Family Historian User Group

Broadening my family tree to try and make DNA links I have discovered a whole group of people to whom I cannot add Facts to and where the tabs in property box don't work. If I browse through these people in FH, visually there is nothing to distinguish them from fully working people and since the change in 2009 I have never encountered this problem with any other record or I would have immediately become concerned. I recognise that these are all individuals who would have been added originally in a DOS shareware program called Brothers Keeper, then subsequently imported into TMG and then in 2009 moved across to FH v5.

Looking back, when importing into FH v5 I seem to have used an application called TMGtoFH.exe. (TMG to FH converter)

I have had a look at the text version of the .GED file and nothing obvious leaps out at me. The answer seems to be re-create the individual, and then delete the corrupt entry, but I'm now wondering how far and how deep this corruption might go and would ideally like to run a check on the whole GED file. The reason I believe that the problem may stem from the transfer between Brothers Keeper and TMG is that in 1988 (when I was using Brothers Keeper) all these people would have been added. They are well off my direct line of ancestors until about 5 generations ago and were entered following a visit to N Wales after my father died, with my 97-year old uncle who had visited them on holiday in his teens.

To summarise, does a piece of software exist that is capable of checking a GED file for compliance with the standard, and flagging up variations?

I suspect not, as within the last 10 days I read Mike's answer to someone else on a entering data onto a corrupt file, but I have an UltraEdit text compare program and I am wondering if one approach might be to export the entire GED file and then compare the Export with the original - does the Export function in FH include an audit function?

Thanks Mike
Peter

There are a couple of programmes that I am aware of

Gedcom Validator from Chronoplex
FTAnalyzer available in the Windows store

The first will need you to export your gedcom as a utf-8 version as it won't work with the utf-16 FH standard format. Doing this may fix your issue. The second programme will work with your standard FH gedcom without the need for export.

I would suggest that you do a small backup before you run either just in case there is an issue.

Does the fh file-validate menu option throw up any errors?

Peter, when dealing with corruptions such as this it would help if you gave more precise details.
Not so much about where the data came from but how FH behaves now.

You say you can browse these records, but how exactly? Records Window, Focus Window, Property Box, ...?

You say the Property Box tabs don't work.
Do you mean when you click on say the Facts tab or the All tab nothing happens and the Main tab remains?

The Gedcom Validator and FTAnalyzer are worth trying.
Just use File > Import/Export > Export > GEDCOM File and do NOT Exclude anything except the Media.
Send the exported GEDCOM file to those two utility tools.

Another trick is to use a plain text editor such as Notepad and edit that exported GEDCOM file so its 2nd line says:
1 SOUR UNKNOWN instead of 1 SOUR FAMILY_HISTORIAN
Then use File > Project Window > New Project and import that edited GEDCOM file which FH will audit.

Using File > Validate is worth trying and also Tools > Uncategorised Data starting with just Find.

Thank you Mike, Valkrider and Jane this is by way of an apology, I was tired last night when I encountered the problem and obviously didn't fully investigate it. I posted the query this morning before departing to elsewhere with my wife. Now I'm back I think the problem likely lies with my computer, or the installation of AV/Anti-Malware I use.

Last night the file validation found no defects. I began by running FT Analyzer, a program I routinely use and it has never reported any problem. It didn't this morning when I ran it. I then went to FH and found that not only did the Fact's tab on the property box not open the facts list on the almost never accessed family branch but it doesn't open anywhere in the Program.

I decided to reinstall the the upgrade_fh6_to_6.2.7_dl.exe

When I tried the re-installation HitmanPro.Alert (I have that and Kaspersky Small Office Security installed). stopped the process (something I have never had before and I have been using both for over 7 years). I installed an upgrade to Wordperfect two weeks ago (Wordperfect 2020) and been having problems with HitmanPro.Alert - Wordperfect doesn't like the Exploit Protection box that HitmanPro.Alert encloses it in and I'm already in touch with Sophos about that. It seems possible that it is also interfering with FH.

So, temporarily I'm going to uninstall HitmanPro.Alert. Reinstall FH and see if that solves my problem.

I'm grateful to you all for responding so quickly. If I find I have a problem after I have got rid of HitmanPro.Alert I may be back.

Peter

It looks like HitmanPro.Alert may be finding a false positive. Such things regularly happen with low use software like FH.

I too use Hitman Pro.Alert and it has flagged up genuine software before. Their recommendation - obviously subject to the user being 100% happy with the file being run - was to temporarily disable vaccination -

Please just disable the feature 'Vaccination' under the button 'Risk reduction'. See image below.

Hope that the above helps - it's a nuisance when legitimate software is blocked, but I prefer that to the other option

Russell, is it possible to exclude the FH program as is possible with most other security software?

Thanks Russell. I have just excluded the .exe file completely. It seemed the simplest and effective solution but I have noted your solution and may play with it.

Peter