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- CHAPTER 13 GRAFTING FOLDERS
-
-
- INTRODUCTION...
-
- The Graft Area provides the ability to merge data from a
- folder created from an outside source (such as Ancestral File)
- into some other folder, such as a folder containing similar
- data from personal research.
-
- GIM does this semi-automatically. First it makes best guess
- assumptions about how well the contents of the outside source
- folder compare with the contents of the destination folder,
- using similarities in names, dates, relationships, place names
- and so on. Then it presents you with the results of its
- comparison, allowing you to make final adjustments to the
- proposed matches before the actual grafting of data takes
- place.
-
- CAVEAT...
-
- Please read this chapter completely and carefully before doing
- any grafting. GIM's grafting functions are very powerful and
- helpful, and GIM will do a large part of this task on its own;
- but ultimately it is up to you to verify each phase of the
- grafting process -- especially when dates and places don't
- match up exactly.
-
- This process may take a while, especially for large source
- folders. As a result, you may want to pause the graft at some
- point and resume at another time. If you choose to do this,
- you may do so at any time, but in the interim, be sure not to
- change the data in the source or destination folders. Also,
- be careful to complete one graft operation before beginning a
- new one.
-
- CONCEPTS...
-
- This chapter describes a grafting operation between a "source"
- and a "destination" folder. The "source" folder is a folder
- created from an outside source, such as a GEDCOM file obtained
- from Ancestral File (see chapter 14 for details). The
- "destination" folder is one which contains similar or related
- information, such as genealogical data resulting from your own
- research, and is the folder which will receive information
- obtained from the "source" folder.
-
- The Graft Area helps you take information from this source
- folder and insert it into the destination folder. This data
- is transferred in six sequential steps or "phases". Each
- phase is automatic to a certain extent, asking for manual
- verification at those points where discrepancies between
- folders arise.
-
- STARTING OUT...
-
- To graft a source folder into a destination folder, open a
- folder from the Folder Area. This folder is the destination
- folder; you will select the source folder in a moment. Then
- press shift-F6 to enter the Graft Area.
-
- (Phase 1)
-
- To specify the source folder, press <F1> from within the Graft
- Area (as described above). At this point, you will see a file
- selection screen, which looks like the screen you see in the
- Folder Area. Select a source folder by selecting a drive,
- directory and folder name from this screen, in the same manner
- that you would select a folder to open if you were in the
- Folder Area.
-
- (Phase 2)
-
- Next, you will tell GIM to do its best to automatically
- identify persons and families who match each other in the two
- folders. To do this, press <F2> within the Graft Area. This
- phase should require no interaction from you, and you should
- be able to let it run on its own until it finishes its work.
-
- (Note: there is no transfer of information from source to
- destination in this phase; this phase identifies matching
- persons and families, without altering either folder.)
-
- MAKING ADJUSTMENTS...
-
- (Phase 3)
-
- The next phase of grafting is your chance to manually verify
- the choices that the computer made in phase 2. In phase 3,
- you will want to check, double check, and triple check those
- matches to verify that the computer's guesses are correct.
-
- To do so, press <F3> from the Graft Area to enter the manual
- adjustment area; here you can adjust the computer's matching
- of source persons to destination persons. If it guessed
- right, no problem; otherwise, you can change things around
- before moving on to the remaining data transfer phases.
-
- This area is divided into four sections. The top half of the
- screen has two lists. On the top left is a scrolling list of
- each of the persons in the source folder. Next to that, on
- the top right, is a list of persons in the destination folder
- who, according to the computer, best match a given person in
- the source folder. (The lower left and lower right sections
- give information about the selected persons in the upper left
- and upper right, respectively.)
-
- To scroll up and down the left-hand list, use the up and down
- arrow keys. Note that each time you do so, the list on the
- right changes. There is a different right-hand list for every
- member of the left-hand list. The highlighted member of the
- right-hand list is the computer's best guess at a match for
- the person on the left. This is your chance to change these
- selections; to do so, scroll up and down the right-hand list
- by using the shift-up and shift-down arrow keys. (The left
- and right arrow keys do the same thing.) Note: if the correct
- person isn't listed in the right hand list at all, you can add
- to the right-hand list with the F1 key.
