I used RM10’s DataClean (PlaceClean) tool to auto-split misplaced details out of my place names and ended up with thousands of duplicate places. The AutoMerge (SmartMerge) tool doesn’t appear to want to merge these duplicates, even though the place names and GPS coords match (and the tool suggests it should merge identical places). So now the manual merging proceeds…
It would be nice if you could shift-click the check boxes in the merge dialog so that you don’t have to manually click every duplicate checkbox (I have 100s for certain places). It would also be nice if you could (shift-) multi-select the duplicate places in the main places list and merge them directly.
But my main question relates to places where a village name (presumably not listed in the Gazetteer) was split into place detail records. I would like to move all the place details with this village back to a new place record listing that village. But, although I see there is a (manual) Split Place command, I don’t see any Unsplit Place command or other way of promoting a place detail to a full-blown place. Does anyone have any suggestions? I didn’t see any way to use a Search/Replace command, but maybe I didn’t think it through enough. (I have also entertained the idea of using the SQLite route but am not up-to-speed on that yet).
I can’t think of a way to automate the Unsplit process from within the RM user interface. I like MadDog’s suggestion.
I went through the same sort of thing many years ago. When RM4 first came with support for Place Details, I eagerly embraced the Place Details feature and I used it for a year or so.
Then I came realize how much genealogy software other than RM did not support RM’s Place Details. And in particular, I came to realize that neither FamilySearch nor Ancestry supported RM’s Place Details. So I decided to Unsplit as you call it, and to quit using Place Details.
It was a humongous job. I spent two or three years doing it totally manually, a little at a time. I finally realized I would never get done. So I broke down and wrote an SQLite script to finish the job. It was not rocket science, but it was still a tricky SQLite script and would be a difficult first script for an SQLite beginner.
The script first has to create a new Place name with the unsplit Place Details + Place Name as the new Place name. At this point the new and unsplit Place name is still unused. Then all the events now using that split Place Details and Place combination have to be pointed to the new unsplit Place name that was just created. This leaves the new unsplit Place Name used and all the old split Place Details as unused, so they all have to be deleted. And this all has to be done for each possible combination of Place + Place Details.
You would probably have one more complication. I did this for all my Place Details. It sounds like you only want to do it when the Place Details are for a village. But if the Place Details are for a cemetery (place of burial) or for a hospital (place of birth or death) or a church (place of marriage), you probably will want to leave the Place Details intact. So a script that would work for you would probably need to be able to distinguish Place Details that are for a village as compared to Place Details that are for a cemetery or for a hospital or for a church.
So I think you need to restore from before the Place Clean or else hunker down and do it manually, a little at a time each day until it’s done.
Its not consistent. I believe in part its the way the GEDCOM is built and then import into the other platform. One of the website I used preferred the Cemetery names in the 5th place - so back in 2017 I adopted that (and only for Cemeteries ) for that reason. I used the details for schools, hospitals and street names. That approach may not work for everyone. But might be something some people can partly adopt.
Thank you @thejerrybryan! Yes, that was what I was thinking I might need to do with the SQLite script. I was only contemplating doing it on individually selected (hard-coded) villages (that I’m interested in grouping as a Place). I don’t suppose you still have the script you wrote/used, do you? I’d be happy to modify it to meet my needs.
You make a great point about other platforms’ support for Place Details, though. I’m seeing other issues related to other RM-enhanced fields too (e.g. nicknames) when syncing to other platforms.
And with FamilySearch adding specific churches and cemeteries to its location lists, syncing back to RM using Place Details is going to be problematic, I think, too.
It’s too late for me to restore from backup (I’ve made too many real updates since, that I want to preserve), so I don’t mind the manual approach for now, and an SQLite fixup once I’m more comfortable with it.
Not everyone would do it this was – All my Cemeteries have 5 places by comma.
If city is unknown it would have a comma with no city.
Cemetery, City, County, State, Country
One of the most popular Cem names is Pine Grove so example below
The only time I put anything in that 5th place is for Cemeteries name – other stuff would go instead of place details.
