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Judy M.

Exhibits "moved"

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I have a TMG Exhibits folder that contains a subfolder entitled Headstones. In the Exhibits folder I have images of various people in my database. In the Headstones subfolder I have images of the various headstones for people in my database.

I just discovered that not only have the headstones become copied into the general Exhibit folder (so they're both places)...but the headstone images that I've "attached" to the Burial tag point to the general Exhibit folder, not the Headstone folder. I know for sure that they originally pointed to the Headstone folder.

 

So...I can go through all the duplicated images, go to the burials to which they're attached, and replace them with the images in the Headstone folder. But I'm wondering if there's an easier way. Would the TMG Utility help with this?

I think this may have happened when I got my new computer. I may have failed to change the exhibit path *before* I imported my database/project. Whatever the case, I hope there's an easy solution.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Judy M.

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You needed to move your exhibits to the new computer outside of TMG. If you use the TMG backup to backup your exhibits and then restore them, they will all be restored to one folder. TMG restore does not preserve multilevel folder arrangements.

 

To use VFI to relink to exhibits in a tree, you must use the appropriate option in the exhibits section of VFI. Of course, it will find exhibits in the top level folder first if they exist there.

 

You can get back to where you started by following what I explained.

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Maybe it would be better to leave all exhibits (photos of people and headstones) all in one folder? I have them as external exhibits. My default exhibit folder is C:\...Desktop\Genealogy\TMG Exhibits. (All my genealogy "stuff" is in this Genealogy folder.)

 

Now, I'm one of those silly people who backs up external exhibits when I back up my project. So if I'm restoring to a new computer, would it work to install TMG first, specify my exhibit folder in Preferences, and then restore my project?

Edited by Judy M.

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I never backup exhibits in TMG and manage the exhibit files outside of TMG.

 

Whether you use one folder or a tree is up to you. Just remember that TMG cannot restore a tree.

 

The exhibits folder is a project setting in Preferences so the folder path can only be specified when the project is open.

 

The exhibits path has nothing to do with the links in the exhibit table. The path is only used for the default folder location when adding a new exhibit. During restore, the exhibits path for the project determines the restore path for the exhibits but this can be changed in the Restore Wizard.

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I've been afraid I might forget to back up a new exhibit -- but, yes, it's a lot more time-consuming to include the external exhibits in my backup. All I have to do to change that is uncheck the appropriate box in the backup sequence, right? Then I would move the exhibits manually if I'm moving to a new computer (which I hope I don't have to do for a few years!). And I would have to back up the exhibits manually, although it would be part of my Carbonite backup also.

 

I no longer have a tree (all my exhibits are now in the Exhibit folder), so I guess that's one less thing for me to worry about.

The exhibits path has nothing to do with the links in the exhibit table. The path is only used for the default folder location when adding a new exhibit. During restore, the exhibits path for the project determines the restore path for the exhibits but this can be changed in the Restore Wizard.

I don't quite understand the references to the "exhibit table." And if I'm not backing up and restoring the exhibits as part of my backup and restore process (i.e., handling that manually), I don't have to be concerned about the restore path for exhibits, if I'm understanding this correctly. But I would still update my default exhibit folder so that new exhibits "know where to go."

Do I have this right now? Thanks a lot for your help!

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Allow me to ask one other question (with the hope I can ask it in an understandable way!):

 

As I mentioned earlier, on my former computer, I had my "Headstone" exhibits in this folder: C:\...Desktop\Genealogy\TMG Exhibits\Headstones.

Today I realized that my "Headstone" exhibits were in both the above folder AND in C:\...Desktop\Genealogy\TMG Exhibits.

 

When I checked the Exhibit Log properties for the burial tags in my project today, I found that the images "attached" to the burial tag pointed to the TMG Exhibits folder, not the Exhibits\Headstones folder.

I just checked my former computer, and the Exhibit Log properties for the burial tags point to the Exhibits\Headstones folder. How did that change all at once with no intervention by me? Is there a way to change the properties for all the Headstone images "attached" to the people in my project at one time? That seems to be what happened...and I'm wondering if I can make it happen! If I were to back up my Headstone exhibits manually, I could have an exhibit "tree," with the headstones separated from the photo images of the people in my project.

 

I've read the Help file for Moving Exhibits, but after what I went through today, I'm not 100% sure what I'm supposed to do. Any chance for a very simplified set of steps?

Edited by Judy M.

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Put the exhibits wherever you want on the new computer. Copy the exhibits from the old computer to the new computer using some intermediate such as a flash drive, an external hard drive, whatever.

 

That puts most exhibits in the ...\Exhibits folder and the burial exhibits in the ...\Exhibits\Headstones folder.

 

Set the exhibits path for the project to the ...\Exhibits folder.

 

Run VFI and in the external exhibits option [specify the folders to search...], click the [search in subfolders] option. (When that is active, the path on the 'List of Folders for Location' has a * in front of the path).

 

Alternatively, you don't need that option if you simply add the path for both folders. The option was added for trees with very many folders where adding the path for every folder would be a bit tedious.

 

VFI will relink all the exhibits that it finds.

 

These are simple manipulations and sound more complicated than they are..

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I'll try this tomorrow when I'm not so tired. I really would prefer to have the headstone images separate from the "people" images, and then I'll remove the exhibits from the TMG backup and back them up manually. In the end that will be more efficient. One good thing that came out of all this is that I had a missing exhibit...which the utility helped me find. I'll let you know how I make out (she says with her fingers crossed!).

 

BTW, how long have you lived in Framingham? My husband's aunt and uncle (now deceased) lived there for many years: Herman and Connie Madnick, 84 Hastings Street. Hey, you never know!

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Good morning!


I finally got to this today. Your directions worked out perfectly (and were a little bit easier to follow than those in the Help menu), so THANK YOU!


One question: I hadn't noticed this before: "Having the exhibits in a folder on the Desktop is a bad idea since that makes the path excessively long." Is this a problem? I didn't have to type the entire path but was able to choose it.


Thanks again! Hope you're having a nice weekend. Today it's going to be rainy and cool in Albany, but I'm trying to tell myself it will be a nice break.

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Actually, the desktop path might be the same length as having the exhibits in the default exhibits folder.

 

Any drop of rain is welcome. We're going to need to start planting tumbleweed and cactus in the yard.

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(So come on down to New Mexico!! This week we has the first decent bit of rain since December.

Tumbleweed and cactus are the default yard plantings !! )

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