FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant
Contents
1. Unique record serial numbers Merge M Automatically merge exact duplicates Iv Combine notes M Combine source citations 10 of 15 downloaded You may need to repeat this whole process for other ancestral lines but you have learned a lot and should be able to speed up the process each time Either way it is significantly quicker than manually downloading the four generations at a time from the FamilySearch org website Good luck completing more important genealogical research Remember Due to the large number of submitters accuracy is not something Ancestral File is known for Be sure to cross check your data before using any of it in any critical application This data should more be a guide for you to help complete your genealogy family history rather than THE ONE TRUE PEDIGREE CHART 11 of 15 Troubleshooting Though this program was designed to work effectively efficiently and correctly problems and errors will occur The following section will be divided into common errors Please find the portion relating to your error and use the suggestions to help resolve the issue Cannot Run the Program First check that you have successfully installed the program If you received errors during installation you may have to complete the setup procedure again If the program still will not run a likely cause is that the Java Run Time Environment is not installed Though this generally should be downloaded at time of install2. Was unable DProgram Files JCreatorvVaihyProjects Genealogyigedcom1 ged to write to your hard drive disk Probable causes are 15 of 15 that either the directory does not exist or you do not have permission to write there If the directory does not exist make sure you specify a valid directory in the directory text box before clicking run If the problem has to do with permission to write ability make sure you are writing to a valid disk for example the CD Rom drive probably can t be written to and that you have permission to write there You may need to try another directory or talk to your system administrator to gain permission to write to disk TXT File Error This Error occurred while writing the final text file containing the information about where the selected GEDCOM s were retrieved from While this is a nice feature it s not a mandatory function of the program Hence you may safely ignore this error if you so wish you can prevent it from re appearing by not selecting it from the create menu on the main screen The TXT text file that was to be created could not because this program was unable to write to your hard drive disk Probable causes are that either the directory does not exist or you do not have permission to write there If the directory does not exist make sure you specify a valid directory in the directory text box before clicking run If the problem has to do with permission to write ability
3. make sure you are writing to a valid disk for example the CD Rom drive probably can t be written to and that you have permission to write there You may need to try another directory or talk to your system administrator to gain permission to write to disk Warning ________ x A Possible Error in retrieval of information You may have not downloaded all of your information Try again later Possible Error in Retrieval This screen indicates that the program detected a different value than should be for one of the items Showing performed This means that some SURE ETAN eres Downloaded GEDCOM 0 of your data may not have been Husberg linked retrieved and it is recommended These values should match that you run the program again to oK assure you receive all of your data If you selected to only create a Text file Downloaded GEDCOM should be zero no matter what the other two numbers are though those two numbers should match FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant 1 0x User Manual Michael Robinson 2005
4. person might be listed but without a year Keep trying with less information on each search until you find your ancestor Not everyone is in the database If you cannot find someone try searching for another person maybe go back another generation Visit the official FamilySearch Ancestral File Hints page Once the search has completed the You searched for John Doe results will be displayed Each spelling Da Matches All Sources 180 something similar to those at right Ancestral File If there are too many you might try echte RE asien revising your search on the Gender M Birth Christening 15 Nov 1762 Deerfield Nh 2 Jahn DOE Ancestral File Previous web are If coe y OUL Gender M Birth Christening 14 May 1753 lt Of Bristol Lincoln Me gt ancestor listed click on them to 3 Eee E N select their record Gender Ml Birth Christening 1801 lt Durham Strafford Mh gt You should now see your ancestor s record which IE Individual Record FamilySearch Ancestral File v4 19 should be simular to the ee one at right Click on the ohn DOE AFN JXQZ Z0 Fecigree Sex M Family link that reads Pedigree You should now be on a page with your ancestor s pedigree chart Make sure Pec ig ree Chart that this is in fact your ancestor Then right click on the download GEDCOM link upper left corner Select Copy Shortcut or Copy Link Location whichever you see This will copy
