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Strategy for Preserving TMG

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Hello All,

 

For transparency, note that I’m posting this on both the TMG-Refugees site as well as the TMG forums.

 

I wanted to get folks input on the following. I’ve been considering updating to Windows 10, as I’ve seen users that have shared their success in doing so and subsequently having no problems with TMG. However, I’ve become very concerned with the aggressiveness with which Microsoft is pushing Windows 10. People are now getting pop ups that only have one option "upgrade now" (yes, I recognize you can click the x and close the dialog).

 

If I look forward, I can envision a scenario where Microsoft forces updates regardless of whether you want them or not. In this instance, I ask myself the question – what will ultimately break TMG?? I don’t know the answer to this; but I’d welcome input on the topic. In any case, whatever ends up breaking it could be pushed to my computer with little ability on my part to do anything about it.

 

On a related topic, I wanted to test strategy for preserving TMG as long as possible.

 

( a ) Keep Windows 7 on an existing machine.

( b ) Purchase an external HD that hooks to USB and use “mirroring” software to mirror my HD in it’s entirety (yes, I recognize “mirror” does not equal “backup”).

( c ) If the motherboard or other aspect of the computer fails, purchase a new one and “restore” from the “mirror”.

 

I recognize that this may be an over simplistic list of steps, so please feel free to comment on them as well.

 

I look forward to a lively discussion on the topics I've brought up.

 

David

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TMG 7,04, 8.08 and 9.05 run fine under Windows 10 with the exception of the PDF printer driver which you don't need. You can use the built-in 'Microsoft Print to PDF' driver in place of the TMG PDF driver. You print to printer and select the Microsoft PDF driver as the printer.

 

The most important step to take in preserving TMG at the moment is to make sure that you have a copy of the installer for your version and your registration information archived in a safe place.

 

There is no point in keeping a Windows 7 installation to run TMG.

 

There will likely come a time when a TMG 7 or later installation and the version of Windows that's current at that time have an insurmountable conflict but that hasn't happened to date.

 

Almost all TMG installation issues are coming from 3rd party programs such as file syncing programs and anti-virus programs... not from the operating system.

Edited by Jim Byram

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David,

You do not mention which version of TMG you are using. Assuming it is the final version 9.05, I do not foresee a problem for quite some time to come

First, as Jim mentions it is possible some later version of Windows may cause an insurmountable conflict with programs like TMG which worked in Windows 10. However, Microsoft has historically taken steps to provide backwards compatibility to working programs, such as the existing "Compatibility Mode" feature in Windows. Next, even if one was "forced" into that new OS and it also did not provide a mechanism for some older programs to work, I expect a virtual operating system package, e.g. Parallels, is highly likely to allow a previous compatible version of Windows to run as a guest operating system under that new OS, thereby extending further the lifetime of such older programs.

Thus I believe the probable working lifetime of TMG to be extremely long. And by then I would expect/hope that a more modern version of a personal genealogy program would exist which would be able to import most of the TMG data.

I, for one, have no plans to convert from TMG, and expect to be long gone by the time it would be required.

As for taking actions to preserve one's TMG data, I would periodically create a full backup fileset on some external media, e.g. CDROM, and store it off-site. Within that fileset I would suggest a four-tiered approach. First, I would at least include the TMG installer and required unlock data, all the external exhibit files, and the latest full TMG backup with options set to backup everything except the external exhibits. Second, I would on occasion generate a report file of a Journal report of all people in the project using options to include everything. (If you later become concerned about being able to read that computer media, just print that report to hardcopy.) Third, I would regularly generate a GEDCOM file of all people and use the Enhanced Export Options available in version 9.05 to export as much as can possibly be included in a GEDCOM. Finally, if I were really paranoid I would sometimes include files generated by the "export data" function of the TMG Utility which can export some of the internals of TMG, such as Places, Sentences, Sources, and Styles.

Hope this gives you ideas,

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Folks,

 

thank you for the replies thus far.

 

>> You do not mention which version of TMG you are using.

I'm using the final version 9.05.

 

>> There will likely come a time when a TMG 7 or later installation and the version of Windows that's current at that time have an insurmountable conflict but that hasn't happened to date.

this is what I'm trying to avoid. I'm looking out beyond, say, 5 years or longer. If it works on Win7 and Msoft stops pushing updates, then that's a stable system that would work indefinitely.

