RootsMagic software - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Getting Rid of the "was born" in Narrative Report ?

rcriddle — 17 Apr 2008 9:15:30 GMT

Is there anyway to get rid of that awkward "was born" line that prints out in the Modified Register Report when you do not have enough facts on a person but you add them to database anyway. Even if the person does not have a birth fact the program spits out that awkward "was born" line. FTM does not do this. It's one of the things that I really dislike about RM.

Ron

Remove certain facts from a GEDCOM

suedotlund — 31 Mar 2008 3:02:30 GMT

I need to make a GEDCOM from RM 3.2.5, which I have previously done successfully, however I need to know if I can edit the file quickly. I would like it to only contain the given name, surname, suffix, birth date and death date. Is there a way to quickly strip the other items on each record that I didn't mention above? This particular file contains around 1800 people - I'm hoping I don't need to go through each person, one by one, to remove the data. The purpose for this special GEDCOM is to use with the DigiRoots wall chart printing offered through Brigham Young University. I have previously made two wall charts with them, but I found that it's a lot of data to cram onto the chart - I ended up dividing the GEDCOM into my father's line and my mother's line, so they would each fit on one chart. I would rather it just shows the names and birth/death dates. Currently, both of my charts are 6 feet by 3 feet. I think I can fit both charts onto just one 6x3 ft sheet with the removal of the excess data. Any thoughts on if this is possible, or not?

Thanks,
Susan

Easiest way to share info betweenRM and online Ancestry Tree

dorette472 — 23 Feb 2008 4:26:56 GMT

I am probably doing this the hard way. I am using Ancestry to find the info I need. Then I type it into RM. After I am convinced that the info is correct, then I export the GED and upload it into Ancesty so other family members can view it. The major problem is that I have to create a new tree each time I do this. Any better ideas? I want to keep using RM because eventually I will be printing reports, etc.

Disappearing multimedia

ImaPickel2 — 28 Mar 2008 12:56:29 GMT

My multimedia pieces, photos, scanned birth and death certs and the like keep disappearing. I'm running on Vista, and although the tower has a duo core, Vista uses enough resources to make my system sluggish when trying to flip between family photo folders so I copy and paste to the desktop for speed and ease, adding to RM from there. I run a backup on RM every 3-4 pieces added. But once I delete the copy from the desktop, it disappears from RM as well.

What am I doing wrong?

New version of RootMagic

franjane11 — 14 Mar 2008 11:17:57 GMT

I believe that I have read that a updated version of Roots Magic will be released in the near future. Does anyone know when this might be? Would it be a good idea to wait for an updated version or would you suggest to to switch now and then upgrade when the new program is available.

DRAFT guide for FTM users converting to RM

Jillaine_Smith — 2 Sep 2007 6:45:13 GMT

Since the recent "upgrade" (cough cough) of Family Treemaker, I renewed my efforts to complete my conversion to Rootsmagic. In the process, I took notes, and compiled a draft "guide" for other converts such as myself.

It may not be 100% accurate. For example, I don't know if I accurately mapped the conversion of FTM facts to RM facts. But it's what I've figured out so far. If anyone wants to take a look, they'll find it here:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jillaine/rm/

In that directory one will find an MS word version and a PDF version of the same document. Warning, it's 32 pages long and contains a number of screen shots, so the file is large -- about 1.5 megs. Also, the word version may need to be fully downloaded and opened within word (vs. looking at it in IE) in order for the screen shots to fully load.

I'm happy to accept any suggestions for improving it, especially if I've explained something that is just plain WRONG. Or if someone has figured out better ways to accomplish things, I'm also happy to incorporate them.

Thanks, too, for those folks who have contributed things I couldn't figure out myself, including Kevin, Alfred and Allan. And thanks, Jackie for introducing me to RM.

I look forward to suggestions.

Sincerely,

Jillaine
washington dc

FTM V16 Notes too big for RM?

afsenior — 9 Feb 2008 2:02:35 GMT

When converting FTM V16 to RM free "trial" copy for evaluation, I have a a problem with Notes not converting properly. I have lots of very long Notes attached to many induviduals. On the very long ones, RM cuts some off the end. Is there a maximum length of Notes in RM?
Thanks, Art

Question: Alphabetical Order in GEDCOM

remarshall68 — 22 Jan 2008 10:09:57 GMT

I am a very new user to RM (loving it by the way!) so pardon me if this is one of those dumb questions.

