From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Sat Jan 21 12:28:14 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k0LJSERc012750; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 12:28:14 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k0LJSDTD032421 for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 12:28:13 -0700 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k0LH0lFI018012 for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 12:00:47 -0500 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k0LH0lZB018011 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 12:00:47 -0500 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.27.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k0LGO0FI017894 for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 11:24:00 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k0LIpFm7014350 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 11:51:15 -0700 X-Envelope-From: hornbeck@s-hornbeck.com Sat Jan 21 11:51:14 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k0LIpERc014341 for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 11:51:14 -0700 Received: from smtp011.mail.yahoo.com (smtp011.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.173.31]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with SMTP id k0LIpBd5031982 for ; Sat, 21 Jan 2006 11:51:11 -0700 Received: (qmail 47095 invoked from network); 21 Jan 2006 18:51:11 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO shirley-.s-hornbeck.com) (shirleyhornbeck@sbcglobal.net@209.233.11.110 with login) by smtp011.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 21 Jan 2006 18:51:10 -0000 Message-Id: <6.2.3.4.2.20060121104724.041e8af0@pop.mail.yahoo.com> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.2.3.4 Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2006 10:48:29 -0800 To: ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com From: Shirley Hornbeck Cc: hornbeck@s-hornbeck.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Subject: [ROOTS-L] This and That GEDCOM GEDCOM - HOW TO READ IT - HOW TO USE IT: GEDCOM was originally designed by the LDS Church for their PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Program. It is the international language that allows my Personal Ancestral File to talk to your Family Tree Maker, Family Origins, Roots, or Brother's Keeper. Hopefully I can help you learn how to upload it, how to download it and if in a compressed state (.zip) how to uncompress it and if received in .txt format, how to convert it. Important to remember is that if you are going to receive these via e-mail , the person sending must send in the same format that you use (for instance IBM-compatible PCs use MIME while Macintosh use Bin-Hex). It is a good idea to tell the person sending this gedcom to you what you use. I use PAF 2.31 so my instructions may not work exactly the same for you if you use some other application. If you have something else, please tell me how you do it..... MAKE A GEDCOM: Most genealogy programs have the capability of making a gedcom, and when created it always ends in .ged extension (i.e. hornbeck.ged). To create a gedcom, open your genealogy program and look in the menus for GEDCOM, GIE, EXPORT or SAVE AS or FILE - SAVE AS. You should have an option to make and export and save a GED or Gedcom file. You will also have an option to select the drive you want it placed in, the directory you want it placed in, and an opportunity to give it a different name. TO SEND A GEDCOM: Prepare your GEDCOM and either save it to a floppy or somewhere on your hard drive where you can find it. Then, write a NEW message to the person you want to send the .ged file to. Do not hit REPLY to send this file. On your tool bar in your mail application, you will have an item "ATTACH FILE". Hit this and then send it. It should arrive as a .ged file not as text - however if it does, give them the following instructions on how to use it. RECEIVE A GEDCOM: When I receive a GEDCOM, whether by E-mail or by snail mail on disk, and it is a ---.ged file, the first thing I do it make a subdirectory in my PAF directory called "TEMP". I then transfer the - - --.ged to that directory and proceed to convert it to FR following instruction in PAF on how to do that. These instructions are for PAF so if you use some other genealogy application, you may have to experiment a little. After you receive an attachment by e-mail as a .txt file or the text is embedded in the e-mail itself, here is one of the easy ways to use it. 1. If it came embedded in the e-mail message as text, then in your mail application such as Eudora, which is what I use, go to FILE and click SAVE AS and save the message to a TEMP file. If you don't have a TEMP file, make one. If it came as an attachment and is already in your ATTACHMENT directory go to #2. 2. If it came as a .ged file, you can skip this part. If it came as a .txt file or embedded in the e-mail, go to File Manager or Windows Explorer and find the file in your TEMP directory. Open it by double-clicking on it. 3. If there is anything before HEAD and after TRLR, delete it being, careful not to delete TRLR itself. 4. Click on FILE and SAVE AS to a floppy disk in A drive renaming it so it ends in .ged instead of .txt. 5. Assuming you have your genealogy application set up for multiple family record directories, make a new directory for this GEDCOM naming it whatever you like. 6. Move the .ged file to the directory you just created. 7. Now follow the directions in your genealogy program to convert this GEDCOM into family records. If you receive a GEDCOM file that is split between two or more files, one with .ged as the extension and the others with .G00, .G01, G02, etc. - there are several ways to use these files. If it arrived through e-mail and the first .ged file is embedded in a message, you must follow instructions above to open and get rid of the text before HEAD and after TRLR in the first file. It is easy to work with these files if you put each one on a different floppy. Following your application's instructions, proceed to start the conversion to family records. It will ask for the next file (.G00) so insert that disk, then .G01, .G02, etc. If you receive this file as a .zip file, go to File Manager and move it to a TEMP directory. Double click on it and unzip it to that same directory. It probably will be one or more .ged files. Follow instructions above on what to do next. DO NOT ADD THE GEDCOM TO YOUR OWN FAMILY RECORDS FILE UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE VIEWED IT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE. AND before you add it to your own family record files, first make a GEDCOM of your files, or back them up, SO IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, YOU CAN GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE! I invite your comments on how you do it and what works for you so I can add it to this tip. Shirley Hornbeck - THIS & THAT GENEALOGY TIPS: