* New PC - New Headache..! Media Lost.

[Ron1951]

Yep -done ok.

[tatewise]

Now we can think about merging your two databases, but first some preliminary checks:

1) In FH, open the newly copied Johnson Project
2) Use Tools > Work with External File Links and check the File Links are same as on old laptop
3) Use File > Validate and check no errors are found
4) Use Tools > Find Uncategorised Data, choose an empty Named List such as Bookmarks and Create List, but hopefully 0 records will be found
5) Now open your GEDCOM file with 7043 individuals (BTW: what is its filename?)
6) Use Tools > Work with External File Links and summarise what the File Links say
7) Use File > Validate and check no errors are found
8) Use Tools > Find Uncategorised Data, choose an empty Named List such as Bookmarks and Create List, but hopefully 0 records will be found

Let me know the results of all that, and then we can start the merge.

[Ron1951]

1) In FH, open the newly copied Johnson Project
2) Use Tools > Work with External File Links and check the File Links are same as on old laptop
Yes, they are
3) Use File > Validate and check no errors are found
None found
4) Use Tools > Find Uncategorised Data, choose an empty Named List such as Bookmarks and Create List, but hopefully 0 records will be found
None found
5) Now open your GEDCOM file with 7043 individuals (BTW: what is its filename?)
F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects and the file is Johnson.ged
6) Use Tools > Work with External File Links and summarise what the File Links say
There's the C drive with all the Xs, then Program Files, again with Xs, then the F drive with 1 pic ok, then an H drive with all Xs, then a Gedcom folder with all Xs
7) Use File > Validate and check no errors are found
None found
8) Use Tools > Find Uncategorised Data, choose an empty Named List such as Bookmarks and Create List, but hopefully 0 records will be found
None found

[tatewise]

OK, that is good Ron, and we are ready to tackle the Merge.

Do study the glossary:merge_compare_files|> Merge Compare Files advice, although we have already just done the preliminary checks, so concentrate on the actual merge process. If you have any questions then please ask.

One thing it overlooks is that the process MUST be repeated for each of the 7 tabs: Individuals, Families, Notes, Multimedia, Sources, Repositories, Headers.
All too often people complete the Merge for Individuals and think they have finished.

Your recently copied Johnson Project will be listed on the left under Current Records and your later Johnson Gedcom under New Records on the right.

Because your two databases are so closely related, there should not be too much to check.
Most records will say Null Merge or *Merge* Compatible and need little or no checking, or *Add* for brand new records.

If in doubt then click Cancel and the entire process will be cancelled without any changes.

I suggest you set aside a few hours to perform the Merge as it may take some time.

However, if you do run out of time, it is feasible to click Merge and capture all the completed merges.
Then when you start again using exactly the same technique there will be a lot more Null Merge records that you can skip over.

1) Open the newly copied Johnson Project
2) Use File > Backup/Restore and Backup your GEDCOM just in case
3) Use File > Merge/Compare File, OK the warning, and Open your F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\...\Johnson.ged
4) OK the Record Matching Options and off you go ... but remember to merge all 7 tabs ...

Good luck, but you should not need it!

[Ron1951]

Sorry, Mike, but I'm struggling a bit here. As both Gedcoms are named Johnson, I'm having difficulty in knowing which is the 'old' file and which is the 'new'. If I make a copy of the one that has the pics attached to my Desktop (away from FH as per the Merge Guide), then open it from there, the pics are no longer attached.

At what stage does "Your recently copied Johnson Project will be listed on the left under Current Records and your later Johnson Gedcom under New Records on the right." appear?

Ron

[tatewise]

Ron, don't move or copy anything unless I ask you to, because you may damage the setup.
We have done all those preliminary Validate checks, and have copies of the Johnson Project.

Don't think of them as two GEDCOMS. One is a fully fledged FH Project copied from your laptop with Media files and is on your C: drive. The other is a standalone Gedcom file with mostly broken Media links and is on your F: drive. That latter Gedcom does not need copying because it will only be read by FH. All the merge changes take place in the Project which we do Backup in my step 2).

Inspect the glossary:merge_compare_files|> Merge Compare Files advice, and you will see the Merge File window has Current Records to the left (middle) and New Records on the right. So that comes into play after using the Merge/Compare File command at my step 3).

[Ron1951]

Lol, you would laugh if you could see me struggling, Mike. I now have a tree with photos attached, but with a few hundred extra relatives!
I'm sorry to be so thick!