I export my data to GEDCOM so that I can open it in another genealogy software program (Family Trees Quick & Easy) to print a Custom Report. When I did this while using FTM16 and FTM2008 as my primary software, I was able to create the custom report exactly how I wanted it. However, now, when I export from RM to GEDCOM, import to the other software, and try to create the same report, some surnames are not in alphabetical order. It seems to be only ones with three letters (e.g., Lee and Cox). Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Drag and Drop Problem

ImaPickel2 — 25 Jan 2008 9:24:54 GMT

I'm a newbie to Root Magic - when I drag and drop from one database into a new database, the first three people move over no problem, than no more. Selecting ancestors/tree/desendents drag and drop options resulted in no action. The rest of the children are not to be found in any view.Following the help topic box, I pulled my root person over, her parents and tried to use the "Add" button to assign the rest of the children to the highlighted father. No children in any list view.

I got a little happy typing in piles and scraps of paper, this whole line should have been in its own database from the start. They had 17 kids, please tell me if there is a way to avoid re-typing all that data!

Many thanks in advance!

Any Problems Converting FTM2008 to RM?

remarshall68 — 15 Jan 2008 1:58:05 GMT

I have had about all I can stand of the problems with FTM2008. I tried going back to FTM16, but the loss of some options is not acceptable to me. I have read lots of good things about RM and am considering purchasing it. My question is whether anyone else has converted their FTM2008 (not FTM16) file to RM and whether you encountered any problems. Also, if there is a user manual and it doesn't come with the software, would you recommend purchasing it. Thanks for any input.

Import sources only

yeslekn — 22 Jan 2008 11:13:00 GMT

I want to start a new tree as a research tool to see if a family eventually connects to my existing tree. I have a gedcom from a person to start with, but it has no sources. I do not want to have to recreate all of my sources, is there anyway to export sources and import into a new tree. I do not want to export and import people at this stage.

Is there a way to mark a fact "probably"?

cagurl74 — 14 Jan 2008 12:37:39 GMT

In RootsMagic, is there a way to mark a fact "probably"? This is especially important when it comes to the place. Or do I just enter "probably" in front of the place name?

Thanks!
Dana

Writing narrative reports

vickystanding — 23 Oct 2007 2:33:40 GMT

I have purchased Rootsmagic because I had read so much about the great reports it can produce and I am working on a variety of trees for people as Christmas presents, so want to present them in a really interesting way.

Am I doing something wrong? I don't seem to be able to come up with a report which hangs together in a narritive way any more than with FTM or any other program I have looked at! I have lots of facts and comments outside of the usual records and a number of photos that I want to be able to include in the body of the report as the 'story' unfolds. So far using narrative report I have managed to include the notes to a degree but am left with repetitive lists of records for each individual.

I have come top some solution by saving the report as RTF and editing it and dropping in jpeg photos, but it seems a clumsy way of doing it and it aslo means that I cannot include the report as part of a 'book' as the pagination and everything is wrong.

Beginning to think I may be better off just writing the report myself using lots of bits of paper...like I was doing 20 years ago?! I am not a great whizz on software and the custom report has me totally flummoxed!

Any suggestions?

Personal File Number and Report or Search Function

colleenkennedy — 7 Oct 2007 11:18:27 GMT

Hello,
I am giving each source a personal File Number, e.g., Familyname 1, Familyname 2, etc. I have several family names that I am using. I have entered the personal file number in the box for each source. How do I ensure that I don't use the same personal file number twice? Is there an easy way to do this? In other words, if I have used Doe doc 1, the next time I enter a source I don't want to assign it the personal file number of Doe doc 1, but increment it by one and call it Doe doc 2.

Thanks!

Advice on software purchase - is RootsMagic a good choice?

burke3084 — 22 Jan 2007 7:27:16 GMT

I'm looking around to find a good tool to buy and am considering RootsMagic. From your experiences, would this be a good choice? I'm new to this and don't forsee needing many complicated functions - just want software that works well and supports tailoring reports and charts. Thanks!

Change of Surname

DavidJowett1931 — 15 Sep 2007 8:42:30 GMT

My grandchildren have recently changed their schools and wished to change their surname from that on their Birth Certificates (NOT by Deed Poll; but for reasons they and their mother see as valid). Because this may well be a permanent change because of Exam Result Certificates, Qualification Certificates etc. how do you think that I should record the change in their Computer generated Family Tree ?

