I am wondering if there is an issue with the file compare process. I used the compare files process because I accidentally saved my main file in a different folder. I am not sure how long I’ve been using the incorrect file, so I wanted to see what the differences were, so ran the compare. After getting the results, I started at the bottom to see the 0% matches (assuming that this means found in one file and not the other) and found a lot of people in the wrong file that are not showing as a match in my main (actual file) by the compare process.
HOWEVER, I recognized all the names. As I couldn’t access my file while the compare was up, I did a screen print of the last page, closed out the compare and brought up my correct file and sure enough what the compare shows as missing from my main file is NOT missing. This to me indicated to me that the compare is wrong. Why would the compare show that the person is missing from my (correct file)?
Here is the screen print - file on left is my correct file - I found ALL the people listed on the right side in my file on the left (which the compare shows missing). I manually viewed each person shown below in both databases and see no differences - they match. So what am I missing on this? Is this not what the compare database process is supposed to indicate?
By default RootsMagic will only display records that don’t have an exact match.
If a person doesn’t have a match in the other file, RootsMagic will display a “Copy to other file” button which will let you add the person to the other file. The person will be added as an unlinked individual in the other file.
Well, then something is wrong. I had the copy button. I manually viewed each person in the screen shot in each database and I didn’t see anything different (and granted manual viewing is not perfect) - even the record number was the same. The same person is appearing in both databases, so even if nothing else matched it was not 0% (missing in the other database).
RM’s Compare Files tool is a good tool, but it is not really a “differences” tool. Suppose you have two men named John Doe in your database, one born in 1848 and one born in 1849. Suppose you make an exact copy of your database and compare the two identical files using the Compare Files tool. You likely will get four matches
John Doe 1848 in original database and John Doe 1848 in copy
John Doe 1849 in original database and John Doe 1848 in copy
John Doe 1848 in original database and John Doe 1849 in copy
John Doe 1849 in original database and John Doe 1849 in copy
My sense is that the tool is intended more as a way for you and a cousin to compare databases, where the record numbers between your database and your cousin’s database might not even match at all, even though your data and your cousin’s data are very similar otherwise.
That doesn’t mean that RM’s Compare Files tool cannot be used at all to compare two different versions of your own files. As I said, it’s a good tool. It just isn’t primarily a “differences” tool. In addition, my sense is that the tool might have been quietly improved a good bit since it was first introduced into RM.
So for sure, go ahead and use the tool. Just use it slowly and carefully and cautiously. For example, make another copy of one or the other of your two different databases and make all your changes there. I realize this raises the risk of further confusion by having three data bases for a while instead of two. But that would make sure that your original two are not modified as you work on resolving this problem.
