## Accessing media folders outside RootsMagic

The following may be of interest to some readers

Last updated 23 July 2024 20:07:38

Note: This article assumes familiarity with Page and Panel names in RootsMagic (RM) and the process for accessing each. (The author is using RM10.0.1.0)

All media files are stored on the computer outside of RM and are linked into RM for use with the program.

It is sometimes useful to access those actual files while working within RM.

To facilitate this a task (e.g. Link to Media - ) can be created in RM, attached (say) to the Person fact for the person (or any other fact) on the Edit Person page with a path address to the relevant file in the computer-media-storage-area being inserted on the Filename line of the Edit Task panel.

For example:

All my personal files are stored on an external drive called Seagate-1 (designated as X:drive to permit that drive to be used on either my desktop computer or my laptop computer without duplicating any files t hat drive is regularly backed up to a second external hard drive.)

RM-media files (not the program files) are stored on X:drive under “Genealogy” so my person-RM-media is in Genealogy>Media>Names*(* sub-directory for Surname s ) >GivenNames(YearBorn-YearDied) ( a sub-directory for given names, etc.) and all data relating to each individual is stored in their personal sub-folder.

The path to the relevant subfolder for John Andrew PHELAN (1876-1978) is then X:\GENEALOGY\MEDIA\NAMES\PHELAN\JohnAndrew(1876-1978).

That path is inserted in the Filename line of the Edit Task panel and the task is named “LinkToMedia-PHELAN,JohnAndrew”.

To access ALL John Andrew’s original media data
Select the task (Task icon in the left panel of the Edit Person page and select the relevant task) > Select the Filename (Filename line of Edit Task panel) > Select the file icon (at the end of the same line).

The desired folder should now be open.