In the fall of 2023 a GEDCOM of my RM 9 file was given to a professional genealogist. I continued to work on my RM 9 file, which I will call RM-DS and the genealogist worked on their copy of the RM file, which I will call RM-GE in RM8. It is now time to compare the two RM files and merge the changes and additions from the RM-GE file into the RM-DS file.
Does it make any difference which RM 10 file is opened first, the RM-DS file or RM-GE file? I know from testing I have done that I can only edit the first RM file that is opened first.
From the testing I have done it does not appear that Marriage facts can be moved from the RM-GE file to the RM-DS file. Is this correct or have I overlooked something?
Are there other actions that should or should not be done? I only want to move changes and additions in one direction, from the RM-GE file to to the RM-DS file.
I think a training video that showed how to compare and move data in compare would be helpful.
I am somewhat apprehensive in undertaking the comparison of the two files after reading issues on the FB group page and topics in this group.
Did the GE use RM to work on your data? Regardless, did they return to you a GEDCOM? If so, inspect it for a custom tag named _UID in each INDIV block. Compare the values for an identical person in each of the GEDCOMs you sent to and received from them. If they are identical, then that is very helpful to File Compare as it does not have to estimate the probability that the people are the same.
Yes, the GE used RM 8 to imported the GEDCOM and to work on my data.They returned to me a RM 8 database file which I opened and converted to RM 9. I created a custom report for the RM-DS and RM-GE databases which contained the RIN, Surname, Given Name and a custom Ref # fields. All individuals in the database files were selected when the reports were run. The output of the reports were 2 CSV files which were opened/imported in/to a spreadsheet application. I know the new RIN and names of the individuals the GE created. Additional comparisons of the two database files have identified new and changed Sources and Citations created by the GE.
I am in the process of capturing the relationships (parents, children and spouses) to existing and the new individuals added by the GE.
I believe I have identified the new information in the RM-GE file that has to be moved and created in the RM-DS file.
I repeat, I am somewhat apprehensive in undertaking the comparison of the two files after reading issues on the FB group page and topics in this group about data being lost in RM 10.
David I know you are apprehensive BUT there are only 3 ways to do this–
by gedcom which has it’s on issues— which by the way you already had those issues happen when she imported your gedcom…
by comparing and moving
Using drop n drag–RM 10’s drop and drag is a lot better in many ways than RM 9’s drop and drag…
by hand entering all the changes as you find them…
I tried moving from one database to another and personally I wouldn’t do it that way-- you have to move the person then their spouse(s) and kids then attached them all together as a family then you have to go back to compare databases AND TRY TO MOVE the facts— BUT WILL NOTE-- even though I tried several times to move the marriage from one person to the correct spouse- and it acts like it does–IT SOME TIMES DOES AND SOMETIMES DOES NOT MOVE THE MARRIAGE…and you lose all shared facts and customized facts–there is no option to move them…
new database using MOVE
old database from drop and drag–just part of them which were created in original database BEFORE drop and drag–of course I will note that I dropped n dragged the whole database
Basically build you a test database and play with your different options of moving vs drop and drag–once you figure out what works best for you— make a duplicate copy (or open a back-up from that that day) of your original file-- give it a slightly different name and then use your preferred method --BACK THAT DATABASE UP QUITE OFTEN— that way you still have the original file if something goes wrong and the back-up of the new if something goes wrong half way thru.
The good news is that the _UID values were likely preserved even though the pro did not use the import option to preserve the RINs on import. That means Compare should match up the same people in the two databases unambiguously. Any new people they added should stand out.
However, as Renee says, Compare’s transfer capability is less than ideal, supporting individual facts only. However, drag’n’drop is superior in that regard provided you transfer a family or a lineage of ancestors or descendants of the selected person. You have to watch out for duplication - much has been written on that score and manual merging is the safest, surest way.
