Exported gedcom files show everyone as dead...

derekallum · Post by **derekallum** » 19 Feb 2010 14:48

I used to use GFT Family Tree software and exported a Gedcom from it to input to my web site on Tribal Pages. This worked fine. Now I'm using FH 4.0.2. The exported Gedcom to Tribal Pages records everyone as dead, including people I know that are living. I was in the habit of letting Tribal Pages remind me of upcoming birthdays in my family. Now, since everyone who was living is now dead, I have no birthdays to celebrate...
Can someone either fix FH or come up with an edit to the Gedcom to help, please.

ID:4360

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 19 Feb 2010 16:26

I suspect when GFT exported a gedcom file, it might have added DEAT records for everyone.

If you look on the Property Box Facts Tab for a living person, does a line appear for Death?

derekallum · Post by **derekallum** » 24 Feb 2010 22:09

Hmm. On the contrary. I think FH exports DEAT records for everyone even they are empty, whereas GFT has no records at all for folk who have not died.
As I said earlier, if even an empty DEAT record exists, Tribal Pages shows them as dead. How can I stop these empty records appearing?[confused]

DeeJay1 · Post by **DeeJay1** » 25 Feb 2010 06:41

I seemed to have the opposite problem with TribalPages.
When I uploaded my FH GEDCOM file, any person without a Death event was marked as living, even if their birth and marriage were in the 1700's. I had to manually go through adding a death before it would work correctly. The wonders of modern computers!

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 25 Feb 2010 06:53

Derek, No FH never adds records, look at the original GEDCOM file you exported, do they have blank DEAT lines?

You can easily delete them by using a query.

derekallum · Post by **derekallum** » 25 Feb 2010 15:18

Yes. I have Deejay1's problem as well. I just put up with it.
Jane says FH never adds records. Well, for living people GFT exports a record like:
1 DEAT
2 DATE
Both entries are blank.
FH, I suppose, interprets this to say I'm dead and writes a record:
1 DEAT Y
The same thing happens with christening.
I can do little about the GFT export. After all I am migrating away from it! But Jane says I can 'easily' delete these strange records with a query. Sorry, I'm very much a new boy here. How do I do that?[grin]

JonAxtell · Post by **JonAxtell** » 25 Feb 2010 16:15

According to the Gedcom specification, the presence of a fact even if it doesn't have any place or date, indicates that the event occurred even though nothing is known about the details. Most commonly used to indicate a death when the person was born over 100 years ago. In this case, you know the death must have occurred, but you don't know anything about it. Same for a birth.

What FH is doing in this case by changing the 1 DEAT to 1 DEAT Y is making it more Gedcom compliant. It's not adding of deleting data.

True, its easy to delete them using a query - if you know the query system inside out.

Use the following query:
Add a column for birth and one for death-
%INDI.BIRT[1]% and %INDI.DEAT[1]%

Add three rows-
Add unless %INDI.DEAT[1]% is null
Exclude unless %INDI.DEAT[1].DATE% is null
Exclude unless %INDI.DEAT[1].PLACE% is null

Run the query and check everything is OK, and that all the people listed are the ones you want to correct. Then select the death column by clicking on 'died' in the first record, then scroll down to the last record and whilst holding down the shift key, click on the 'died' in the last record. The whole column should now be selected. Press the Delete key and you'll get a warning about deleting data. If you're happy click OK and job done.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 25 Feb 2010 16:45

There is a ready written Query for the first part of the job which you can download and double click to install in to FH.

http://www.fhug.org.uk/cgi-bin/index.cg ... ries&id=99

derekallum · Post by **derekallum** » 26 Feb 2010 15:23

Thanks everyone - looks like I'm going to have to read and learn(!) chapters 13 and 14 of 'Getting The Most from FH4'[grin]

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