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Hi all
I`ve read all the above and downloaded the suggested query. However, it does not appear to help my issue. When i look at my Focus window for one of my ancestors are showing 2 marriages exactly the same details down to the same I.D number. How do i delete one without loosing them both?
Roger, I suspect you may have duplicated the spouse family relationship and not duplicated marriages.
The easiest way for us to confirm that is if you post a screenshot of the entire Focus Window.
See FHUG KB Forum Usage Tips under Attachments and Taking Screenshots for how to post the screenshot.
i.e. Take the screenshot with Windows Snip & Sketch and then Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) into your reply.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
(EDIT: Mike's reply arrived while I was writing this. I'll post mine anyway, but as Mike said a screenshot will help to confirm the problem.)
You have two Family Records for the couple. Deleting one of the Family records won’t delete the individuals, so it’s safe.
In the Records window look at the Families tab. (If it’s not displayed, use Tools > Preferences > Records Window and under Record Type Display Options set Families to Always show). Click the first column heading to make sure the records are sorted by surname of husband. Now scroll down until you find the two identical Family records. Select one of them and hit the delete key.
Alternatively, if you need to check that there are no differences at all between the two records, you can select them both and then use Edit > Merge/Compare Records.
By the way, if this was the result of a full file merge it may mean that you didn't merge any Family records at all. So there will be a lot of duplicate Family records.
Further to Lorna's reply, we need to check whether there are any actual Marriage Events for the couple.
That is why a screenshot of the Focus Window is so important as it shows Marriage details too.
If you delete a Family record it won't delete Individual records, but may delete a Marriage or other Family event, so may not be entirely safe.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
The safest option is to merge them rather than delete one. As I said in my previous reply, "... if you need to check that there are no differences at all between the two records, you can select them both and then use Edit > Merge/Compare Records."
I suspect that no family records were merged at all when the original file merge was done.
I agree with that but your very first suggestion was: "Deleting one of the Family records won’t delete the individuals, so it’s safe." whereas it may not be safe as we both agree. It needs further investigation to determine the simplest solution.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
Yes, my original suggestion was based on what Roger said: "....showing 2 marriages exactly the same details down to the same I.D number. How do i delete one without loosing them both? "
I assumed that "all the details" meant he had already checked everything and there were no differences. But it's better to be safe than sorry.
No, sorry, that just confirms what we can see in your Focus Window screenshot.
The duplicated Spouse: tab confirms the duplicated Family problem.
As I requested, we need to see the Focus Window details for Marriage and Children that are just off the bottom of the screen in your original screenshot.
Alternatively, the other Spouse: Alice tab for Thomas would provide the same details.
Alternatively, use the Families tab in the Records Window and find the duplicated entries for Thomas and Alice.
Then fully expand the details to show any facts and children.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
No, I said nothing about the Property Box Facts tab.
However, it is clear that you have entered two Marriage events with slightly different dates. Which is correct?
In your earliest screenshot, you showed information similar to the red-outlined data below.
What we need to see is information similar to that highlighted in yellow below.
You just need to scroll the display up to reveal those lower details.
image.png (128.42 KiB) Viewed 463 times
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
Yes, that is right. It is sometimes difficult to judge the experience of users who post questions.
These latest screenshots reveal interesting differences that need careful handling. So I'm glad we persevered.
The upper family have a Marriage date but no place and one child Robert MASON Rec Id [1411].
The lower family have a Marriage date & place and 6 children including Robert MASON Rec Id [306].
Are those two children Robert MASON with two Rec Id meant to be one and the same person?
i.e. Do those two Individuals need to be merged?
It might help us understand the extent of your 'duplications' and how much correction may be needed if you could explain how this situation has arisen.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
Hello. I am brand new to this forum and pretty new to FH in general. I hope I'm not being rude by jumping into someone else's topic but I am having the same issue, so I thought it might simplify things - please let me know if I should do something else. I believe that my duplicates have the same information in each, with the exception being one has 2 children and one only has one child. I am currently adding individuals to the family and when I do, it continues to duplicate them all. When I try to use the "merge/compare records" under "Edit" I am able to see a side-by-side comparison but when I highlight and click on the right arrow and click "OK" I get an error message that says "you must select 2 and only 2 records for merging". I have been working on this for hours, have read the FH merge directions and KB and obviously am doing something wrong. I would appreciate any help!
Attachments
FH merge error.PNG (91.63 KiB) Viewed 278 times
FH merge tellev family.PNG (176.82 KiB) Viewed 278 times
I think you probably have only one record for Tellev and only one for his wife Tone, but you have created two Family records for them.
First, click on each of the two boxes for Tellev in the Focus window to open his Property Box. Is the Record ID (shown at the top next to his name) the same in each case? Now do the same for Tone. Is her Record Id the same in each case?
If either of them has more than one Record ID you need to start by selecting the pair of Individual records for merging. After that you will need to merge the Family records.
If the Individual records are not duplicated you can go straight to the Records Window, Families tab. (If the Families tab is not showing, use Tools>Preferences>Records Window and under Record Type Display Options set Families to Always show.)
By default the Family records will be sorted alphabetically by the husband’s surname. You should find there are two Family records for this couple. It is those Family records which need to be merged. Select them both and then use Edit > Merge/Compare records.
Hi Lorna,
Thank you. My next question is, in one family Tellev and Tone have two daughters and one family only one. If I merge them, will it merge to both daughters, or how do I switch that. Right now, it looks like I am merging from the family with two daughters to the family with 1 daughter.
I agree with Mike, any extra children will be preserved by default. You would have to deliberatley remove them if you didn't want them to be kept.
However, to answer jacque's question about how to switch the order of the records being merged, this is from the Help file:
A Selector Dialog will appear which will let you confirm the records you want, and their order. The second record will be merged into the first. It doesn’t make much difference which you merge into which, but if one record is older or larger than the other it probably makes sense to put that one first. You can re-order the records in the Selector Dialog (use the up and down arrow buttons in the top-right corner).
Mike,
What I meant was that the family would be merged but the children from both would be present. If any were in fact the same child they would also need to be merged. This is what I think the OP was worried about
I thought the OP was worried that if the family with two children was merged into the family with one child the extra child would be lost. (It wouldn’t be)
It’s true that if any of the children in the two families have different ID numbers but are in fact the same person they would need to be merged, or one could be selected to be discarded during the merge.
im new to this so sorry not sending what you need. Hope this is right. The date is 6 Jan 1630 and came from Ancestry marriage Register.
