Family Historian User Group

Hi Everyone!

Well appreciated, if someone might have a idea how I can approach this problem.
I am having an issue with exporting out of FH7.
I have include a screenshot of the moment ofe error, and I wil paste the error text below.
These are the things I did before the export:

1. in FTM2019, I compacted the file and everything looked ok.
My wife's side of the family name has Japanese characters, so i set the export to UTF-8.
2. I used the Expert-Gedcom Plugin, with the recommendations for a TNG destination gedcom with BOM 1.
3. everything looked proper on the main window in FH after import.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is the error log:
string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:443: fhConvertUTF8toANSI - String conversion failed
stack traceback:
[C]: in function 'fhConvertUTF8toANSI'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:443: in field 'FileNameToANSI'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:6824: in upvalue 'doMakeFile'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:7067: in local 'strCreateMedia'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:7317: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:6996>
[C]: in function 'string.gsub'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:8990: in local 'useRules'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in function 'ExportGedcom'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9835: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9824>
(...tail calls...)
[C]: in function 'iuplua.MainLoop'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in field 'ShowDialogue'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in function 'GUI_MainDialogue'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in main chunk

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCREENSHOT:
https://ibb.co/8NvNHyP

Thanks greatly for any help,
and God Bless,
Jeff

Export is still frozen for over an hour at 5:07 UTF8 INDI 454....
Jeff

Sorry about those problems Jeff.

In the Lua Error message dialogue have you clicked the Continue or Exit button?
Exit should terminate the Plugin and FH immediately.
Continue tries to continue running the Plugin but is often unsuccessful, so click the X Close icon top right of each Plugin window. If that still does not work you must use Task Manager to select Family Historian and End task.

I don't fully understand the three points you listed:

1. What is the relevance of FTM 2019 regarding exporting to TNG and what file did you compact?
2. Using the Export Gedcom File plugin is a well-trodden path for Destination: TNG so just accept the defaults initially.
3. I don't understand what you are importing to FH and why. What has that to do with exporting to TNG?

At the point of failure, the Plugin is trying to create a Media file in the Export folder.
For some reason, the built-in FH function fhConvertUTF8toANSI is failing to handle a filename which should not happen.
Do any of your Project's Media files have Japanese characters in their filename or folder path?

I may have to provide you with a diagnostic version of the Plugin to identify which filename is causing the problem.
If the fhConvertUTF8toANSI fails to handle some Japanese characters then that is a bug to report to CP.

In the meantime, to workaround the problem, you may need to rename some Media files.

Hi Mike !

Thank you for your kind reply and diligence.
I have try to continue and exit when I hit the LUA problem,
which neither solves the issue.

1. with out compacting my FTM file database things are in disarray.
2. The FH export plugin were set to the TNG defaults, asise from adjusting to UTF-8 with BOM---
I tested all the other ANSI/UTF-8 settings and got the same LUA error.

I only mention these things if insight was needed into what i did before getting to the export mod.

3. The reason I am trying to use FH7 is a hope that it can adjust the gedcom to enter TNG properly.
I know Roger has had some success. If i import FTM ==> TNG or RM ==> TNG, I am missing profile photos, and photos attached for an individual for some strange reason randomly. FTM, FH, RM and The Ancestry tree show all profile photos and link photos to that individual as they shoud be. With any of the Gedcoms so far I get my grandmothers, but not my mother or dad, or grandfathers, and 2x greats are showing.

Not sure what to do.
No media files or folders have strange characters, other than media has _ or - or () or ancestry's jillion number.jpg

Jeff

So, reading between the lines this is the process you are trying to achieve:

1. From FTM 2019 export a GEDCOM file with links to the Media files.
2. Import the FTM GEDCOM file into an FH Project with associated Media files.
3. Clean-up the imported Project to remove unwanted 'junk' from FTM ~ this is an important step!
   See the FHUG Knowledge Base Importing to Family Historian advice.
4. Now you have the FH Project as your master database for export to TNG and back to FTM if desired.
5. See the Export Gedcom File Help page https://pluginstore.family-historian.co ... edcom-file with advice on tasks to perform before running the Plugin.
6. Use the Export Gedcom File plugin to create a GEDCOM file and Media files to migrate to TNG.