5. selected direcoty could not be found or created a directory which Check that you have permission to acess this directory or try another was not found and could not be created as the location to output your genealogical data Make sure that you have permission to write amp access the disk you have selected It is suggested that you click on the 12 of 15 browse button to the right of the directory text box as it will allow you to graphically select a directory which reduces errors from mistyping etc Make sure that you have placed the correct information in each of the text boxes as it would be easy to paste a URL internet address to the directory text box Cannot Create New Directory After clicking the browse button to select a directory the create new directory button may be disabled This is an error in the Java programming language In the later versions of Java this only occurs in a user s My Documents folder and sub directories In earlier versions of Java it would be disabled on the root directory as well e g C If you cannot save to the root directory simply update your version of the Java Run Time Environment by downloading it here If you really want to save to your My Documents folder create a directory in your windows file browser and then select the directory from this programs directory browser Internet HTML Error This error 1s xj r ather common x An error has occured wh
6. FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant Version 1 0x User Manual 2 of 15 WARNING FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant amp this user manual are protected by copyright law Read the license agreement for details Contents of Document About the Software WHGEGQOCS 1 GO een 3 Where COM COI nee eens 3 How much does it COST misssessrsrsrerssrsrrrsrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 3 What if I really enjoy this program m ssseerssrresrrsrrrerrrrrrrrns 3 System Requirements Version IVO eerost 4 Typical Usage Walkthrough A A ON Suse ee ee nee ee s Locate your ANCEStOTsseeseeeesssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr r rr nr r rn 2 FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant i Storing your genealogy ssrerrrrrerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr ra S Troubleshooting Cannot run the program s sssoesrrrsrsrrrerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr rna 11 Cannot find user MANUAL essersrrrssrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr nen Il ELITY CIT ee een 11 Directory EI ON steinernen ereignete Il Cannot create new direClOrY sssrersressrrrrrererrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrns 2 lnterne IMCO V sipine E OES 12 GEDCOM Internet HTML CYfOTYsssmssesssssrrrsrrerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnrnn 14 TIN CPI V een ee er Nere SNS 14 IT TUE CIN N ee en ee ne E eee eer 15 Possible error in retri V l sssmssessssrrrsereerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnrrrrrrrrn nan 15 About this Document This is a user manual for FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant 1 0x Throughout the document references will be made to FamilySearch o
7. Save Target Be your ancestor s URL internet address Print Target to the clipboard to easily be inserted into this program Make sure you don t copy anything else to the clipboard before pasting it into FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant Download GEDCOM Open Open in Hew window Copy Shortcut 7 of 15 TIPS e If ancestral file has tons of information about your family it might be recommended to go back a generation or two and select an ancestor download their information then download the other people at their generation level and manually merging the information to prevent ultra long downloading from FamilySearch org Advanced users will find that you can copy the URL internet address from the pedigree link on the individual record page OR you can also copy the URL from the further back arrows on the pedigree page and paste those into FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant as well FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant Now start the FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant Program Either click on the link on your desktop if you chose to put one there during installation or find it in the programs group Waa FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant j Jol xj from the start menu Eile Help By default it would WARNING Accuracy of Ancestral File is not assured have been put in the ue FamilySearch ee Assistant group Save Directors Browse Once you have started Create GEDCOM s only IN the program the j n me screen to the
8. ally linking and downloading all of your ancestor s files in GEDCOM format for easy importation into genealogy programs Hopefully this will free up time for people to complete more serious research of their ancestors Where can I get it FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant may be downloaded free from http www MikesLife com software How much does it cost FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant is free Yes it costs nothing though it is highly recommended you let the author know that you are using it and your experiences with it so that it may be improved in future versions Though the program is free certain items in the license agreement still apply First off you may not sell the program or charge for usage of it Secondly if you re distribute this application it must be in its original form including this user manual Thirdly the program must remain in tact so you may not reverse engineer or decompile this program You accept that this program may cause incidental damage to your computer and or business and waive all claim of any liability to the author of this program What if I really enjoy this program If you really like this program the author would love to hear from you If enough people offer encouragement new versions of this program may be released with expanded functionality as well as other great software If you liked this program you may enjoy other genealogical family history software available from the Family History Technology
