* Testing Ancestral Sources v7.5.7

[jbtapscott]

A frustration rather than an error!

If I hit the Save button in the Source Convert window without first using the "Fit" button I receive a warning "You haven't clicked the Fit button....". But having processed upwards of 80 + Source records so far I have yet to find hitting the "Fit" button actually makes any change, as, from what I can see, the initial display of a new Source is auto fitted when the "Rich Text Version tab is populated, and if I use, say, the option to move cell data to left or right, again the grid in the "Rich Text Version" auto "fits" as I move the data.

I certainly use the "Fit" button when entering data within AS (and have the option to warn me about non-use turned on), but am wondering if it really needs a warning in the Source Convert processing?

[NickWalker]

Entering a census or marriage entry (The only ones I have tried so far).
Fill all the details in
Select repository and choose one to use
Add/View images and add a new image and save
When I go to save the source I get an error about no repository chosen.
If I choose OK, the source is saved without a repository
Click Cancel and re-choose the repository, save the performs OK
( I did once get an instance where choosing an image cleared the repository field)

If I choose image first and then repository there is no problem

Thanks John! That was a really odd error which took a lot of debugging! This should be fixed in the next test version.

All the best

Nick

[NickWalker]

I don't know how many other people used comma separators, but they will run into this same issue if they use the USA, Norway, and potentially other censuses as well.

Thanks very much Bill for prompting me to relook at this. I'm hopeful that the conversion routines will work much better for you in the next test version!

Cheers

Nick

[NickWalker]

A frustration rather than an error!

If I hit the Save button in the Source Convert window without first using the "Fit" button I receive a warning "You haven't clicked the Fit button....". But having processed upwards of 80 + Source records so far I have yet to find hitting the "Fit" button actually makes any change, as, from what I can see, the initial display of a new Source is auto fitted when the "Rich Text Version tab is populated, and if I use, say, the option to move cell data to left or right, again the grid in the "Rich Text Version" auto "fits" as I move the data.

I certainly use the "Fit" button when entering data within AS (and have the option to warn me about non-use turned on), but am wondering if it really needs a warning in the Source Convert processing?

I agree Brent so I've removed this warning in the next version. I added various automatic 'fits' at the weekend just before I released it and this means that clicking the Fit button is frequently not needed as you said.

I also fixed the error you reported which was indeed occurring for the reason I suggested!

[NickWalker]

I've now released test version 7.5.1 and updated the first post in the thread to reflect this. Thank you for all your help so far with testing AS!

The one reported issue that I don't think is fixed is this one:

Just FYI neither the 64bit or 32bit will run in the current version of PlayOnMac. The 64bit says it is not running on a 64bit processor and will not install. The 32bit installs but crashes on running.

I assume both versions of AS v7.4.4 install and work with PlayOnMac? Assuming v7.5.1 still has the same problem would you mind emailing me with screenshots, etc.?

Thanks

Nick

[mjashby]

Nick,

That sort of error message would typically arise if there was an attempt to install a 64-bit installer in a 32-bit WINE Prefix (Bottle). Maybe PlayOnMac applied the wrong Template. AFAIK WINE validates against the Prefix used not the CPU.

64-Bit AS 7.5.0 installed with no problem in Crossover and in native Wine install on Debian (Linux) although I haven't been able to test its operation yet.

Mervyn

[BillH]

NIck,

I have tried a few census sources that have commas in the column titles and they are working great now. Thanks for the quick "fix".

I did spot another problem.

The last character in the last column is getting dropped. If there is any data in that column, the last character in the data is being dropped as well.

image1.jpg (152 KiB) Viewed 1750 times

Bill

[NickWalker]

I have tried a few census sources that have commas in the column titles and they are working great now. Thanks for the quick "fix". I did spot another problem. The last character in the last column is getting dropped. If there is any data in that column, the last character in the data is being dropped as well.

Well spotted Bill. I just released 7.5.2 to fix this.

Nick

[BillH]

Nick,

I can confirm the fix for the dropping of the last character. That was quick!

Thanks,
Bill

[Valkrider]

Nick

V7.5.2 32bit now installs but crashes on running. See attached screenshot. I have also attached the log file.

Screenshot 2022-10-05 at 22.42.08.png (97.53 KiB) Viewed 1715 times

playonlinux.log

(9.98 KiB) Downloaded 40 times

[NickWalker]

V7.5.2 32bit now installs but crashes on running. See attached screenshot. I have also attached the log file.

Do the 'current' 32 and 64 bit versions of AS (v7.4.4) work? I'm just trying to understand if this is a change that has occurred with this test version or a general issue.

I'm not really sure there's anything I'm going to be able to do about this. They install fine in Windows, and Mervyn has said the 64 bit version installed OK in Crossover and Wine. I don't have access to (or really any interest in) Macs or Linux so I can't troubleshoot things and in the past have relied on users of those systems to give me hints on things to look at. I've not changed anything in AS 7.5 that would alter the way it runs. I know the installer I use (inno setup) is a more recent version than the one I'd used previously so that's the only difference I'm aware of.

[David2416]

Hi Nick,

Many thanks for your work on this. The two issues I reported have been fixed I converted my sole 1831 Census to rich text easily.

One issue I have noted previously but not mentioned is in relation to the Autotext Fit button. It disappears immediately an edit is made to the Autotext. I like to have the first row of the grid in Bold.
If I make row bold the b]Fit[/b] button disappears. It I Fit first then embolden then the grid needs resizing.

I don't know if you can anything to resolve this.