Photos or Multimedia and Reference Numbers

colleenkennedy — 15 Sep 2007 7:14:24 GMT

Hello,
Has anyone developed a simple system for numbering their scanned photos? For example I am thinking of using this format:
John Doe (Doe photo 1)
Jane Doe (Doe photo 2)

I would save the file as a .jpeg under that file name and also enter Doe photo 1 in the Reference Number box for each multimedia item.

Could I get a list of all of my photos by reference number?

Will this strategy present problems if I later upload my database to a webpage if I don't use underlines between spaces in Doe photo 2?

If anyone has a good numbering system for scanned photos I'd appreciate hearing your suggestions!

Thanks!

Pulling Ancestry data into Rootsmagic.

CaswellPaulA — 6 Apr 2007 10:42:53 GMT

Hi All,

I have written some software that allows me to use Ancestry to collect sources etc and merge them into my RM tree.

It can also do a bunch of other things too but the essence of it is that I can use Ancestry as a source finder which, I must admit, it does very very well.

If sufficient people are interested I will spend some time making it user-cuddly and release it free to anyone who wants it.

Any offers for alpha/beta testers? Any encouragement?

Paul

Blended family printing

imafinn — 15 Jul 2007 8:16:40 GMT

I just purchased Roots Magic after using Family Tree Maker for years.
My dad has had me working on his genealogy and I'm going to see him in a few weeks. I thought I'd print out the information I have so far just so we can get an idea of what information we have and what information we still need to search for.
The problem seems to be that I can't get "stepfamily" information to print. If I try printing a descendant tree, the information my stepson and my step-niece and her children isn't included.
I've tried printing a wall chart and check the box that says include everyone, but nothing prints.
I'm sure there's a way to do this and I'm just not finding it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rootsmagic crashed and I can't open it anymore

lubok73 — 3 Jul 2007 1:28:20 GMT

Rootsmagic has been fantastic up until now. A couple of weeks ago, while open, things slowed down and it crashed. I had to do CTRL + ALT + Del to bring up the Task Manager to end the non-responding Rootsmagic program - which it did. But ever since then I've tried to open it up again numerous times, and keep getting this box saying that Microsoft is encountering a problem with Rootmagic, and would I like to Debug or send Microsoft and error report. Nothing happens.
I've tried contacting the tech people on Rootsmagic's website, and the forum, and they tell me to find a "rootsmagic.ini" file and edit that. I've searched my computer for a rootsmagic.ini file and can't find any...

Help!!

double spouse problem

dvdsauerwein — 13 Jun 2007 5:54:07 GMT

I have somehow uploaded data twice. This resulted in a particular man having two wives and his spouse having two husbands. I have merged their names so that there is only one of each in the "list of names." I've tried deleting to see if one disappears, but then I end up with that person just gone, and spouse unknown, and disconnected from all ancestors. Any advice?

How to move data to new folder

LHURTUBISE — 8 Apr 2007 5:17:09 GMT

How do I move family data from one large folder to a new folder? My paternal family folder is getting quite large and I was thinking maybe I need to create two folders: a paternal grandmother and a paternal grandfather. I am a newbie to Rootsmagic -- just switched from FTM. Thanks, Linda

Rootsmagic v FamilyTree Maker

Karin_Coppernoll — 12 Aug 2006 4:42:31 GMT

I'm trying to decide between Rootsmagic and Family Tree Maker software programs. I've read reviews on both. I've been told that FTM doesn't have good source citation whereas RM is a more powerful program. Can anyone give me a side-by-side comparison between the two programs? What should I be looking for? I've collected data years ago and have taken a break from genealogy for several years and would like to start "fresh" and enter everything into a new program. Thanks!

Merging on-line data question

ksuhistory — 24 Jan 2007 9:21:40 GMT

With FTM you can easily merge the source info with a click of the mouse- FTM allows you to search census them merge with the person that you were searching- I just recently downloaded the trial version of Rootsmagic- where as you can search the web is there an easy way to merge the souce with the person you are searching in Rootsmagic.
Thanks
Shelly

sources not coming up in reports

grjmiller78 — 15 Jan 2007 4:02:43 GMT

I am running the trail program at the moment as i am looking for a program that works for me.

I am looking for in a program: introduction eg the history of the name i am researching. anyway i have been told this program does that, thats why i am using it plus it must be easy to use as i am a beginner.

sorry i got off the track there.

i have put in some sources and i have ran a 1 reports:
family group sheet & narrative reports but nothing is coming up.

can some pls help me with making sure i am putting in the sources correctly and which report will they come up in.

