* Some questions on deleting

[E Wilcock]

Repeated imports and also updating of projects means that I need to delete Projects that are not needed any more. Deleting a fh Project brings up a warning about all the files that may be deleted.

Could someone please explain what is being warned about and how my deleting one Project may affect the remaining projects?

I need to clarify too what happens when one deletes an Event type in fh. I am talking only of custom events of course. I believe that in fh Fact types are universal to all one's Projects.

I took notice of the advice not to name a Tag/Event "Note" lest it become confused with the Note field within an Event or Source record. I decided on a name and that it would become standard across all my projects. When sorting out and renaming my Research Notes Event/Tag I used the plug in to move the data to the new Event. I assumed that the Plug in was working only on the Project which I had open at the time.

I then deleted the unwanted Note Event and Research Note Events - I now dont know whether the deletion would apply only to the project I had open?
When one chooses to delete a fh Event, a warning pops up on screen that I cannot copy and paste. Basically it says that it deletes definitions of facts or events, or more rarely place holders and that it does not delete any data about individuals.

I dont really understand this. And would be grateful for an explanation.

I would assume that if I deleted a fact, any data still in that fact would be deleted too?

I also realised too late that if I had deleted a fact in one project, that Fact might be removed from all my projects and if I dont take care, I might lose data. It seems not, but if it isnt deleted, where does it go?

This is not currently a problem, but it is an uncertainty that I would like to clear up for the future.

At the moment I have only two working projects in fh - One of them was imported from TMG (hence the tidying up) and I have not lost any data.

[tatewise]

1) Deleting Projects
As you may recall, each Project has its own dedicated sub-folder within the Documents\Family Historian Projects folder.
That sub-folder holds the Gedcom file, the Media folder of images, the Public folder for saved Reports , Exports, etc, and some local settings for the Project.
When you use File > Project Window > More Tasks > Delete Project it is that dedicated sub-folder & contents that gets permanently deleted, and NOT even sent to the Recycle Bin, hence the dire warning.
It would be wise to use File > Backup/Restore > Full Backup just before using Delete Project just in case!
Then when you are sure of no side effects, the Backup ZIP file can be deleted using File Explorer.
However, there normally should be no impact on any other Projects.

2) Fact Type Definitions and Fact Data
In summary, Fact Type Definitions specify how Fact Data should be displayed in the Facts tab and in Reports.
For each Fact there is only one Fact Type Definition that applies to all the Fact Data of that type.
It is a bit like there is only one Highway Code, but every Vehicle is bound by the rules of that Code.
Even if the Highway Code was destroyed, the Vehicles would all still exist, but they would have no rules to follow.

Yes, the Fact Type Definitions are universal to all Projects and are akin to the TMG Master Tag Types.
When you use Tools > Fact Types > Delete only the Fact Definition is removed, not the Fact Data.
Any related Fact Data held in each Project is retained, but their Sentence will say He/She experienced..., there will be no validity checks on their Date field, Witness Roles will be undefined, all fields will be shown, and they cannot exist in the Fast-Add Menu. If a New associated Fact Type Definition were added, then everything would be back as before deletion.

Using the Change Any Fact Tag Plugin only applies to the Project in which it was run, and only affects the Fact Data.

You need to understand the distinction between:

1. Deleting a Fact Type Definition in Tools > Fact Types which is universal, but has no impact on Fact Data other than the way it is displayed.
2. Deleting Fact Data using the X Delete Fact button in the Facts tab, or via other techniques, that destroys your raw Project data.

What happens in TMG when you delete a tag from the Master Tag Types list?

[DavidNewton]

Can I just add to the Fact Deletion description that Mike has given.

Upon deleting a custom event or attribute within the Fact Types dialog, whether or not there is data, the fact name becomes a place holder and can be seem by checking Show Hidden in the Fact Type dialog and of course no data is deleted. If you select and click Edit for a hidden fact belonging to no set then you will be told the event or attribute is undefined and prompted to create a definition. On the other hand If you select delete then you will get the warning again and this time if you proceed the hidden fact will be deleted UNLESS there are any instances of the fact in the file in which case FH will refuse to delete, again protecting your data.

I think this last part is on a project basis, by which I mean it is possible to have hidden undefined facts within one project which are not in another. As soon as you create a definition the fact becomes available to all projects.

David

[tatewise]

David raises a worthwhile extension to the advice, but there are some inaccuracies.
The following explanations apply when Show Hidden is ticked.

The Help button explains the meaning of the various Visible and Status column values.
However, for the purposes of this thread only one set of values is relevant.

If there is no Fact Data left 'undefined' in the current Project, then no Fact Label/Name will be revealed in the Tools > Fact Types list when Show Hidden is ticked.

If no Fact Type Definition exists and there is Fact Data left 'undefined' in the current Project, then each such Fact Label/Name will be revealed when Show Hidden is ticked. They will have Fact Set = <none> and Visible = <undefined> and Status ticked. These are referred to as place-holders and the definition cannot be Deleted or Hidden because the definition does not exist. The Fact Label/Name only exists because 'undefined' Fact Data exists.

The other values of <hidden> and <eclipsed> and <disabled> have little to do with our current discussion.
The only one worth mentioning is the <hidden> Extended Set added to FH V6 for FTM/Ancestry migrants.

[E Wilcock]

Thank you for the explanation about deleting Projects. I now understand that, and the warning.

I am not so clear (please forgive me) about the deleting of Fact Types in fh.

In TMG (I just checked) one cant delete an inbuilt Tag type. As it is a relational database one can copy Tag types (not possible in fh), add custom ones and delete the custom ones.

I understand well that when editing a person in the Property box one can delete a fact from their record and this deletes only the local data.

Being used to TMG, I have been dealing with fact, their sentences etc, using the menu Tools / Fact types. Making sure that hidden fact types are shown, I can see that my unwanted imported custom Fact types (all referring to notes of one kind or another) have been deleted.

That is not true of the fh Event Military ID - which I have tried to delete while experimenting - I downloaded the additional Event set for military service. I wanted to know how to remove any custom or additional set of Event types, if I decided against using them.

Is this possible in fh? Or does one just have to hide them?

[tatewise]

Just like TMG, in FH you cannot delete an inbuilt Fact Type Definitions but you can selectively Hide them.

Although in FH you cannot copy specific Fact Type Definitions you can use Fact Sets > Clone to make a copy of any set of definitions, and then Delete the specific Fact Types Definitions you do not need, leaving the ones you want to adjust, but they will exactly the same names as the originals.

The entire Military downloaded Fact Set can be removed via Fact Sets > Delete.
Any of its specific Fact Type Definitions can be deleted using Delete in the main Fact Types dialogue.

The only exception, as explained earlier, is when there is Military Fact Data retained in the Project that you have not deleted. Then the Fact Types dialogue will list that Fact Label/Name 'place-holder' with Fact Set = <none> and Visible = <undefined> thus there is no Fact Type Definition to delete.
You will need to find the Fact Data using say View > Standard Queries > All Facts sorted into Fact Type order and delete the unwanted Fact Data.

The reason those 'place-holder' entries exist in the Fact Types dialogue is to make it easy to create new definitions without the risk of mistyping the Fact Label/Name.

[E Wilcock]

Thank you Mike. I am very grateful for all the help you are giving me.
That the existence of data is preventing deletion of Milit ID figures. I havent used ID but I brought in a Milit type tag from TMG so there could well be data in that fact set.

None of these are major problems and I am not returning to TMG. It is just that I like to understand.