* Data Sequence on Import from TMG

[Sue036]

Hi, I'm new here so firstly, hello!

I have downloaded a free trial of FH (Version 6.0.4) and imported a TMG (Version 7) project.

I find that all the people are displayed in reference number order rather than in date order - so a couple's children are not listed in birth order but in the order I originally discovered them and entered them into TMG. Can someone please explain why this has happened and how I can fix it?

I also have children born to a woman prior to any of her marriages shown at the bottom of the focus screen when logically they should appear at the top as they are her eldest offspring? Again, is there an explanation and a fix for this, please?

I also have some folk who have become detached from one of their parents. I'm unsure if this is an import problem or a defect in the original database, which I have been having problems with. Has anyone else encountered this?

Thanks for any help or advice anyone can offer.

[jimlad68]

As regards 1 and 2, try Tools > Re-order Out-of-Sequence Data, as long as you have birth dates that should sort it out.

As regards detached people, are they detached in TMG V7, if so you have the choice of fixing them there and reimporting or in FH. TMG7 was the last "successful" version of TMG I used (just could not upgrade very well to V8), however I think the FH import is geared to TMG v9 (possibly even the latest version), so not everything may export correctly from V7, probably depends what "features" of TMG you used.

If that does not work, check back for best methods of "reattaching".

[Sue036]

Thanks Jim,

I'll give 'Reorder out of sequence data' a go. I guess things can only get better and I can always re-import if not!

As for the missing relationships, they were there in TMG last time I looked, but TMG has been crashing on me recently so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if the data is corrupt. I know I can go back to an earlier TMG back-up and I will if I need to, but obviously I am trying to minimise rework.

If I can get the displays in a more sensible format via 'Reorder out of sequence data' it will be easier to check for inconsistencies and missing data, I guess, so I'll try to sort that first and take it from there.

Will report back!

Thanks again.

[tatewise]

Welcome to the FHUG Sue.

Jim's advice is spot on, as FH often displays data in record order, which is usually the order it was entered, and I suspect has been retained in TMG & FH. The Re-order Out-of-Sequence Data usually fixes it, but there are also small black up/down arrows in various dialogues to manually adjust the order.

For the woman with pre-marital children, check the Spouse tabs in her Property Box to the right of the Focus Window. They need to be in chronological order, with the appropriate children on each tab. If not, then use the arrows next to the tabs to adjust their order.

If you locate the Parents with detached Children, then in their Focus Window or Property Box click the blue Add Child link, choose Link Existing Record, and find & select the Individual Child record. Repeat for each Child.

[Sue036]

OK, firstly the re-order seems to have worked inasmuch as the majority of children and marriages are now in the right order and as that was my main issue that's a big step forward!

In the case of the children born prior to any marriage, however, they are still shown after both of the mother's marriages rather than before. FH seems to expect some sort of father / 2nd parental relationship to decide where to display these children? Do I have to invent something or is there a way of altering the child record to fix this? As there are a lot of fatherless children in this database I'd like to sort this out somehow next.

I think I will hang fire on other issues for now as I really need to do a more careful comparison first and, as before, if I can get all of the data displaying in the same order as in TMG that will be much simpler.

[jimlad68]

.....In the case of the children born prior to any marriage, however, they are still shown after both of the mother's marriages rather than before. FH seems to expect some sort of father / 2nd parental relationship to decide where to display these children? Do I have to invent something or is there a way of altering the child record to fix this? As there are a lot of fatherless children in this database.............

I'm sure different people have different methods for this, I create a Male/ Unknown (as many as needed!) "partner" and add them as father, in TMG I would use a Sort Date to put it in the right order, but FH does not have sort dates. To order in FH I would use a date, but give an appropriate status, never married, unknown etc. Experiment with that and it might fix the child order.

[tatewise]

Yes Sue, I would expect in the Property Box FH to be showing a <no spouse> Spouse tab to the right of her married spouse names, and in the Focus Window an Add Husband/Partner link. That is perfectly OK as FH does not demand a partner.

If so, then use the up/down arrows next to the Spouse tabs to move <no spouse> to the left and the pre-marital children should then come first.

Otherwise, could you take a screen-shot and post it here using Upload attachment tab below the text entry box.

BTW: The how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers is a good starting point for exploring FH V6.

[Sue036]

Hi Mike,

I only saw your reply after posting my last one!

I have now been able to reorder the relationships so that the 'fatherless' children are in the correct place on their mother's focus screen. So, again, that's a big step forward.

So many thanks to you, Mike, and also to Jim for helping me to get over these first hurdles.

I'll have a look at the bigger picture to see if there are a lot of missing relationships or just a few. If the latter I now know how to sort that out also, thanks again to Mike. If there are a lot of missing relationships I may try importing from an earlier backup first, to see if that helps.

Luckily my main data store is not TMG but my 25-year-old card index systems so I always have a way of unscrambling any data. On the other hand what I don't have is an infinite number of hours in each day!

Sue (signature set up to follow )