* Import from Legacy - Places

[laz_gen]

Regarding the "Import from Legacy" knowledge base article and the advice to use the Convert Legacy Places plugin provided by Calico Pie.

I created the Legacy gedcom following the knowledge base advice setting it for 5.5.1 and removing any underscore non-standard tags.

I run this plugin and it reports that "0 places have been converted" and then saves the file as a copy with a new name. I have used Notepad++ and compared a before and after gedcom and it makes no changes so I was wondering if this plugin was designed for an older version of Legacy or perhaps a previous version of FH and is no longer necessary.

[tatewise]

The Plugin was last updated Jan 2018 so is quite recent.
It detects Legacy _PLAC_DEFN records and converts them to FH _PLAC records.
That is only likely to be useful if you have a Legacy Deluxe Edition and Geo-coded the Master Locations List.

In the GEDCOM Export dialogue, the Customise options list Items available for export.
That lists _PLAC_DEFN Place Definition that is not now included in the Export these Items list by default.

If you Include > that item, then does the Plugin conversion work better?
If so then I will update the [kb]|[/kb] advice.

[laz_gen]

I have been experimenting with Legacy generating a lot of gedcom files. I specifically included "_PLAC_DEFN" in the list of tags to be exported for a Gedcom 5.5.1 type but looking at the resultant exported file there was still no sign of _PLAC_DEFN anywhere.

The Legacy export dialog loads with a default gedcom type on offer shown as "Legacy" but there are other choices available such as Gedcom 5.5.1, PAF, Ancestry etc. If this default is accepted then the _PLAC_DEFN is included in the exported gedcom so that would explain why I was not seeing that tag at all as I was starting from the Gedcom 5.5.1 position.

I run the plugin again on a file created using the "Legacy" type of gedcom that did contain a number of _PLAC_DEFN tags and it removed each line that contained "0 _PLAC_DEFN".

It seems the Calico Pie "Convert Legacy Places"plugin is only necessary if the Legacy export is created using the default "Legacy" type of gedcom file and is not needed if the Legacy user selects "Gedcom 5.5.1" as the export file type.

[tatewise]

Have you Geo-coded the Master Locations List in Legacy to get Latitude/Longitude plots?
If not, then I suspect the _PLAC_DEFN are empty so nothing worthwhile gets exported.

In the exported GEDCOM, did the _PLAC_DEFN entries have any sub-tags such as PLAC, MAP, LATI or LONG?
Without them the conversion has nothing to create, so the entries just get deleted.

Did the conversion Plugin create any _PLAC records?

[laz_gen]

I have 3800+ entries in my Legacy Master Location list and I think a large proportion are geocoded but can't be certain (from within Legacy) as the mapping features are all now disabled.

This is an entry as exported by Legacy, with the export dialog set for a "Legacy" type of gedcom.

0 _PLAC_DEFN
1 PLAC Lydney, Gloucestershire, England, UK
2 ABBR Lydney, GLS, England, UK
2 MAP
3 LATI N51.7166666666667
3 LONG W2.53333333333333

and this is the same entry after the plugin has been run.

0 @P1@ _PLAC Lydney, Gloucestershire, England, UK
1 STAN Lydney, GLS, England, UK
1 MAP
2 LATI N51.7166666666667
2 LONG W2.53333333333333

[tatewise]

I only have the free copy of Legacy, but have experimented with its Export > GEDCOM File options.

It seems that the Customise include/exclude options have no effect on the _PLAC_DEFN records.
Whether included or excluded the exported GEDCOM only has those records in Legacy mode.
( I have not exhaustively tested all the modes, but that is unimportant. )

So this is what I suggest you try...
Initially select GEDCOM 5.5.1 Only mode and in the Customise options <Remove say _FSFTID and _UID.
Then use Save List and save as GEDCOM Export List of restricted exported tags.
Now revert to Legacy mode and in the Customise options use Load List to set those restricted tags.
Ensure all other settings are as per the [kb]|[/kb] guide and click the START EXPORT button.

That should restrict the data to FH & GEDCOM compatible data plus the _PLAC_DEFN records.
Let me know how that works.

[laz_gen]

I am afraid that method didn't work, none of the _PLAC_DEFN tags were exported.

Instead I started with the "Legacy" kind of gedcom and removed all of the tags that began with an underscore except _PLAC_DEFN and saved that as a re-loadable config.

The Legacy generated gedcom now has a _PLAC_DEFN for each of my Places and the "Convert Legacy Places"plugin has done a marvellous job converting them all to FH readable entries.

My finished Place list in FH now has a LATI and LONG for almost all of the entries whereas they were missing altogether before. I will have a minimal amount of geo-coding and tidying up to do.

Once again thank you for your help and if this little experiment helps future Legacy migrants, all the better.

[tatewise]

That is strange. I wonder why it did not work.
What Legacy version do you have?
Mine is 9.0.0.226 and the latest is 9.0.0.282

I have just checked again and the _PLAC_DEFN records were in the GEDCOM even though _PLAC_DEFN was not in the items list as long as the Produce file for was set to Legacy.
You did remember to switch to Legacy mode and leave it there?
When I said "Ensure all other settings are as per the Knowledge Base guide" that perhaps should have said except selecting GEDCOM 5.5.1 Only mode.

[laz_gen]

I am using Legacy 9.0.0.282 which is the latest.

This strategy is now working very well for me as it has brought to my attention quite a few more tags and data that I don't want to leave behind, tags that weren't naturally included in the bare gedcom 5.5.1.

In the past I have used Legacy's feature to link and match with Family Search and it has gathered a great many person ID's from there. Likewise Legacy has a feature to search the FindaGrave website and a specific field to store their ID number, so I have included all these extra tags in my Legacy export strategy.

I can now seen how I can also bring this data over from Legacy, make new custom tags in FH and use your "Change Any Fact" plugin to re-map this data into these newly created tags.

[tatewise]

That all makes sense, and I intend to update the [kb]|[/kb] advice along the lines of suggesting users experiment with both Legacy mode and GEDCOM 5.5.1 mode, and focus on the data you mention in the Customise options.