Search Function and "To-Do" List

groberts — 2 Dec 2006 1:56:08 GMT

I am wondering if there is a way to use the Search Function and To-Do List together. As an example, I am wanting to find all the people buried in a specific cemetery and then determine if they have been marked in the "Do-Do" list indicating that I want to get a photo of the gravestone. I use the 'To-Do" list to keep a record of the people and items that I need to follow-up on, go to a courthouse, or capture a picture of the gravestone, etc. I tried using the Search function but I don't know how to link it to the "To-Do" list.

Gary

Descendant List

Carl — 12 Oct 2006 11:57:27 GMT

In printing a descendant list, how do you get spouses to appear in the order of their marrieage dates when there is more than one spouse. I have several cases where there are three spouses, and I can not get them to print in order of their marrriage dates.

Copying facts

tedpack — 11 Oct 2006 9:34:04 GMT

I can memorize and paste a source. Is there a way to memorize and paste a fact, such as "Census", if I want to be stubborn and put it on EACH member of a family?

Marriage Dates showing up in RMagic

Gary Roberts — 2 Sep 2006 2:06:21 GMT

I hope someone on can help me with this issue.

I have a number of people (all in the same family and are all children) who have a marriage date listed when I view them in Family View. The strange thing is that the date on all of them is the same date. When I run a Pedigree report, the dates do not show up. How do I remove that date from RMagic? I unlinked one of the people from the parents, deleted that person and then added them back into RMagic and the date still appears. Really strange.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Gary

My New e-Mail is: glroberts@verizon.net

Visit my website at: http://www.garys-genealogy.com

"Genealogy is not only the search for ones family but the sharing of information with others"

Living in Texas but always from Pennsylvania

What is My Surname

KAtherine — 11 Jun 2006 8:51:47 GMT

Ok I Just dl a trial version of Roots Magic and I'm already stuck Can't believe it.

First - I'm married with 2 children. IS my SURNAME my maiden name or my married name? I believe I did it right and made it my maiden name. I just thought it would pop up somewhere with my married name someplace but I don't see it.

Second = When I entered in my sons name and wanted to enter in the III (third ) it would pull up my husband. Do I enter in III or spell out Third

Thank you off to play some more........definitely more of a challeng then I thought Glad I'm starting early for the family reunion next year.
KAt

Share your user-defined facts

jaws64 — 21 Jun 2007 1:36:57 GMT

How about sharing our "user-defined facts"?

Here's mine:

These abbreviations refer to which fields have been enabled:
d=date; p=place; dc=description

Fact, Fields, Sentence structure
Appointed, (d; p; dc), <name> was appointed <value> <date> <place>.
Cause, (d; p; dc), <HisHer> death was caused by <value>. [For cause of death I wish to keep private.]
Deed, (d; p; dc), <name> deeded <value> <date> <place>.
Graduate of, (d; p; dc), <name> graduated from <value> <place> <date>.
Inurnment, (d; p; dc), <name> was inurned <value> <place> <date>.
Mentioned, (d; p; dc), <name> was mentioned <value> <date> <place>. [Used for those listed as survivors in obituaries, newspaper columns, etc.]
Military Serv (desc), (d; p; dc), <name> served in <value> <date> <place>.
Misc (family), (d; p; dc), <couple> <value> <place> <date>.
Misc (His/Her), (d; p; dc), <HisHer> <value> <place> <date>.
Moved, (d; p; dc), <date> <name> moved <value> <place>.
Nickname (private), (d; p; dc), His/her family nickname was <value>. [Again, used for privacy.]
Note, (d; p; dc), <name> <value> <date> <place>.
Note (family), (d; p; dc), <value> <date> <place>.
Retire, (d; p; dc), <name> retired <date> <value> <place>.
Served, (d; p; dc), He/she served as <value> on <date> in <place>.
Witness, (d; p; dc), <name> witnessed <value> <date> <place>.

Spell checking place names

MelissaColbyMoore — 20 May 2006 7:24:45 GMT

When I started entering my data I used state abbreviations. Now I would like to change them to full words, but not one-by-one! I tried spell checking, but it seems to skip over state abbreviations. Then I wondered of I could get at the dictionary within RootsMagic to remove them, but I can't find instructions for finding the dictionary. Anyone have a solution to this?

