mikefox@satx.rr.com

I'm staying with TMG, I hope. Got a new computer with WIN 10. Installed TMG 9 Gold and data bases. Everything works for weeks, then TMG says 'Trial over, buy or put in registration'. I put in my registration, TMG says 'Thanks, you're good to go'. Then a couple weeks later, I have to go through this again. I'm getting scared TMG might sometime lock me out of 15 years of genealogy. Anyone know how I can get out of this loop? Thanks --Mike

Thank you. As usual, it's easy when you know how. --Mike

Somehow I unexpectedly filtered the tags in the 'Details' window for my main project database. Dozens of tags on residence, education, etc are missing. Only birth, marriage, death, and children are shown. In the tag banner that normally shows 'Type-Date-Name/Place', I see 'Filtered-Date-Name/Place'. Could someone help in 'unfiltering' me?

Just before this happened, I was working on a 'focus group' to export a subset of data. When I went back to my main project, the filtered tags appeared. Have tried to find the filter, but not luck.

Any thoughts? -and thanks for any help.

Mike Fox

I'm 78 and am at the end of the process of closing out 25 years of research stored in TMG. Have portable hard-drives for each kid filled and almost ready to give to them. The place of pride is the folder with the complete TMG data base and a folder with its backup. As a last backup, there's a GEDCOM folder. I am sick at the thought of losing tremendous amounts of work. The only saving grace is a folder with Second Site that will at least allow them to see the information. But how will they add their own family history to the basis I built? Giving them a copy of TMG is not a solution. The only wisdom I've heard is be patient and see what develops.

Life is full of bad stuff. As with others, I wish Bob Velke the best. The news that TMG is coming to an end is a real kick in the gut for me. I'm 78 and am closing out 25 years of research and was getting ready to hand it over to my kids with TMG. I've been bragging to them for years how good TMG is and how much info I've put into memos. --how 1000s of exhibits are tied to individual persons. Oh boy----!!! I'm sick at the thought of loosing the info in the memos. For me, I'll stick to TMG to the end. For my kids??????

So far, the best advice is to hang tight and see what develops. I'll be watching this forum closely.

Mike,

 

In my opinion, TMG's presentation, like those of other genealogy programs, is an awful way to share information with novices. It's designed to facilitate data input and analysis, and is very unfriendly to those unfamiliar with it who are wanting to casually peruse the information. Even those familiar with one program can find another program difficult to navigate, as I did when I received the data from another researcher in the "viewer" offered by the program he uses.

 

Instead, I highly recommend preparing a website with Second Site, and distributing that site. Readers can then navigate the familiar web format with the web browsers they use daily. A very workable site can be created quite easily -- seem my Second Site Tips, particularly the link to "Second Site Basics," which is an illustrated version of John Cardinal's "six steps" to a website.

Yes, you're right. I want to pass 30 years of genealogy to my children, but immersing them in TMG cold-turkey isn't the way to do it. Only if one of them (or one of the grandchildren) want to continue collecting new info and continue the genealogy him/herself would the data base be any good. Second Site would be the best way to leave just the info to them. I probably should also put a copy of the GEDCOM on the protable harddrive in case they don't want to go as high-end as TMG to continue the genealogy. Thanks

Yes, and No, Mike,

 

John Cardinal produced a program called Mocakebi which is a free viewer of TMG Verson 7 data (see his web page here). However, John has not (yet?) upgraded that program to Version 8. I don't know what his plans may be, but that is the only free viewer I know of. Of course, TMG itself can be used free for a 30 day trial.

Good news and bad. Mocakebi works perfectly, but-- I downloaded it to the portable harddrive and then installed it on that drive, and it reads my TMG database on the harddrive. But when I take the harddrive to another computer and try to launch Mocakebi, it won't start. Apparently, I'd have to install it on each computer. I'll have to do some thinking on this.. Thanks

I am reaching an age where I'm concerned with leaving the results of 30 years of family research to my children. I have purchased a 1TB portable harddrive for each child to contain these results. In one of the folders on the drive, I'd like to have the TMG data-base for some 5000 ancestors and relatives. I will recommend each child buy a copy of TMG to have full control of the data, but as a minimum I'd to include a viewer for the data so the children can at least do searches for their ancestors. Is there a free viewer for the TMG data-base? Thanks --Mike

