13 replies to this topic

[fifthgenerationtexan]

Hi.  My first Mac was the original 1984 Mac so I sort of know Macs. My SIL has huge geneaology files with RM and so I bought RM on the assumption that I could use it with my Mac.

 

I have two problems.

 

When I import her file, it is empty. It wasn't empty when she sent it.

 

And now, RM told me it needed to update. So I let it and now I have RM 7.5.7.  But it closes! I click on 'about rootsmagic' and it closes. I go to click 'open' and it closes.  Honestly it closes before I can click anything.  L<-- It no longer does that.

 

I realize these are two different problems.  I guess my first one could be clarified if someone else with a Mac tried to open it. If it opened for them, I'd know to keep trying. But if it opens without content like it does for me, then I'd need to find out for her how she should do it on her end. [She was getting info from someone else on how to send me only my family info instead of the gazillion records she has for others as well as her own. So maybe she didn't actually send me anything at all? Maybe whatever she did didn't work?]

Thanks in advance!

ETA:  I am on a MacBook Air with High Sierra 10.12.6.

Edited by fifthgenerationtexan, 30 April 2018 - 12:02 PM.

[J P]

Hi.  My first Mac was the original 1984 Mac so I sort of know Macs. My SIL has huge geneaology files with RM and so I bought RM on the assumption that I could use it with my Mac.
 
I have two problems.
 
When I import her file, it is empty. It wasn't empty when she sent it.
 
And now, RM told me it needed to update. So I let it and now I have RM 7.5.7.  But it closes! I click on 'about rootsmagic' and it closes. I go to click 'open' and it closes.  Honestly it closes before I can click anything.
 
I realize these are two different problems.  I guess my first one could be clarified if someone else with a Mac tried to open it. If it opened for them, I'd know to keep trying. But if it opens without content like it does for me, then I'd need to find out for her how she should do it on her end. [She was getting info from someone else on how to send me only my family info instead of the gazillion records she has for others as well as her own. So maybe she didn't actually send me anything at all? Maybe whatever she did didn't work?]
Thanks in advance!
ETA:  I am on a MacBook Air with High Sierra 10.12.6.

A few questions. What file type are you trying to open or import or whatever? How was it produced at the other end? How are you trying to get it into RM?

Also, can you do anything with RM such as make any entries into an empty new file?

The other thing to do is to check the levels of software you are using. What does the Mac Get Info show as the level and date of RM for Mac? Is your High Sierra really 10.12.6? (I thought 10.12.4 was the current highest.) Is RM - the About option - really 7.5.7? (I think 7.5.6 is the current highest.) Do you have an SSD boot drive or an HFS one?

[fifthgenerationtexan]

I can answer some--not all--of your questions.

 

The file I am importing is an .rmgc file.

I can make new entries into an empty new file. I only tried one, but it seems fine.

When I opened RM it told me there was an update, once updated it says it is 7.5.6 so maybe I misread.  But my High Sierra really is 10.12.6.  As I recall, it updated just a couple of days ago. Very recently.

I am not sure what kind boot drive I have for my MacBook Air. I think it is SSD but I need to verify that. Where would I find that info? Does this mean anything from Get Info?  "Boot ROM Version:    MBA71.0176.B00"

 

Finally--I am not sure how my SIL produced the file and am waiting to get specific info. I know she used GEDCOM.

 

Thank you for assisting! If anything I've written here reveals an issue that needs to be addressed, I'll be happy to address it. I'm waiting to hear from my SIL about more specific info about how she produced the files and anything else that will be helpful.

[Renee Zamora]

Not sure if the mention of Importing the file is just the wrong choice of words. If you have a database (.rmgc) file use File>Open. If its an import than you have a different file from your SIL. If she gave you a GEDCOM file you would Import it. You can open the .ged file in a text editor to see if there is any data on it. 

[fifthgenerationtexan]

When I use File>Open to open the .rmgc file, nothing opens. an empty file opens. Nothing is in it.