Citing a source for branches of a family

mcm626 — 10 May 2006 8:17:40 GMT

I have been lucky enough to get a 500 page, or so, volume with gobs of information on one branch of my family. Is there a way to provide that citation as a source for every related person and ancestor of a particular person? I know about multi-cite and that is helpful. I am just wishing I could choose a person and say to the software - put this citation on this person and all members (including spouses and children) of the immediate family and every ancestor of this person.

A related option that might be helpful is to be able to put a citation on everyone with a particular surname.

These ideas may lead to overciting, but better that than underciting. Plus in a situation like I am in -- I've added about 130 people to my database in the last few weeks as I've worked through this book, and I'm not done -- that is a lot of clicking and it would be easier to erase it from the places it does not belong than to add it to each person.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I am a pretty new user of this software.

Searching by Date

donnal157 — 4 May 2006 2:52:52 GMT

I've tried the Help section but can't find out how to do a search by date.

When I imported from FTM, I ended up with 93,000 people; obviously a majority of which aren't related to me. I'd like to clean out the non-family members and have been trying to do so but it would be much easier if I could search by earliest date.

Thanks,
dee

Editing Narrative Reports Question

dee_huggins — 8 May 2006 4:53:13 GMT

I wanted to do a Narrative report on an ancestor and did one - before printing it, I reviewed it... There's alot of duplicate info such as censuses that I would like to edit but I can't find an Edit button.

Is it right there but I'm not seeing it?

Thanks.

Where are the Marriage Notes?

Jillaine_Smith — 23 Apr 2006 9:30:46 GMT

I posted this over at the RootsMagic forum, but no one has responded (while they *have* responded to other things I've posted, so I think it got lost-- probably because I buried it in another topic...)

I imported/opened my FTM file just fine inside of RM.
I can't seem to find the marriage notes. They're not in Marriage Fact notes and they're not in Family Notes.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

problem on narrative report

dennischap_1 — 4 May 2005 2:50:21 GMT

I have some alt births that are before the birth date I have chosen to go with. When I print an Ansestors Book with children, the Alt Birth appears before the name of the person. How can I fix this problem?

Dennis

cut and paste

Judy — 27 Dec 2005 4:42:41 GMT

I have been a long time Family Origins user. For Christmas my son gave me the new version of Rootsmagic. I have moved all my files over and am now using Rootsmagic. I have come across a problem that I have never had before. I don't know if it is my computer and the way I have it set up or if it is something in Rootsmagic that I have not done.
I use Ancestry.com a lot. I cut and paste many items in my notes such as WWI records and SS# death records. When I cut and paste into the Rootsmagic program I get everything in boxes in giantic size. I then go out of the notes and go back in and the boxes are gone and the text is there but it now will have all the javascript computer language following certain lines. It also does this when I cut and paste from the 1880 census on the LDS site. I then have to clean up all the computer language from the notes.
I have my font size set a little large for my screen as I can read everything better. What is it that I have not done or that I am doing to cause this? What can I do to fix this problem?
Thank you,
Judy

Family Group Record Report - ordering of families

PattyKrueger10 — 1 Oct 2006 11:33:20 GMT

My dad printed a Family Group Record Report for "direct descendants only" and the ordering of the families was not the "descending order" that one gets with making a descendants list. That is, the families seemed to be added to the report in a random order - we can not determine how it picked which family was printed next - generations jump around and it is not alphabetical either. How can we get it to print:
oldest couple's family
first child's family
first child's first child's family, etc.
2nd child' family etc.

Any tricks you know?
Thanks.

RootsMagic 3.2 update

jaws64 — 21 Jun 2007 1:36:44 GMT

The latest update for RootsMagic 3 is out. For a list of features, see:
http://www.rootsmagic.com/updates/index.htm#Update3

Calculating relationships

Lorene — 19 Dec 2005 11:21:47 GMT

I have roots magic and I thought I could caculate relationship between myself and others.When I put info in it says not related by blood.I'm wanting to know ,things like first,second cousins,etc.
Thanks for any help,you can offer.
Lorene

RootsMagic UK Version 2 Platinum Edition

Berlyn — 9 Jul 2005 3:31:59 GMT

I would like to know if this is a good package to buy and does it have access to many searches and sites ?

photo size adjustment

Linda — 4 May 2005 4:49:06 GMT

Is there a way to adjust a photo size to possibly a half page or even a whole page? I would like to do this for a few photos, especially group photos.

RootsMagic - comments anyone?

Slaw — 16 Feb 2003 3:43:03 GMT

Dick Eastman recently gave a good review on this new gen. software: RootsMagic. It was only just released a few weeks ago.

Anyone here used it? Care to comment?