17 replies to this topic

[Dan Yaklin]

I have run into an issue with one of my RM databases. The database was originally restored from a backup on another computer. I had media link issues with this database and I spent a couple of days fixing all of the links in the database. Typically the link file name in the database would be something like xxxx.jpg (2),jpg. I corrected all of these links and had all broken links fixed.

 

Today I went into the database and found that all of my links are broken again. When I look at the link file name they all seem to have the same issue. They look like xxxx.jpg (2).jpg. Some are like yyy.jpg (2).jpg (2).jpg (2).jpg. I don't understand what caused this. Using the fix broken links will not resolve this issue, because the link file names in RM have been changed.

 

The only thing I have done to this database since fixing all of the broken links is try to create a Sharable CD. It created the Sharable Cd files but there was no data in the Pictures folder because the links were broken.

 

Any idea what caused this and how can I fix it without having to manually go in and change each link?

[MikeMod]

Check the help file under "Working with Media".

 

There is a tool for fixing broken links.

[MikeMod]

Sorry, I did not understand your issue correctly.  Something must be changing the names in the file system.

[TomH]

You used TreeShare since revising file names?

OR

You reopened the older database from before you revised the file names? Did you restore from a backup?

[Jerry Bryan]

This is very puzzling. I have encountered (1) things and (2) things getting added to file names and even to folder names. I have never been able to find a repeatable process that results in the problem taking place. It surely has to do with some sort of "version number"  processing in Windows. I don't know what triggers it. It seems to be when a program overwrites an existing file, except when overwriting the file Windows makes a new file with the (1) thing or the (2) thing instead of actually overwriting the file. I wish somebody that really knows the details of this process could post an answer to what causes it and how to prevent it, because I don't know.

 

That being said, the fact that the problem recurs after you fix it is REALLY puzzling. Look at Tom's suggestions. Also look for the possibility that you have two different RM databases and are opening the the wrong one sometimes by accident. Are you running any backup system or file sharing system such as Google Drive that might be doing something with your files? We are obviously grasping for straws here.

 

Jerry

[Dan Yaklin]

I did not use TreeShare on this database nor did I reopen a older database. The only thing I did to the database was attempt to create a Sharable CD. I tried a couple of times, because I was not sure it created a Sharable CD the first time.

 

Let me be clear, the actual media file names are not being changed. What is being changed is the media file name in the RM database. I was able to fix all of the links again by using the Search and Replace. There were several variations of errors in the file name in RM database. The ones I described above and also I saw some instances of XXX_1.jpg, where the actual file name was XXX.jpg. I had the same issue with pdf file where XXX.pdf was changed in the RM database to XXX.pdf (2).pdf.

[Renee Zamora]

I've seen this happen when you restore a backup with media and the earlier media folder is already there. It's best to rename the old media folder so it can create a new one, and doesn't try to add to it. Otherwise, it will see the same filenames in the folder on restore and add the (2), etc at the end of the filename to not overwrite it. 

[Jerry Bryan]

Let me be clear, the actual media file names are not being changed. What is being changed is the media file name in the RM database.

 

I confess to have misunderstood, having understood incorrectly that the file names were changed in Windows.

With that understanding, your symptoms seem quite extraordinary. I can't think of anything in RM that would change the file names in the Media Gallery in that manner, and certainly not the creation of a Shareable CD.

 

Well, it's making me wonder where RM was trying to put the Shareable CD. A Shareable CD does not have to be burned to a CD by RM. It can be stored somewhere on your hard disk and then you can subsequently burn it to a CD or even copy it to a different removable media such as a USB thumb drive. If you store a Shareable CD for later burning in the default location, then everything should be fine. Were you trying to burn a CD directly from RM, or were you saving it for later? If you were saving it for later, where you your saving it?

 

Jerry

[Jerry Bryan]

Ok, so I don't have the solution yet, but I have some strong suspicions.

 

I made a Shareable CD on my hard disk from my full, production RM database. Having done so, there were 3 of 16,644 filenamess in my database that had "acquired" an additional "(2)" in the file name. I don't know why I had so few, or why I even had any. But at least I now have a repeatable way to recreate the problem.

 

My suspicions are now two-fold. First, I think the same thing is happening to you when you make a Shareable CD except that it's happening to a lot more of your file names than mine. I still don't know why it's happening to either one of us, so that's an item for further research. And second, after you make the Shareable CD I think you are looking at the Shareable CD version of your RM database instead of your original RM database and that's why you are seeing all the "(2)" things.

 

Well, there is a third option to consider, and it's even more terrible than the above. Namely, what if the ShareableCD is somehow or other getting made on top of your actual production database. I don't see how that would happen. But if it did, it could explain your symptoms. But I think it's more likely that you are looking at the wrong database.

 

See if any of this makes sense. Look very carefully at where your production RM database is and at where your ShareableCD database is. Hopefully, they are at different places. Then open each one separately and see what the file names look like. In addition to the "(2)" things in your file names in your Shareable CD database, you should also see a folder name of Pictures. You shouldn't see either of these things in your production RM database.

 

By the way, I regularly complain that RM only works with absolute file paths and then sometimes I think I remember that RM sometimes does seem to use relative file paths but I can never remember where I thought I saw RM working that way. Well, AHA!  The Shareable CD works with relative file paths. You can't enter relative file paths from the RM user interface, but RM does create the Shareable CD with relative file paths. And when you run RM against the Shareable CD version of your RM database, the relative file paths are there and RM processes them just fine. Now if it would just do that all of the time, it might possibly be wonderful.

