* Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

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Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

I see that there is no option for Ancestral Quest in the plugin.

I have just exported my DIL's tree for her and she has the free version of Ancestral Quest. On import it threw up a multitude of errors mainly to do with not liking the ADDR tag and also for ages it doesn't like 35y. Needless to say it didn't like custom tags either.

@Mike when you have time is this something you could take a look at adding please?
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

Despite not having a predefined option for Ancestral Quest you should still use the Export Gedcom File Plugin.
Doing so will also help me get started with understanding the settings that work, and any exceptions that don't.

Start with the (CEA) Custom Export Alpha mode, which defaults to the (Std) Standard GEDCOM 5.5 settings.
That will handle all the custom FH tags, and let you explore the character encodings and media settings that work.
Since it seems that the ADDR tag and AGE tag is not supported then try the following.
On Extra Options tab set Fact Address 2 ADDR: to one of the Move ... options and see what works best.
On Other Options tab tick all three Fact Husband/Wife/Person Age 2 HUSB/WIFE/AGE: options to move to Note.

I think Ancestral Quest supports GEDCOM Draft 5.5.1 so on Extra Options tab you may need to set the following:
Custom Attribute 1 _ATTR: to Custom Fact & Value ( Sdr ...)
Fact/Record E-mail 2/1 _EMAIL: & Fact/Record Website 2/1 _WEB: & Media Format %d FORM: to Gedcom 5.5.1 ... option.

Those settings, and any others, will be saved against the (CEA) Custom Export Alpha mode without affecting any others.
Let me know how you get on.

Which version number of Ancestral Quest Basics does your DIL have?
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

@ Mike

Thanks very much for that nearly there.

That has got rid of the majority. I do have several of these now though:
ERROR 16: jen4 CEA UTF8.GED, line 4489: Unexpected tag 'SOUR' in Note Structure.

3 SOUR S520

ERROR 17: jen4 CEA UTF8.GED, line 4659: Ignoring unexpected tag 'DATE'.

2 DATE 9 JAN 2016

ERROR 18: jen4 CEA UTF8.GED, line 4660: Ignoring unexpected tag 'TIME'.

3 TIME 16:37:43
She is using v15.0.17 on a Mac which is pre-packaged in Crossover from Ancestral Quest.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

The errors for unexpected 2 DATE and 3 TIME tags on consecutive lines relate to Update/Change timestamps.
Thus it seems Ancestral Quest does not support the standard GEDCOM tags for CHAN.DATE.TIME.
So, on the Extra Options tab lower right, set Updated 1 CHAN: to Remove entirely ( Std- ... ).

The errors for Unexpected tag 'SOUR' in Note Structure are more obscure, and no Plugin option is available.
In FH do you have Fact Note fields with Source Citations?
If not, it may be FH custom tags synthesised as Note fields that have brought Source Citations with them.
Anyway, can you post a GEDCOM snippet around line 4489 to put those ...NOTE.SOUR... tags in context.

What Media options work for Ancestral Quest, or does it not upload Media files?

I will incorporate all that we have discovered in the next version of the Plugin.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

I have had a chance to review Ancestral Quest Basics with regard to Export Gedcom File Plugin.

Contrary what I thought, Ancestral Quest does NOT support GEDCOM Draft 5.5.1 and doesn't fully support GEDCOM 5.5.
So I have revised my thoughts about some of the option settings and added some new ones as explained below.

The GEDCOM Export Mode is (AQP) Ancestral Quest Program and Full Data & Brief Data work OK
The Character Set Encoding is (UTF8) UTF-8 with a Byte Order Mark by default, and others may be OK
The Multimedia Conversion is (PART~LMO) Part Frames via Local Media Objects by default, and others may be OK
When you choose File > Import > GEDCOM Import ensure to tick Import Scrapbook Items
Scrapbook Media are set as Photo with preferred Default (a few are set as Other and I'll fix that bug eventually)
All other options should work as expected.

Ancestral Quest doesn't fully support SPFX, DSCR, IDNO, TITL, NCHI, NMR, SUBM, ASSO, ADDR, AGE, PHON tags.
It only allows REFN and CHAN on certain record types, and does not allow SOUR on any NOTE fields.
So the Plugin has set rules to deal with all those as appropriate.
There are some rare but standard uses of FAMC, AGNC, RELA, ROLE tags that still need rules.

