Project folders and media files

TimM · Post by **TimM** » 06 May 2009 21:34

With FH V4 and projects, we now apparently have each of our GEDCOM files in its own folder with its associated media files copied into folders below it.
As a result of copying a file or two, Ive got some media files linked to more than one GEDCOM file. Whats going to happen if I import those files into projects? Do the media get duplicated or what?

So what happens to the GEDCOM and media files when you:
a. Copy a file using File-Save-As. Do all the media files get copied? Does it result in duplicated media files?
b. Merge files. Where do the incoming media files get put?

Tim

ID:3673

Post by **nsw** » 07 May 2009 13:02

Ive got some media files linked to more than one GEDCOM file. Whats going to happen if I import those files into projects? Do the media get duplicated or what?

Yes I think the media will be duplicated

So what happens to the GEDCOM and media files when you:
a. Copy a file using File-Save-As. Do all the media files get copied? Does it result in duplicated media files?
b. Merge files. Where do the incoming media files get put?

My guess would be that for a. it wouldn't duplicate your media files and for b. that it would put the incomng media files into the project media folder but I have never merged so haven't tried this.

What I'd do is to try it with a copy of my project or a small temporary project. If you do this can you post what happens here for future reference?

Thanks

Nick

peter5643 · Post by **peter5643** » 07 May 2009 13:15

I am currently evaluating FH V4 and am also not sure about Projects.

I have spent alot of time since I started with FH a few years ago structuring my census images, BMD Images, gedcoms, documents, icons, photos etc into meaningful folders under c:My Genealogy so that I can use FH on a pc and a laptop and easily transfer data. (One Vista the other XP hence I have not used the normal My Documents folder because of the different path problems). I have worked out a strategy for backing up my data with SyncBack and feel I have now a good system with V3.

Using Projects is going to copy and duplicate my data and also not keep it in structured folders as I have it now.
(YES, I have read your very helpful note Jane on V4 but not sure that I want all that trouble to retain my structured folders)

With potentially several copies of the same files being used on different Projects I will have a problem of version maintenance, At the present time I only have one master file for say a census image that is used on several gedcoms. Now if I modify a census image my gedcoms are automatically updated.

I realise I can carry on just working in 'Gedcom mode' rather than Projects and that is probably the way I will go.

btw I do like the new 'Focus Window'

Post by **nsw** » 07 May 2009 13:22

I did try out projects and it did retain my folder structures when it copied my media files but like you I have decided to not bother using projects. As far as I can see there is very little benefit if you're already organised.

[Edit: OK Simon's reply below shows that I'm wrong and its a good idea to use Projects!]

Post by **SimonOrde** » 07 May 2009 18:59

There are really 2 issues here, not one: the first issue is - do you want to use a project folder at all? The second issue is - if you do, do you want FH to copy any or all of your multimedia files into it? Sometimes people assume that if you don't plan to keep multimedia files in a project folder, there's no reason to use projects. But that is not correct. You need projects if you want to save diagrams as chart files, create websites, or create family tree CDs. This is because the settings, and the charts, are all stored in the project folder. In the future, there will be more functionality and benefits which will only be available with projects.

If you want to keep some or all of your multimedia files outside the project folder - that's not a problem. You don't have to copy any in - either when you create the project, or later when you add more pictures. It's entirely up to you. Wherever you keep your multimedia files, you can later move the files in or out of the project folder (using Windows Explorer say) and use the 'Work with External File Links' to easily re-map the links appropriately.

Just for interest, you can use the 'public' subfolder in a project folder to store any additional data of your own if you want to. So you can use project folders to keep everything relating to a project in one place.

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 07 May 2009 19:15

I have run into a similar problem in V4. Using the excellent Gedcom Census, I have saved hundreds of census images in a structured tree, each having quite a long file name containing useful information about the year, place, Class, folio etc etc. For the 1841 copies these filenames can be quite long, but they used to work fine in V3.

Unfortunately now, with the added tree complexity of the Family Historian Projects\.fh_dataMedia, I appear to be overrunning the maximum Windows path length of (I think) 255 characters and some of the census copies have now become inaccessible under FH4.

I can't really think of a way round this that doesn't involve a large amount of renaming of files and source refs.

Any suggestions anyone please ?

I was reading something about prefixing the pathname with '\?' but it sounds messy.

Geoff Browne.

Post by **SimonOrde** » 07 May 2009 19:43

Is your project name a long one? You could try renaming it to make it shorter. Close the current project and right-click on the project you wish to rename and select 'Project Properties'. Then change the name to something short and press OK.