-
- In addition to lists of persons, each right-hand lists has two
- additional entries. When "Exclude Person" is highlighted on
- the right, then the person in the source folder on the left
- will not be included in the graft in any way. (The computer
- usually picks this selection when it cannot determine the
- familial relation between and person and others in the source
- folder.) When "Create Person" is highlighted on the right,
- then the person in the source folder on the left will be
- copied verbatim into the destination folder. (The computer
- usually picks this selection when it cannot find a member of
- the destination folder who is an acceptable match for the
- person on the left.)
-
- (Note: there is no transfer of information from source to
- destination in this phase; this phase modifies the list of
- matching persons and families, without altering either folder.)
-
- GRAFT...
-
- After you are satisfied that the information in phase 3 is
- correct and that everything is set up properly, you will graft
- information one person at a time (in phase 4) and then one
- family at a time (in phase 5). All of the person grafting
- must be completed in phase 4 before you can proceed to the
- family grafting in phase 5.
-
- (Phase 4)
-
- To perform the person-by-person grafting process, press <F4>
- from the Graft Area.
-
- Start at the top of the left-hand list, and press <Enter> to
- start the actual grafting process for each person. Continue
- with each person in the left-hand list until all of the source
- persons are accounted for in the destination folder. (Those
- who are grafted are marked with a check mark.)
-
- For the most part, the grafting process is automatic; it will
- only ask for your help when information doesn't match up
- between the source person and the destination person. For
- example, if the birthdates between the source and the
- destination don't match, you will be asked to choose one of
- the following six actions:
-
- Ignore
- (Ignore the difference between folders, and retain
- the information in the destination folder.)
-
- Ignore and edit
- (Ignore the difference between folders, and retain
- the information in the destination folder, but edit
- that information by hand to reflect the difference.)
-
- Annotate source notes
- (Retain the information in the destination folder,
- and edit the source notes to reflect the different
- information.)
-
- Annotate research notes
- (Retain the information in the destination folder,
- and edit the research notes to reflect the different
- information.)
-
- Replace
- (Replace the information in the source folder with
- the information in the destination folder.)
-
- Replace and edit
- (Replace the information in the source folder with
- the information in the destination folder, but edit
- that information by hand before doing so.)
-
- If you choose either of the annotation choices you will be
- presented with two more choices:
-
- Insert source notes
- (Include annotations in source notes, before any
- other notes which may be there already.)
-
- Append source notes
- (Include annotations in source notes, after any
- other notes which may be there already.)
-
- Insert research notes
- (Include annotations in research notes, before any
- other notes which may be there already.)
-
- Append research notes
- (Include annotations in research notes, after any
- other notes which may be there already.)
-
- and
-
- Use generic preface "Also: "
- (If the new date is "31 July 1899", annotation will
- read "Also: 31 July 1899".)
-
- Prompt for custom preface
- (Same as above, but this asks you supply some other
- prefix besides the word "Also:".)
-
- Annotate then edit notes
- (Include the annotation in the selected note, at
- which point you can manually edit the result.)
-
- As you can see, this means that when information doesn't match
- up, you have full control over how to handle the difference.
-
- (Phase 5)
-
- To graft families press <F5> from the Graft Area. The
- instructions are almost the same as phase 4. Be sure you have
- completed all of phase 4 before continuing with phase 5.
-
- As with phase 4, start at the top of the left-hand list and
- press <Enter> to merge each person's family. Repeat this for
- each person in the source folder.
-
- For each person processed during phase 5, the following
- actions are performed:
-
- 1. Each family where the person appears as a parent
- will be merged.
-
- 2. Each family where the person appears as a child
- will be merged.
-
- Families are merged as best as is possible. Family members
- will be linked together in a family unit. Family information
- will also be grafted from the source to the destination. As
- with persons, when any discrepancies are encountered, you will
- be asked how you want to handle it.
-
- EXIT...
-
- When all these phases are complete, shut down the grafting
- process all the way by pressing <F6> from the Graft Area.
-
- You may also select this option at any time to abort the
- grafting operation, but doing so will destroy any partial
- grafting which may have taken place up to that point.