GEDCOM Parser

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a...@openbookhowden.com.au

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Jan 10, 2021, 4:14:14 PM1/10/21
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We are a printer based in Adelaide, for many years 30 plus we have been producing family histories. The arrival of the GEDCOM format (thank you Mormon Church) has been employed to produce these, in particular the family trees. A client at the time created a dBase application called Top of the Tree, along with Henry encoding created a text file which included tag and index information suitable for PageMaker (back then) which is still useable in Indesign today. Unfortunately the addition of extra data fields, same sex marriages etc and GEDCOM not being updated (Officially) to cope with all this additional data has given TOT a head ache. My question to you is this functionality possible in GEDitCOM II. The list of features mentioned from TOT is by no means complete, I Thought I would ask the question first.

Andrew Laub - pre-press

John Nairn

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Jan 22, 2021, 7:49:35 PM1/22/21
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Yes. The most advanced option is to use the “Create Generations Book” extension. This can take any GEDCOM file (including extension in GEDitCOM II to handle extra fields and same-sex marriages etc.), and typeset into a book. Using this extension has a learning curve, but once you learn the process it can go very smoothly. The main challenge is that you have install LaTeX on your computer and ideally know a little bit about using LaTeX. Most of what you need is in the documentation for the extension. To see that documentation:

1. Choose Documentation… from the Extensions menu
2. In the Window that appears, select “Reports - Create Generations Book” from the pop-up menu

The final output of a book is a PDF. It can get large with large files. I once created a book with close to 1000 pages (but I didn’t print it). That PDF can then be printed and bound, etc. The extension tries to output data in written language rather then just a collection of fields. A book is especially enhanced if you write your own information about individuals in NOTE records. The book can include pictures and sources and will have table contents, bibliography and an index.

John Nairn

On Jan 10, 2021, at 1:14 PM, a...@openbookhowden.com.au <a...@openbookhowden.com.au> wrote:

We are a printer based in Adelaide, for many years 30 plus we have been producing family histories. The arrival of the GEDCOM format (thank you Mormon Church) has been employed to produce these, in particular the family trees. A client at the time created a dBase application called Top of the Tree, along with Henry encoding created a text file which included tag and index information suitable for PageMaker (back then) which is still useable in Indesign today. Unfortunately the addition of extra data fields, same sex marriages etc and GEDCOM not being updated (Officially) to cope with all this additional data has given TOT a head ache. My question to you is this functionality possible in GEDitCOM II. The list of features mentioned from TOT is by no means complete, I Thought I would ask the question first.

Andrew Laub - pre-press

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Larry Nelson

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Jan 22, 2021, 9:22:40 PM1/22/21
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I just updated to the new version.  Now I a getting this error on each account.  Any idea why?




Larry Nelson

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.       The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --       Winston Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A






John Nairn

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Jan 25, 2021, 4:59:09 PM1/25/21
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That message is an error in the formatting template caused by unexpected GEDCOM data in your file. A “Browser Style" should expect anything, but sometimes hard to program for all possible things.

I would have to see the data to be sure, but I see from screen shot that your file as non-standard GEDCOM tags such as FATH, MOTH, and ADDR (or address). The first two are not part of GEDCOM and I think made up by Family Tree Maker (some versions of Family Tree Maker exported very bad GEDCOM files). An ADDR for address is part of GEDCOM, but it cannot be at the root level. To look for it are the wrong level:

1. Select the “LARRY NELSON” in the index window.
2. Choose “Show GEDCOM Source” menu command (if it is not already showing in your index window). This will show the raw GEDCOM data for Larry Nelson in lower right part of the index window.
3. I expect you will find the following data in that GEDCOM data

     1 ADDR 2417 S Kathy Lane
     2 CONT Bartonville, IL 61607

but that is a GEDCOM error. ADDR tags are not allowed at level 1. All residences should have their address within a residence event (RESI). Valid GEDCOM data for an address would look like

     1 RESI
     2 DATE 2020
     2 PLAC Illinois, USA
     2 ADDR 2417 S Kathy Lane
     3 CONT Bartonville, IL 61607

The DATE and PLAC give data and place for an individual's residence. The ADDR lines are moved to level 2 and give more details.