 

It is possible that she needs instructions on how to copy a file from her database and send to me.

 

She has a number of family genealogies in her database since she has done so many searches and kept them all together.  She was having trouble figuring out how to only send me my tree.

 

Once she had that, was there anything special she had to do to send it to me for my Mac or would it be the same file she would have sent me if I were on PC?

Thanks!

[J P]

The file would be the same, whether it is for a PC or a Mac.

[ftipple]

I updated my Mac OS on 1 April - it's 10.13.4.

 

Nothing later/higher is showing up in the App Store, so I'd be interested to know where you got 10.13.6 from!

[fifthgenerationtexan]

I have it set up to notify me every time there is an upgrade. It was only a few days ago that I received a notification and did the upgrade. Within the last week.  I'll see if I can figure out exactly when.

 

It may be that they don't roll them all out at the same time so the upgrades go out in waves?

[J P]

I have it set up to notify me every time there is an upgrade. It was only a few days ago that I received a notification and did the upgrade. Within the last week.  I'll see if I can figure out exactly when.
 
It may be that they don't roll them all out at the same time so the upgrades go out in waves?

10.12.6 is Sierra, not High Sierra. The highest level of High Sierra is 10.13.4, as was stated earlier.

So, if you are really using Sierra, all the concerns about RM for Mac and High Sierra are irrelevant.

Instead, we need to focus on the rmgc file you have been sent. How large is it? For example, having just created a new empty file, the size is 1.3 Megabytes. My working file, which contains about 3800 people takes about 7.4 Megabytes. Maybe those 2 examples might give you some idea of what might - or might not - be in the file you have received.

[fifthgenerationtexan]

Okay, first--in case you might not have noticed--I did qualify my opening gambit.

 

"Hi.  My first Mac was the original 1984 Mac so I sort of know Macs."  <--- emphasis on the 'sort of.'  My husband encouraged me to buy that first Mac because he knew how un-technical my brain is and that I would never manage the IBM PC I had my eyes on!

So yes, you are correct--it is Sierra, not High Sierra, and I didn't even notice there was a difference.

 

Also, the file is .rmgc file I have is 1.3 megabytes so you are correct! It is empty.

I will check with my SIL and see what info she needs to create the file. All I know is that she was trying to send me only my own info, since her files have tens of thousands of people in them, and wasn't sure how to do it. I am pretty sure we're talking about a GEDCOM file.

[Jerry Bryan]

 

I will check with my SIL and see what info she needs to create the file. All I know is that she was trying to send me only my own info, since her files have tens of thousands of people in them, and wasn't sure how to do it. I am pretty sure we're talking about a GEDCOM file.

 

She would probably be better served by a drag and drop than by a GEDCOM. She should open her own database, create a new and empty database, and then drag and drop your info into the new and empty database. Doing the drag and drop will not remove it from her database.

 

She can select "your people" as a part of the drag and drop operation. Depending on her level of expertise with RM, the selection process can be very easy or very hard. Please do be assured that she does not have to select each person one at  time. She can do things like select "all ancestors of John Doe" or select "all descendants of John Doe" or whatever makes sense for selecting "your people".

 

Jerry

[fifthgenerationtexan]

Thanks, Jerry. I have passed this info along to her. I'll let you know if it works!

[Renee Zamora]

Using Drag and Drop in RootsMagic

[Rooty]

Type of internal drive easy to determine.

1. start your mac after it is shut down. If it is up and running in 20 or 30 seconds it is a SSD flash drive. A hard drive will take 2 to 4 minutes.

 

2. Click the apple icon top left. then click the storage tab and see what your drive is called.  ie flash drive

 

Or click system report - click storage in the hardware section and look for SSD

 

Perhaps your SIL ( some kind of alien?) should just send you her whole data folder or a gedcom if she knows how to do that. You would also need the media included with the gedcom.