* Crossed out media

[ffinder]

I need advice about showing media. I have 3 family files, imported from Family Tree Maker in 2019 which have crosses against all the media items. I knew I had moved the file containing family photos and thought that would be the problem. I want to be able to see the media and tried asking FH to Auto repair links. It investigated for a long time and had no success
I looked at a media name in Tools-work with external file links and it gave an enormous list after the box with a cross through it. I copied one. http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&gu ... 89&pid=231
I expect that I did something wrong when I imported the files, and it cannot help having ancestry.com in the name. Can I do anything to repair them now?

[tatewise]

The crossed-out Media indicate that FH cannot find the Media file at the path specified.

Your description is a little unclear.
Are you saying that the Media images did display correctly in FH, but after moving a folder they have vanished?
For images to display correctly the Media File path must be a Windows file path.
That should be case after importing a GEDCOM from FTM 2019.

Moving the folder holding the family photos is almost certainly the cause.
Please tell us the original file path of the photos that you moved and where you moved it to.
The simplest solution should be to move them back to their original position.
If that fixes the problem then we can explain the best way to move them if you still want to do that.

However, you posted a File path that is an Ancestry website URL that can never display an image inside FH.
That is what you get if you import a GEDCOM from Ancestry into FH.

[ffinder]

Thank you for your response. Sorry I was not clear. The files with crossed media did not show media.
I intended and tried to make the files from FTM gedcoms. After reading what you said about Ancestry I searched my FTM folder and failed to find GEDCOMS of the correct date, so I suppose I must have failed to tick something in the process.
I very much regret now that I assumed I would be able to sort it out and continued to use the files a bit without media.
The media item I gave the example of in FTM is
C:\Users\barbara\Documents\Family Tree Maker\Douglas King's family-1 Media
I am wondering whether I could merge these files with crossed ancestry media with some I made earlier, which do show media. (They were from an earlier version of FTM.) Would I need to delete media from the recent files to do that?
I have not merged files before and expect I would need to back everything up before trying.
Could the fact I added a folder which contains Census, Certificates, Military docs and Wills as well as the family pictures cause a problem? Should I remove the family pictures again?

[tatewise]

I'm sorry, but your description of events is a bit unclear to me so let me make some suggestions.

I think you said you have three FH Projects listed in the File > Project Window.
Select each one in turn and us the Tools > External File Links... command.
The File Links pane can show three types of file path:

1. Project Data Folder - Media with subsidiary files & folders that are in the FH Project internal data folder.
2. C: - Users - barbara - Documents with subsidiary files & folders that are somewhere else on your PC.
3. Project Data Folder X http: //trees.ancestry.com that are online web links that FH CANNOT use.

Use the advice in the FHUG Knowledge Base for Importing to Family Historian under Import from Family Tree Maker (FTM) and in the FH File > Project Window > New Project dialogue leave 'Copy any linked multimedia...' ticked, then you should only have case 1. above with all Media inside the FH Project.

Do the same as above but untick 'Copy any linked multimedia...' then you should have only case 2. above with all Media in the Family Tree Maker folder. If you move or rename any of those files or folders then FH will lose track of them and put an X in their place.

Case 3. will only occur if you download and import a GEDCOM directly from Ancestry.com instead of FTM.

Does that help you understand your symptoms?

[ffinder]

Thank you for your advice. I have checked again and all 3 of the trees from 2019 are no. 3, ancestry.com.
I also have earlier versions of each tree from 2015. Those were taken from FTM and do show media.
But I continued to work on the trees using FTM most of the time because I was more familiar with that programme, so the 2019 ones do have more people and information.
Since then I have been using FH, rarely opened FTM, and am no longer a member of Ancestry. So making new imports from FTM would loose recent additions.
It looks as though I have made a mess with importing the 2019 files. But as I have continued to add to the trees somewhat since then I wonder if merging the earlier files which show media, with the ones with crossed out Ancestry media might make the best of the situation.
I look forward to your reply.

[tatewise]

It would help to understand where your latest master databases are held.
Is that in FTM, or in Ancestry.com, or somewhere else?

It is that latest data that needs to be imported into FH and I can explain how.

[ffinder]

Thank you. It has taken me a while to wonder what my master database is. I have searched and cannot find the Ancestry data, but before I left Ancestry I did synchronise the trees with FTM.
Media files for the FTM trees is in C\Users\barbara\Documents\Family Tree Maker. I hope that is what you need to know. Otherwise a lot of media is in Documents\ Family History\VISUAL MEDIA RECORDS.
ffinder

[tatewise]

Reading back over your earlier postings it seems that your latest master databases are the three 2019 FH Projects.
They contain the latest Individual and other details and it is only the Media that are the problem. Is that correct?

Correcting that Media problem is not going to be very easy.
How many Media Records need correcting?
Use File > File Statistics... and it lists how many Media Records are in the Project. Tell me the number for all three.
If relatively few, it may be easiest to fix each Media item one by one manually.