Try attached Export Gedcom File Plugin Version 3.7.1 Date 06 Aug 2019 as a ZIP file that must be extracted.
[ EDIT: Attachment deleted as Version 3.8 is now in Plugin Store. ]
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

@Mike

Thanks for that, the family are going back tonight, that's why i haven't been back about this. I now have AQ loaded on my Mac so I can play around until I get it right and then send the file over to her. I will let you know how I get on tomorrow once peace has descended.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

When I installed Ancestral Quest there were various options.

One offered alternative character encoding options such as ANSI, Unicode, UTF8, etc.
I think I chose basic Unicode and had expected a program Tools > Preferences option to change it, but there is not.
Presumably, if an option such as ANSI were chosen, then Unicode/UTF8 extended characters would not be support?

A language option defaulted to English (United States) and offered English (United Kingdom) that I chose.
But in program Tools > Language only offers English (United States) and no way to get English (United Kingdom).
It offers the ability to install language files, but none seem available and the Help does not help much.
Some language features are not available in the Basics version.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

Mike

That works well except for the following error when importing media into the scrapbook
ERROR 1: jen6 AQP UTF8.GED, line 4943: Unexpected tag 'OBJE' in Source Data Structure (extra media: \\VBOXSVR\Family_Historian_Projects\spencer\Public\Export\0O734 GBC_1901_0373-0375_0681.jpg).

1 OBJE
What is odd is that there are 22 errors of this OBJE type but there are 67 media items to be imported.

This is the actual source record for that error in the gedcom
0 @S512@ SOUR
1 TITL Baptism Lambeth, London, Surrey (St John the Evangelist) 11 Oct 1835 Robert Thomas Cure
1 PUBL 1838
1 TEXT Baptisms at St John the Evangelist, Lambeth, London, Surrey
2 CONT No. 1838
2 CONT When baptized: 11 Oct 1835
2 CONT Child's Christian Name: Robert Thomas
2 CONT Parents' Christian Names: Joseph and Sarah
2 CONT Parents' Surname: Cure
2 CONT Abode: Canterbury Place, Lambeth, London, Surrey
2 CONT Quality, Trade or Profession:
1 OBJE
2 _TYPE PHOTO
2 FORM jpeg
2 TITL Baptism Lambeth, London, Surrey (St John the Evangelist) 11 Oct 1835 Robert Thomas Cure
2 FILE \\VBOXSVR\Family_Historian_Projects\spencer\Public\Export\0O735 31280_198055-00129.jpg
2 NOTE Media Date: 11 OCT 1835
3 CONT Keywords: Picture
1 NOTE Source Type: Baptism
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

Are you sure that is the correct Source record snippet, because the media FILE names do not match :?
When I paste that snippet into a GEDCOM of mine it imports to AQ without any Error message.
AQ simply complained that it could not find the file when I opened the Source.

Presumably the other 45 media items imported correctly.
Where are those media attached? Individual records, Family Records, Facts, Source records?
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

OOPs yes you are right.

I have checked again and it seems as though AQ does not like more than one image per source which seems like a major failing.