9. ation if it was not present sometimes it might get through You can download this for free from the java website Once you have downloaded the file run it and follow any on screen instructions Then restart your computer and try again Be sure that your computer meets the listed System Requirements Cannot Find Users Manual EEE x If on are r eading this this The users manual was not found or could not be opened error 1S not very Serious Check that it is in the application directory Generally this indicates that o the program could not find the user manual It should be in the same directory as you installed the application and called UserManual pdf without quotes If this is not at this location this error occurs Another less likely cause is that you do not have permission to read this file in which case you should check with your system administrator URL Entry Error x You have entered an URL The URL you entered is not valid a valid family pedigree internet web page address Check that you have entered it correctly or try another that does not match the pre formatting for the standard FamilySearch Ancestral File pedigree or GEDCOM files Check that you copied amp pasted the entire URL from your internet browser to the correct text box in this program You may wish to review the walk through section of this guide to better understand which URL is being requested Directory Error F You have selected The
10. d RIGGS M 16 SEP 1618 information on from 14 WHEELER Eizabet Spouse Mi FamilySearch GEDCOM Advanced gt gt Help 9 of 15 Assistant You should generally type Last Name then a comma then First Name Once you see the individual you must select them On the right side of this screen information will be displayed about the individual Make sure that it is in fact the person you want to be positioned there Once you have the correct person selected hit OK and possibly another box will appear asking you to select which marriage you want entered in your pedigree If it has appeared select one and hit OK All of the information contained in that GEDCOM file should now be displayed on your screen Since there is now a link between your data and the data to be imported you can simply import all of the remaining GEDCOM files all at once To do this in Personal Ancestral File simply select Import from the File menu You will need to import all of the files at this time which could take awhile depending on the number of files that were downloaded Now that all of the information is in the file though not linked properly you can perform a match merge of the data to automatically link all the GEDCOMs together In Personal Ancestral File select Match Merge from the Tools menu at the top of the screen First the program will warn you that using merge might delete records from your file by accident and so it is wis
11. down to the bottom of this as that is where the most recent errors appear You will see a line similar to Sat May 28 00 26 36 PDT 2005 WARNING Error Downloading GEDCOM recid amp familyid You will probably need to download this file manually from the internet by Opening your internet browser and going to http www FamilySearch org Eng Search AF pedigree_chart_gedcom asp recid amp familyid If the error file reports that the program was unable to get the pedigree for the same recid amp familid it is unnecessary to download the file manually and if you do you will miss out on all the progenitors of these four generations In that case you will want to run this program again using the URL of the GEDCOM or pedigree Make sure you download all of the GEDCOMs that could not be downloaded to complete your family history Errors and other files that could not be downloaded from previous runs of this program are also visible in ErrorLog txt The number of GEDCOM s you will have to download should be equal to the number of times that this error message popped up and you had to select OK e File Error This Error occurred while File Errore a x An error has occured while writing your information to a GEDCOM file Double check that you have permission to access and write files downloading a GEDCOM on this computer in the directory that you specified Try again later file The file was being Error writing to downloaded but
