Merging Multiple Sources with the same name different numbers

[redracer 0]

Hello,

 

Last year about this time I imported all my data from a full Family TreeMaker database (I could no longer enter any new material) into TMG 6 via the GenBridge method. I had inherited a number of errors from older versions of FTM and before that from PAF in both programs' various incarnations. GenBridge allowed me to edit things nicely without the dataset (project) crashing. So I was very happy, plus I could add new people.

 

One problem I noticed after I had already done considerable work in my new TMG project was that I had lost a lot of source information because it had been corrupted in former programs. I had thousands of sources with no name. I managed to rename them all "Unnamed Source" which I thought logical at the time. Unfortunately, rather than creating one source with that name for over 200,000 missing source citations, I got some 200,000 distinct sources all bearing different numbers but having the same name. I quickly discovered that I had made an error in 'solving' my problem this way, but was unable to undo it. Then I tried deleting a few manually and discovered that this took a considerable amount of time. Moreover, the source numbers for these 'dummy' (in more ways than one I realise!) sources called Unnamed Source, were interspersed with bona fide sources I wanted to keep.

 

Is there any way I can solve this problem efficiently, or am I stuck with having to delete all 200 thousand or so unsatisfactory, identical sources manually?

 

Many thanks,

 

Redracer

[retsof 0]

John Cardinal's TMG utility may be able to help. (I'm thinking on the fly, here). Perhaps bad sources could be merged into one bad dummy source (when TMG is closed) using this utility.

 

The source itself cannot be deleted if it is used anywhere.

[GenerationGoneBy 0]

I think a better thing would be to go to the MASTER SOURCE LIST and rename each source called UNNAMED SOURCE to UNNAMED SOURCE 1, UNNAMED SOURCE 2, etc. Then you can work one by one deleting ones you no longer need. In the master Source list, it will tell you how many times the source is cited. That will help you in determining if this source needs to be deleted. As you work through the sources, name them something more appropriate and clean up the source data. It will take awhile, but the cleanup will be worth it in the end.

[retsof 0]

I think a better thing would be to go to the MASTER SOURCE LIST and rename each source called UNNAMED SOURCE to UNNAMED SOURCE 1, UNNAMED SOURCE 2, etc. Then you can work one by one deleting ones you no longer need.

That's the same idea without collapsing the sources to only one source... You can't delete a source though, until every single tag that uses it has previously deleted the source citation number. Try to delete a new source with only one citation so you can find the citation again.

[redracer 0]

That's the same idea without collapsing the sources to only one source... You can't delete a source though, until every single tag that uses it has previously deleted the source citation number. Try to delete a new source with only one citation so you can find the citation again.

 

Unfortunately, so far nobody has come up with a practicable solution that is any shorter than what I already realised was the basic answer. TMG Utilities does not allow one to merge sources as far as I can see, and the other solution offered is basically exactly what I had already envisaged, except it adds a further step of adding the number into the name of each discrete source reference called "Unnamed Source".

 

There are over 200, 000 sources in my Master source list called Unnamed Source. The vast majority are only used for one citation. Those citations turn out to be meaningless. I know that this means that somewhere along the line I lost over 200, 000 citations and accompanying data. That is, however, a separate problem. What I am trying to do, without spending several tedious months doing it, is to eliminate all these worthless sources and 'purify' or 'purge' my system of the useless elements created by this error.

 

Is it possible to export my data to a gedcom file or something else and somewhere along in that process get to choose the several hundred bona fide sources that remain in my database and simply drop the unwanted "Unnamed Source" sources by, say, failing to select them for export? Is that a possible workaround solution?

 

Many thanks for everyone's input so far. I don't mean to sound ungrateful for people's having taken the time to answer my query.

 

Redracer:)

[Robert Jacobs 0]

Is it possible to export my data to a gedcom file or something else and somewhere along in that process get to choose the several hundred bona fide sources that remain in my database and simply drop the unwanted "Unnamed Source" sources by, say, failing to select them for export? Is that a possible workaround solution?

 

Redracer:)

 

It appears to be possible to export a GEDCOM file without sources (one would uncheck the "source" box on the second (?) screen. If you can identify the few hundred records which do have legitimate sources you could move them into a separate data set, or alternatively, make a focus group, export them as a GEDCOM (with sources) and then delete the group. Then export the remainder without the sources; reimport & combine. It's worth a try, anyway. I imagine I don't have to emphasize backing everything up twice before you start ...

 

Good luck!

 

formerprof

[John Cardinal 0]

TMG Utilities does not allow one to merge sources as far as I can see

TMG Utility does not merge sources, but it will Change Citations. So, for example, you can change all citations that point to source 1 and make them point to source 2. That may or may not be a good idea. It might come in handy if you decided that there was no useful difference between the two sources. If that was true of many of your sources, then you could re-arrange all the citations to those sources to point to a single source. Then, you can delete the other sources which will be orphans (no citations to them).

 

I am not sure that the Change Citations feature will help you... It depends on what you decide to do with the unnamed sources.