I still use RM7 as my master, do all my additions/deleations and updates there … Then I do the same changes in RM8. (This has the advantage that I am getting used to using RM8 - I have has to restore the RM8 DB several times as I totally messed it up!)
I am back, as disgusted with Roots Magic as you can get. I had RM7, went to 8, hated it and went back to 7. Both versions are installed on my computer (Windows 10). Now, working in 7, I am cleaning up census entries - a custom fact I created - standardizing entries. One thing that has to be done a lot is removing the work “pic” (as in I had a copy of the census page saved). Lo and behold, I thought I had gone through everyone surnamed to the C’s - and my changes are not always saving. Today I found a surname listed in the Place field.
Ran the database tools - all fine, according to it.
I am going to uninstall RM8, then uninstall 7 and reinstall it. My hopes are that some library that got overwritten by 8 (and is as buggy as the rest of the program) will get fixed. I will go back to editing my Census fact and pay close attention. If changes fail to save, or I find more corruptions in the data, I will promptly buy that English program and never use Roots Magic again.
And if the developers are paying attention, they should be aware that I am not interested in any updates to Roots Magic EVER.
As a side bar, my husband worked in IT. Not naming the company, but they had many programs they created themselves. Over time, the original programmers left and new programmers did not know how to work with the code. Instead of writing code fresh, they use programs that automate things, and it often does not mesh properly. I feel this is what has happened with Roots Magic. Why else would RM fail to incorporate standard Windows functions? They obviously don’t know how to get them working with everything else. I don’t see how they are going to resolve this unless they completely rewrite the program, which could take forever - and may work as poorly or worse as 8 does.
As someone that uses that ‘English program’, I can assure you that it has issues of its own. Be careful what you wish for.
I am willing to be my mortgage payment that this did not happen. I have yet to find any library overlap. Before getting too excited about this, keep in mind that I paid my mortgage off earlier this year…
Again, didn’t happen. The same guy has been slogging along on this for something like 30 years now. He does have an assistant/vice president now, but the ‘original programmer’ is still running the company!
Dear Kfunk,
I have come down from my passion and appreciate your comments and congratulate you on release from house payments. It opens up a whole new world when you can keep that money in the bank, doesn’t it?
Now, please enlighten me about that English program. I hadn’t remembered the name offhand - Family Historian. Can you tell me the issues you have found?
If you are still doing this, why not skip the GEDCOM export-import and use RM8 to ‘open’ the RM7 file which will result in copying its data into a new RM8 file. Should be faster and more complete but you may have to close the RM7 file to avoid a brief conflict.