12. downloaded as needed upon installation of this program 5 of 15 Typical Usage Walkthrough Installation First obtain the setup program from http www MikesLife com software Find the location that you downloaded it to and double click on it to run the installation procedure Setup will walk you through the steps necessary to install the program Simply follow the simple onscreen instructions to setup this software properly If you do not already have the Java Run Time Environment installed the installation procedure will prompt you and assist you to install a copy If you have not done so already it is an excellent time to install any additional software that will be used in conjunction with this program If you do not have any Genealogy software to install it is recommended that you install Personal Ancestral File which is available free from the FamilySearch org website Setup FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant 1 00 Ioj x Welcome to the FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant Setup Wizard This will install FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant on your computer Ibis recommended that you close all other applications before continuing Click Next to continue or Cancel to exit Setup Default Settings Start Menu Group FamilySearch Assistant Installation Directory x Program Files FamilySearch Assistant Locate your Ancestor Now it is time to locate your ancestor from the FamilySearch website First open your inte
13. e to backup If you don t have a backup copy this 1s a fairly wise idea especially since the accuracy of Ancestral File GEDCOMs is not guaranteed Once you have your backup copy it is time to 21x Match amp Merge individuals mm Since you just downloaded ieee ee all of these GEDCOMs from Pier Maries Wiest FamilySearch org al ofthe Fein es individuals should have MM unique AFNs Ancestral File Numbers and it is a great way to find the duplicates in your local genealogy So select Ancestral File Numbers from the Matching options It is recommended Fr Combine multimedia objects that all of the options under Fr Confirm when Merge button pressed Merge are selected but read 6 V and select what you would cancel Hen like Then click OK Now that you have selected your options it is time to perform the actual merge Select the Next Match button on the bottom left alternately you can hold Alt n at the same time It will cycle through all of the matches and you can select merge or switch for each one bottom left buttons However since we have selected Automatically merge exact duplicates you shouldn t see too many of those if any before the program reports that there are No more next matches Click Close on the Match Merge window At this point congratulate yourself you have successfully imported all of the information you have C ames that sound alike Soundex
14. error from the FamilySearch org website the most likely an error 403 A 403 error is usually caused by your computer requesting too many records in a short period of time The FamilySearch website temporarily did not allow the download Though this program was written to minimize this occurrence it cannot be entirely prevented due to the number of different possible computer configurations it can be run on After the computer completes downloading all the data it can and the program completes navigate to the directory you installed FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant In this directory you should find a file named ErrorLog txt You can double click on this file and open it You will find a list of errors that have occurred Scroll down to the bottom of this as that 1s where the most recent errors appear You will see a line similar to Sat May 28 00 26 36 PDT 2005 WARNING Could not get pedigree URL You can run the FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant program again later with that URL internet address and download the missing files to another directory WARNING If you attempt to run this program again on the same directory you will overwrite files that you created from a previous download Make sure you run this program on all of the URL s different lines that occurred on the last run of this program previous errors from earlier runs of the program will also be visible in ErrorLog txt The number of URL s you will have to enter in subsequent
15. ile collecting information from the internet Double check and has several that you are connected and that you can access www famiysearch org from your causes A location Also check that the URL you provided was correct You may need to disable firewall software Try again later with another URL if you continue to have problems common Cause is that the ox FamilySearch website cannot be reached This is generally the case if you do not even complete retrieving one ancestral record Check that you can connect to the internet and also www FamilySearch org If you cannot access the internet Check your modem firewall and browser settings Also check that the proper cables are attached correctly and tightly If you have an external modem router or firewall make sure it is powered Try connecting directly without firewall or routers not recommended for long periods You may need to contact your ISP Internet Service Provider for assistance If you cannot access FamilySearch org It is possible though unlikely that browser or ISP Internet Service Provider parental settings or even your firewall may not be allowing connections to this site Check these settings first as they are easy to remedy and often overlooked A frequent cause is that you have opened too many connections to the FamilySearch website and you have been temporarily banned This generally would be caused by excessive browsing the FamilySearch website before running