Doing a basic search of files named "Johnson.ged", I have 4:-

Johnson.fh-data (C:\users\user1\My Documents\Family Historian Projects\Johnson) 2,305kb 7,840 individuals Photos ok

Family Historian Projects (F:\Ron's Stuff) 1,884kb 7,158 individuals No photos

Johnson (C:\users\user1\My Documents\Family Historian Projects) 1,589kb 6,119 individuals No photos

Johnson.fh_data (F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\Johnson) 1,589kb 6,119 individuals Photos ok

[tatewise]

You are confusing me now too!

Back on Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:44 pm when we started this journey you said:

To sum up then, on my laptop I can access my tree with most pics still attached, but it is an older version of my tree with 6129 individuals. On my PC there are no pics but I have 7043 individuals on there.

We copied the 6129 individuals Johnson Project to F:\FH\ but you now make no mention of that one. Unless you got the number wrong and it is actually 6119 and you actually copied it to F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\ instead of F:\FH\ but did not tell me.

You also make no mention of the 7043 individuals that on Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:28 pm you said was in "F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects and the file is Johnson.ged"

Of the 4 you do mention:

Johnson.fh-data (C:\users\user1\My Documents\Family Historian Projects\Johnson) 2,305kb 7,840 individuals Photos ok
This looks like it is the Johnson Project after the Merge, but maybe you did not actually review the records tab by tab as advised, and there are lots of duplicate Individuals.

Family Historian Projects (F:\Ron's Stuff) 1,884kb 7,158 individuals No photos
This may be an even later version than the 7043 individuals in F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects?

Johnson (C:\users\user1\My Documents\Family Historian Projects) 1,589kb 6,119 individuals No photos
This is probably the Backup of the Johnson Project GEDCOM and is in a ZIP file?

Johnson.fh_data (F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\Johnson) 1,589kb 6,119 individuals Photos ok
Is this the copy of the original laptop Johnson Project of 6,129 individuals that I suggested putting in F:\FH\?

[Ron1951]

I've probably clicked and clunked too much. Can I delete some of the files and just use the default one which, although it has numerous "Unknown" individuals, at least has the photos all intact? If I open a file from a zip folder, it seems to be sans photos.
Would it be safe to just go through and delete the "Unknown" individuals?
I really owe you for this, Mike, and I hope you will allow me to recompense you in some way - if only for the sheer frustration you must be feeling!

[tatewise]

No don't delete anything just yet.

Yes, the ZIP file will be sans photos because it is just the Backup of the Gedcom from step 2) earlier.

It would be nice if you could explain the inconsistencies identified above, if only to help your own understanding of what is what.

Does your Johnson Project on the laptop itself have 6,119 or 6,129 individuals, and are the Gedcom you mentioned above different or the same?

Did you actually perform a Merge by clicking the Merge button in the Merge File window?

[Ron1951]

Sorry, but I don't know how I arrived at the inconsistencies, apart from following the guide and trying to save a copy of the file outside of FH before commencing the Merge.
The file on the laptop has 6129 individuals.
The Gedcom I listed are all different.
Yes, I did perform a Merge.
Is a Gedcom different to a FH Project?

[tatewise]

Yes, a Gedcom file is different from a Project structure.
A Project comprises an entire folder and file structure in which just one file is the Gedcom file.
Sorry I assumed you knew that, see how_to:v4:understanding_projects|> Understanding Projects.

I think many of those Gedcom/Projects are left overs from the past.

I think the best thing is to leave it for this evening and we can resume tomorrow.
I will talk you through how to undo the Merge and go through the tactics for the Merge in more detail.

Does the F:\FH\Johnson\... folder structure still exist?

[Ron1951]

Yes, I think so, and you're right - those other Gedcoms are from earlier saves, 2013.

On the F Drive, I still have:

Ron's Stuff>Family Historian Projects>Johnson>Johnson.fh_data>johnson.ged

and this is dated 2013.

[tatewise]

Good morning Ron.
I thought it might be a good idea to review the merged Johnson Project and hopefully get some clues to improve the Merge when we try again.

I have assumed that the 6129 Individuals that we copied from laptop to Win 7 PC, are a subset of the 7043 Individuals in the Gedcom we merged. So I was expecting the merged Johnson Project to end up with about 7043 Individuals, and not the 7,840 Individuals you mentioned on Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:10 pm.

To the best of your knowledge, is my assumption roughly correct?

If so, we need to investigate the roughly 800 extra Individuals that have appeared in the merged Johnson Project.

