Exporting TMG Sources to Gedcom

[genejunky 0]

Hoping someone might be able to help me learn more about the TMG - GEDCOM export process. When I export and subsequently upload to WorldConnect my hard work looks just awful. I realize there are two issues here, a) the TMG-Gedcom export, and the WorldConnect gedcom import, but it seems the better my TMG report citatations and bibliographies print, the worse my WorldConnect sources appear, and vice versa.

 

My uneducated attempts to improve seem to only be making matters worse. I have been reading various web sites about TMG sources and GEDCOM, and have quite a few question. Perhaps best to start with just a couple.

 

1) Is "The GEDCOM Standard Release 5.5: Appendix A," the best site for a quick table of GEDCOM fields, as below:

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pmcbride/gedcom/55gcappa.htm . Are there _known_ errors or in that listing?

 

2) Is there a gedcom field called, "NOTE"; and is there a second field, "TEXT." Are both of these used for sources, or is one related to the tag memo field? Are they both fields to which TMG exports Source Elements?

 

The only thing more frustrating then the need to learn more about an out of date, seemingly "dead" technology is the way it impacts the perception of my project.

 

Thank you for what ever assistance you are able to provied. --GJ

[Terry Reigel 0]

All your source information will export to GEDCOM, but as you are seeing, the results may not be pretty. There are two basic issues:

 

1. GEDCOM has far fewer "source elements" than TMG does. So on export, TMG has to place the contents of multiple source elements in a single GEDCOM tag.

 

2. There is no place in GEDCOM for TMG's source templates, so there is no control over how the data in the GEDCOM tags will be displayed upon import.

 

If you use split CDs that further complicates the export.

 

My article on Exporting Sources provides some additional detail that may be helpful.

 

My solution is to not put sources on WorldConnect, but instead add a note referring the reader to the same data on my website, which does include sources.

[genejunky 0]

All your source information will export to GEDCOM, but as you are seeing, the results may not be pretty. There are two basic issues:

[Clipped]

My article on Exporting Sources provides some additional detail that may be helpful.

[Clipped]

 

Hi Terry. Thank you for responding to my inquiry. I've been relying the page you cite from your site frequently.

 

Can you explain to me the difference between "Notes," and "Text."

 

Unfortunately, finalizing the bulk of my sources is my road block to SS, and I don't see myself uploading to WorldConnect without sources. I just am not able to learn everything at once. Thank you for responding to my inquiry. --GJ

[genejunky 0]

P.S.

Does _only_ the information I place in the source element field export to GEDCOM? For example, if I add verbage to a "conditional" source element does that verbage also export, as in the example of "citing National Archives microfilm publication" in the example that follows?

... <citing National Archives microfilm publication [FILM NUMBER]>....

 

If it does, then what about the verbage I add that is not placed in conditional brackets, as with "enumeration district (ED)" in the example below):

... enumeration district (ED) [ENUMERATION DISTRICT] ...

 

Thank you for what ever assistance you are able to provide.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Can you explain to me the difference between "Notes," and "Text."

Sorry, but I can't. Why does it matter?

[Terry Reigel 0]

Does _only_ the information I place in the source element field export to GEDCOM? For example, if I add verbage to a "conditional" source element does that verbage also export, as in the example of "citing National Archives microfilm publication" in the example that follows?

... ....

 

If it does, then what about the verbage I add that is not placed in conditional brackets, as with "enumeration district (ED)" in the example below):

... enumeration district (ED) [ENUMERATION DISTRICT] ...

As I said above, the templates are not part of the export. So it doesn't matter how you enter anything there -- none of it is exported.

[genejunky 0]

Terry wrote, "As I said above, the templates are not part of the export. So it doesn't matter how you enter anything there -- none of it is exported."

 

Thank you Terry.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Unfortunately, finalizing the bulk of my sources is my road block to SS, and I don't see myself uploading to WorldConnect without sources.

I'm afraid that if you want well-written sources to appear on WorldConnect from your GEDCOM you are going to be mightily frustrated.

 

I belive that the only way you might achieve that is to format your sources in TMG explictly to accomodate the limitations of the GEDCOM process. I expect that will seriously restrict the flexibility you have to construct source notes in TMG.

 

If you need to have well-structured source notes, I think you need to abandon WorldConnect and create your own site with Second Site. As a point of reference - I get many more responses to my own site than I do to WorldConnect.

[retsof 0]

That's fine, except that second site doesn't have a GEDCOM download option, does it?

 

(On the other hand, I may not have looked too hard. I haven't seen that on existing websites created with SS.)

[Terry Reigel 0]

I'm quite sure SS doesn't have a GEDCOM download feature built in, although I'm sure one could create one or more GEDCOMS and make the available.

 

I guess my question is why would one want to do that?

 

As I say at some length on my site, I don't believe in using GEDCOM downloads, nor in enabling those how might be inclinded to use them. <_>

[Michael Hannah 0]

Can you explain to me the difference between "Notes," and "Text."

Sorry, but I can't. Why does it matter?

GEDCOM was developed simply to provide "some" way to transfer the basics of genealogy data between people and software electronically. In my observation when I participated in the GEDCOM forum it was never intended to be fully complete, and I don't believe there is any further work planned to upgrade/enhance GEDCOM in light of the advancements of modern genealogy software (such as GenBridge). I agree with Terry that using GEDCOM will be very limiting and restrictive.

 

However, to answer your specific question, the structure of the two GEDCOM tags (TEXT and NOTE) are identical in the GEDCOM file, but the "intended" use of each is slightly different. TEXT was intended for including the exact wording found in an original source document, i.e. a transcription. NOTE (notice that the GEDCOM tag does not have a trailing 'S') was intended for any kind of additional information provided by the submitter for understanding the enclosing data. The purpose for having different GEDCOM tags was intended to aid genealogy software that could/would import/export them differently.

 

However, as Terry says: Why does it matter for your purposes?

[genejunky 0]

However, to answer your specific question, the structure of the two GEDCOM tags (TEXT and NOTE) are identical in the GEDCOM file, but the "intended" use of each is slightly different. TEXT was intended for including the exact wording found in an original source document, i.e. a transcription. NOTE (notice that the GEDCOM tag does not have a trailing 'S') was intended for any kind of additional information provided by the submitter for understanding the enclosing data. The purpose for having different GEDCOM tags was intended to aid genealogy software that could/would import/export them differently.

 

However, as Terry says: Why does it matter for your purposes?

 

Thanks much.

The natural question is, does TMG export to both NOTE and TEXT, and if so, from which TMG field? --GJ

[Jim Byram 0]

The natural question is, does TMG export to both NOTE and TEXT, and if so, from which TMG field? --GJ

For a source export? No. The source comments field is exported to a NOTE tag subordinate to the SOUR tag.

 

The TMG source definition does not have two memo fields to use for notes and actual text. You would need to put both into the comments field and use split memo parts so that you would have output control in the source templates.

[genejunky 0]

The natural question is, does TMG export to both NOTE and TEXT, and if so, from which TMG field? --GJ

For a source export? No. The source comments field is exported to a NOTE tag subordinate to the SOUR tag.

 

The TMG source definition does not have two memo fields to use for notes and actual text. You would need to put both into the comments field and use split memo parts so that you would have output control in the source templates.

 

 

Thanks much, Jim. --GJ