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TMG 9.05 GEDCOM export to FTM 2014 (mackiev)

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Hi Forum

 

I have found a long lost relative who uses Family Tree Maker 2014 (mackiev). We have been trying to import my TMG9.05 GEDCOM file into FTM and it drops quite a lot of data records. Most prevalent being UK Census Residence Tags where the Principal is a Witness (Occupant) as the address. Can any one offer help with either guidance for a work around. Or some software conversion routine to convert these 'witness/occupant' tags to a plain Residence tag that FTM will recognise.

 

Many Thanks.

 

David Potter

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Hi Forum

 

I have found a long lost relative who uses Family Tree Maker 2014 (mackiev). We have been trying to import my TMG9.05 GEDCOM file into FTM and it drops quite a lot of data records. Most prevalent being UK Census Residence Tags where the Principal is a Witness (Occupant) as the address. Can any one offer help with either guidance for a work around. Or some software conversion routine to convert these 'witness/occupant' tags to a plain Residence tag that FTM will recognise.

 

Many Thanks.

 

David Potter

Hi - Should have stated I'm using TMG9.05 (UK)

 

BR

 

David Potter

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The tag will not be exported if the principal is a witness since GEDCOM doesn't support this. A tag must have a principal in an appropriate 'principal' role. The tag also can't have a second principal unless the two principals are married or the parents of a child. Also, the GEDCOM export selection in the tag type properties should be 1 EVEN 2 TYPE.

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The tag will not be exported if the principal is a witness since GEDCOM doesn't support this. A tag must have a principal in an appropriate 'principal' role. The tag also can't have a second principal unless the two principals are married or the parents of a child. Also, the GEDCOM export selection in the tag type properties should be 1 EVEN 2 TYPE.

Hi Jim - Many thanks. Is there a way to edit the GEDCOM output file and mass change the tag types? Could you possibly provide some info on how to identify these types of tags in the file and then I can experiment a little. I would be happy just to convert these to regular Residence tags and lose the Witness/Occupant secondary data.

 

 

Kind Regards

 

David

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If you tried to export a tag that has no principals, it won't be in the GEDCOM since it won't export. The same goes for a tag with two principals who are not married or the parents of a child.

 

You are the one who knows which TMG tags that you are using that fit the above criteria.

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As Jim says if any TMG tag has either condition he mentions, then TMG is unable to export anything from such a tag as the very old GEDCOM standard has no mechanism to express such information. I also try to explain that and more in that chapter. This has nothing to do with the "type" of tag, but simply these conditions which might exist for almost any tag type.

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Hi Guys

 

Is there a way to change that type of tag (Residence (Witness > Occupant) so that it is exported in the GEDCOM as some kind of standard Residence Tag or change it entirely to become an Address Tag say? I'm not a TMG GEDCOM expert by any means. I have tried a few things in the Master Tag Source Tool and can see ways of manipulating the Principal, Witnessand Occupant settings but nothing I have done gives me a useable Tag when exported.

 

Thanks for your continued assistance...

 

Regards

 

David

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You are not being clear about exactly it is that you want to do.

 

The default principal roles for the Residence tag type are Principal and Resident. Occupant is a witness role.

 

You can change tag types and roles with TMG Utility.

http://www.johncardinal.com/tmgutil/

 

You do not want the tag type to be Address.

 

A custom tag type will export just fine as long as the principal follows the rules stated above and the GEDCOM export tag type is 1 EVEN 2 TYPE (again as stated above).

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No. The problem is not the tag "type", e.g. Residence. As Jim responded, the problem is that GEDCOM cannot handle witnesses from any tag type. Period. So if a tag has only witnesses it simply will not export at all. GEDCOM is just too old and simplistic. As my chapter mentions, if a tag has "both" Principals and Witnesses, the TMG enhanced GEDCOM export can be used to export some non-standard comments that there are Witnesses, but that is the best TMG can do to try to export "something" about Witnesses in GEDCOM.

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You are not being clear about exactly it is that you want to do.

 

The default principal roles for the Residence tag type are Principal and Resident. Occupant is a witness role.

