FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS-L Archives

Archiver > FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS > 1997-04 > 0862271186


From: Bill Case <>
Subject: FO5x - Importing Non-Standard Facts
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 97 18:46:26 GMT-0500


Patricia,

At 12:51 PM 4/27/97 -0700, you wrote:
>In FO, the user can both 1) use standard fact types that are provided in
>the program, and which are gedcom standards, and they can also 2) create
>user-defined fact types. It is my understanding that the user-defined
>facts are contained in a gedcom exported by FO, but that other programs do
>not import them. At least, folks with Brothers' Keeper and Family Tree
>Maker, tell me they were not imported, but wound up on the *.lst file of
>stuff that didn't import into the other program.
>
>Does anyone know if there is a way in FOW5 to globally change a
>user-defined fact type to a standard FO-provided fact type? There are some
>cases in my own database where, if this is technically possible, it would
>solve some import problems to other folks programs.
>
>The only way that is apparent, is to individually find each and every place
>within the database where a person has entered a user-defined fact and
>manually changing them one at a time, re-linking the sources.

NOTE: Easier to change the GEDCOM with "Search and Replace".

>Thanks for sharing anything you might know about this possibility.
>Patricia SummersSmith

I have encountered the reverse problem importing non-standard fact types
from a GEDCOM sent to me. I checked, and it was in the GEDCOM OK, but FO
would not recognize it. It did place it in the .lst file. I then created a
new database for importing the GEDCOM, created a fact type like the one in
the GEDCOM, then retried importing the GEDCOM. FO 5a STILL WOULD NOT
IMPORT; however, the fact information no longer showed up on the .lst file!!

Subsequently, I edited the gedcom to change all occurances of the fact type
to a standard type: Burial. Then when I imported, the fact appeared as a
"burial" fact. The fact "place" information made the correct usage
evident, and all of the original real "Burial" facts were unchanged. I
think I could go thru the resulting database and change the resulting
"facts", but I have not done so, because they should have been in Sources or
Notes, anyway.

I used Write word processor in text mode (No Conversion) and "search and
replace" to change the GEDCOM.

I would suspect that anyone wanting to import a GEDCOM from someone else
which used non-standard facts could also use "Search and Replace" to change
the items in the GEDCOM to a seldom used standard fact type. How to handle
it from there would depend on the specific fact information.

Evidently, LDS GEDCOM specifications do not cover adequately the usages of
non-standard fact types in GEDCOMS. A suggestion to LDS might be to specify
automatic creation of the fact types on importing. I should think any
program such as FO, FTM, PAF, Brother's Keeper, might do this automatically
without violating any LDS standards.

Is Parsons listening?

Hope I am being helpfull.
-
Bill Case - retired on the Space Coast of Florida
Home Page: http://quancon.com/~bcase/coecase.htm
Ancestors: http://quancon.com/~bcase/caseanc.htm

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