* GEDCOM to Ancestry

[Kingy]

Hi

Hopefully an easy question.
I regularly exported a Gedcom from FH to upload to Ancestry, but recently I have just been importing the Gedcom that feeds FH.

If I just want all records and no media etc. Is there any reason to export as I was doing? I don't see any difference in the end results.

Thanks
Paul

[tatewise]

Hi Paul,
I've moved this to the Importing and Exporting forum.

When transferring your Project from FH to Ancestry you are correct that Media cannot be transferred so only the GEDCOM file is required.
However, there are features of FH in its Project GEDCOM that are not supported by Ancestry, e.g. custom attributes.
I suggest you use the Export Gedcom File plugin with the (ANC) Ancestry destination options.

[Kingy]

Thanks Mike

[Kingy]

Mike

I have tried running but keep getting the following lua error.

[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] bad argument #2 to 'insert' (position out of bounds)
stack traceback:
[C]: in function 'table.insert'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in upvalue 'doInsert'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:5163: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:5157>
(...tail calls...)
[C]: in function 'string.gsub'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9004: in local 'useRules'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."] in function 'ExportGedcom'
[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9849: in function <[string "C:\ProgramData\Calico Pie\Family Historian\Pl..."]:9838>
(...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


Can you help please.

I should add that using the ZoomPast template works fine, it was just on the ANC version and using the lastest version of the Plug-In

[tatewise]

Sorry about that problem Paul.
It is associated with Source Notes, which Ancestry does not like, so they should get converted to Source Records.
(ZoomPast and most other products don't have a problem with Source Notes.)
My test Project has many Source Notes that get converted without a problem.

Please confirm you have performed the command tasks advised in the plugin Help & Advice page: Export Gedcom File.
That is because the plugin relies on a 'tidy' Project without abnormal data structures.

To assess the number of Source Notes in your Project please run the attached List Source Notes plugin.
If you right-click on any Source Note item and choose Locate in All Tab the Property Box will show exactly where they are.
Are you aware of using such Source Notes?
If we can identify which one is causing the problem, I should be able to fix the Export Gedcom File plugin.
That may take a little more diagnostic investigation.

[Kingy]

Mike - Thanks for your help as always.

I have run the List Source Notes plugin and have 23 rows. All the source Note field are blank except 1 which says %INDI.BAPM.NOTE2._FMT% 1 ~ Invalid Tag in a Baptism fact. Which I have now fixed.

The first 3 rows are against myself and when locating in property box via right click are showing Occupations using the built in Occup fact.

The next one is my father and is his Death date, which all looks like any other death fact.

A quick check of the rest are random facts - Birth, Census

Any pointers please.

[tatewise]

I'm not sure you are looking at the data correctly.
If a Source Note really is blank then closing and reopening FH will have deleted that blank field.

I think you are saying that the plugin Result Set has no visible text displayed in the Source Note column for most cases.

Did you follow my advice and right-click each blank Source Note and choose Locate in All Tab?
That should display the Property Box All tab something like this where Source Note is empty:

Source Note.png (5.17 KiB) Viewed 1543 times

Although it looks empty does the Source Note field actually hold a space or tab character?
i.e. Double-click the empty box to open the popup edit window. Is it entirely empty?

I would like to discover what it is about the Source Note field content or context that upsets the Export Gedcom File plugin.
Are you prepared to spend a little time investigating?

If exporting to Ancestry is urgent then I can explain how to do that and still help investigate the plugin problem.

[Kingy]

Mike

there is no rush from my side and happy to help you helping me.

Yes there was no text in that field I did try the Locate in but when I use right click 'Locate in all Tab' it highlights the Source note and expanding it to see a child 'Note' I can see the text. (Hopefully there is an image attached)

(I realise you just designed that plug-in on the fly, but does it need another column for Note, if it will be helpful to others?)

I have deleted all those Source Notes and child 'Note', and now the report is empty when run.

I have then run the Export Gedcom plugin again with ANC settings and it worked fine.

Thanks
Paul

[tatewise]

Oh dear! That is a shame!
I was hoping to use those Source Notes to diagnose the problem in the Export Gedcom File plugin.

Do you have a backup of your Project that would have those Source Notes with the subsidiary Notes?

BTW: I tried adding a Note to an empty Source Note or two and cannot get the plugin to fail.

[Kingy]

Mike

I have a full backup before I made the changes, so can still test and help.

Paul

[tatewise]

Excellent!
I will assume it is a Full/Medium Project Backup and not just a GEDCOM Backup, which must be handled differently.
Please restore that Full/Medium Project Backup via the File > Backup/Restore > Restore Backup... command.
By default that will create a Project with the same name as your master but with the suffix (2).

Check that the Export Gedcom File plugin produces the same error message as before.
I'm quite busy today so will return to this topic on Monday.

[Kingy]

Yes, I have a copy that still has all the errors and fails the Export plugin.

Paul

[tatewise]

Paul, I think I have found the problem with the Source Note handling and fixed it.

Try the attached Export Gedcom File plugin Version 5.2.1 Date 13 Feb 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.

Let me know if the Project copy that had errors and your latest Project both now have no errors reported.

[Kingy]

Mike

I have tested the new PlugIn on ANC on both the 'faulty' project and the fixed project, and they both ran fine.

Paul

[tatewise]

Thanks Paul. The fix will be included when the next version of the plugin is published in the Plugin Store.

You can delete your copy project via the File > Project Window > More Tasks > Delete Project option.

[Ron1951]

Hi Mike, hope you're well.
I've just seen your comment - "When transferring your Project from FH to Ancestry you are correct that Media cannot be transferred".
Is there any way at all to transfer Media to my Ancestry tree, or do I have to enter it one at a time?
Regards,
Ron

[tatewise]

Ron, the first thing to recognise is if you simply export a GEDCOM file from FH and upload it to Ancestry that will create a new Family Tree on Ancestry each time without any Media files. That is generally true of most online family trees such as FindMyPast, FamilySearch, ZoomPast, etc. So all the Media files must be manually uploaded along with each GEDCOM.

One option is to buy Family Tree Maker which is a Windows program (like FH) that synchronizes its tree with Ancestry including Media files. The exported GEDCOM from FH can include Media that is accepted by Family Tree Maker and thus gets synchronised with Ancestry. I think this technique also preserves 'hints' found in the Ancestry tree.

Another option is to buy RootsMagic which is a Windows program (like FH) that synchronizes its tree with Ancestry to preserve 'hints' found in the Ancestry tree and probably also preserves linked Media. The Media still must be uploaded manually but only once per file. See FHUG Knowledge Base Synchronizing Your Tree With Ancestry to Exploit Hints.

[Mark1834]

Good suggestion, but the Ancestry Synchronization plugin is designed only for a bare-bones tree exported from FH to RM and uploaded as a new tree. By design, it will not run if it sees additional data such as media links in the RM file.

[Ron1951]

Thanks, Mike

[Ron1951]

Good suggestion, but the Ancestry Synchronization plugin is designed only for a bare-bones tree exported from FH to RM and uploaded as a new tree. By design, it will not run if it sees additional data such as media links in the RM file.

Thanks, Mark