Share Gallery 1/share_gal_1.zip/share_gal_1/GE/GE003C.ZIP/APENDIXF.DOC

Text File | 1990-07-08 | 15KB | 245 lines

      Appendix F. Responses to Questions

      Among the many questions and requests regarding the Family History
      System, there are some that have been repeated often enough that they
      seem to indicate a general interest, or state of confusion, regarding
      the item.  In this appendix, I will present some of those queries,
      along with my usual response.

      1. Can I use my own scheme for ID numbers?
         A. Probably not. The FHS Name record ID numbers are simply a
            convenient means for uniquely identifying each record.  You
            should not try to attach any special meaning to them by entering
            name records in an order that would cause the ID numbers to have
            some "relational" significance.  The program automatically
            generates relationship identifiers that conform to the most
            commonly used schemes, including lineage or "ahnentafel" numbers
            for ancestors and "bloodlines" for descendants (which are
            essentially the same as the "Henry" system for denoting
            descendants) so there is really no need to make the ID numbers
            serve that purpose.

      2. How do you delete duplicate or unwanted name records?
         A. There is no direct means for deleting name records.  At first,
            I left the option out because I didn't think there would be much
            need for it, but as the file update program grew, there just
            wasn't room to add instructions for deleting a name record along
            with all the "subordinate" information that may be associated
            with it.  I usually tell someone who has a record that they wish
            to delete to manually delete all associated records (marriages,
            addresses, comments, etc.), dis-associate any children (by
            setting the parent ID to 0), and "space out" the remaining
            information in the Name record.  The record may then be used to
            "add" the next new name to your family file.  If there are
            several name records to be "deleted" and you don't have any new
            names to add, you may want to change the Surname of these
            records to something like: (UNUSED).  You can then Search for
            them the next time you have new names to add.  If you accumulate
            a large number of (UNUSED) records, you may effectively remove
            them by EXPORTing all except the (UNUSED) records and IMPORTing
            them back into an empty family file.  The Search/Select/LIST
            option of the extended system allows you to search for records
            with surname "#UNUSED" (which is read: "Not Equal to UNUSED") so
            that it is easy to select the desired records for exporting.  It
            is also best to use the "older format" GEDCOM program in the
            extended system for doing the transfer because it will process
            all types of information that are allowed in a FHS family file.

      3. Should I create separate family files for each of my parents and my
         spouse's parents?  How can I print reports from several files?
         A. Each FHS report can only have information from a single family
            file.  Therefore I always recommend that all information for
            individuals who are linked in any way, whether by marriage or
            family relationship, be kept in a single family file.  The only
            exception would be if the file were so large that it exceeded
            the maximum size allowed for the disks you are using (currently


                                     78



            3600 name records for 360k diskettes, 7200 records for 720k
            diskettes and 9999 records for high density diskettes or a hard
            disk).  When you reach that point, it is possible to subdivide a
            family file, along family lines, into two or more separate
            files.  (The Search/Select/LIST option and Export/Import option
            of the extended system are best suited for doing this.)  If the
            subdivision is done carefully, you may be able to make each
            family file correspond to different "chapters" of a family
            history so that you may not need to be so concerned about being
            able to include information from multiple files in a single
            report.

      4. I only have about 2500 names in my family file but my data diskette
         is almost full!
         A. Name records are each 100 characters so it is possible to have
            up to 3600 name records on a 360k diskette.  However, birth &
            death place records, marriage records, and comment lines each
            require a 50 character record in the ".OTH" dataset, and each
            address places a 108 character record in the ".ADR" dataset.
            Therefore, if you keep all of your datasets on a single
            diskette, you will not be able to get the maximum number of name
            records into your family file.

            If you have two diskette drives, you can ease the situation some
            by "splitting" your family file datasets between two data
            diskettes.  For instance, you may place the ".NAM" dataset on a
            diskette which you will keep in the "B" drive and place the
            ".ADR" and ".OTH" datasets on a second diskette which will share
            time in the "A" drive with the program diskette.  The program
            diskette is required only when you are starting the system and
            when you are going back and forth between the Main Menu and the
            option processing programs.  At all other times, you may remove
            it and replace it by a data diskette.  If you do this, then you
            should always wait until you are prompted to replace the program
            diskette when you are returning to the Main Menu.  This assures
            that your family file is properly "closed" and all updates
            written before you remove the data diskette.

            By following this procedure of employing two diskettes for your
            family file, you should be able to approach the maximum number
            of name records for your family file on the size diskettes that
            you are using.

      5. Can an address be automatically attached to more than one name?
         A. The only way of associating a single address record with more
            than one name is by placing the address under a marriage record.
            Such addresses are treated as a "residence" of each spouse and
            will appear as a residence in the family group report for either
            spouse.  Some persons have asked about having a parent's address
            associated with the children and I have given some thought to it
            but I don't have any plans for doing that in the near future.