Let me add some diagnostics to the Plugin to report exactly what Media filename is upsetting fhConvertUTF8toANSI.
When that is ready I will be back with an Attachment Plugin you can run hopefully tomorrow.

Mike,
Thank you SO MUCH for that!
Yes one way FTM==> FH(Control Center)==> TNG.

Any new material gets a new import 1 way.
Ancestry is only for research. Cleanup in FH. TNG is for the Outerweb.
Thanks again, looking forward at your pace,
Jeff

Just to be clear. Once you have migrated from FTM to FH, then the FH Project becomes your master database.
Any new material gets entered into the master FH Project.
Then that master FH Project can be exported to FTM, TNG, or any other product.
i.e. The one-way process is always to export from FH to another product.

I would advise against adding new material to FTM/Ancestry and importing that into FH again, as you will be continually having to clean-up that FTM data to make it FH compatible.

Very good points to really consider!

With a workflow, is it that difficult to repeat the same process on a 4 or 6 month import???

In Ancestry Online,
I still have a vast amount of photos and data to transfer from my 10 year old tree to my new tree.

It SEEMS FTM holds the citation material and photos on sync better than
RM on a sync with Ancestry, I am losing things.

With a plugin, would I be able to sync smoothly from my trees on Ancestry into FH7???

If thats the case, all I would need is FH7 & TNG.

FTM , RM would be in the bin with my TMG, and a few others.
I hate wasting money, but the right tools to get the job done correctly,
that is important.
Jeff

Mike,

It seems like RM is more cleaner of a import following the guidelines.

It seemed like i was missing some of my source, citation links and photos
when i tried RM from Ancestry online sync,

but I will try again.......
maybe a RM Gedcom to FH import might be worth a try.

Let me know if there is a sync plugin somewhere i missed for Ancestry online to FH7

Thanks again,
Jeff

Jeff, you keep proposing to use Ancestry/FTM as your master database and migrating/syncing that with FH V7.
That is just not feasible without an enormous amount of plugin development that you would have to undertake.

There is no possible way to sync Ancestry directly with FH as that relies on an expensive licencing agreement with CP.
Exporting a GEDCOM file from Ancestry does not work well because Media files are not exported.
Exporting a GEDCOM file from FTM does include Media files but needs a significant 'clean-up' in FH each time.

I say again, what does work well is to treat your FH Project as your master database.
When you discover new verified material in Ancestry, FindMyPast, FamilySearch, etc, add it to the FH Project first.
Then that can be exported to TNG and to many other genealogy products including Ancestry.
There is a well-established process that exports from FH to RM to use its sync with Ancestry feature, which is needed if you wish to retain the 'hints' allocated by Ancestry. See FHUG KB Synchronizing Your Tree With Ancestry to Exploit Hints.
If you are not interested in those 'hints' then a direct export from FH to a new Ancestry tree also works well.

Getting back to the plugin problem, I've attached Export Gedcom File plugin Version 5.1.4 Date 13 Jan 2023 ZIP file.
It is a ZIP file because the raw Plugin is bigger than the Forum attachments limit.
So you must right-click the downloaded ZIP file and use Extract All...
Then double-click the extracted FH Plugin (Lua) Export Gedcom File.fh_lua file to auto-install it into FH.

Run it as normal and when it encounters the fhConvertUTF8toANSI error it should popup a message box like this:


The File path shown is causing the problem so make a careful note, take a screenshot and post it here.
(See FHUG KB Forum Usage Tips for Attachments and Taking Screenshots. )
If you click OK it may run on to the next error, which should be similarly noted.
If you click Cancel it will raise an Lua Error! and you should click Exit to close FH completely.

Please do NOT try and correct the file path names yet as we may need them to support a bug report to CP.

Hi Mike!
I did as requested in your last post,
and understand what you pointing out as FH is the best of all worlds.
These are the screenshots i got.
Thanks again,
Jeff

I've tried using fhConvertUTF8toANSI to convert T:\SFG2023-RM\ANC2023RM_media\La-Ferrière-ANC.jpg and it is OK.

The only accented character is the lowercase e with grave è which is perfectly OK for conversion to ANSI.
Even if I substitute a character that does not convert to ANSI there is no error reported. So not sure why the error occurs.