I have two automated processes we could try:

1. I have a prototype Plugin that can download Media images from your Ancestry online Family Trees.
   It only works for images that you originally uploaded to your Ancestry online Family Trees.
   You don't need a subscription to Ancestry but you must still have your free account and the Family Trees must still exist.
   Can you sign in to your Ancestry account and display the Family Trees with the required images in the Media Gallery?
2. Try and Merge the Media Records from your old 2015 FH Projects into the current 2019 FH Projects.
   Unfortunately, I don't think FH will automatically synchronize the Media Records.
   If everything else synchronises correctly, it may just involve deleting the erroneous http: //trees.ancestry.com records.
   Otherwise, you may have to go through syncing each Media pair one by one.

[ffinder]

Thank you for the suggestions. You give me lots to think about. Yes, it is the media that is the problem.
My mother's tree (no 1) in FH has 58 media records, but 202 in FTM. My father's (no 2) has 99 in FH but 273 in FTM. My husband's side (no 3) has 14 in FH but 195 in FTM.
I have tried to log into Ancestry but it will not let me in. I did have a free account ages ago and assume the online trees still exist, though I kept 1 and 2 private.
I have not done much with no 3 for some time, so I am thinking it might be easiest to try again to make a Gedcom from FTM 17 to import into FH.
If I did that with all 3 would it then be possible to merge the new trees with the ones with the crossed out media? I was using FTM 17 when I made those gedcom files, though accidentally used Ancestry.

[tatewise]

Yes, the accidental use of Ancestry would explain the http: //trees.ancestry.com/ entries and also the fewer number.

It sounds like the best option is to export the FTM GEDCOM and import that into FH as a new Project.
See the FHUG Knowledge Base Importing to Family Historian Import from Family Tree Maker (FTM) advice.

Tidy up the Project as advised and follow the Merge/Compare File advice.
The most important tip is to review EVERY tab in the Merge dialogue as many users forget and only review Individuals.
I suspect that after merging you will be able to simply delete the http: //trees.ancestry.com/ Media records.

[ffinder]

Thank you. I have exported all 3 FTM GEDCOMS and tried to import one of them as a new project.
I have got badly stuck, I'm afraid. It said there were a lot of broken links and I asked it to mend them. It eventually said it had mended 7 of 12.
Then it said some issues were logged in GEDCOM import. I opened the Log file and it is extensive. This is an example 'Individual Record 147: Appended value of tag '_LINK' to Note field'. There are 13 identical ones for record 147.
I have looked at lots of advice but cannot work out what I need to do to it.
I will leave the process as it is overnight.
I would appreciate some more guidance.
Thank you.

[tatewise]

Have you followed the FHUG Knowledge Base Importing to Family Historian Import from Family Tree Maker (FTM) advice, especially in the Introduction regarding saving “source” images from Ancestry?

From your recent postings, it seems that you don't have a current subscription to Ancestry.
So you might need to start a 14-day free trial or take out a short term subscription to download those images.
See Free access to Ancestry over Easter weekend (19221) that might be an alternative!
Without those images that probably explains all the _LINK Note http: //trees.ancestry.com/ entries.
There is a Plugin that improves such entries but the web links will probably not work without a subscription.

Which version of FTM are you running?

How many broken links did FH report?
You said a lot, but then that it mended 7 of 12.
What does Tools > External File Links... say in terms of the 3 types of file path I described on Sun 21st Mar 2021 12:45?

[ffinder]

Thank you for the very quick response. I had not read the bit about saving source records from Ancestry as I had left. I got news this morning of the free weekend access. You say that explains the _LINK Note, but they do not say Ancestry. However if that is what it means I am afraid there are hundreds. The numbers go up to 440 and most of them have multiple entries. So I am interested in the plugin and will re register with Ancestry.
I have FTM17.
I have looked at Tools> External File Links and found there are only 5 crossed out items, and they are all in Documents>Family Tree Maker>D K's Family_1 Media. 3 are family photos and 1 ADM and 1 AIR.
I will look at the bit about saving source records now.
Hope I have answered your queries.

[tatewise]

When responding please give as much info as possible!
If the _LINK Notes are not http: //trees.ancestry.com/ entries as I thought, then what are they?
Please provide some typical examples. I cannot explain how to fix them if I don't know what they are.

I'm not sure if FTM 17 still syncs with Ancestry, but let's hope it does.

So FH only reported 12 broken links, automatically fixed 7, and left 5 for you to fix by hand.
Can you find those 5 images among your Documents>Family Tree Maker> files?

[ffinder]

When I wrote earlier I did not know what the links were. The whole line I sent part of is 'Individual Record 147: Appended value of tag '_LINK' to Note field'.
This afternoon I have been investigating what I can find in FTM with the temporary Ancestry membership. You were correct about the sources all being Ancestry ones. I could display the Ancestry files through FTM Sources, so I hope your plugin will be feasible.
The Link file also has an Exception Report, which is enormous, but seems all to be 'INFO ONLY' about records that have been successfully loaded due to some adjustments.
The broken links that could not be fixed by FH are to images I have in my docs, and I think in considerably older copies of FTM files.
Are you suggesting I fix them by hand by copying and pasting the images from one place to the FTM file the GEDCOM was made from. Or would it be possible to add them to the new FH Project?
Your questions and assistance are keeping me going. Many thanks.