      6. Can the addresses and phone numbers be made more flexible?
         A. The inflexible address and phone number format is undoubtedly
            the most commonly expressed lament of users outside the U.S.  I


                                     79



            hadn't anticipated the amount of interest in these programs that
            would come from other countries (currently about 30-40% of all
            registrations come from outside the U.S.) or I would have given
            more thought to this aspect of the file design.  I do intend to
            make changes in this area but it will probably be part of a
            general redesign of the FHS family file format.  That is a
            process that I expect will take at least 2 years to complete.

      7. What about Baptismal and Burial information?
         A. I originally intended to make Baptismal information part of a
            separate "Religious information" record, and provided a separate
            "pointer" field to support it, but could never decide just what
            other information should go into that record.  Eventually there
            just wasn't enough room left in the file update program to
            implement another record format.  When I do get around to
            "reworking" the FHS file design (see the "Answer" to the
            previous question), baptismal and burial information will be
            given special consideration.  In the meantime, the name record
            comment area is the place to put those details.  In the new
            "free form" reports these comments appear as a more "natural"
            extension of the name record so that the baptismal and burial
            information "almost look like" they are part of the file design.

      8. Can I incorporate "note files", created by my word processor, into
         FHS reports?
         A. No.  Only information from your FHS family file, or generated by
            the programs (such as lineage numbers and "bloodlines") can
            appear in the FHS reports.

      9. The Comment area is too limited!
         A. It is true that the routine for entering comments is rather
            "primitive" and the area for entering comments appears rather
            small, but it is possible to include rather extensive notes with
            this facility.  Some persons have the impression that only 9
            short lines of comments can be entered, however when the comment
            viewing area is "full", you can press the PGDN key to continue
            entering additional remarks.  The "theoretical limit" for these
            notes is about 32000 of those 38 character lines.  That would be
            roughly 200,000 words.  The "practical limit" is much less than
            that, although it still allows for fairly extensive notes.
            Each comment line is held in a single record of the ".OTH"
            dataset of your family file and the ".OTH" dataset can have up
            to 32000 records.  But that dataset also holds Marriage records,
            Birth/Death and Marriage Places, Education, Medical, Military
            and Occupation information, and these also contribute to that
            maximum of 32000 records.  I've yet to come across anyone who is
            nearing this limit, although several persons have mentioned
            approaching the 9999 name record limit.

      10.Is it possible to increase the Name limit beyond 9999?
         A. When I originally began working on these programs, I thought
            that the 9999 name record limit would not be much of a problem.
            In fact, I still believe that it will prove sufficient for a
            very large majority of FHS users.  In recent months I have had
            several people express concern about reaching it though,


                                     80



            including one person in England who was using the programs for
            maintaining a file of pedigrees for dogs.  Actually, the design
            of the name file allows for up to 32000 records.  The number
            9999 comes from allowing only 4 digits for ID numbers in the
            screen displays and on reports.  Extending the limit to 32000 is
            not quite as simple as increasing the number of digits for ID
            numbers however.  Some of the system's routines for building
            relationship tables take advantage of the fact that no ID number
            can be bigger than 16000...those routines would have to be
            carefully evaluated and probably rewritten.  Another consider-
            ation is the limited size of the ".OTH" file, mentioned in the
            response to the previous question.  Increasing the maximum size
            of the Name file without a corresponding increase in size of the
            ".OTH" file would likely lead to another set of problems.  The
            "long term solution" would be to make an increase in these
            limits part of the general file redesign mentioned previously.
            I'm not sure right now whether there will be any other "interim"
            solution.

      11.Are there versions of the Family History System for other types of
         equipment (besides those compatible with the IBM family of PC's)?
         A. No, and I don't expect that I will ever have time to work on
            versions for any other equipment.  There are some ways of making
            programs written for the MSDOS world run on other machines.  I
            have heard of users who have run the programs using "emulator"
            software (and/or hardware) for the Atari, and there may be such
            "setups" for the Apple or Amiga as well.  There is usually a
            "performance penalty" to be paid though.  It is almost always
            best to have software that is designed for the equipment on
            which it is being run.  With the growing number of genealogy
            programs supporting the GEDCOM format for data sharing, it is
            likely that one can be found for those other environments as
            well.  In that case, you can at least be "data conversant" with
            your friends who are using other equipment, even though you may
            not be using the same software.

      12.Are there versions of Family History System for other languages?
         A. Actually, I have received copies of the system that have been
            modified to provide screen displays and/or reports in German and
            Dutch and have heard of similar modifications in Swedish.  None
            of these are supported by me though, and you may not receive
            the system extensions in these other languages.  In recognition
            of the interest in these programs in countries where English (or
            "American") is not the native language, I do have plans for
            enhancements that would at least provide for customizing reports
            so that the report headings and field labels could be easily
            tailored for different languages.  This will be my primary goal
            for the next FHS update.  If all goes well (and it seldom does)
            this should be ready late in 1990 or early 1991.  When I do get
            around to redesigning the FHS file format, it will likely be
            part of an extensive rewrite of the entire system.  At that time
            I will give consideration to making the screen displays
            "customizable" as well so that it may be possible to provide
            both programs and reports (though not documentation) in "multi-
            lingual" versions.


                                     81