 

>> However, Microsoft has historically taken steps to provide backwards compatibility to working programs, such as the existing "Compatibility Mode" feature in Windows.

as a point of interest, and perhaps to generate further discussion on the topic - I have an old genealogy program that does not work in Windows 7 compatibility mode.

 

>> Next, even if one was "forced" into that new OS and it also did not provide a mechanism for some older programs to work, I expect a virtual operating system package, e.g. Parallels, is highly likely to allow a previous compatible version of Windows to run as a guest operating system under that new OS, thereby extending further the lifetime of such older programs.

I've considered this; but wouldn't you need the OS to install into the VM? Operating Systems these days are largely OEM installations. my knowledge of how these work is very minimal; but could you do this without the OS on disk??

 

>> Second, I would on occasion generate a report file of a Journal report of all people in the project using options to include everything.

I've not done this, so I appreciate the suggestion.

 

>> And by then I would expect/hope that a more modern version of a personal genealogy program would exist which would be able to import most of the TMG data.

I hope you're right. I've looked at what else is out there, and none of it compares to TMG in my humble opinion. I've looked at Heredis, RootsMagic, Gramps, FTM (before it's demise), Legacy, and a few others that escape memory. Velke was the best and remains so in my view. It really is a shame he didn't put it into the Open Source community. As a sidebar, it would be interesting to know if he considered this; and further to understand what, if any, negatives prevented this. I recall someone asking the question on the forums, and the response was to go to the HRE project - but didn't really address the question being asked. Velke spent a couple of decades or more of his life coding TMG. I'm doubting someone else could do it in meaningfully less time. Point is, I am perhaps a bit more pessimistic than you are that something out there will show up that is as good as TMG was. To close my Velke sidebar, I sincerely hope his health is good.

 

>> Finally, if I were really paranoid I would sometimes include files generated by the "export data" function of the TMG Utility which can export some of the internals of TMG, such as Places, Sentences, Sources, and Styles.

also something I've not considered, so I'll take a look at this.

 

thank you for comments thus far.

 

David

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My greatest concern at this point is users who get into a situation where they can no longer access their data and who haven't prepared for that possibility.

You should make frequent backups and complete GEDCOM exports using the new 'Enhanced GEDCOM tag export' option in case you can no longer install or run TMG. This situation has happened to a number of users and you no longer have Support to help you recover.

 

The backup is a ZIP file so by changing the filetype from SQZ to ZIP, you can open the archive and copy the project files to a folder. This gives you the option to do a direct import to RootsMagic and Family Historian (and eventually to Legacy).

Edited by Jim Byram

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Jim,

 

I backup before I get out the program, every time; even if that's more than one time a day. If I'm going to get out, I backup. same thing with gedcom enhanced exports.

 

I didn't realize the .sqz was really a .zip. thank you for sharing that tidbit.

 

David

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Two questions.

 

Is there a limit to the number of records that can be exported into a GEDCOM file? Haven't tired it, but my computer hates me, and if it can mess with me this way it will.

 

Is there a limit to the number of records that can be exported to a journal report? I have used these reports with previous versions (I have v8.04) and have had problems with the resulting file size. I had some success by using the function (I forget what it is called) that split the report into different parts for each generation

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There should be no reasonable limit exporting to a GEDCOM.

 

As I understand it, there are issues with Word (not TMG) when a Journal report is too large. I don't know whether Word 2013/2016 handles large files better. There should be additional replies about the issue of reports and Word.

 

Here's a topic on large Journal reports and Word...

http://www.whollygenes.com/forums201/index.php?/topic/14976-journal-report-problem-with-ms-word-2010

 

Is there a 64-bit version of the current Word? That might help. Also note that the latest release (v5.1.0) of LibreOffice has a 64-bit version.

http://ftp.byfly.by/pub/tdf/libreoffice/stable/5.1.0/win/x86_64/LibreOffice_5.1.0_Win_x64.msi

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My understanding of the problem with opening large Word files is a limit on the number of footnotes or endnotes, which seems to be not documented anywhere. Solutions that have been said to help including creating the file as a rich text file rather than as a Word file, opening and saving it with LibreOffice, and using "Unique Endnotes" instead of real endnotes. I've not tried these so I can't speak to their effectiveness but they might be worth trying if you run into that limit. BTW, the error message produced by Word when that limit is exceeded is totally misleading and gives no clue what the issue is, so it is easy to miss what the issue really is.

 

I did some experimentation when the new report writer was built for TMG8 and as I recall it allowed Word to open somewhat larger files than under the previous report writer, but there was still a limit.

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