This is the correct snippet
0 @S511@ SOUR
1 TITL Census 1901 Newington, London, Surrey RG13/375/118/24
1 PUBL RG13/375/118/24
1 TEXT Name Relation Condition Sex Age Occupation Employ Status At Home Where Born
2 CONT William Wickham Head M M 51 Firework maker Worker Camberwell, London
2 CONT Annie Wickham Wife M F 50 Westminster, Surrey
2 CONT Albert E Cure Son S M 32 Cab driver Worker Camberwell, London
2 CONT Robert Thomas Cure Son S M 27 Cab driver Worker Lambeth, London
2 CONT Grace Maud Cure Daughter S F 24 Lambeth, London
2 CONT Emily Rose Cure Daughter S F 19 Lambeth, London
2 CONT Henry George Cure Son S M 21 Wheelwright Worker Lambeth, London
2 CONT Charles Herbert Cure Son S M 17 Wheelwright Worker Lambeth, London
2 CONT Joseph Cure Son S M 0 Camberwell, London
2 CONT Emma Hunt Boarder S F 37 Newington, London, Surrey
1 OBJE
2 _TYPE PHOTO
2 FORM jpeg
2 TITL Census UK 1901 RG13/375/118/24
2 FILE \\VBOXSVR\Family_Historian_Projects\spencer\Public\Export\0O733 GBC_1901_0373-0375_0680.jpg
2 NOTE Media Date: 31 MAR 1901
3 CONT Keywords: Picture
1 OBJE
2 _TYPE PHOTO
2 FORM jpeg
2 TITL Census UK 1901 RG13/375/118/24
2 FILE \\VBOXSVR\Family_Historian_Projects\spencer\Public\Export\0O734 GBC_1901_0373-0375_0681.jpg
2 NOTE Media Date: 31 MAR 1901
3 CONT Keywords: Picture
1 NOTE Source Type: Census
AQ has not imported either of the census images for this source, it also does not seem to have imported images for any family sources but has imported photos for the individuals.

I will try to persuade her to buy FH.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

I had not finished analysing all the Errors that my test Project produces when imported to AQ.

Yes, multiple Media attached to Source records are not allowed, and the Error says:
Unexpected tag 'OBJE' in Source Data Structure ... and supplies the media file name.

Also Media attached to Family records are not allowed, but the Error messages do not mention OBJE tag, and instead Error every subsidiary _TYPE, FORM, TITLE, FILE, NOTE tag!

Interestingly, Media attached to Individual records at record or fact level all import to the Scrapbook at the record level.

I had assumed that AQ was being used because it was free and offered Collaboration and automated searches within Ancestry, FamilySearch & FindMyPast.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

Yes it is being used because it is free. Probably 'Bank of Dad' will have to pay for a FH licence ;)
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

There are better free products such as:
RootsMagic Essentials supports Witnessed/Shared Events, Media, UTF-8, also iOS and Android apps
Legacy Standard Edition supports Witnessed/Shared Events, Media, but not UTF-8
Heredis supports Witnessed/Shared Events, Media, but not UTF-8, also iOS and Android apps, but some limitations.
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder supports Media, UTF-8, also iOS and Android apps

All are supported by the Export Gedcom File Plugin.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

Mike

Thanks for that I hadn't realised that Heredis was free, the Mac is the issue. Just checking it is only free for 50 people to that is no good.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

Heredis free version allows unlimited records to be imported via GEDCOM, but adding more records manually is inhibited once the 50 limit is exceeded.

Did not realise your DiL needed to run on Mac, so presumably will have to use Crossover or such like.
I don't know if any of the other free versions run well in an emulator.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by mjashby »

Colin,

If you/your DiL are looking at the 'free' software options, (and you're not averse to installing Java/OpenJDK) then you might want to take a look at Ancestris - http://www.ancestris.org/index.html

Like FH, it works directly with a GEDCOM data file rather than a true database; and, being a Java app, it is available ready to run on Windows, Mac and Linux. Most of the other free options I'm aware of apart from Gramps, which people tend to love or hate, tend to be Windows only.

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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

(GFT) Gramps Family Tree is supported by the Export Gedcom File Plugin (did not remember it ran on Mac :oops: ).

I'll have a look at Ancestris when I get some time.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by Valkrider »

Thanks for the suggestions.

I did mention Mac in my original post, you probably missed it Mike.

We looked at Gramps whilst she was here and didn't like it.

AQ is an evolution of PAF which I used before I found FH but now realise why I changed :D

I will take a look at Ancestris thanks for that Mervyn
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by johnmorrisoniom »

tatewise wrote:There are better free products such as:

Heredis supports Witnessed/Shared Events, Media, but not UTF-8, also iOS and Android apps, but some limitations.


All are supported by the Export Gedcom File Plugin.
Mike Tate, Heredis 2019 does support UTF-8
I have a full version, and use it to connect to the android app!
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

Thank you for that feedback John.
Heredis has always allowed UTF8 to appear unchallenged in the GEDCOM file HEADer as a CHARacter encoding tag value.
BUT only ANSI characters were supported, so some characters either lost their accents or became a question mark ?
Can you confirm that all UTF-8 characters are now fully supported and not just the ANSI subset (that does allow a few accented characters and symbols as in FH V5)?