1) On the Win 7 PC, open FH and the File > Project Window
2) Two projects should be listed: Family Historian Sample Project and Johnson
3) Right-click the Johnson project and Set as Default Project so it opens by default
4) Open Project and confirm number of Individuals is 7,840
5) You could use File > File Statistics and note the File Name: and Record Counts...
6) Open the Records Window and click the Individual Records column header to sort by name
7) Can you spot any possibly duplicated Individuals? I know it may be tricky, but since there are ~800 extra in 7,840 total, about 1 in 10 could be a duplicate that should have been merged. Look for similar names with similar life Dates and the same Relationship to Root. Otherwise, look for any other explanation for the extra ~800

[Ron1951]

Hi Mike,

I have assumed that the 6129 Individuals that we copied from laptop to Win 7 PC, are a subset of the 7043 Individuals in the Gedcom we merged. So I was expecting the merged Johnson Project to end up with about 7043 Individuals, and not the 7,840 Individuals you mentioned on Sun Jan 18, 2015 7:10 pm.

To the best of your knowledge, is my assumption roughly correct?
Yes

1) On the Win 7 PC, open FH and the File > Project Window
2) Two projects should be listed: Family Historian Sample Project and Johnson
3) Right-click the Johnson project and Set as Default Project so it opens by default
4) Open Project and confirm number of Individuals is 7,840
Done, and yes, 7,840 individuals

7) Can you spot any possibly duplicated Individuals?
Yes, but they all appear to be Un-named Individuals, some with a little information but no names (and these are sometimes duplicated several times over) and some just appear to be fathers or mothers attached to individuals, but not by me and again blank - no detail.
If I sort into Numerical order, the first one of these Un-named Individuals comes at 6298, (surprisingly in between named individuals). 6341 is similarly bank, and then from 7479 on, it's all Unamed Individuals, mostly duplicated and added to families, again, not by me.
Sorted back into Alphabetical order, it seems to be only when I get down to the Hs that duplicates start to appear. On these, I can see the Source says "File merged" then it has the F Drive address. The first Individual I have spotted as being duplicated is 7069. However when we get to 7073, (another H name) despite the Source being the F drive, it is not a duplicated individual!
Sherlock, where are you when we need you!

[tatewise]

I am not sure it is the cause, but when you Merged did you remember to review every tab?
i.e. Individuals, Families, Notes, Sources, etc...

If you did not Merge the Family records that might produce the effect you have.

[Ron1951]

I think I did all the tabs. I did notice there wasn't a Notes tab, though.

[tatewise]

If there are no Note Records in both the Project and the Gedcom being Merged then there will be no Notes tab.

I have to admit I am struggling with the [unnamed person] scenario.

If you open the F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\...Johnson.ged that we used in the Merge, presumably there is no sign of so many [unnamed person] records?

At the bottom left of the Merge Files window there is a row of buttons Match, Unmatch, Retain, Discard.
From your recollection, which of those buttons did you use during the Merge?

[Ron1951]

If you open the F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\...Johnson.ged that we used in the Merge, presumably there is no sign of so many [unnamed person] records?
That's correct

At the bottom left of the Merge Files window there is a row of buttons Match, Unmatch, Retain, Discard.
From your recollection, which of those buttons did you use during the Merge?

Sorry, Mike, I don't recall seeing any of them.

[tatewise]

Can you recall anything about how the File Merge progressed?

[Ron1951]

I remember 5 or 6 tabs, then I clicked Merge on the first tab. A small window came up with progress showing, then when complete, I clicked merge on the other tabs and went through the process again. As I did this I could see the numbers of Individuals increasing.

[tatewise]

Ron, that does not agree with the way the Merge File dialogue works!

Each tab must be checked using the buttons bottom left that I mentioned above.
When all the tabs have been checked, the Merge button is used once, a confirmation message is shown, and the dialogue closes.

There is no way the Merge button can be used on each tab.

Can you look back over the glossary:merge_compare_files|> Merge Compare Files advice, and perhaps we need to start again, but with some simpler practice runs.

[Ron1951]

Apologies again, Mike.
I've read throught the Knowledge Base again, but am now struggling to find the 2 files we attempted to merge in the first place. I can find one with 6,119 individuals (with photos, but not 6.129 as originally stated) and the latest with 7,840 (the Default, with photos and numerous Un-named Individuals).
I am finding these by way of a Search for Johnson.ged - I assume this may be incorrect?

[tatewise]

The Johnson Project now with 7,840 is the focus of our Merging.
We can easily get back to the 6129 because we took a Backup before we started just in case the Merge went wrong!

The Gedcom we tried to Merge into that Project you said was F:\Ron's Stuff\Family Historian Projects\...Johnson.ged with 7043.
This is the one you confirmed last Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:56 pm.

However, I was thinking of performing a practice Merge without ever actually using the Merge button, just to get familiar with the process.
What do you think?

[Ron1951]

Good idea!