So please find that specific file and copy & paste its filename here so I can be sure we are both using the same characters.

Also, please confirm you are running FH V7.0.18

Hi Mike,
Here you go ==> La-Ferrière-ANC.jpg

and

Family Historian (Windows) version 7.0.18

Jeff

OK, I have no problem with that so the error must lie elsewhere.

The standard suggestion to fix unexpected problems is that you do two things:

1. Sign out and Restart your PC via the Power options. Do NOT use Shut down or any other option.
   Restart bypasses the Windows 10 Quick Start feature and rebuilds your Windows Profile from scratch which can resolve various problems.
2. Re-install FH V7.0.18 again over the top of the existing installation, i.e. do NOT uninstall FH.
   I recommend downloading a new installation file from https://www.family-historian.co.uk/install7 and use that.

Thanks Mike
I will let you know how that proceeds...
Jeff

Hi Mike,

I did carefully as requested in your last post.
ran the plugin again and I get this LUA error, plus the screenshot below it ===>


[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:6832: fhConvertUTF8toANSI - String conversion failed
stack traceback:
[C]: in function 'fhConvertUTF8toANSI'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:6832: in upvalue 'doMakeFile'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:7078: in local 'strCreateMedia'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:7328: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:7007>
[C]: in function 'string.gsub'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9002: in local 'useRules'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in function 'ExportGedcom'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9847: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9836>
(...tail calls...)
[C]: in function 'iuplua.MainLoop'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in field 'ShowDialogue'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in function 'GUI_MainDialogue'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in main chunk

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did you get the FH popup message box as earlier for File path: T:\SFG2023-RM\ANC2023RM_media\La-Ferrière-ANC.jpg ?

There appears to be something different with your installation compared to mine.
Do you have the Family Historian Sample Project listed as one of your Projects?
If not then use File > Project Window... > More Tasks... > Samples > Reset Sample Project

Now open that sample project and run the Export Gedcom File plugin with the same Destination TNG settings.
Does that succeed or fail?

The FH popup message box as earlier for File path: T:\SFG2023-RM\ANC2023RM_media\La-Ferrière-ANC.jpg
was not there this time. My projects and the plugins were all ther after reinstall over the top of the old version.

I will follow the next idea...just a sec....

Mike,
Reinstalled the sample and ran the sample thru the TNG export,
cleared on output just fine.

I am mystified why there was no FH popup message box, because to get to the error 6832: fhConvertUTF8toANSI - String conversion failed the plugin must have executed the message box display!

Do you have other Projects?
Please run the Export Gedcom File plugin with the same Destination TNG on several of them.

This problem is very elusive!

I got the LUA error popup message box is all with the text that i pasted in the post.
otherwise frozen as seen in the screenshot.

I will look for another project to run,
Thanks Mike!
Jeff

Hi Mike,

A smaller file ANC==>RM file==>FH imported and TNG export cleared fine with no problems.

Perhaps in FH or RM, I need to evaluate all the quirks via query for BMDs out of place, etc.?

tokyojef wrote: ↑

13 Jan 2023 18:26

Perhaps in FH or RM, I need to evaluate all the quirks via query for BMDs out of place, etc.?

Please start a new topic thread for such investigations so this thread stays focused on the Export Gedcom File plugin error.

I think I need to design some different diagnostic strategies to identify why only one Project has those plugin errors.
Let me think about that.

Ok Mike,

Thanks....
My FH6 was upgraded with my license,
but that doesnt workto open the old FH6.xx when I installed it before,
SO
I am on a FH7 trial with 29 days left....

not sure I can get another free trial after that.

If I cant export FH to TNG with the 20 years of data I have collected,
not sure what to do then.
I am too old to manually enter everything from scratch.
That would be more years that I could count.

Thanks for your great efforts and trouble,
Let me know any updates on the plugin,
Jeff

Did you take a backup of your Projects with FH V6 before upgrading to FH V7?
If not then when the FH V7 trial expires it may be difficult to get back to FH V6 working again.
FH V7 significantly changes the Project GEDCOM database structure.
So if you need to return to FH V6 and have no backups then we will need to guide you through the process.

Where is the 20 years of data you have collected? Is that safely in Ancestry/FTM?

However, I am sure the plugin problem can be solved. It is just the analysis of the cause that is the challenge