Terry Reigel

Lorna's explaination is right on. For a fuller discussion, with "pictures," see my article on Merging Projects and Data Sets.

If the "reference tag" only exists for those want to removed it from, I believe John Cardinal's TMG Utility can do that. Check it out here.

So far as I know, the only way is to add sort dates to those tags. Sort dates ar only available in Advanced data entry mode - go to Preferences > Program options > Data Entry to change to that mode.

I'm totally confused about what you want to do. You don't want to put the data in your existing Muddock data set, but you want to then merge them? What's the difference? I'm with Mike - I think a single data set is almost always best. Keeping separate ones often requires duplicate entery, prevents outputing in common reports, and create serious overhead if you create custom tag types, source types, styles, etc. If we understood more clearly what you want to accomplish, I think we could offer some specific suggestions.

Well, yes, if I could figure out what the question is. Well, sort of. You can always use [W] in the sentence for a witness to refer to that witness. It doesn't matter whether that witness is assigned a role other than the default Witness role or not. Similarly, you can use [P] in the sentence for a principal to refer to that principal, whether or not you have assigned a non-default role to that principal. In fact, I highly recommend that practice - see the "Defining Role Sentences" section of my roles tutorial. In some constructs, such as my method of dealing with "first," "second," and "third" marriages, it's much easier than using the role variables.

I disagree that any data needs to become "real" if the user understands what it is and why it's entered. Like John, I enter married names as finding aids. I never include then in any reports that I send to anyone, nor in data I publish on the web. I suspect you would be even further dismayed with another finding aid I use - the creation of "Standard Names." For my lines which have changed the spelling of the surname over the years, I choose a "standard" spelling (generally the most current one) and create a name tag with that spelling for everyone who used a different spelling. In this case I'm quite sure that the people never used that spelling, but I do so because it makes it easy for me to find ancestors who used various spellings without having to recall in which generation the spelling changed. Again, those names are never included in output. Likewise I enter all sorts of speculation, theories, and other notes that may well not be true, but I identify it and where appropriate, source it, so it's nature is clear should I choose to include it in output. You are of course free to adopt any style of use that serves your needs. I've posted replies here only so readers will see that there are alternate styles of use that are at least as valid.

Actually, study of family history in the past few centuries is full of such instances. For example, I'm looking at cemetery records, and find Mary Fenker. It's a good chance that that's a married name. But if I didn't have married names in my data, I'd have to look through 15,000 people, find all the Marys (also Marias, Anna Marias, etc.) and try to find one that married a Fenker. Or, I could just look for Mary Fenker, and see if one matched. Or, I'm looking at a record of Ann Cobb, needing to post more surety as adminstrator of her husbind's estate. I could look through several hundred Anns, Mary Anns, etc., for one that married a Cobb. Or, I could just look for Ann Cobb if I've entered married names. Why would you click on a woman who's married name was Ann Smith if you were looking for women who were born Ann Smith? There's the primary marker right there to tell you whether you are looking at the primary name or an alternate name, like a married name. If you doubt, as you say, the husband's name is right there to tell you it's a married name you are looking at.

As long as you haven't customized the sentences locally (within the individual tag) you can add to each Role in the Tag Type Definition. Older tags with no entry in the Witness Memo will be uneffected. Or am I misunderstanding your question?

Do not use GEDCOM - lots of your TMG data may be lost, and what's preserved may not be in the same format as you entered it. Use the Backup and Restore process instead. Create a backup on your old computer. Then copy it to your new computer. The easiest way is by use of a local network between the two computers, if you have one. If not, you can copy it to a floppy disk, if it fits, or burn it to a CD, then read the disk in the new computer.

It's true that you cannot use "Check for Update" from an account that's not an administrator. But it doesn't sound to me like that's what's happening here. When I tried that I got an error message listing a number of possible reasons for the error and provides a button to connect to the update page on the WG site to update manually. Doesn't sound like what's described above.

I put the township in the "city" field unless there is an actual town also listed - which I find is most often not the case. I put the township, district, ward, or whatever there may be in the citation, but omit it from the place fields in the tag if there is a more definitive place name (like town) listed.

The "Prompt next time" option is really just a short-cut to what you can do from the Prompts screen in Preferences. There you will find that this prompt has only only on or off positions - there is not a "yes" "no" or "ask" choice.

You're welcome, Tom. Terry

You can use F2 and F3 as Paul describes in most fields, not just place fields. There are two special rules: 1. For places, entries made with F2 populate the level where you are when you use F2 and also all higher levels. They do not change anything you have already entered in lower levels. 2. For source citations, F3 in either the source number or Citation Detail field populates both those fields.

Yes. Since you can't change the default backup configurations, you need to create a custom configuration, then attach that to the button. You create the custom configuration by choosing "save as a new Configuration" on Step 1, and entering a name for it in the field below that option. Then, step through the backup, selecting all the options you want saved, and make the backup. Now specify that "backup" when you create the button, or go back and change the "backup" used by your current button it you've already created it.

Kathleen, It would help a lot if you could post examples of the: 1. Sentence you are using, 2. the data in the fields used by the sentence, and 3. the output you are getting. Trying to diagnose the probem without that information is difficult.

No, version 4 and prior date to before the advent of right-click menus. In those versions you place the cursor in one of the fields for that column, then: - Press F6 - the "delete" Key in TMG, or - Choose Delete from the top line menu.

You're welcome, Polly. Terry

You're welcome. Terry

TMG5 and TMG6 are versions of the same program. The way the unlock system works, you cannot install a "30-day free trial" on the same computer in which you have been running an earlier version of the program. In fact, installing both versions on the same computer is not recommended because of the possiblity of files from one version interferring with those of the other. Also, you can only have the unlock code for one of the two versions loaded on your computer, so unlocking one version effectively locks the other.

I see the problem, Polly. It seems that the Tag Entry screen comes on top of the Sentences screen, and there is no way to get back to the Sentences screen. I'll report the issue. In the meantime, you can resolve the problem this way: 1. After you click on the Sentences button to open the Sentences screen, move that screen so that some part of it extends beyond the edges of the Tag Entry screen (which at this point will be below the Sentences Screen). 2. Proceed to enter the citation. 3. After the citation is complete, and the Tag Entry screen appears on top of the Sentences screen, click on the exposed part of the Sentences screen - this will bring it to the top and you can close it.

Robin, How would you see an "International English" version working? How would it deal with all the issues raised here?

A Family Group Sheet is, by definition, the record of a "family." A family, by long-standing convention, consists of two parents and their children. TMG observes this convention when it produces FGSs. TMG does not create a "FGS" as you describe.

Robin, have you verified that your methodology loads the correct sentences into both English(US) and English(UK)? I've not got the UK edition installed to test that. In any case, I think trying to run narrative reports in both languages is begging for trouble. One would have to be very diligent to keep all custom sentences current in both languages. I'd think it much better to make sure all sentences are loaded into the language you intend to operate in (the one set in File > Languages) and then always run reports in that language.

I agree with Virginia that exporting to a speadsheet is uncommon - I don't recall ever doing it. On the other hand, I've never printed a serious report directly from TMG - I always send it to Word for review, final formatting, and often conversion to pdf. Before investing in Word or the entire Office package, I'd explore how well you can import in Works. As I recall, recent versions of Works include Word, so that should not be a problem. If you don't have Word, try "rich text file" and the older Works formats and see what works for your system. However, there are some functions that many not be available when exporting to other than Word or WordPerfect.