I'm working on timelines for the various villages where my grandparents came from in Germany, and I'd like to get paper copies to help editing. The format is the old Dbase, and I don't have a utility to open and print the various timelines. Anyone know of a 'free' utility to do this. Don't want to spend bucks just for a paper copy. Thanks. Mike

I'm trying to change a 'residence' tag for an individual from "Joe lived in Indiana." to "Joe moved to Indiana." I got the 'moved' part, but I'm stuck on turning 'in' into 'to'. Would appreciate a hint on where to find out how to do this. I'm striking out on TMGs help because I can't figure out the right question to ask.

Is there a utility to create timelines for TMG? I find the tool in TMG difficult and slow. Thank you.

I have created a PRIVACY at all costs flag and include such people there. I too have a branch that wish to keep even GGrandparents private (although anyone could easily get the info!). So I use this PRIVACY flag together with the LIVING flag to add (or not add) people to the Focus group via a filter on the Project Explorer. I then use the Focus group for anything I send out to "the world", mostly GEDCOM to things like Rootsweb trees, or to other people who I am not sure of.

 

A bit messy, but once you realise some people value their family privacy more than others, it's the only way to keep the peace.

If I understand correctly, you set a privacy flag in TMG and then completely filter those people out in a TMG focus group that contains the remaining 4085 people (5000 - 15 = 4085). Then you use the focus group as the project for Second Site and set exclude/include living people. Is this right?

Teresa is right about TMG reports - the most reliable way to exclude a branch is to make the Parent/Child tags connecting that branch to the rest of the family non-primary - that is, unlink them. However, they will still appear in any event tags they share with others who you do include - for example in a census tag in which they appear as children in the household of their parents.

 

Second Site offers considerably more control over which people are included in a site. For example, you can use a Flag to control who is included, and then you have a number of options about under which conditions, if any, the names of people who are excluded may appear in connection with pages for others who are included.

So it sounds like I can set a special flag in TMG for people who should not appear and use a filter in Second Site to prevent them from appearing an on-line version open to the public. Can you steer me to a particular area in how to use Second Site in this fashion and give any other potential problems such as you mentioned with census entries. It would be unacceptable to my cousin if anyone could do a google search for one of these people and be directed to my future web site. Thanks for your help.

I've got a lot of people in TMG and recently a 7th cousin has asked me to keep everyone in just her line after 1900 (about 15 people) out of any reports. I want to honor her request. Could anyone tell me where to find the instructions to do this that would apply to TMG and also Second Site.

That took care of the problem. Thanks for the help!

Mike

Good explanation--thanks. Minor problem--Charles and Mary are the last visible generation and Gladys is the first invisible. TMG won't let me toggle the primary link off betweem Charles and Mary and Gladys.

As a prerequisite for getting her family line, a cousin has required that no individual after her great-grandfather & mother ever appear in any report or public forum such as the internet (including Second Site). I've looked at 'excluding data and information' including the double exclusion marker, "--" (two hyphens), and it's still not clear to me how to make a person/s vanish from descendancy and other reports. Could someone give me a bit of help on where this info is in clear text?

I’m creating a timeline for a specific region in Germany where my ancestors rose. I’m stuck on how to get a paper copy or a copy I can email. Can you help me?

I'm creating a timeline for the German villages where my ancestors came from, but I can't figure out how to print a paper copy. Print is always greyed out. Anyone know how?

You make Pierce's point! Knowlegde of filters and the workings isn't easy. When you're starting out it's a struggle with lots of wasted time. As Pierce said: "It would be nice if there were a way for filters to be packaged up in a nice fill-in-the-blank form, which experienced users could create and distribute to less skilled users."

I did go to the 'Master Place List' and 'Events'. I figured out how to make it work; however, I couldn't figure make it print!

Mike

I recently visited Germany and the villages of my paternal grandfather. As I drove through each village, I wondered "Who of my ancestors and today's relatives might live here?

The next time I go, I'd like a printed out list by village by person by event and date. Is there are filter to do something like this already availble?