[tatewise]

Let's recap.
The dozen or so Media files that are already on your PC are not a significant problem, so we can come back to them later.

An important problem is that the FTM/Ancestry Family Trees are missing years of updates to your FH Project Family Trees.
So any automatic processing of online Media files is going to be difficult to synchronise across those Family Trees.
That may not be possible and you will have to resort to downloading them one by one manually.

The plugin I mentioned does NOT download Media files. It just makes web links easier to use, but that will probably only be useful if you have an Ancestry subscription, otherwise the links won't be allowed access to the Ancestry records.

I think you are saying that you can view the FTM/Ancestry source Media images while you have a free subscription.
So I suggest you download as many of those Media images to your PC as quickly as possible.
Then you can take your time adding them to your FH Project at a later date

Unfortunately, this situation is due to leaving the Media problem outstanding for so long.
Your Ancestry subscription has lapsed and the FH Projects have had a lot of additional records added.
So trying to perform updates between those Family Trees is far from easy.

[ffinder]

You said you understood the FTM/Ancestry Family Trees were missing years of updates to my FH Project Family Trees. In fact I have only used FH a bit in the last 2 years. I used to enjoy FH2.3, but found v6 very unfamiliar.
I did try downloading some of the files yesterday, but it takes ages and some I tried to save and put in FTM media do not show. Looking at the media on the new project tree shows fewer crossed out items than I had expected. If the files show in FH does that mean they are secure or will they fade away after the free Ancestry weekend? What about Source records?
I failed to get Ancestry to recognise me using my old User name and password and had to use a different email address. This is worrying because I will not be able to get to my private trees and don't know if the public one is still there.
I have 2 other trees which are likely to be similar to the new project.
If there were an easy way to get FTM to download linked Ancestry media files then I could do that before making
GEDCOMS from those 2 trees.
Please ask if I have not made things clear.

[tatewise]

Any Media images that show within FH are securely on your PC and independent of Ancestry.
They may be within the FH Project folder or in the Family Tree Maker folder so delete them.

You say you downloaded some Ancestry files and put them in FTM media but do not show.
Do not show where? They must be linked into FTM or into FH to show in either.

Can you get FTM/Ancestry Family Trees with the Media images you need showing anywhere?
Either within FTM Family Trees or in the Ancestry Family Trees does not matter.
The Family Trees must of course contain all the Individuals and Families you need.
If you cannot achieve that then the manual download is the only method that will work.

It should be possible to get your original username & password to work.
Have you tried the Forgot Password? option which should Email you with a workaround.

[victor]

First I like to confirm FTM syncs with Ancestry.
When I download images from Ancestry I save them in FH Project file. Never FTM
FH is my default tree which I always work on. From time to time I copy the gedcom part to FTM and sync it to Ancestry
Victor

[tatewise]

Victor, can you confirm that FTM 17 syncs with Ancestry.

Are you confirming that the only way to obtain Ancestry images is to download them one by one manually?

We were hoping that by syncing with Ancestry the images would download to FTM.
Alternatively, there is the RootsMagic route.

But note that the OP does NOT have a current Ancestry subscription and is relying on the free access this weekend.

[victor]

Yes I have FTM and it syncs with Ancestry. I download images from Ancestry opening them in my photo software (Corel) then from there save them into the appropriate folder in FH Projects. Then go to the name the image refers to and add it to that persons name
Victor

[tatewise]

Victor, which version of FTM is that? Is it FTM 17?

We know manual download is possible but the OP is finding that tedious.
Are those Ancestry images viewable in FTM before you download them?
We are hoping for a bulk automatic transfer of images from FTM to FH. Not one by one by hand.

[victor]

I am currently on FTM version 2019. Have always done this that way since I first had FTM before FH
I have just done a test for a 1901 census. I opened the census image. On the top right there is a Save option. I opened this and chose download to computer and ignored ther shoebox option which I have never used presume it goes to FTM. I then opened the census 1901 folder on my computer and save it there.

Victor

[tatewise]

We know FTM 2019 syncs OK, but it is not certain that FTM 17 will synchronise with Ancestry.
As the OP says, downloading one at a time is going to be extremely tedious with years of backlog to catch up.
But that may be the only option now.

[victor]

I have just been for a walk and gave some thought to your problem.
When you are on FTM do any of the names have a green leave next to them? If not then that could mean the tree is not sync to ancestry.
On the top right there is an ikon allowing you to sync to ancestry. Prompt this then your tree should start to be uploaded. Once done the names on your FTM will then have a green leave next to them. Prompt the leave it takes you straight to Ancestry.
That is the only thing I can think off. It is what I have been doing

Victor