* Importing to Family Historian

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tatewise
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Importing to Family Historian

Post by tatewise »

I have completely rewritten the preliminary paragraphs of Importing to Family Historian as follows because I believe it is important for newcomers to be provided with clearer instructions.
With that in mind, can there be a specific link to the Importing topic, so that the Compendium of Conversion Plugins, Handling Uncategorised Data Fields, and related advice is easier for newcomers to find?
Introduction
Importing a GEDCOM into Family Historian (ƒh) may be as simple as opening the GEDCOM file in ƒh, but it is advisable to create a Project by using the File > Project Window… command and New Project… button.
Each of the sections below gives advice for importing from various other genealogy products. A few allow direct import from other product database files avoiding GEDCOM altogether.

Suggested Actions
• The first time you open a GEDCOM file, ƒh will check for errors and produce reports of data it does not understand such as Uncategorised Data Fields. Save any report files to a new name using the File/Save As option.
When a Project is created, similar reports are produced and automatically saved for review via the Window > Log Files… command.
• Work through the error reports to check for any erroneous tags. These are normally caused by the program the GEDCOM file came from. However, you may be able to identify the errors and correct them either directly in ƒh or in the other program or by using a text editor to do a search and replace for the tags in the GEDCOM file but that is only advisable for experts. There is a compendium of plugins designed to correct many of the common errors that have been experienced by users migrating from other products.
• Custom Facts imported from another product will have no Fact definitions, so are not listed by default in the Tools > Fact Types… command dialogue. To reveal them, tick the Show Hidden option, and click the Visible column heading to sort the <undefined> Custom Facts to the bottom. Select each one in turn and click the Edit… button to create a definition. Alternatively, the Change Any Fact Tag plugin can convert Custom Facts to Standard Facts where appropriate.
The Import from Legacy Family Tree (LFT) accordion, 'On the Options tab:' bullet list needs an extra final 5th bullet point:
• Do NOT tick the Export Shared Events as regular Events option so that Shared Events are migrated as Fact Witnesses
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

With that in mind, can there be a specific link to the Importing topic, so that the Compendium of Conversion Plugins, Handling Uncategorised Data Fields, and related advice is easier for newcomers to find?
Isn't Topic: Importing exactly that?

I think (he will correct me if I'm wrong) that Mark1834 was going to do some work on that article -- if so, I'll leave him to fold this in as he sees fit. It might be a few weeks before he gets to it though. If I'm mistaken, I'll add it to my to-do list, but it will still be a few weeks off.
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by tatewise »

Yes, the 'In Topics: Importing, Importing and Exporting' at the top of the page does have that link, but newcomers may be unfamiliar with such techniques for navigating the KB when up to their eyes struggling with GEDCOM import problems for a program with which they are unfamiliar and reading advice much further down the page.

While they are fresh in mind, I have some other changes that are needed...

The Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG) accordion, Import Guide bullet list and Known FH V5+ Problems bullet list both need the same Sort Date entry 5th from the end of those lists to be changed to:
  • Until ƒh V7 the Sort Date for every Fact was omitted, but see the workaround in Import Fact Sort Dates for FH V5 & V6 below.
Then under Correcting Problems the 5th paragraph needs to be changed to:
The UK variant of TMG offers special event tags such as Census 1841, Census 1851, etc, which when exported become GEDCOM Custom Events that are not recommended in ƒh. To change these in TMG use Tools > Master Tag Type List, select the event tag name, click Edit and perform the following change depending on the ƒh Version.
  • In ƒh V6 or earlier, on the Other tab, set GEDCOM export as Tag: CENS or whatever standard GEDCOM tag is appropriate.
  • In ƒh V7 or later, change the Label: to Census or whatever standard ƒh event Name is appropriate.
Alternatively, the Change Any Fact Tag plugin can be used in ƒh after import.

In ƒh V7 or later, if the Roles and Sentences need to be imported, it is essential that in TMG the English (U.S.) versions are in English and the foreign versions use the appropriate foreign language.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

tatewise wrote: 18 Aug 2021 14:10 Yes, the 'In Topics: Importing, Importing and Exporting' at the top of the page does have that link, but newcomers may be unfamiliar with such techniques for navigating the KB when up to their eyes struggling with GEDCOM import problems for a program with which they are unfamiliar and reading advice much further down the page.
I'm not clear what you're asking for. There's a link on the front page (under Importing and Exporting), and a link at the top of each page in that section -- both lead to the list of Importing topics. Without completely redesigning the KB navigation, where else do you want to see it?
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by tatewise »

Newcomers to the FHUG Forum or family-historian@groups.io Email who ask for importing advice are often guided straight to the Importing to Family Historian page, so the only link they might see is the Topic: Importing at the top of that page.
However, they will usually be directed to the accordion for their product and will probably miss that top of page link.
As newcomers, it may be their first visit to the KB, so the significance of the top of page topic link may be lost on them.
Thye have a lot of other 'new stuff' to cope with!

