* A potential Convert from TMG

[DerekNB]

I have just installed FH6 with a view to using it as a replacement for TMG 8.
At fist sight it looks like a very comprehensive package but there are a couple of very useful features in TMG that I can't find in FH6.
I hope that some experienced Family Historian users may be able to tell me how to do it in FH6.
1. TMG always started up showing the last used person in the tree, great time saver this, saved having to navigate back through 7 or 8 generation from the root person to where I was last time. Is there a way this can be done in FH6 ?
2. TMG showed an ancestral path for the root person (myself) by highlighting the direct line ancestors of the root person on its equivalent of the Focus Window. This made it very quick to navigate back to an ancestor many generations earlier without having to remember all the names on ones pedigree. Is there an FH6 equivalent to this?
Thanks for reading this.
Regards
Derek

[Gowermick]

Derek,
In answer to your questions:

1 - not yet, but is in the wishlist as something a lot of us would like to see added.

2 - If you are on a direct ancestor, their child who links back to you is indicated by a different symbol alongside their name (I am not in FH at moment, but if memory serves me, this is an down arrow)

If you're not on a direct ancestor, you won't see anything to help you!

My personal way round this, is to use a custom ID, which is composed of the ahnetafel number for direct ancestors, ( calculated with respect to my root person) with alphabetical suffixes for their children.
For example, if I'm at ancestor 298bcc, I know to go up to 298bc, up again to 298b then up again to 298, who will be a direct ancestor. I can then follow the indication arrows down to the root of my tree!
( via 159,79,39,19,9,4,2,1)

It works very well for me. No matter where I am on my tree (13,000 entries to date), a quick glance at the custom ID and I know how to proceed to get back to my nearest direct ancestor.

I could of course always use the record list, click on this and select record 1, as I know this is my root person, (I am not sure if this is always the case). In your case, you know you are the root, if you are not record 1, just remember your record number for future use.

Mike

[tatewise]

Derek, welcome to the FHUG.

1. It is not directly possible to startup with last used person, and the Wish List item is Ref 255 Remember current record when FH re-opened or ged updated externally that you can vote for.
   Workarounds include:
   • Using the Standard Query Last Updated Individual Record to sort into Updated order.
   • Making the 'working' record the File Root temporarily before closing FH.
   • Putting the 'working' record into a Named List before closing FH.
2. Have a look at the Ancestors tab on the Focus Window. Make the earliest person the Focus and repeat. Alternatively, create an Ancestor Diagram from your root person and it will go back as many generations as you like, then click on any box to open the Property Box or make them Focus person, etc.

As a newcomer checkout how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers and all its links to the rest of the Knowledge Base Wiki.

[AdrianBruce]

Derek - always dangerous to suggest another method entirely, but what I am finding is that I can generally navigate very quickly by using the filter facility on the Individual records tab.

Go to the Records Window (you may need to ensure that the Navigation bar is visible - the Records Window is the drum shaped icon on the bar).

Once there, click the Individual Records tab and enter the Last Name and First Name of the person you want to work on. In fact, because it's a filter mechanism, you only need to enter the first few characters of each name - "Pick Tho" instead of "Pickstock Thomas", e.g.

Assuming you can recognise the target from the filtered list, select them and click the Focus icon.

Not as fast as having FH open there but possibly a decent way of doing your request (1). And a good technique to have anyway.

Of course, you do need (a) to remember what name you were working on and (b) be able to recognise them - I've customised the record windows to show extra items to help in that aspect, such as father's name and first spouse's name.

[BobWard]

This might be similar to Mike's suggestion of using the Standard Query that he listed.

At any rate, to rapidly get to the most recent person that I worked on, I use the following procedure.

1. Click the Records Window icon that Adrian mentioned on the vertical bar along the left side of the screen - this brings up all the people in your database.

2. Click the Updated tab along the top of the Records window and FH will instantly sort all your records, with the most recent record being at the top of the list. Double-click the name of that person and open their record in the Focus Window. Only takes a few seconds.

[DerekNB]

Hi and thanks to all who responded.
Mike thanks for the tip on the Down Arrow to navigate I had seen it on the Parent and Siblings tab but it did nothing, but since you mentioned it I have discovered that it works on the Spouses & Children tab so there is a quick way to navigate through the ancestors tree.

A great shame about not being able to get directly back to where one left off, I tend to work on one area of the tree at a time and having to start every time from root person is annoying. I see that the request for this feature and been on the list since 2006 so I don't see much chance of it happening soon.

I have been researching for over 25 years. My first PC tool was Generations on Win 95/98, that ceased to be supported some 15 years ago, so I switched to TMG which is now unsupported (although it still works).