But, it looks like that bad ADDR was formatted correctly as it appears in the your screen shot. The error message says a problem in tg=he “Event Editing” template and that was probably trying to format some other bad data created by Family Tree Maker that came after the ADDR lines. Here are some fixes:

1. First, I should update the “Default Format” to work even with such bad Family Tree Maker files. I can fix it if I know what bad GEDCOM is causing the problem. My guess is that Family Tree Maker put an event meant for a family record in an individual record. So, it looks loike valid GEDCOM, but is in the wrong type of record. I would know for sure if you sent me the raw GEDCOM data. I don’t think I need an entire file just repeat steps 1 and 2 above. Then click in the raw GEDCOM data section, select all, and email to me (you can send privately to jo...@geditcom.com). You can remove any personal details if needed, but don’t delete the bad GEDCOM. It is something after the 1 ADDR line described above.

2.A coding hack you can do at home to eliminate the error is:
a. Hold down option key and select “Browser Styles->Default Format” from the Extensions menu. This will open that style for editing the GEDitCOM Editor.
b. Expand the “Record Editing” section and click on “INDI_Other Record Editing” in the list on the left. That template will appear on the right.
        c. Right near the beginning, add the line #first=“no” so that template starts like this (the first two lines are already there)

                   GoSub INDIPanes,"Other"
                   GoSub ResetTabs,0
                   #first=“no"

d. Choose “Save and Run” command
e. Go back to GEDitCOM II, open “Larry Nelson”, and click on “Other” tab. That error cannot occur (because #first is now defined), but because the record has bad GEDCOM data, the output may not look great (but, at least it will be there and the error message should go away).

This option #2 might be solution I add to the “Default Format.” Once I see the bad GEDCOM data, however, another solution might be more appropriate.

Regards,
John Nairn

On Jan 22, 2021, at 6:22 PM, 'Larry Nelson' via GEDitCOM II Discussions <geditcom-ii...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I just updated to the new version.  Now I a getting this error on each account.  Any idea why?



<Screen Shot 2021-01-22 at 8.20.27 PM.png>

Larry Nelson

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Jan 27, 2021, 8:51:33 PM1/27/21
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Here is a screen shot. 

Is there an error here?



Larry Nelson

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.       The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --       Winston Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A





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John Nairn

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Jan 28, 2021, 2:54:17 AM1/28/21
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Yes, that GEDCOM data has numerous errors. And, it could not be errors caused by GEDItCOM II because it is showing GEDCOM data that GEDitCOM II cannot create. It must have been caused by the software that created the original data. Here are some things you can do:

First, I updated the “Default Format” to be tolerant of the type of data in your file. You can download and install the new version by choosing menu command Extensions -> Utilities -> Download Extensions. Pick “Default Format” from the list and click “To System Extensions.” Finally, to make sure it is being used choose Extensions -> Browser Styles -> Default Format menu command.

This new Browser style will display all date without errors, but because the data are not proper GEDCOM data, the display won’t look very good. Others reading this post can also download the new style. It is only needed, however, if you get an error caused by bad GEDCOM data.

Second, hopefully your file is not filled with such bad data. To check, you should choose menu command Reports -> Validate GEDCOM Data… This command will give you a list of all records that have similar problems. Any records you created in GEDitCOM II should be fine, but those imported from other software might have problems. Problems can also occur if you export a GEDCOM file from GEDItCOM II, import and edit in other software, and then export back to GEDitCOM II. If the other software does not handle GEDCOM well, it will insert such errors when exporting back to a GEDCOM file.

Finally, here is list of problems in just that one screen shot:

1 ID 1 - this is not a valid GEDCOM tag. Looks like an ID
1 FATH @I3@ - looks like a link to father’s record, but this is not how those links are documented in GEDCOM files. It should use FAMC link to a family record.
1 MOTH @I10@ - looks like a link to mother's record, but this is not how those links are documented in GEDCOM files. It should use FAMC link to a family record.
1 ADDR (and 2 CONT and 2 PHON lines) - this is an address, but it is not how address are documented in GEDCOM files. The address should be in a RESI event
1 NMAR 1 - probably number of marriages, but this tag is not part of the GEDCOM standard
1 MARR (and following lines starting in 2) - this is a marriage event, but in GEDCOM data, marriage events are only allowed in family records and not, as here, in an individual record.