 

You can change tag types and roles with TMG Utility.

http://www.johncardinal.com/tmgutil/

 

You do not want the tag type to be Address.

 

A custom tag type will export just fine as long as the principal follows the rules stated above and the GEDCOM export tag type is 1 EVEN 2 TYPE (again as stated above).

Hi Jim. Okay - I'll try to explain. I have Residence Tags that record the Residence of an Individual at the Time of a Census. I used the Witness Function to report the same info to all those who were also resident at the same address when the Census was taken. I recall I did this as it allows you to attach this record data to multiple people, IE, Associate. Maybe in hind sight not the best way to handle this need but it did save a lot of keying when there are 12 or so in the household.

 

I have since discovered that when creating a TMG GEDCOM for use with FTM 2014, everyone marked as a 'Witness' to this same event which is actually a Residence Tag do not get imported in FTM, as you have pointed out this is because those Witness Tags/Roles whatever the correct term is - do not get exported in the TMG GEDCOM file.

 

So either I need workaround to get these records into the GEDCOM. Or find a way to change the use of the Witness to be a more standard TAG that will export to GEDCOM. Either way I'm needing some step by step guidance. I am also waiting to try some of the suggestions from yourself and Michael, but right now my TMG 9.05 is stuck in trial mode and I'm waiting for my replacement serial number to activate and then work with the data. I suspect trial mode is preventing me from changing certain attributes you have recommended such as 1 EVEN, 2 TYPE.

 

Many thanks and I hope that gives you what you need.

 

Kind regards

 

David

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Witnesses are exported if you use the new GEDCOM export feature that was added in TMG9.

http://www.whollygenes.com/forums201/index.php?/topic/15842-v9040000-gedcom-export-new-option/

 

That said, it doesn't matter whether the witnesses are exported or not. FTM 2014 does not support witnesses so the witnesses will not be imported even if they are included in the GEDCOM..

 

If I recall, someone wrote a tool to change TMG witnesses to principals in their own tags. That information is somewhere in the TMG mail list archives.

http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Software/TMG.html

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Or said a slightly different way: TMG's extremely useful feature of Witnesses to tags is a modern enhancement which generally does not exist in other genealogy software. As I mentioned and Jim repeated, TMG has an enhanced option to export information about Witnesses to GEDCOM. But since the very concept of Witnesses is non-standard, this extra information is non-standard GEDCOM, so is generally ignored by most importing software.

 

You have simply encountered one of many enhanced modern features that is standard in TMG (Witnesses) which less featured products and formats like GEDCOM have no way to deal with.

 

You cannot put a gallon of milk (TMG) in a one quart jar (GEDCOM or FTM).

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Michael,

 

This topic is about importing information into Family Tree Maker 2014 which doesn't support witnesses.

 

Witnesses are supported by the current versions of RootsMagic, Legacy and Family Historian. They can be imported from a TMG GEDCOM by RootsMagic and Legacy. I don't recall testing the Family Historian witness import from GEDCOM but it uses the same structure. They are imported by RootsMagic and Family Historian using their direct database imports.

 

Jim

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Hi Guys

 

I have been playing around with a trial version of Family Historian 6 - and it does a very nice job of handling all aspects of TMG data including thoses illusive Witnesses. However, then was dissappointed to find exporting to FTM goes on to drop those witness records so back to square one.

 

I do very much appreciate your efforts in trying to help with this TMG to FTM issue. But I guess as you say it is unsolvable with current software designs.

 

Thanks you so much guys for your assistance and patience.

 

Kind regards

 

David

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I have been playing around with a trial version of Family Historian 6 - and it does a very nice job of handling all aspects of TMG data including thoses illusive Witnesses. However, then was dissappointed to find exporting to FTM goes on to drop those witness records so back to square one.

That would be expected, given what Jim said above. FTM doesn't support witnesses.

 

But I guess as you say it is unsolvable with current software designs.

Design of FTM, I assume you mean. Clearly it is solved with other programs.

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Hi Terry - yes should have made that clear. FTM clearly lacking in this area. FH on the other does a very good job. I even tried out TMG > Roots Magic 7 but found that to be quite flaky.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Regards

 

David

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