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 07 May 2009 19:50

Thanks Simon,

The project name is only 15 chars. I must have been quite close to the limit in V3 and now I seem to have gone over the top.

Geoff.

Bilko · Post by **Bilko** » 07 May 2009 19:56

Hi Geoff,

I've tried the same idea as yours for the Census images and have had no problem with a new project. When I checked one of my Census Images and it's path, the Multimedia Object window gave me a 'Linked File' path of - 'MediaCensus Images1841HO107-384-21-5-4.jpg'.

From this I guess that the path to the Media file is stored in one place and the link to each image is attached onto that (in the Gedcom ?).

All of my Census Images are England & Wales so far, but I'd try using USA/CAN/SCO abbreviations, if needed, to distinguish them.

Hope that helps
[grin]

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 07 May 2009 20:15

Thanks Bilko,

I think the problem is when FH joins the two part paths together to request the file, it goes well over the 255 limit.

I have used some abbreviations, but on some of the 1841 files, the ED, page number whatever was cut and pasted from the Ancestry 'source' which gets a bit convoluted.

The thing is it worked fine before

(

I am beginning to think I am going to have to undertake a massive search and replace exercise.

G.

JonAxtell · Post by **JonAxtell** » 07 May 2009 22:49

From memory (which at the moment is dodgy) the limit only applies to FAT based hard disks. If you use NTFS then the limit is a lot longer.

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 08 May 2009 07:41

Thanks John,

It's Windows 2k, so NTFS here. Wasn't FAT limited to just 8.3 filenames ?

I was wondering what would happen if I tried FH4 under WINE on Linux. It might well overcome the problem as Linux doesn't have silly filename restrictions like Windows does.

G.

RalfofAmber · Post by **RalfofAmber** » 08 May 2009 08:07

When I used to be more hands on techie, I was more up on these things, but from memory:

1) We don't use FAT we use FAT32
2) From at least Windows 95 the file system naming has been capped at 255 characters and underneath an 8.3 alias was managed for backwards compatability. This is why if you use a CMD prompt and use the DIR command (probably with a switch) you see both names and for names that are longer than 8 characters you see the alias is padded with ~, so VeryLonfFile.ged shows as VERYLON~.GED which fits the 8.3 all upper case DOS format file name

Tree_Surgeon · Post by **Tree_Surgeon** » 08 May 2009 16:40

Geoff

There is a currently a relevant discussion in topic 'Project folder' that you may wish to watch. By locating your projects outside of the default Family Historian Projects folder could save you a path length of 25 characters. I have requested clarification of the effects of adopting such a preference, if any.

Hope this helps.

peter5643 · Post by **peter5643** » 08 May 2009 18:41

I am currently evaluating FH V4 and am also not sure about Projects.

Thanks Simon and Nick for your comments to my previous post to this thread.

Reading through many of the posts regarding Projects I am wondering if FH4 Users feel that they have to copy multimedia files to the Project folder. If multimedia files are not held in a folder structure then it makes sense to collect them all into the Project folder but as many people seem to have a folder structure which they have designed for their media and other files (as I do) then I feel it is preferable to use the structure and not copy and duplicate the files in the Project folder.

In my case I often edit my media files ie add captions, highlights, text etc when new genealogy information becomes available and I do not want the problem of maintaining duplicate copies.

Simon in your previous comments you quoted

You need projects if you want to save diagrams as chart files, create websites, or create family tree CDs. This is because the settings, and the charts, are all stored in the project folder. In the future, there will be more functionality and benefits which will only be available with projects.

I now see why it is necessary to have projects. My requirements of not copying and duplicating my multimedia files and keeping my folder structure of C:My Genealogyetc is satisfied with the following procedure which I have detailed below for anybody who is interested:

Select File/Project Window. In the Project Window select 'More Tasks' and 'Choose Location of Projects' which in my case is set to C:My GenealogyFamily History Projects.

In the Project Window selected 'New Project' which opens the 'Import Data Into New Project' window. With the Browse button find and select the Gedcom file to Import.

At this point the tick box for 'Copy any linked multimedia files into the new project folder (recommended)' is UNTICKED. (This stops the media files being copied to the Project folder)

Select Next to go to the next window and name the Project and select finish.

With this procedure my folder structure is not affected, my multimedia files are not copied and duplicated and I have created a Project.

The more I evaluate FH V4 the more I like it !!!!

gbrowne · Post by **gbrowne** » 08 May 2009 19:33

Thanks John,

I will have a look.

GB.

John W said:
Geoff

There is a currently a relevant discussion in topic 'Project folder' that you may wish to watch.
Hope this helps.

Family Historian User Group