I used the TMG import facility and checking around my database (9000 + names) I see that NONE of my notes made in TMG have been converted. TMG allows notes almost everywhere and I have made hundreds if not thousands of them so I must have them.
All of my Census information has converted as Census Year and the word Census, none of the facts regarding the person have been converted.

TMG also allows a person to have multiple occupations over time, FH seems to only allow one occupation.

Navigating forward in time on the Ancestor tab is really confusing, as soon as I get to a female ancestor in the left column and then click the left arrow it jumps to another part of the tree, as far as I can make out it skips a generation and displays the ancestors of the female relatives daughters' husband.

Thanks for helping me evaluate FH6 but for now I will be staying with TMG.
If I did not already have the tree in TMG and was starting out FH may have been the program for me.
Regards
Derek

[tatewise]

Derek, can I persuade you not to give up on FH so quickly?
Many TMG migrants have transferred very successfully. So just think what you might be missing.
I suspect the issues that you raise are more due to your unfamiliarity with FH than its deficiencies.

As has been mentioned in several replies, FH keeps a Last Updated time stamp on every record, so it is only a matter of a few clicks to get back to records updated in the previous session. There are other quick ways to get there too, so don't reject FH for just one minor inconvenience.

Regarding importing from TMG see the advice in how_to:import_from_tmg|> Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG).

I suspect the Notes are all present and correct, but you just have not located them.
Two popular places to look are the Notes tab of the Property Box and the Notes tab of of the Records Window.
The Property Box is the dialogue usually attached to the right of the Focus Window and has tabs across the top such as Main, Facts, Notes, Media, All. Have you inspected them?
The Records Window is opened by clicking the icon on the left below the spyglass icon, and has tabs for each record type such as Individuals, Notes, Sources, Media, Places.
The Notes will appear in different places within FH depending on what they are attached to.

Where are you looking for your Census and other Facts?
Open the Facts tab of the Property Box and all your Facts should be listed. Click on each one for more details
If necessary, there are tools that can adjust any import/migration/translation problems.

FH most definitely allows as many Occupation Facts as you like. Actually, FH allows multiple instances of every type of Event/Fact.
I suspect you are looking at the Main tab of the Property Box that only displays a summary of a few key details. Much more detail is given on the Facts tab, and full details are on the All tab.

Navigating the Ancestor tab of the Focus Window uses either mouse clicks to select a box or the keyboard arrow keys.
I wonder if you are clicking the white pair of arrows top left? They are for traversing backwards & forwards through recently visited records, and nothing to do with navigating through the Ancestors tree.

How long did it take you to become conversant with the features of TMG?
Please give FH a little longer than a casual review.
All those TMG migrants would not have moved here unless it was worthwhile, and you will have to find a new home for your data sooner or later anyway.

If you cannot find your way around FH from my descriptions, then just ask, and I can attach screenshots of where to look.

[Gowermick]

Derek,

I used FamilyTreeMaker (FTM) before moving to FH, and had similar problems importing my data too, but with help from this forum, got it all imported very successfully, with no loss of data.

FH, like TMG DOES support multiple occupations over time, it is just unfortunate that the standard property box layout shows sex and occupation on the same line, leaving one to think only one of each is allowed, but if you go to the facts tab, and then +Add a Fact, you'll see you can add an occupation as a fact, and can enter as many of these as you need.

Like any new piece of software, there is a learning curve to overcome. However, FH, unlike most other genealogy programs is highly customisable and none of the underlying data is hidden from the user which really does make a refreshing change. ( e.g. it is very frustrating when you know the data is there, but have no way of getting it into a spreadsheet to work on it - but with FH, dead easy)

Moving from FTM was awkward for the first week, as FH does things differently, but having persevered, I wouldn't dream of moving back. The existence of this forum is an added bonus, and as tatewise said, stick with it, you'll not regret it.

Mike

[DerekNB]

Hi Mike and Mike,
Thanks for the advice.
OK I accept that there is a workaround to get back to where I last was.
I did read the guide for TMG users and noted that the recommendation was to use the direct import, so I did.
Regarding the missing notes.
In TMG I have the following note about my grandfather:
Date 1908: Text: 'Joined the Territorial Army - Royal Engineers.
The service records show that Harry served for two years in the East London Royal Engineers Volunteers before joining the Territorial Force in 1908. ELRE(V) formed 1st and 2nd London Field Companies, Royal Engineers in 1908 when the T.F. was formed.'

It does not appear in the Properties window under Note Tab. this is blank
In the Properties box - Facts Tab is Date: 1908 Fact: Note.
Clicking on it an extra box appears below containing Date: 1908 and Sentence: He experienced Note in 1908
In the Records Window expanding the entry for my g Father it shows Note and Date 1908 and nothing else.
The Note tab shows empty, places and sources list data that look valid.
It is the same story for every other Note I have in TMG.
So I suspect that I should re convert using the GEDCOM route.

