sure the scenario is quite as you have described Nick.

If for example the path is
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYYXXX.fh_dataXXX.ged
then in the Project Window in both FH and AS it appears as
XXX Project (Folder: YYY)
and it can be opened via the Project options and made the default in both programs.

I believe the path is
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYYXXXXXX.fh_dataXXX.ged
which does not appear in the default Project Window.
However, in FH use the Project Window link for Location: and Choose Location....
Select C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYY and ignore the warning and click OK.
The Project XXX then appears in the Project Window and can be made default if you wish, but not essential.
After closing FH, when AS is opened it will automatically choose that Project XXX.

No changes are needed to AS to achieve any of the above.

Mike

The scenario:

C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYYXXXXXX.fh_dataXXX.ged

is fine and it is possible to open this in AS by clicking 'Browse' in the project window and opening the '.fh_proj' file. In FH you achieve the same thing in the Project Window by clicking More Tasks->Browse for Project...

However, donone has made copies of his XXX project so that he now has XXX-1 but I think he hasn't renamed the fh_proj and ged files and the .fh_data folder to match. So he has:

C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYYXXX-1XXX.fh_dataXXX.ged

Calico have said that it is important that the .fh_proj, .fh_data and .ged match but they haven't said that the folder the .fh_proj is in has to have the same name. I just made that assumption in AS and I think that is wrong based on what Calico said and how FH behaves.

Nick

OK that works too in exactly the way I described above.

C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYYXXX-1XXX.fh_dataXXX.ged

After setting the default path to
C:UsersMikeDocumentsFamily Historian ProjectsYYY
open that project in FH and close FH.
The Project will appear in the Project window of both FH and AS as
XXX Project (Folder: XXX-1)
and everything is fine with current programs.

Yes but he doesn't want to set the default path! Setting the default path is optional. e.g. If a user wants to load a project from a memory stick then they don't have to change their default path they just navigate using browse. That's why FH has the same browse option.

Ah! Understood.
The FH Project Browse works OK, whereas the AS Project Browse does not allow the same folder hierarchies.

Hello both. Thank you for the ongoing interest. I must say that from the above posts Nick has it right as described.
It should be noted that I have two sub projects in one folder, which I believe is acceptable based on the comment that Calico did not specify the containing folder.

Just for clarity I have precisely...

Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2011.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2011.fh_data

then a different but close version of the same

Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2012-no Fred.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2012-no Fred.fh_data

Family Historian ProjectsJonesJones-2011.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsJonesJones-2011.fh_data

Those projects should appear in the FH Project Window as follows, providing its Location: references your Family Historian Projects folder.
They should then also appear in AS as Projects too.
I assume in each case the GEDCOM (.ged) file has a matching name in each ...fh_data folder.

smith-2011 (Folder: Smith) for:
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2011.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2011.fh_data

smith-2012-no Fred (Folder: Smith) for:
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2012-no Fred.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsSmithsmith-2012-no Fred.fh_data

Jones-2011 (Folder: Jones) for:
Family Historian ProjectsJonesJones-2011.fh_proj
Family Historian ProjectsJonesJones-2011.fh_data

Also note that you can easily copy Projects in FH using File > Project Window > More Tasks > Copy Project.

Yes to matching .ged filename.
Yes they appear in FH window, now that I have set the default project folder in FH (which should not be mandatory).
Yes they now, thus, appear in AS project list where they did not before.
Yes I can now select in AS from that list, it works.
Thank you for that.

Had that been the case initially i.e. default projects in FH, then I would not have followed the path I did to browse the project and AS would not have needed the browse capability if everybody did everything in the right order and always used the default in FH.

The fact that a browse button exists allows for a different methodology but then fails as earlier discussion to open from the _proj file alone because of the assumption regarding the containing folder's name.
Nick is correct that the assumption needs changing and you have sorted my failure to set the default projects folder BEFORE doing anything else.

Thank you both for your inestimable assistance. It would be a sad forum without such experienced users as the 'usual suspects', to assist others.