10 replies to this topic

[lclaytn1]

I haven't used RM too much, relying mostly on the tree at Ancestry.  I want to use my RM tree and account more, but am concerned that:

1. Can I sync my RM tree and Ancestry.com tree so that any changes made will show in the other?

2. Can photos and source citations from Ancestry sync or transfer to RM?  Earlier this year I uploaded my tree from RM to Ancestry and every single citation was lost!

[TomH]

1. No. That is a proprietary feature of FTM 2012/14. Maybe if Ancestry got lots of requests they would release the API to other developers such as RootsMagic which has repeatedly stated that it would like to interact with Ancestry as it does with FamilySearch.

2. a) No for media transfer. Again, supported by FTM so the easy route is to sync FTM with your AFT, have it download the media, then export the FTM database to GEDCOM, import to RM. The downloaded media files will be linked in the resulting RM database.

b) Yes for citations. They will be imported from the downloaded AFT GEDCOM as FreeForm sources. They are typically verbose and Ancestry may still have the fault of truncating at around 200 characters.

If you can bear the technicalities, have a look at my incomplete and rocky voyage trying to find a way to achieve some degree of synchronization: http://sqlitetoolsfo...cestry.com Sync

[AnemicOak]

<snip>

so the easy route is to sync FTM with your AFT, have it download the media, then export the FTM database to GEDCOM, import to RM. The downloaded media files will be linked in the resulting RM database.
 

You'd think so, but unfortunately that only partially works at least in my case. Media that was linked by saving it directly to the AFT using the Ancestry image viewer will not be seen in the resulting RM database despite it all being visible in FTM and all being stored on the local hard drive. The only AFT/FTM media that shows up in RM is media that was manually added to your AFT.

 

 

Example: My tree has hundreds of census images and church records, etc. which are in my AFT and which download and are linked just fine in FTM (the images are right there in the FTM folder on my PC). These  were added to the AFT by doing searches on Ancestry and adding them to individuals from the image browser. None of these come through to RM when a Gedcom is exported. The only media I'm seeing in RM is media I manually added my self to my AFT. Looking at the links in FTM they are two different types of links (even though all media is in the same place on the hard drive) and only the one type is seen by RM in the exported Gedcom.

 

Hopefully that made sense. 

[TomH]

Well, I think you make sense but I don't get it. Can you track an example from FTM that does not appear in RM and see if the file path is listed in the GEDCOM? In RM, use the Media Gallery in List view sorted by filename to browse for the file.

 

Have you inspected the .LST file in the same folder as your new RM database having the same name to see if RootsMagic reports a problem with certain media files? The .LST file is created during the import to log errors and exceptions.

[Renee Zamora]

Different versions of FTM handled media different. We have a Magic Guide that discusses the various issues by FTM version.  If you had FTM 2008-2011 they didn't export the media links at all in GEDCOM. FTM 2012-2014 will export the links to GEDCOM, so if you need help upgrading to 2014 to get those links our support will help you do that. 

 

11. Supplement: Media Import from Family Tree Maker

http://rootsmagic.com/guides/

[AnemicOak]

Well, I think you make sense but I don't get it. Can you track an example from FTM that does not appear in RM and see if the file path is listed in the GEDCOM? In RM, use the Media Gallery in List view sorted by filename to browse for the file.

 

Have you inspected the .LST file in the same folder as your new RM database having the same name to see if RootsMagic reports a problem with certain media files? The .LST file is created during the import to log errors and exceptions.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I'll take a look when I get home tonight.

 

 

 

Different versions of FTM handled media different. We have a Magic Guide that discusses the various issues by FTM version.  If you had FTM 2008-2011 they didn't export the media links at all in GEDCOM. FTM 2012-2014 will export the links to GEDCOM, so if you need help upgrading to 2014 to get those links our support will help you do that. 

 

11. Supplement: Media Import from Family Tree Maker

http://rootsmagic.com/guides/

 

It's 2014 I'm referring to. I've been through the RM video guide and what I posted above were the results.

[Renee Zamora]

I suspect they were source media. You will need to open the Edit Person screen and then highlight the fact and click the Source button or the check mark in the Source column. Then highlight and Edit the Source. The media will be viewable on the Media tab. 

[lclaytn1]

Do any of you know if the notes on FTM will transfer?

[TomH]

Generally, yes. Maybe there is an exception I haven't noticed.

[AnemicOak]

I suspect they were source media. You will need to open the Edit Person screen and then highlight the fact and click the Source button or the check mark in the Source column. Then highlight and Edit the Source. The media will be viewable on the Media tab. 

 

Thank you, this appears to be the answer. Very cunmbersome way to get to the image, but it's good to know it's there.

[Don Newcomb]

If one is wed to Ancestry.com, it might be best to stick with their web interface.  I use Ancestry to find records and post selected trees from my database; not as my main data repository. For that I use RootsMagic and there are a lot of features in RM that don't carry over to Ancestry. The interface between the two is not very elegant. When I need to update a tree, I have either delete it and upload a new one or enter the updates manually to each record.