8 replies to this topic

[cdg]

I am trying to evaluate a couple of different genealogy programs for us on a Mac, so I'm still working with RootsMagic Essentials.  The program looks pretty good, but I cannot use the Help.  The problem has become worse since upgrading to RM 7.5.7.

 

When I launch Help > Contents, the Help window displays but I cannot navigate through the content.

- when I click on a topic, such as Introduction the wrong topic is highlighted/expanded, such as The RootsMagic Interface

- the top-level buttons for Hide, Back, Forward, Home, Options, Print don't work

- the backward/forward buttons at the top of an article don't work 

- Internal links within a topic don't work

 

And since upgrading to RM 7.5.7 this morning, launching and closing Help > Contents results in the main UI for the application to become dysfunctional - I can't use the main menu items (File, Edit, Lists) or navigate through the persons index.

 

I'm using a MacBook Pro 15.4-inch (resolution 2880 x 1800) with High Sierra 10.3.6.

 

Does anyone know if there's a fix for this or is there an alternative source for the Help such as a PDF?  

 

I am close to liking and buying RootsMagic, but the Help is a deal breaker.

Thanks, Chris

[Jim Byram]

http://forums.rootsm...function-in-rm/

[cdg]

Thanks, Jim. I figured the root cause was something like that.  

 

I managed to find a workaround/fix; after I noticed that the Help content opens as a second tab in the application window, I discovered that clicking on the Help tab header and dragging the Help tab out to become a separate window resolves the issue!

 

As a bonus I can use the Mac support for Split Screen to snap the app and Help windows side-by-side so now I can read the help while working in the app!  This is looking promising!

[veehb]

Not sure if this is the place to ask this question, but:  I purchased RootsMagic at RootsTech in March in Salt Lake City.  Haven't really tried using it since then.  But I have a very large Ancestry tree and need to prune some of the branches and create a few new Ancestry trees.

 

I found a tutorial that was generated a year or so ago telling how to use the RootsMagic/Ancestry interface and how to download a tree, export new trees from the downloaded tree in  RootsMagic and then merge them into one new tree and upload it to Ancestry.  Looks pretty straight forward, so I tried it.  I had downloaded my tree a few months ago, and tried to use it.  When I connected to Ancestry, It found over 100 changes.  I was not able to edit the changes and make the two databases the same, so after a few frustrating tries, I deleted the tree in RootsMagic and downloaded my Ancestry tree again (about 13,000 names).  It took a while but it came down OK.  But the export function doesn't work as described in the video.  I finally got it to export a new tree, but it turned out to be a GEDCOM file and not a tree that I could upload to Ancestry.  

 

My biggest confusing is that I loaded RootsMagic a few months ago and today when I started it, it said that there was an update, so I updated it.  Now it says that it is running version 7.0.1.  I just joined this user forum and see that you are talking about a version 7.5.something.  Should I be running a later version and if so, how do I down load it.  I'm using an iMac about two years old (27 inch hi-rez screen) and running High Sierra 10.13.6.  I also don't see any recent videos from RootsMagic that will help with this.

 

I also find the help files not working at all.  Maybe I'll try your suggestion, cdg.

 

Maybe I should have started a new topic, rather than hijack this one.  Feel free to move this if necessary.

 

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  I really don't want to try the new Family Tree Maker.

 

Thanks

[Renee Zamora]

The 7.0.1 on the the Apple menu for the CrossOver wrapper around RootsMagic. It should show under RootsMagic>About RootsMagic

 

Version 7.0.1 (7.0.1)
Copyright 2016 CodeWeavers, Inc

 

The RootsMagic program itself in the menu go to Help>About RootsMagic to see the version number. It should be 7.5.7.0.

[veehb]

Thanks, Renee.  Why don't they put the real version number in the "About RootsMagic" in the main Roots Magic menu?  This is most confusing and cost me many hours of trying to figure out how to get the latest version.  I had it all the time.

[Renee Zamora]

When you update RM you won't necessarily update the CrossOver wrapper. It takes a complete uninstall/reinstall to do that. That is why we need the version numbers in different places. I don't see this changing until we have the native Mac version where the CrossOver wrapper is no longer needed.

[k1p2]

Does anyone know if there's a fix for this or is there an alternative source for the Help such as a PDF?  

 

I have High Sierra also.  But I only have the full RM7 program.

 

You may have a mouse problem.  My mouse points to one area and it click a tad bit lower.  I have a Logitech mouse and it does this on lots of things, so may be something in High Sierra as I don't really remembering it doing this before (or else I just didn't notice).

 

In Help>the guide, when you have your cursor over the 'forward or back' buttons and it "sees" them, the square the green arrow is on will outline.  That is how you can tell.

 

The reason I say that, is because when I put my cursor on 'Intro', it also opens the 'Interface' topic.  BUT it does this on lots of other programs too.  I do not think this applies to "the hand" icon, just the cursor icon.

 

Hope this helps.

[cdg]

 

I have High Sierra also.  But I only have the full RM7 program....

 

A belated thanks and response, kfp2.

 

I'm using the touchpad on a MacBook Pro, not a separate mouse. In any case, I have since purchased the full program, and recently updated to the current level (7.0.3 / 7.5.8.0) and things are better but still not working quiet right...

 

Now at least I can navigate around using the default view (through the topic tree, using the navigation buttons and using internal links).

 

I still can't use the tabs to switch to Contents, Index, Search etc - when I do the side bar that showed the topic tree goes grey and does not come back until I close and relaunch Help.

There also are some odd issues with the behaviour, and especially when going back and forth between the Help window and the app - for example:

• It clearly is not set up for multi-tasking; if I open the Edit Person window and then the Citation Manager, then go to the Help window I can't interact with it  (scroll, follow links etc) 
• Then when I go back to the Citation Manager window it disappears and is hidden under the Edit Person window, causing the app and Help to lock up.
• Sometimes I can get the window back by clicking around or switching back/forth to the Help window a few times, but sometimes I just have to Force Quit the program altogether. 

Anyway, I can muddle along with it and will add my voice the group anxiously awaiting the RM8 / native Mac version :-)