Hi.
I have a large file of people and would like to separate them into smaller files. Like take out some of them and put them into their own file. Can i do this without having to copy them all please.
Peter
Why is the reasoning for needing smaller trees?
Also, you likely will have a few people that will ended up in both(or more) trees no matter your approach. Most people who work with large tree will recommend against break things up. But to better advise how to go about it – need to know reasons/logic
For me, smaller trees are easier to work with, keep the focus on each of the interested parties and they are easier to collaborate with other researchers. Every time a child or grandchild gets married, I start a new tree file. I have 6 separate trees/files that are far easier to manage than having one large tree file which previously I used many years ago. To “split” an existing file into separate files in RootsMagic, you can use the “Drag and Drop” feature to “pull” each family line from your current database into a separate “blank” RM data file. You can read how to do it here Dragging and dropping people
and here’s another thread that describes what is and what is not preserved with drag n drop: RM 10 Drag and Drop findings
@peter1joyce as @OleSeminole said you want to drag and drop to a new file-- the easiest way to do this is to do a saved search for the ancestors and descendants of a person such as your Dad for as many generations needed then drag and drop Dad to a new empty database and when this dialogue box come up–use select from list
when the next box appears–highlight and checkmark Dad then click on MARK and pick saved search
– then the name of your saved search and select…
alternately you could just drag Dad to the new database , go to MARK and select Ancestors and descendants for as many generations as needed…
…
As for as large trees versus several smaller trees–it’s all up to you—I have 1 for my Mom’s lines and 1 for Dad’s lines–I also have 1 ( or more) for every branch of my hubbies lines because when I 1st started out cousins from different lines sent me their databases which I added to–the one time I tried to combine 2 of the larger ones using that company that we shall not name on this site–there was a glitch and it took weeks to get that straightened out…
BUT I will make several suggestions --1st BACK UP your BIG file in case something goes wrong—and keep your old file even if everything looks okay afterwards–it’s always smart to have the parent file in case 2 months from now you either find something is missing such as a note/ citation etc or you change your mind…
And make sure you COMPARE your new database with your old database to make sure it is correct…
Thank you very much. I fully understand.
Peter
Peter one more thing— if you do decide to do a drag and drop for say Dad --make sure you unlink your Mom temporarily from her parents-- otherwise you will get something like your niece as the father of your Mom or your brother as the mother of your Mom…