9 replies to this topic

[daniel_james_gullo]

Are there any plans to make the paths under Current Project Options > Advanced relative instead of absolute??? This has been a huge nightmare and source of frustation for me over the last year since I have purchased TMG.

It would make much more sense to allow a paths such as:

..\exhibits
..\backups
..\timelines
etc.

Then, when if you open a project file:
C:\My Documents\TMG\Blah\Blah_Family.PJC

you know that the exhibits would be in:
C:\My Documents\TMG\Blah\exhibits
etc.

[GenerationGoneBy]

Not sure what the problem is. My exhibits are in C:/PICTURES. YOu can put them wherever you want.

[daniel_james_gullo]

Not sure what the problem is. My exhibits are in C:/PICTURES. YOu can put them wherever you want.

The problem is simple, if you move the data around or have a removeable/external HDD that is assigned a different letter occasionally, the absolute paths in the Exhibit references is broken. If it were relative, TMG would say "Ok, the project was opened in J:\Blahblahblah\gobbledy-gook\TMG, so, the exhibits are in J:\Blahblahblah\gobbledy-gook\TMG\exhibits, since he put ..\exhibits" There are many programs in the world that allow you to do this. It's nothing unusual.

[elevator]

This was brought up once before I remember. I completely agree with you. I have a rather complex folder structure with /exhibits/<personID>/ and /exhibits/sources/<sourceid>. It works like a charm and I am really happy with the way everything is organized... however... if you happen to move the database to a different logical or physical drive or change the relative path holding the exhibits folder structure, ALL links are broken. There are programs out there that fix it. I used Visual FoxPro that use to come with Visual Studio 6.0 a while back. It works great for changing broken path links.

I do afree with Daniel James Gullo though, storing the relative paths in the exhibit table would make more sense than storing the absolute paths. The way other programs work is that they allow you to set a "base path" to lets say: C:\TMG\Exhibits\. If a user then chooses an exhibit located at C:\TMG\Exhibits\Sources\SRC00456\census.tif, the only the relative path \sources\SRC00456\census.tif would be stored in the exhibits table. The program would then construct the absolute path by concatenating the base path and the relative path.

I think the exhibits system works ok like it is, but this would certainly add a lot of ease to people who use more than one computer to work on the same data.

Ken V. Nordberg.

The problem is simple, if you move the data around or have a removeable/external HDD that is assigned a different letter occasionally, the absolute paths in the Exhibit references is broken. If it were relative, TMG would say "Ok, the project was opened in J:\Blahblahblah\gobbledy-gook\TMG, so, the exhibits are in J:\Blahblahblah\gobbledy-gook\TMG\exhibits, since he put ..\exhibits" There are many programs in the world that allow you to do this. It's nothing unusual.

[nbradley]

I agree that it is a great idea. However, if Wholly Genes did find a way to implement it they may need to make it optional.

Many members of our User Group would struggle with the concept.

Neil Bradley

[Alison]

I agree that it is a great idea. However, if Wholly Genes did find a way to implement it they may need to make it optional.

Many members of our User Group would struggle with the concept.

Neil Bradley

I asked about this a while back since it seemed like a logical way to handle exhibits, especially since it doesn't need to change how users attach exhibits. I would love it to be based of where you opened the project from but I would even settle for it being based off of the default path set in the preferences. I don't think this would change anything for the average user but it would allow a "quick fix" for people with changing drive letters.

[daniel_james_gullo]

I came up through the ranks of sofware development and I am now a Product Manager. 1) It would be very easy to implement (using a default location that can be later changed, the same way MS Office and a million other programs do.) 2) It would help bring TMG to the next level of sophistication by adding value. I would love to have a 1 on 1 with their Product Manager. I have a list of features that would really add value and wouldn't be too hard to include. Like, the one I mentioned in another thread where there are multiple links to a single exhibit, rather than multiple copies of the exhibit for each link. That way, I can scan a picture from 1890, enter it as a single exhibit, and then link all the people who are in the picture to the single exhibit.

Edited by daniel_james_gullo, 11 December 2006 - 08:29 AM.

[Terry Reigel]

I would love to have a 1 on 1 with their Product Manager.

He's regualarly available on the the user "Chats" that are announced in the WG Newsletter. The last one was this past Saturday, and the next is not announced yet. You can subscribe to the newsletter, or check for it at the top of this forum, to see the announcement of the next one. The last couple I've attended did not have large crowds, so it's been easy to get in the conversation.

[ggilbert1]

That way, I can scan a picture from 1890, enter it as a single exhibit, and then link all the people who are in the picture to the single exhibit.

Have you considered creating an appropriate tag in the History Tag Group? It would seem that would accomplish this.

[sam.m]

Are there any plans to make the paths under Current Project Options > Advanced relative instead of absolute??? This has been a huge nightmare and source of frustation for me over the last year since I have purchased TMG.

It would make much more sense to allow a paths such as:

..\exhibits
..\backups
..\timelines
etc.

Then, when if you open a project file:
C:\My Documents\TMG\Blah\Blah_Family.PJC

you know that the exhibits would be in:
C:\My Documents\TMG\Blah\exhibits
etc.

This sounds like a great idea but not too sure how it would be applied to tmg.

Doug Hennig talks about relative paths in visual fox pro in his blog Replacement for SYS(2014): which is a little beyond me, but here as a reference.