4 replies to this topic

[reborrell]

I've created several different "groups" and "facts" in my main database.

 

If I want to create a new database, is there a way to export the "groups" and "facts" list from my existing database and import into a new database.

 

I have set up a person in my main database who I call !Database! New

 

I try to remember to add that person to all of my group and facts when I create them.  I think I could probably GEDCOM that person out, then add them as the 1st person in the new database.  This might be a work around, but I'm looking for an easier way to accomplish this.

 

Many thanks for all the forum help !

[TomH]

Look under Files, Import Lists. Custom fact types can be imported but not group titles.

[reborrell]

Thanks.  I'm only looking to import the various "fact types" and "group types" I've created - just the names of the facts and groups.  The new database would have no people in it, but the "fact types" and "groups type" from the main database would be available to use, but no people would be in them.

[Renee Zamora]

You will have to recreate your groups. You could make a To-Do Item for that person and list all the groups you have for him. Then drag n drop then into a new database and make sure you create and add all the groups for them. You can import Research Logs and To-Do Items into a new database if you want to import that instead of a person. 

 

There is an issue with creating blank groups that is on the development list. Granted that needs to be fixed, but right now you wouldn't want to create a bunch of blank groups just to have the list. When you make a group you want to have at least one person it in.

[Jerry Bryan]

The fundamental problem here is that Drag and Drop uses a GEDCOM export and import mechanism as its data transfer mechanism. GEDCOM is not very satisfactory for transferring such things as groups, sources, source templates, and sentence templates. RM does try to transfer sources,source templates, and sentence templates when transferring to a new and empty database, but it doesn't even try to do anything about groups. Even for sources, source templates, and sentence templates, RM needs a different and better way to create a new database that's a subset of an existing database.

 

To drag and drop a subset of an existing database into a new and empty RM database, the best strategy I can think of is that would really work would be to make a complete copy of the existing database and then to delete people from the new database that were not marked for inclusion. RM has stated very strongly that they will never support a bulk delete capability, and I suppose my proposed strategy smacks of a bulk delete capability. To be safe, my proposed "make a new database and delete non-included people from the new database"  process would be a single, atomic operation from the RM user interface.

 

To drag and drop into an existing and non-empty RM database is much trickier with respect to sources, source templates, and sentence templates. You have two existing databases and you don't want to change what's already there in either database. A drag and drop into an existing and non-empty RM database could conceptually be done behind the scenes with a GEDCOM export/import or by copying certain rows from tables in one database to tables in the other database. But in either case, the fundamental problem them becomes the proper merging or non-merging of sources, source templates, and sentence templates on a case by case basis. In the case of sentence templates, such merging would be impossible unless the process created new fact types - e.g., a fact type of Birth2 if the sentence templates for the Birth fact were not the same between the two databases. I'm not proposing that RM do so, but the problem is tricky. In the case of sources and source templates, even an improve Drag and Drop could continue not to merge Sources and Source Templates that are not identical. But identical ones really do need to be merged correctly and automatically.

 

Jerry