I am fully prepared to put in the time to learn new software if I can see that it will be worth my while.
I have been an IT professional since 1966 and have used PCs since the original IBM twin floppy.
I have evaluated and developed more s/w in my time than I care to think about.
Regards
Derek

[tatewise]

Derek, it is highly unlikely that the GEDCOM method will work any better, and will probably be much worse.

Please confirm exactly which Version of FH you are using: Click Help > About Family Historian to display Version.

FH has imported each Note as a custom Fact with a valid Date.
The Sentence is a default that can be customised later to make more sense in Narrative Reports.

So now we need to discover where the Text has been imported.

Open the Property Box for your grandfather and select the All tab.
Click on the [+] button next to the Note fact to expand it fully.
That should at least reveal the Date field containing 1908.
Keep clicking on subsidiary [+] expansion buttons until there are no more.
(It is like expanding folders in Windows/File Explorer.)
Does that reveal the Joined the Territorial Army - Royal Engineers ... text anywhere?

BTW: Was there an import exceptions report produced when you first imported from TMG?
If so, did it say anything about the Note facts?
Check Window > Log Files for any residual reports.

Finally check the advice in how_to:handling_unrecognised_data_fields|> Handling Uncategorised Data Fields (UDF).

[DerekNB]

Hi Mike,
Under the All tab is only the sub field Date and 1908, no further data.
There were no exception reports when I imported the TMG tree.
BUT I may have the answer, when I installed FH6 and before I loaded my TMG tree data I did a check for updates and on checking find that I got 6.2.1. After reading your reply I did a further check for updates and got told that 6.2.2 is available.
I an downloading the update and will remove and reimport the TMG tree. I will report back on the results as soon as I get time.
Thank you and all responders for your help, it is nice to find a product that has such a helpful and knowledgeable user group.
I will persevere with FH6 as I can't find anything better out there.
Regards
Derek

[tatewise]

Derek the update to V6.2.2 does not add any new TMG import features.

Can an ex-TMG user help Derek find his missing Note text?

You could try the Edit > Find to search for a unique fragment of your Note text.

As an experiment it may be worth exporting from TMG as a GEDCOM to see if that includes the Note fact text. Don't import it into FH, but open it in a plain text editor such as Notepad and locate the entry for your grandfather. There you should find an entry similar to that shown below:

1 EVEN
2 TYPE Note
2 DATE 1908

Is there anything nearby that lists the text Joined the Territorial Army - Royal Engineers ... ?

If all else fails, it needs to be reported to Calico Pie who hopefully will provide a workaround or an update to FH.

[Shiriki]

Derek

In response to your request in how to return to the last person used in a tree......

A method I sometimes use is assuming you are focused on the individual you wish to return to on your next session, and just prior to closing the current session, right-click on the person and from the drop down menu then displayed choose and click on the top option 'Make File Root'. After this click on Save on the main menu and close Family Historian (undertaking any 'Save Changes' and 'Backup current project' from the prompts as required).
The next time you open Family Historian it will open with the person you made the new root as the focus and in effect you will have returned to where you left off from your last session.
After entering perhaps more individuals/data and you wish to return to a different individual on the next session just repeat the right click process as described above to make them the new focus person for your next session and so on......

Hopefully I've made this clear and it helps, it works for me......

Shiriki

[ronk]

right-click on the person and from the drop down menu then displayed choose and click on the top option 'Make File Root'

Derek, I believe Mike suggested this early in the thread. I have used this technique and it works pretty well, but would still be better there be added a preference to return to the last person in focus on FH startup, similar to what is done in Legacy Family Tree. Seems like a simple enhancement for CP.

Ron

[DerekNB]

Mike,
I have re run the import under 6.2.2 and all of the notes are now exactly where you said they should be.
If it should have worked under 6.2.1 I have no explanation as to why it failed to import the notes.
The import under 6.2.2 did seem to take a lot longer than under 6.2.1. Thousands of note fields were imported. And there is a nice little note icon to show the existence of a note.

Now that I have my notes back I have one more question.
Is it possible to 'user define' the content of windows ie select which columns are shown?
If not is this on the wish list?

The reason I ask is because on early church records pre 1837 birth and death dates were rarely recorded.
Where only a baptism or burial date was available I have entered the full transcript from the parish record under baptism or burial and have an estimated birth or death year only in the birth or death tags.
So to see the actual details I have to look in the Property box facts tab.

In the list of children in the main focus (spouses and children tab) there is a wide column Birth that only shows the date, is this something I can change so it includes place?