16. ou can personally download and review the information later not recommended for normal users 8 of 15 Once all this information has been entered it is time to click the Run button You will then be warned that if you have GEDCOMs or text files in the directory you selected at mms they may be overwritten if there are GEDCOM s or text files in selected directory they may be overwritten Make sure that you have Would you like to continue nothing of value in this directory and then click Yes The program will then perform all of the 2 Completing Tasks L Operations you requested and will then open up Downloading GEDCOM s the directory where the files were saved for your os viewing Do not be surprised if this takes a long oneal time as there can be a lot of information to download If there were any errors you may have to resolve them using the Troubleshooting section of this guide Storing your Genealogy Start your genealogy program and enter all of your information up until the ancestor you have downloaded Once that has been completed save your data Next you will have to import the first GEDCOM file into the program Typically you will have to do something like select Import from the File menu at the top of the program The first GEDCOM file downloaded will be called gedcom1 ged Once you have noted any errors that may have occurred in importing not likely to happen you need to link the individual to
17. rg and Personal Ancestral File which are trademarks belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints This program is not written endorsed or supported by said church This document is meant to be a guide to usage Please follow this guide to achieve the desired results However the author of this program Michael Robinson makes no warranties express or implied relating to the operation of this program even when the suggestions made herein are followed Itis to be used at your own risk FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant 1 0x User Manual Michael Robinson 2005 3 of 15 About the Software What does it do In process of doing genealogical research anyone 1s likely to stumble upon FamilySearch org which is an invaluable aide as it will search the International Genealogical Index Ancestral File Pedigree Resource File and even the Social Security Death Index for the deceased ancestors that you enter in However from the Ancestral File you may only view or download four generations of ancestors at atime For many people this is quite helpful However some people have massive amounts of data already stored in this database If this is the case beginning your own personal genealogy can be more taxing by the gathering of information that has already been completed than by actually researching your ancestors This program was created to help relieve the problem of downloading only four generations from FamilySearch org by automatic
18. right will appear This is the main screen for the program First you will want to paste the URL internet address of you ancestor in the upper text box You can either click the paste button to the right of the box OR click on the box and then hit Ctrl P at the same time to past this information in the box If something other than what you expected appeared you may have to return to the FamilySearch org website and copy your information to the clipboard again Next you will need to select a directory for the program to save the outputted GEDCOM files and or text file to It 1s recommended that you click on the Browse button to graphically select the directory you wish to save your files in This should be somewhere on your hard drive that you can easily find and DOES NOT contain previous GEDCOM or text files from running this application before WARNING If you attempt to save files to a directory with GEDCOM or text files in it already you may overwrite files that you created previously If you desire to create something other than just GEDCOM files you may click on the downward pointing arrow on the right side of the screen You can select to create just GEDCOM files default OR the GEDCOMs and also a text file with the URL internet address of all the GEDCOM files which can be helpful for backup and information purposes recommended OR you can select to simply write a text file with all the locations of GEDCOM files so that y
19. rnet browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox and go to www FamilySearch org On the left side of the page there should be a link with the caption ANCESTRAL FILE Search for Ancestors Click on the link and you will be taken Enter at least your deceased ancestors last name and then click Search Tips on How to Search Ancestral File Father Last Name First Name Last Name Mother Last Name toa page Spouse Last Mame where you can enter zen Year Range Year information File Number Countr State about your AV f r ancestor F Use exact spelling Search Clear First click 6 of 15 on the left side of the page the Ancestral File button so that you are only searching the Ancestral File which is the only part of FamilySearch from which this program assists you in downloading information from Fill out the form entering what you know about your deceased ancestor Once you have completed entering your ancestors information click Search to retrieve the results TIPS e For privacy reasons remember that the ancestor you are searching must be deceased to be included in the Ancestral File database Women are almost always listed under their maiden name Sometimes less is more since information may be slightly inaccurate or not entered For example if you search for someone born in 1903 and you enter as such even if you do 20 years it may not return any results because the