 

I will try to figure out what's different about my three files that have the "(2)" in the file name after a make a Shareable CD. In the meantime, please look around your disk for your production and your Shareable CD copies of your RM database as I have described above.

 

Jerry

 

[Bob C]

In my test I got a (2) because I had two photographs attached to the same event/fact.

 

The second case was because I had two copies with the same name tagged to two different individuals

 

Bob

[Jerry Bryan]

My situation seems identical to that of Bob C. My 3 media files out of 16,644 that had the "(2)" added when I made a Shareable CD were all duplicated in my primary database. I don't know how they got that way. It seems likely that it was some sort of user error on my part, except that I have deliberately tried to create duplicate media files for diagnostic purposes and I have always failed. In other words, if I try to add a new media file that has the same name as an existing one, there is no error message and I end up with just the one that was already there. So I am out of ideas for the moment.

 

Jerry

[Dan Yaklin]

The Sharable CD was created in in my RootsMagic database. No I wasn't opening the Sharable CD database. I was opening the original database. I do know that some of my media is being used more than once. I am not sure if those are the images that got the extra stuff added to the file name in RM.

 

I did not see any corruption in the Pictures folder that was created in the Sharable CD folder.

[Jerry Bryan]

The Sharable CD was created in in my RootsMagic database. 

 

I'm not sure what it  means that the Shareable D was created in your RM database. When I create a shareable CD and use the "burn it later" option, all the shareable CD information goes into a folder called ShareableCD. Things like the copy of the RM software, the copy of the RM database, and the copy of the media files, all go under that folder one way or another.

 

You are correct that the ShareableCD folder is created as a subfolder of the same folder where your RM database is located. You have no control over where it goes. Maybe that's what you mean. I have a folder called RM7 where my RM databases are stored. So my main database is is in RM7/jerry.rmgc and when I make a shareable CD the shareable database is in RM7/ShareableCD/jerry.rmgc. I don't see how the process of making a Shareable CD could be changing your original database. You don't have any control over the fact that the shareable database is created in a different subfolder.  The copy of your database under the Shareable CD will have the messed up file names with the (2) things, but the original copy of your RM database should remain unchanged and should not require fixing.

 

The easiest way to resolve the (2) problem in the shareable database is first to resolve the duplicate media file problem in your original database. It's not totally clear how best to do so, and I'm still thinking about it for my own database. Fortunately, I only have three files with the problem. It sounds like you have more than that. RM doesn't really offer you any tools to fix the problem, or even to find the media files that have the problem. Well, if you make a Shareable CD, the (2) in the shareable copy of your database tell you where you have the duplicate media file names in your original database.

 

It's easy to see how you could open the wrong database by accident after creating your Shareable CD. In my case, one of the databases is in RM7/jerry.rmgc and the other one is in RM7/ShareableCD/jerry.rmgc and it would be easy to navigate to the wrong one. But if you navigate to the ShareableCD version with your main RM program, all the media links will appear to be broken because the links will have all been made into relative links. To look at the RM7/ShareableCD/jerry.rmgc version of your database, you have to look at it with the Shareable CD version of the RM software. You get to the ShareableCD version of the RM software by going to the ShareableCD folder and double clicking rmmenu.exe. It will bring up a RootsMagic Shareable CD menu where you click on View Family Tree. Doing it this way, the media links will not be broken because it understands the relative links. The only exception is that the links with the (2) things will be broken.

 

Jerry

[Dan Yaklin]

Sorry, it created the Sharable CD folder in my RM folder where my RM databases reside. Yes in the Sharable CD folder there was a Pictures folder.

[Dan Yaklin]

I am pretty certain I was not looking at the database in the Sharable CD folder. It was my original database that got corrupted. I guess I can try making a Sharable CD again. Maybe I will make a copy of my database first, so if it messes up I won't fix all the links again.

[Jerry Bryan]

I am pretty certain I was not looking at the database in the Sharable CD folder. It was my original database that got corrupted. I guess I can try making a Sharable CD again. Maybe I will make a copy of my database first, so if it messes up I won't fix all the links again.

 

That would be a very good test, especially with a current backup made immediately before the test.

 

Jerry

[Jerry Bryan]

A little off topic, but --- when I run the "ShareableCD" version of the RootsMagic software against the "ShareableCD" version of my RM database, the file paths to the media files are all relative file paths. The relative file paths "just work". This is totally wonderful.

 

If I open the real version of the RootsMagic software against the "ShareableCD" version of my RM database, the file paths to the media files are all relative file paths and they don't work. I have tried several things to get them to work, but without success.

 

So clearly, RM at some level does support relative file paths. But the relative file path support seems to be disabled in the real version of the RootsMagic software and obviously it is enabled in the "ShareableCD" version of the RootsMagic software. Relative file paths could potentially solve so many problems for users who install RootsMagic software on multiple machines that it me wonder why it isn't enabled in the real version of RootsMagic.

 

Jerry

 

[Dan Yaklin]

I created a cop of my database, then created a Sharable CD. I did not have any issues with Media in my copy of the database. So I really don't have any idea what caused the original problem was.