Thanks
Derek

[DerekNB]

Hi Shiriki and Ron,
On the subject of returning to the last place I was at last session.
I would rather not keep changing the focus person as this alters the path FH takes through the tree.
Keeping myself as root person means I can zip up and down the tree in a known route.
Until CP add the option to start where you left off I will just have to write it down and navigate back there when I start up assuming I can remember the path through 9 or 10 generations back to the 1600s where I am currently working.
Regards
Derek

[tatewise]

Derek, I am relieved and surprised that V6.2.2 imports your Notes correctly, because my understanding is that it only fixed a particur problem with entering Place names.

FH is highly customisable, so as a newcomer checkout how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers especially the Documentation and Tutorials and all its links to the rest of the Knowledge Base Wiki.

However, the Focus Window has limited customisation options (see Customize View... top right). Adding Place details to Children is requested in Wish List Ref 544 Place details for Children in Focus Window. But just double-click on a Child to make them the Focus and their Birth/Baptism and Death/Burial details are shown.

The Property Box can customise its Main tab (and add other tabs) to add extra summary details. Use its cog Menu and choose Customize Data Entry. Then move Items such as Baptism and Burial from left to right using > button, and move up using up/down arrows below. This is the very basic customisation and much more is hidden by the tick option lower left. As in most cases the Help button explains the details.

[DerekNB]

Hi Mike,
Thanks it is looking better all the time, I can usually pick up new S/W quite quickly so either I am getting old or FH has things squirreled away in places where I am not expecting them to be.
Thanks for your help, you have been exceedingly patient and have explained things very well.
I will continue to poke around and see how I get on.
Best wishes
Derek

[pwe]

To easily return to the person you were working on at your last session you could create a named list say "last person" and at the end of your work session add that person to that list. When you next start work go to this list and double click on the individual's name which will open the property box for that person. You can then empty the list from the list menu and use the whole process again at the end of your next work session.
Peter E

[DerekNB]

Thanks Peter ,
that's another possibility.
Derek

[BobWard]

Derek, Did you ever try the suggestion in Post #5? That is an extremely quick way to get to the last person that you worked on. 3 mouse clicks in less than 5 seconds and you are there.

To recap:

At any rate, to rapidly get to the most recent person that I worked on, I use the following procedure.

1. Click the Records Window icon that Adrian mentioned on the vertical bar along the left side of the screen - this brings up all the people in your database.

2. Click the Updated tab along the top of the Records window and FH will instantly sort all your records, with the most recent record being at the top of the list. Double-click the name of that person and open their record in the Focus Window. Only takes a few seconds.

[ronk]

Bob, that may work if making changes, but don't believe it will work to return to the last person you might have merely been viewing.

Ron

[BobWard]

Bob, that may work if making changes, but don't believe it will work to return to the last person you might have merely been viewing.

Ron

That is correct. My interpretation was that the OP was wanting to pickup with the last person he was working on, rather than just being "viewed". His original post included the phrase "showing the last used person in the tree". So, if his intent is to get back to the last person he was editing, this procedure works very quickly.

[jmurphy]

Just another vote for using the Named Lists for this task.

Note that FH already has Named Lists "Bookmarks", "Key Individuals", and "Work in Progress".

The advantage of having a Named List of "Work in Progress" versus an auto-save is that you can keep track of where you left off on each individual line, instead of simply having a placeholder for the one individual you happened to be looking at before you shut down the program.

However, if you really just want to keep track of the ONE person you were looking at last time, it's easy to create a "Where I Left Off" list and add that individual to it before you stop work for the day.

[Hanning]

I too was a very happy user of TMG and used several features extensively. I tried FH a year ago and became very frustrated - I was used to particular ways of doing and displaying and couldn't get a good workflow going. So gave up BUT
I have now gone back to FH and tried again. True there are some things that still drive me crazy - going back to where you left off being one of them, as well as not being able to use colour in any similar way to TMG. But for me, one of the reasons I have persevered and am now feeling much more comfortable, is that the base file is a GEDCOM. I have been using a computer to record my data since 1989 and have changed programs many times for all sorts of reasons. Every time there has been a distinct tidying up process, much of which was never really completed. While that can be a good thing, in my case, real life always intervened and I have been left with all sorts of nonsense in the wrong places. I am very computer literate but not a programmer, yet I can manage some of the advanced tweaking. My process is that I spent a little time and customised the appearance as much as I knew how, then just forced myself until it became easier. Each time I became annoyed I read the Help, perused the forum and asked (as you have done) with almost immediate positive results. It has taken some time, and there are still things I miss and would dearly like to see if possible, but it is now working for me.