* Comparison of two files

[docdunning]

Hi all

My brother-in-law has sent me a Gedcom file and I'm comparing it with my own FH7 project. I've a couple of questions about this:

1. Using the file compare/merge feature - when I click "Merge", I know that it will merge into the file I currently have open. But does it save the merged file to disk at the same time?

2. Is there a way to generate the comparison results as a report, so that I can go through and analyse them? I'm thinking about entering some of the differences manually into my project, but also being able to send my brother a list of the differences so that we can discuss as necessary.

[tatewise]

There is more to your question than perhaps you realise.

The first thing to understand is where your brother-in-law's GEDCOM file has come from.
Is it from FH and if so which Version, or is it from some other genealogy product?

Before you do anything else with that GEDCOM file it needs to be imported to FH V7 as a new Project and then 'sanitised' to make it FH compatible, similar to your Import from Ancestry gedcom (5878) posting in 2007.
See the Knowledge Base Importing to Family Historian advice for more details.
Only then should you attempt the File > Merge/Compare File... command.

Regarding the File > Merge/Compare File... command, YES as soon as you hit the Merge button your Project is updated and cannot be undone. You might get away with closing FH without performing a Save, but don't forget that AutoSave writes to file every 5 minutes. So make sure you have a Project Backup or work in a Copy Project.

There is no printout or reporting feature in Merge/Compare File... but you could take screenshots and save those.
Howver, don't overlook that you must do that for every tab: Individuals, Families, Notes, Sources, etc, etc...

See the Knowledge Base Merge/Compare File advice for more details.

[ronk]

but don't forget that AutoSave writes to file every 5 minutes.

As a matter of practice, I have autosave turned off. I always do my own file save, since FH warns me that I have made changes. That way, if I make a mistake, I can easily undo it. Or I can "what if" analyses and simply close w/o saving. I disadvantage is losing one's work should a system hiccup occur, but the odds on that are less likely. Just my modus operandi.

Ron

[tatewise]

Ron, you can still use Edit > Undo even after AutoSave has saved.
You can even increase the Tools > Preferences > General > Maximum Undoable Actions.
Currently, FH V7.0 is more prone to crashing and losing your work that FH V6.2 ever was.
Also, don't overlook File > Backup/Restore > Revert to Snapshot to return to a recent GEDCOM snapshot.

[ronk]

Thanks Mike. Those are good tips. Knock on wood, haven't had a crash or unexpected close yet, but my input activity has been minimal since upgrading.

Ron

[docdunning]

Thanks for your help, Mike. Sorry not to have replied earlier. I don't think my notification settings on this forum are doing what I'd hoped they would.

Anyway, I'll follow your advice and bear your warnings in mind. I think I'll try an experiment or two with some smaller sample / test files and see how we go. I like the concept of the merge feature but I admit to being a tad overwhelmed by the scale of the exercise when I got to the compare results dialog.

My brother-in-law's .ged file came from Family Tree Maker, so I created a new FH project and imported the file into it. It all went well but one thing that's obvious is that it refers to all his linked image files which I don't have. I'll need to find a way to strip those out. Maybe the import has an option that I missed.

So, plenty to keep me occupied

Martin

[tatewise]

If he could send his image files then FH V7 should be able to repair the broken links.

The create Project options have a tick box for importing Media that is ticked by default that you may have overlooked.