I have just looked at the Heredis 2019 New Features page and it says UTF-8 is fully supported, so the answer to my question appears to be Yes, and after checking I'll update the Export Gedcom File Plugin.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

I am planning to download and install Ancestris but am confused about the version of Java to install.

On the Installation page it says "you need to install Java version 1.8 on your system. Ancestris will not work with more recent versions of Java." But all the links take me to Java Version 8.0 downloads.

I prefer the Firefox 64-bit browser, so will the Java 64-bit version work with Firefox and Ancestris?

After some experimentation I've discovered that Java does not run in Firefox or Chrome due to lack of NPAPI.
I have Java Version 8 Update 221 32-bit running in Internet Explorer, so will that support Ancestris?

However, looking at the Ancestris page to Swap between different Java versions it includes:
set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_12
Well that would be the 64-bit version, whereas mine is C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.8.0_221\bin which is the 32-bit version for JRE Runtime Environment and not the JDK Development Kit.
Where do I get JDK Version 1.8?
BTW: I also had installed the C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_221\bin 64-bit version.

Anyway, I went ahead and downloaded and installed the Ancestris Daily Version ZIP file.
Both the ...\ancestris-latest\ancestris\bin\ancestris.exe and also ancestris64.exe appear to run OK :)
So it seems their Java installation and associated instructions need updating.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by mjashby »

Mike,

Java 8.0 is also known as 1.8! Yes, very confusing but see: https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java ... 57130.html for an explanation. I believe Java releases are up to version 11.0 now, but 8.0 is still the most widely used.

If you download Ancestris (it's a zip file), you will see that it contains both 32-bit and 64-bit exe files. You might want to download the latest daily build rather than the 0.9 Stable version which is quite old. The daily version contains bug fixes/new features. Haven't looked at the app in any detail recently but when it was first released the on-screen appearance was very similar to FH (almost a copy!), but the current screenshots seem to have evolved since then. Interesting (if somewhat risky), that one of the internal editors provided allows direct access to the GEDCOM file.

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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest and Ancestris and Heredis

Post by tatewise »

I have Ancestris 64-bit running OK and it imports standard GEDCOM 5.5 files pretty well.
( It also has an option for GEDCOM Draft 5.5.1 but I have not tested that yet. )
I am in contact with the developers regarding a few GEDCOM compliance problems.
Will also report the confusing Java Installation advice to them in due course.
BTW: The GEDCOM Editor is not too risky as it only allows compliant GEDCOM to be created. Also it is the only way I have found to see certain features such as the Citation fields.

I have experimented with Heredis 2019 (free trial) that has significantly enhanced support for GEDCOM features.
However, once more than 50 Individuals are imported the free trial inhibits several features.
Its GEDCOM import error reporting is almost non-existent and it refused to import most Source Citations until discovering it baulked at NOTE fields with SOUR citations (that were not such a problem in Heredis 2017).

The next version of the Export Gedcom File Plugin, due soon, will support Ancestris, Ancestral Quest, Heredis 2019 and RootsFinder plus a few minor refinements.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

I am also now in dialogue with an Ancestral Quest developer regarding its GEDCOM deficiencies.
They were under the impression that it fully supported GEDCOM 5.5 :o

The Ancestris developer has agreed that it has GEDCOM compliance problems and plans to fix them quickly.

I now intend to hold back publishing the Plugin until the situation stabilises.
If anyone needs it to work with these products or Heredis 2019, then I can attach a draft copy here.
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Re: Export Gedcom Plugin - Ancestral Quest

Post by tatewise »

Ancestris is being updated by the developers, and is extremely GEDCOM 5.5 & Draft 5.5.1 compliant.
See Ancestris versus Family Historian (17033) for further features.
For the moment, to export from FH to Ancestris use the Export Gedcom File modes for (Std) Standard GEDCOM 5.5 or for (Sdr) Standard GEDCOM Draft 5.5.1.
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