The Importing topic is not even mentioned under Related Content at the bottom of the page and I really don't understand how the 4 topics currently listed there are related to Importing to Family Historian.

In the old KB there were direct links to the articles now listed under the Importing topic. That KB had a bullet list that mentioned them all with a summary of their purpose. Some of the current accordions specifically mention some of the articles, but it is very inconsistent. For example, Handling Uncategorised Data Fields is mentioned in only half the accordions although probably relevant to them all.

We only have one opportunity to give a good impression to newcomers. So more direct links to the associated articles on importing would I believe be beneficial. If the Importing topic cannot be mentioned more often, say at the top of each accordion, then I will spend some time proposing edits to the Importing to Family Historian page to mention relevant articles more consistently.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Perhaps an interim step is for people answering questions is to stop directing people to an accordion (which don't have a static link anyway) and instead direct them to the article and mention the overarching topic as well.

When Mark does the rewrite, I will leave it to him to decide where to include direct links in the text (and to address the consistency of those links).

Please don't spend any time proposing changes -- there is already a modified article in flight, so to speak (i.e. a Pending Revision), so you will be proposing edits to the wrong text.
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by Mark1834 »

My typical reader for the Importing page is a new FH user who is migrating from another product. By definition, they will be using FH7 or FH6.2, so the emphasis will be on advice relevant to those products. I won’t delete references to earlier versions, but they mustn’t get in the way of more relevant material. Expertise will range from the highly IT literate who know all there is to know about their old product through to novices who may have been given a database by someone else and want to develop it in FH.

I want everything this is relevant to all or most apps in the main body of the page, with the accordion containing just additional details relevant to that app. Repeating essentially the same paragraphs many times over is not very efficient and difficult to maintain.

Finally, the drop down table of contents needs to be much easier to navigate, with products of highest interest today (RM, Legacy etc) most conspicuous and things like PAF down the list.

I won’t be reviewing every detailed instruction for every product, so the best way forward is for me to get the page into this format first. Then we can certainly invite detailed comments on the individual sections.
Mark Draper
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by Mark1834 »

I have updated the KB page to reflect the direct import from RM and Legacy now available. It's structured as described above, with much more meat in the main text. IMO, there's still too much material on old versions of FH that is now redundant, but I have reduced its prominence.

The accordions can still be tidied up, but comments invited from those more familiar with the intimate details...
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by tatewise »

These are my first broad-brush impressions on Importing to Family Historian.
I hope to review it more closely after I have updated to FH v7.0.8 and tried some imports.
Much of it is a significant improvement, especially the cross-references to other advice.

Introduction
IMO the details about which products can be directly imported by which FH versions needs clarifying and future-proofing.
i.e. It does not say what products v6.2.7 supports. It should not mention v7.0.8 as that becomes obsolete when later versions are released. I don't think this is the place to tell users how to upgrade to the latest ƒh v7.

I suggest the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs could say:

"Version 6.2.7 of ƒh supports direct import from Genbox and The Master Genealogist (TMG)."

"Version 7.0 of ƒh has enhanced direct import from The Master Genealogist (TMG) and added RootsMagic and Legacy. Calico Pie provide detailed information on their website about which product files can be read directly by the latest version of ƒh."

BTW: Do you think it odd that CP describe how to export a GEDCOM from Ancestry but not from any other products?
They also don't say anything about exporting Media from Ancestry. However, they do cross-refer to this FHUG page on Importing to Family Historian where handling Ancestry Media is explained.

General Import Process
Getting Started
It says "The best way to import a GEDCOM file..." but does not mention any other way.
Perhaps, "The recommended way to import a GEDCOM file..." would be better?

Product Accordions
Products that allow direct import need a section header Import ... Project to complement the Import GEDCOM File header, similar to the Import from The Master Genealogist (TMG) accordion.
Such sections would as a minimum explain where to find the specific file type(s) for the product's Projects, because even users of the product may not be familiar with its folder structure.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by Mark1834 »

Thanks Mike. Agree that we need to ensure it is future-proof, so I’ll look to tweak the wording later this week, but not lose the key message to keep FH up to date.
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Mark1834 wrote: 13 Sep 2021 15:58 I’ll look to tweak the wording later this week
Did this get finished?
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Re: Importing to Family Historian

Post by Mark1834 »

Probably dropped off the radar, as they were relatively minor tweaks. It’s been well over a year since FH importing was radically improved, so it probably needs another review to bring it up to date. AFAIK nothing in it is wrong, but there is more experience of the potential issues now.
Mark Draper
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