Regards,
John Nairn

On Jan 27, 2021, at 5:51 PM, 'Larry Nelson' via GEDitCOM II Discussions <geditcom-ii...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Here is a screen shot. 

Is there an error here?


<Screen Shot 2021-01-27 at 7.48.21 PM.png>

Larry Nelson

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Jan 28, 2021, 1:54:06 PM1/28/21
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Thank you.  The first part worked and I don’t get that error.
When I ran the Validate Data, I came up with many errors.  They were older information that I imported from my Family Tree program that ran on an Apple IIgs.


Larry Nelson

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.       The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --       Winston Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A





John Nairn

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Jan 28, 2021, 5:51:35 PM1/28/21
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Yes I suspected Family Tree Maker. It was especially bad a GEDCOM files in some its old version. I think it is better now.

Those errors caused by Family Tree Maker do not bother GEDitCOM II. It keeps that bad data in your file, but will other wise ignore it (it will only show up in that “Other” tab). It is possible (maybe even likely) that while Family Tree Maker included all these invalid tags, it might have also included valid ones. Here is a way to start checking (as an example):

The first name in your error report is “Wilhelmina Mary Abel” and it lists a marriage event and a bunch of children. These are not valid ways to store that in GEDCOM data, but with luck, Family Tree Maker also include valid information about marriage and children. To check:

1. Click on “ABEL, WILHELMINA MARY” in the error report
2. In her “Individual” tab when the record opens, look in the “Spouses” box. If that box lists a husband and 8 children, then your data is likely OK. If they appear it means GEDItCOM II found links to spouses and children in the proper location and that for some reason Family Tree Maker exported those links in more than one place.
3. Similarly, click on second record for “ACKERMAN, ALEXANDER MITCHELL” and look in the “Parents” section of his “Individual” tab. If parents show up, then the FATH and MOTH tags in the individual record are superfluous because the proper links are also in the file.

If #2 and #3 succeed, you likely have all you need for complete genealogy linkages. The Family Tree Maker extra lines could be ignored, but can be left in your file too. If #2 succeeds, then all MARR and CHIL lines within individual records could be deleted. If #3 succeeds, then all FATH and MOTH lines within individual could be deleted. Any other “error” lines could be deleted or could be checked to see if useful. For example, an error line for Wilhelmina Mary Able looks like documentation of a surname “KAEHLER.” The usual practice in GEDCOM files is to list females with their maiden name only. If “KAEHLER” is her maiden name, it should replace “ABEL” in her name field. But if “KAEHLER” is her husband's surname, the line can be deleted. One can optionally document whether or not a woman take’s a man’s surname after marriage in a note (such as a note attached to the name details by clicking “i” next to the name field). A common default is to assume they do. The only reason one needs to know is when searching for a woman in records after marriage. She will likely be listed under her name used after marriage.

If #2 and/or #3 fail, it will take a lot more work to recover good data. A new extension for GEDitCOM II could potentiall solve it, but that is not easy. I won’t suggesting trying until you see if it is needed. An extension to simple remove unwanted tags is much easier.

Regards,
John Nairn



On Jan 28, 2021, at 10:53 AM, 'Larry Nelson' via GEDitCOM II Discussions <geditcom-ii...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Thank you.  The first part worked and I don’t get that error.
When I ran the Validate Data, I came up with many errors.  They were older information that I imported from my Family Tree program that ran on an Apple IIgs.

<Screen Shot 2021-01-28 at 12.47.49 PM.png>

Larry Nelson

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Jan 28, 2021, 6:17:53 PM1/28/21
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Thanks again,

I did #2 & 3 and the data looks correct.

Also I was able to put the files on my web page on the internet.  


Larry Nelson

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.       The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --       Winston Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A





John Nairn

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Jan 28, 2021, 7:00:58 PM1/28/21
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I think you are then in good shape. You can ignore the extra Family Tree Maker things (all the things reported in validation report) or delete them (your choice). I am thinking of a new “Miscellaneous Task” in the Extensions menu to help deleting them.

On Jan 28, 2021, at 3:17 PM, 'Larry Nelson' via GEDitCOM II Discussions <geditcom-ii...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Thanks again,

I did #2 & 3 and the data looks correct.

Also I was able to put the files on my web page on the internet.  

<Screen Shot 2021-01-28 at 5.16.03 PM.png>
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