Regards

David

[Valkrider]

Do the 'current' 32 and 64 bit versions of AS (v7.4.4) work? I'm just trying to understand if this is a change that has occurred with this test version or a general issue.

Nick

I usually use AS in a VM but occasionally in PoM. As a result it is AS v5.2 that currently works in PoM I have never updated it to v7.x sorry. Ignore the issue and concentrate on the Windows ones. I will try and get it working and report back if I do.

[NickWalker]

One issue I have noted previously but not mentioned is in relation to the Autotext Fit button. It disappears immediately an edit is made to the Autotext. I like to have the first row of the grid in Bold.
If I make row bold the b]Fit[/b] button disappears. It I Fit first then embolden then the grid needs resizing. I don't know if you can anything to resolve this.

The 'Fit' feature resizes the data entry grid and usually any changes to the grid are then reflected when the source text is updated automatically. However, if you've edited the text manually you don't want the text to be updated automatically as all your edits would be lost. So if you could click Fit you would find your bold row would revert to the version in the grid.

[jbtapscott]

Noticed an oddity where a Widow has been included on the Census record as the Mother / Mother-in-Law of the Head of Household in that the surname is not being shown (I have had a couple like this now):

Screenshot 2022-10-07 175311.jpg (26.59 KiB) Viewed 1560 times

In this case, Jenkins was both her birth surname and her married surname although I doubt that has any relevance. An "ordinary" widow who is the HofH is displayed correctly.

[NickWalker]

Noticed an oddity where a Widow has been included on the Census record as the Mother / Mother-in-Law of the Head of Household in that the surname is not being shown (I have had a couple like this now):

Can you paste in your plain text source text for this that AS is converting from?

[BillH]

Nick,

Just a little feedback. I've converted about 20 censuses and all have worked flawlessly with no need to adjust anything. Only 1,011 to go.

Bill

[jbtapscott]

Noticed an oddity where a Widow has been included on the Census record as the Mother / Mother-in-Law of the Head of Household in that the surname is not being shown (I have had a couple like this now):

Can you paste in your plain text source text for this that AS is converting from?

Sorry Nick, that's where the issue lies. The Source record (created via AS in 2020) did not have the surname on it - I can only guess that, at that time, I only had her first name and must have added her maiden surname at a later date.

[PyreneesPirate]

Thank you very much for your efforts on AS Nick, quite frankly over the years that I have been using AS to help structure the input of all the main events in my database, it has been a godsend.

I assume that one can just do the conversion from text to RTF as a separate process to converting from Generic Sources to Templated Sources? I wish to convert the records to RTF now and if I wish, process Generic Sources to Templated Sources at a later date.

Thanks again,
PP

[jbtapscott]

I would second PP's comments about AS, and, to answer your query - I do not use Templated Sources so am converting text in Generic Sources to RTF in Generic Sources (all very successfully I might add!).

[ColeValleyGirl]

PP, have you tried the Convert Text from Source to Rich Text plugin. I used it when it was released in November 2020 to convert all my text from source tables created by AS. (I used "| " as a column separator because I was exporting to Gedsite.)

P.S. This thread isn't the place to discuss this further, as it's off topic -- if you want to do so, start a separate topic in the Plugins forum.

[NickWalker]

Thank you very much for your efforts on AS Nick, quite frankly over the years that I have been using AS to help structure the input of all the main events in my database, it has been a godsend.

I assume that one can just do the conversion from text to RTF as a separate process to converting from Generic Sources to Templated Sources? I wish to convert the records to RTF now and if I wish, process Generic Sources to Templated Sources at a later date.

Absolutely right. I'm not converting to templated sources either.

PP, have you tried the Convert Text from Source to Rich Text plugin. I used it when it was released in November 2020 to convert all my text from source tables created by AS. (I used "| " as a column separator because I was exporting to Gedsite.)

With respect to Jane, the feature set of the AS conversion process is much larger and so it should be - I've spent months working on this (on and off) whereas I'm sure Jane will have developed hers in a few days/hours at a time when she was extremely busy helping with the FH7 release! The AS conversion will place the table into the AS autotext template automatically (see screenshots in my first post in the thread), it will resize the columns to fit the content, it will add hyperlinks to the individuals and it also offers tools to quickly fix issues where the conversion isn't perfect. If you have no need for any of that (although table resizing is a massive benefit) then the plugin would work fine for some people. Also just to add that I would normally feel a bit guilty about straying into an area already covered by another tool/plugin but I did announce 14 years ago that when FH finally supports rich text I'd add facilities to my software (which was called 'Gedcom Census' at the time) to do the conversion from plain text. So I'm just fulfilling my promise!

[ColeValleyGirl]

Nick, understood. Jane's plugin did everything I needed, but others might have more complex requirements, especially if they use AS.

Re feeling guilty about straying? I'm not going to, when I release my DEAs which will overlap substantially with AS . I will discuss with you the pros and cons of both approaches before releasing them though, so that users can make an accurate comparison and make their own minds up, based on what's important to them.

But this topic is for AS, so no more from me on this subject.

[NickWalker]

I'm very proud of the work I've done on AS (previously known as Gedcom Census) - I believe I created something truly innovative and it has been used by hundreds of grateful people over the last 18 years. I'm not aware of any other software that did what AS did (alongside or built into family tree software) before I developed it. Like all innovative ideas in software development, eventually others will come along and build on these ideas or develop their own variations and eventually the original will no longer be required. When that happens with AS I'll retire gracefully from its development, happy that I've inspired others to bigger and better things!

[ColeValleyGirl]

Nick, you're rightly proud of what you've produced, and I'd never say otherwise.