20. runs of this program should be equal to the number of times that this error message popped up and you had to select OK 14 of 15 e GEDCOM Internet HTML Error TIP If you received an Internet HTML Error it should be resolved using the methods described in this guide before troubleshooting this error It is likely you GEDCOM Internet HTML Error z x received an error An error has occured while collecting information from the internet Double check from the that you are connected and that you can access www famihysearch org from your location Also check that the URL you provided was correct fou may need to disable FamilySearch org 7 irewall software Try again later with another URL if you continue to have problems website the most likely an error Lor 403 A 403 error is usually caused by your computer requesting too many records in a short period of time The FamilySearch website temporarily did not allow the download Though this program was written to minimize this occurrence it cannot be entirely prevented due to the number of different possible computer configurations it can be run on After the computer completes downloading all the data it can and the program completes navigate to the directory you installed FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant In this directory you should find a file named ErrorLog txt You can double click on this file and open it You will find a list of errors that have occurred Scroll
21. this program or simply running this program multiple times in a row especially if you canceled it in the middle The easiest fix for this is to wait 15 minutes and try again later There is no need to keep trying FamilySearch org every 13 of 15 minute during this time in fact it may reduce your chances of getting back in Maybe even shut down your computer during this time If you CAN access the internet amp FamilySearch org First check that the URL internet address you entered is the correct link to the pedigree or GEDCOM location of your deceased ancestor See the walk through section of this manual if you are unsure of URL to enter in the box This is likely to be the case if the program did not complete retrieval of even one ancestral record It is possible that you connect to the internet through a proxy server If you checked the URL and still were not able to retrieve one family record this is likely the case If you are a home user not on a network and have never heard of a proxy server this is not likely the case At this time FamilySearch GEDCOM Assistant does not offer explicit support for proxy servers You should still try and connect anyway though it is probable you will not be able to connect This feature is currently not expected to be added in future releases If the error occurred in the middle of a download or information retrieval and the program continued to retrieve other records it is likely you received an
22. website of Brigham Young University Especially check out the digital roots project at http roots cs byu edu 4 of 15 System Requirements Version 1 00 Requirements This program was specifically designed for the following configuration However it is possible that this program may still run on some systems not meeting this configuration Operating System one of the following Microsoft Windows XP Home Pro SP1 Windows Server 2003 Web Standard Enterprise Datacenter in 32 bit Windows ME Windows 2000 Pro SP3 Windows 98 1 amp 2 editions Windows NT 4 0 SP6a Windows Installer 2 0 required for all Windows Versions Processor Pentium 166 MHz or equivalent RAM 32 MB required 64 MB recommended Internet Connection Broadband Cable DSL etc connection STRONGLY recommended gt lt Having an internet connection is required to use this program Internet Browser one of the following Netscape 4 7 x 6 2 2 7 Mozilla 1 2 1 1 3 1 4 1 4 1 FireFox works Internet Explorer 5 5 SP2 6 x Usually included with Windows Software Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 0 to view this user manual Personal Ancestral File available free from FamilySearch org or other genealogical software that supports GEDCOM files Java Run Time Environment JRE Designed for J2SE 1 4 2 but should work in earlier amp later versions This is downloadable for free from the java website or it will be automatically
23. what you already have stored In Personal Ancestral File available for free here this is easy You simply click on the location where the imported ancestor goes on the pedigree tab and a box appears prompting 21x ae to add the Add father for person In this case John DOE you will want to Wi Select Existing Select Existing Individual Individual and another box will _ Can Her pop up to help you select which individual to import You will want to click on the Individual List button which will bring up a list of everyone in your locally stored genealogy file First select the 21x circle up top with Sort Alphabetical C RIN Elizabeth WHEELER j Alphabetic al WHEELER Elizabeth RS AN ae labeled Next click 37 TWITCHELL Matha basga Birisss Nanzing Par Essex England 34 TWITCHELL Martha b 1588 Chr Abt4 FEB 1638 I in the white text 36 TWITCHELL Mary b 1584 Death 2 JUL 1669 Roxbury NM United States 24 TWITCHELL Mary b 1658 1 33 TWITCHELL Miriam Tuchel b 1596 BurialAUG 1635 Roxbury S Massachusetts box and begin 58 TWITCHELL Mrs Henry b 1596 9 TWITCHELL Patricia Or P b 1678 aptism typing the ancestor 28 TWITCHELL Rachel b 1655 Endes 27 TWITCHELL Rachel b 1669 N that you 31 TWITCHELL Richard b 1540 d d d 39 TWITCHELL Sarah b 1692 a 14 TWITCHELL Sarah b 1684 ownioade 4 TWITCHELL Thomas b 1722 Mother B y 32 WALLER Cicely b 1560 Spouse Edwar
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