Family Historian User Group

I was previously a TMG user and I imported my program file to Family Historian. Everything looked good except there are bits of code in all my text files in Family Historian. I was going to manually delete them but I don't know how wide-spread they are in my data. Does anyone have any idea how to get the code out so that I can have clean data? I though about using a plugin to filter the data but I didn't know if there was a better idea.

Here is the troublesome code that has run rampant in my data:
[:BOLD]
[ITAL:]
[:CIT]
[:SUP]

I'm sure others may have an answer to what they are and if there is a plugin or import procedure to remove them. On the surface they look like text formatting (I don't think FH supports that at present). If they are just extra to your "real" detail, you could probaby use the plugin "search and replace" (which I think is more flexible than the built in "Find and Replace").

But before that you ideally want to know where they have come from and if they are needed.

You might want to point out where this troublesome code resides.

Welcome to the FHUG.
How did you transfer your project data from TMG?
See how_to:import_from_tmg|> Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG) for options, but direct import is usually best.

Those codes certainly look like some kind of format markers for BOLD, ITALics, SUPerscript, etc.
But where have they come from, as nobody else who has migrated from TMG has mentioned them.

If they are superfluous, then the Search and Replace Plugin should make short work of deleting them.

Thank you for the swift reply's. I will try the find and replace plugin. cheers

Probably a typo, but try Search and Replace as linked in Mike's response.

It would be interesting to know how you migrated though, and what kind of records it affected, then it might be useful for future reference if anyone else has the problem.

I used the direct import for TMG (The Master Genealogist). All my data ported over easily. However, through TMG you are able to customize the text in your events, i.e. HTML coding. So, on your report, you can have bold, italics, and other options. Since Family Historian is strictly text and not HTML, the coding didn't have anywhere to go. That is what I need to clean up. This may be of interest for any TMG users who are choosing to use Family Historian as their next database.

Thank you for that explanation that makes perfect sense.
I shall add a note to the KB Wiki for TMG Import.
Because they are so unusual, the Search and Replace plugin will easily delete them globally.

Any TMG user should be able to tell you that these codes are not at all 'unusual' - they are entirely normal formatting codes within TMG template sentences and Memos (which become FH Notes). A more complete list can be found in the TMG Help, but it will include the following usages, which will also need to be found/replaced for a complete clean (and total loss of formatting in FH, of course).

[BOLD:]Bold[:BOLD]
[UND:]Underline[:UND]
[ITAL:]Italic[:ITAL]
[SUP:]Superscript[:SUP]
[SUB:]Subscript[:SUB]
[INDEX:]name-of-index:level1:level2[:INDEX]
[HID:]text[:HID]
[SIZE:]<number>;text[:SIZE]
[COLOR:forered,foregreen,foreblue,backred,backgreen,backblue]sample text[:COLOR]
[HTML:]<A HREF="http://www.abc.com">John Henry's Page</A>[:HTML]
[EMAIL:]
[SCAP:]SMALL CAPS[:SCAP]
[CAP:]CAPS[:CAP]
[FCAP:]Caps[:FCAP]
[FONTx:] - x provides 10 variations of Font setting
[:CR:]
[:TAB:]
[:NB:]
[LIND:]
[CENTER:]

Don

Thank you everyone for the help. It's always stressful switching programs when you have 20 years of data. I did have a question about the Find and Replace. So, I'm finding the HTML text but what do I replace it with? Am I able to leave the field blank or just add a space? I'm not familiar enough with how the program works.

Do you mean the Edit > Find and Replace... command or the Search and Replace Plugin?

With Edit > Find and Replace... you will have to find & replace each code separately.
But, yes, to delete leave Replace with: blank.

With Search and Replace Plugin it should be possible to delete them all in one go because it allows wild cards.
This will delete all cases of Note text enclosed in [square brackets], so don't use it if you have created TMG Memos/FH Notes using [square brackets].
Search: %[.-%]
Replace: leave blank
Select LUA Pattern Mode top right
Untick all Basic Filters except Note fields
Search & Replace

Having got rid of every