Choosing which Ancestry tree is used for TreeShare

RootsMagic
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1

I have recently inherited my mother’s family history and need to add it to my own research on my father’s side.
I want to collect data from several online trees into one program and have chosen RootsMagic 8. (I am new to the program). TreeShare seemed to work great to share information from my Ancestry tree into RootsMagic, but I have two trees in Ancestry and can’t figure out how to change the tree that TreeShare looks at. It automatically chose the 1st tree on my Ancestry list but the 2nd is actually more important, and much larger.
This all started because one cannot merge trees on Ancestry…any suggestions???

2

One RM database can only be connected to one Ancestry tree. So the overview of the process you need to follow is as follows.

  1. Use TreeShare to download your first Ancestry tree to a new and empty RM database which will be your first RM database. You have already accomplished this step.
  2. Use TreeShare to download your second Ancestry tree to a a new and empty RM database which will be your second RM database.
  3. Copy your first RM database into a third RM database. For this step, use File => Copy.
  4. Copy your second RM database into the third RM database. For this step, use Drag and Drop.
  5. Merge all the duplicate people in your third RM database.

Here are some additional comments.

  • TreeShare does not default to which Ancestry tree it connects to when you are first downloading from Ancestry. You have to make a selection. You must have done so without quite realizing that’s what you were doing when you downloaded your first Ancestry tree into your first RM database. When you are downloading your second Ancestry tree into your second RM database, be very careful to choose the other Ancestry tree to be the one you download.
  • RM’s process to merge databases can be very, very time consuming but it does work.
  • What actually happens is that you copy all the people from one database into the other and then you merge the duplicate people in that combined database.
  • It’s time consuming because for the most part you have to manually intervene each time to merge the duplicate people. You need to build up some expertise in using RM before you start. You may start and go wrong several times before you get the hang of it. Practice using RM and don’t be discouraged.
  • RM has an automatic people merge feature but only works if the data for the two people who are really duplicate is pretty much identical. Very trivial differences can cause the automatic merge to fail.
  • You don’t really have to create a third database as I described. You can copy your first database into your second or you can copy your second database into your first. The suggestion to create a third database is to prevent either of your first two databases from being messed by the merge process. I’m an experienced RM user and I wouldn’t trust myself not to mess up the first two databases so if I were doing your project I certainly would do the merging in a third database.
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3

Jerry, just want to say that this is a terrific how-to job.

Thank you!

4

Thank you for your response. I’ve done everything you suggested, but am stuck on step 4. I guess I don’t know how to do a drag and drop. (I understand about all of the merging. It’s a long process, but just has to be done.) Can you be specific about how to drag and drop? Also, the only place I can see all of my RM files is in my file explorer. I can’t see the last database I made in RM itself.
Thanks for your help.
Carol

5

In RM8, to do a drag and a drop, you first have to get both databases open at the same time.

If you use RM8 in a fairly normal way, you will probably be full screen, so when you open the second database, a new window will open that covers the first window. So you have to “mediumize” both windows and resize them so that each covers about half the screen. I’m sure there is a more formal and correct name than “mediumize”. But if you click on the maximize button in the upper right hand corner of the screen, it will toggle between maximized and mediumized. Even when mediumized, the window many cover nearly the whole screen and you may have to drag the edges to make the window smaller. You need to do this to both windows so you can see them at the same time.

Having gotten both windows on the screen at the same time, pick a person in one window. Click and hold that person and drag them to the other window and drop them there. RM8 will ask you who all you wish to copy. In your situation, it will be everybody.

Close out the RM8 window you are not going to be working in, maximize the window where you will be doing the merge, and start merging.

Jerry

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