Family Historian User Group

http://www.whollygenes.com/forums201/in ... continued/
http://blog.eogn.com/2014/07/29/the-mas ... ment-25461

If you think FH is a suitable alternative to TMG, now is the time to advise your TMG user friends.

Although I predicted this some months ago, this is indeed a sad day, I used TMG happily and productively for many years as I felt it was so much more report flexible than any other program. As Bob Velke says, others are catching up. The old FoxPro platform is creaking at the edges and so I suspect TMG is in need of a rewrite on a new platform.

Is this the time to update the:
how_to:import_from_tmg|> Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG)

If helpful I am happy to jot down some of my recent migration experiences, although I did not use many of the none GEDCOM features of TMG (Event/Role).

Where should I send them?

Post them here Jim, and they can be incorporated into the KB.

If thought worthwhile, then a Plugin to perform common conversions could be produced.

FH File > Project Window > New Project > Import from other family tree file is supposed to import directly from the TMG database, but I had problems using that recently, and reported it to Calico Pie, who said they would investigate.

I have also been a satisfied user of TMG for many years.

The recent announcement prompted me to try a direct import to FH, but I found that the process failed to honour many of the links between facts and the source(s) that supported them.

Was this the sort of problem you found tatewise?

As I understand it, there have been substantial changes to the file structure of TMG in recent times and I wonder if this needs to be addressed by the FH import process.

Full details of the current TMG database structure have been published by Bob Velke, so I guess there is no bar to Calico Pie looking into this.

A prudent program provider would, I think, be looking at this right now!

Best wishes,

John, did you follow the advice in how_to:import_from_tmg|> Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG) and which of the two modes of import did you try?

Most users appear to get most success with the Import GEDCOM File mode, including Sources.

The problem developers like Calico Pie have is that all genealogy programs keep changing their database format and thus difficult to keep abreast of changes.
Even their GEDCOM export often does not honour the Specification correctly or omits custom features.

Following the recent announcement "The Master Genealogist to be Discontinued" I thought it pertinent to jot down a few notes of my recent experience of migrating to FH from TMG, apologies if this is more of a rushed check list.

I think it will also be a work in progress so I might also return to it and amend.

<> Don't forget the FHUG page for the FH import detail.

how_to:import_from_tmg|> Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG)
### UPDATE ### This has been updated to give a better understanding of the "Direct Import" method which also includes Witness information. (Rumour - this information will be importable to the new FH V6 Witness method).

I strongly recommend trying the DIRECT IMPORT first, it might be all you need. However, I suggest you check out the "Getting your data ready for GEDCOM export from TMG" section below. When I tried it, my only reservation was the lack of comma separated commas for "missing" fields in the PLACe records. This can be fixed after import by manually inserting commas.

<> A few notes on my data structure, as, what was easy for me, might not be for someone else.

- I exported from TMG V7.04.

- In TMG I organised my data such that for the most part I could export or share my data with A GEDCOM file. In consequence I did not use some of TMGs features, in particular Witnesses and Roles. FH does not use Witnesses but does use the GEDCOM standard of shared sources; this is fully detailed in the ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources Add-on to FH.
Please note the "Witness type" use of Method 1 in ancestralsources:getting_started|> Getting Started with Ancestral Sources.

- In TMG I used very simple sources, so they exported easily. (I do hope to make a much greater use of Sources in FH though).

<> Get some data (the more the better) from TMG and import to FH.

- Try the direct import AND try a GEDCOM exported file.

- Play with it and see if you can do what you need. Unfortunately the trial version of FH does not include Plugins which is a great pity as they add much functionality.

<> Direct import from TMG. Although this seemed to work OK I did not test it much. It imported PLACes OK, but did not add any commas for missing fields, whereas importing via a GEDCOM with the commas for missing places option in TMG worked fine. For all I know, the direct import route might be better for other items and the PLACes could be tidied up in FH later.

<> Getting your data ready for GEDCOM export from TMG (These notes are relevant not just to FH, they might also be helpful for the direct import).

- It is worth tidying up or rationalising your tags beforehand. It makes the final migrated checks easier.

- Other than the standard tags like Birth, Death etc, AND ANY OF THE STANDARD ATTRibutes (I think are CAST, DSCR, EDUC, IDNO, NATI, NCHI, NMR , OCCU, PROP, RELI, RESI, SSN , TITL), any tag with a memo with more than 1 line needs to be an EVEN and the GEDCOM Export set to EVEN with a TYPE (NOT Tag), otherwise many programs will only find the first line of text (I think it is to do with Attribute Fact's 1st note field only being one line, and limited to the length of a single GEDCOM line at that). This can be done via the Master Tag Type List. If you don't feel happy amending a "standard" tag, you could use TMGUtility to change all the tags to a custom one.
When you do this, if you use the same name as a Standard FH Fact, it may create a duplicate Fact in the FH Fact set, a new undefined one as well as a Standard FH one, you can then define it and either use that or convert it to the standard with the plugin Change any Fact Tab.

- Check all your Tags are exported. I have not worked out why, but I had one tag called ROOT (not an EVENt) that did not make it to the TMG GEDCOM. I amended it to Root and an EVENt and it was then OK.

- PLACES - do not use any commas in the individual fields. This will effectively create extra comma separated delimiters in the GEDCOM file.

- There are no SORT DATES in FH, but there is another feature that can be used that will set a tag/fact type for a time period (e.g. before birth). If you wish to add your own dates beforehand (e.g. date 150 for research notes etc) you can do this up front with TMGUtility. However these may appear in some reports etc. In FH you could also enter your date as a date phrase with as interpreted as value (standard Gedcom).

- TMG can generate a married name. This exports in the GEDCOM as just another Alternative Name after the Main name. Once in FH, you can have as many Alternate names as you wish, but you will have to create a name tag/fact if you wish to notate it as married or deadpoll etc.

<> The TMG GEDCOM CREATION ROUTINE.

FILE > EXPORT > GEDCOM > ALL PEOPLE
> Version GEDCOM 5.5 + ANSI + tick boxes reqd
> Tag types ALL, Names All Variations, Events All variations.
> Export ref field as (I use REFN), show excluded + Sensitive data
Maximum GEDCOM line length (I use max of 246, but I don't think it matters, just easier to read the raw file)
DO NOT TICK Break long values between words
TICK Place Levels - tick all the boxes you need/have used
TICK "commas when missing" if you want you PLACe fields aligned correctly.
> Finish

<> I then did extensive testing to ensure all data went across, or at least you will know what to do manually.