Fatal Error
dlsl...@gmail.com
John Cardinal
Have you followed the instructions for using GP that are found on the Using Gedcom Publisher help page? If not, please do.
That will make a book that includes all the deceased people in your GEDCOM file. That may or may not be what you want. However, it’s good practice to make a book successfully before trying to configure it to meet your requirements.
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
dlsl...@gmail.com
John Cardinal
I suspect you got the fatal error because you tried to use the picklist before setting the datafile. GP shouldn’t error in that situation, so I’ll look into it. It shouldn’t mater now because you’ve set the datafile.
All the content in the book is managed via Chapters. Some chapters are predefined to get you started. You can add your own, and change some of the predefined chapters, too.
Choosing who to include involves the use of “Chapter People” items. Those are items you add to a chapter to include people. There are several different variations, and which ones you use depends on your goals. For example, if you are organizing a book by generations, where two progenitors are in a chapter, then you have subsequent generations in subsequent chapters, you’d mostly rely on “Chapter People – Descendants” items.
You can read about Chapter People items here: https://www.gedcompublisher.com/en/chapter-people.htm
To disable all deceased people from being in the site, go to the Chapter named “Chapter {#} – People”. Uncheck the “People” Item, or edit it/replace it with a different Chapter People item that suits your requirements.
You can have several chapters with Chapter People items in them.
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of dlsl...@gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2026 4:58 PM
To: Gedcom Publisher <gp...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [GP] Fatal Error
I successfully created a book of all the deceased people in my GEDCOM file; (Application specific - TMG). But I wish to narrow down the individuals. I have read the instructions.
On Sunday, March 15, 2026 at 4:16:47 PM UTC-4 John Cardinal wrote:
Have you followed the instructions for using GP that are found on the Using Gedcom Publisher help page? If not, please do.
That will make a book that includes all the deceased people in your GEDCOM file. That may or may not be what you want. However, it’s good practice to make a book successfully before trying to configure it to meet your requirements.
John Cardinal
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of dlsl...@gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2026 3:56 PM
To: Gedcom Publisher <gp...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [GP] Fatal Error
donla...@casasl.net
When I use Format -> Format: Three Columns to make a book it works just fine. When I change it to Format -> Format: Bullets Unlabeled, I get the error message below. What am I doing wrong?
.
John Cardinal
Don,
The “Bullets” and “Bullets Unlabeled” Formats in GP have a bug.
If you are planning to use either of those Formats?
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
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Gedcom Publisher: https://www.gedcompublisher.com
GedSite: https://www.gedsite.com
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D S
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/08ba01dcbc6c%240bc7b700%2423572500%24%40gmail.com.
John Cardinal
Don,
OK, good. If you were planning to use one of those Formats, we could probably figure out a workaround. It’s not worth the effort if you do not plan to use one of them. The bug will be fixed in the next release, probably in April.
If you send further messages, start a new thread with an appropriate topic, OK? Let’s save this thread for the picklist error. I’m still working on that.
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of D S
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 12:15 PM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [GP] Fatal Error
John,
No, I have not used them and do not plan to use them.
Thanks for the heads up!
Don
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/CAE5253__Vnt9ejTCKQVDcMANddFU3J_rJfvRi2udP1b%3D9NASuQ%40mail.gmail.com.
donla...@casasl.net
John:
I might want to use the “Bullets” and “Bullets Unlabeled” Formats in GP. Let me give you a more detailed answer.
I am trying to create a narrative report in a PDF format. I want to send a printed book to a couple of local libraries in Maryland that I work with. I have also heard from some folks that they would like to have a link-enabled pdf file instead of a website. I have tried RootsMagic 11 Narrative, RootsMagic 11 Book, GedSite, and Gedcom Publisher to create what I want but I am having no success. I am trying to build a pdf file with the 7 functions listed below. Maybe I missed some options in each of the programs but here is what I believe each support and doesn’t support. I wish that GedSite 5 supported PDF creation with user-built headers, footers, and page numbers. That would be outstanding.
The Gedsite web site w/"Bullets Unlabeled format" comes the closest to what I want the internal page to look like.
The RootsMagic 11 Narrative Report comes the closest to what I want for headers, footers and page numbers. The RootsMagic 11 Book function does somethings but not others.
RootsMagic 11 book formay
The Gedcom Publisher comes the closest to what I want for supporting hyperlinks for people's names.
Calibre will create a PDF from a Gedcom Publisher mobi output file but it does not support many of the other items I am looking for.
Maybe I have missed some options in each of these programs that would do what I want. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.
VR
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/08ba01dcbc6c%240bc7b700%2423572500%24%40gmail.com.
John Cardinal
Don,
If you create an EPUB file with Gedcom Publisher (GP), there are tools you can use to convert the EPUB into a PDF. I am not familiar with any of them, so I can’t make a recommendation, but you can do some online research and decide for yourself. One example is calibre, and while I use that for reading EPUBs, I’ve never used it to convert to PDF. I believe you can set page headers and footers, and perhaps page numbers, too, but there may be limitations.
I will send a beta version of GP to the beta testers today and plan a release (with the Bullets Format fix) for next week.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/012e01dcbd06%24891ced20%249b56c760%24%40casasl.net.
Chris Sackett
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/003201dcbd2c%2490b676c0%24b2236440%24%40gmail.com.
donla...@casasl.net
Chris:
Thank you for the reply. Your books look great and this is the type of help/information I was looking for. I will look at each of the programs you use, and I am sure I will have questions once I do that. What is the data pipeline/process you use? Is it something like the following? Would it be possible to get a couple of sentences for steps 3-5 on what you do specifically during each of those steps?
- Create gedcom file from genealogy software
- Use gedcom publisher to process gedcom file
- Use convertio to convert gedcom publisher output mobi file to pdf
- Use ilovepdf.com to add page numbers
- Upload completed book/.pdf file to website.
Thanks
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Chris Sackett
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2026 6:02 PM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/1bfdb8b7-76be-42a4-a526-2dce96f5c67c%40sackett.org.uk.
Chris Sackett
I don't claim expertise on this – which might provide assurance that the process is quite straightforward!
In 3, I convert the .epub file (not the mobi file) to .pdf. I had previously used FreeConvert for this, but didn't find that site last time I looked. Found Convertio instead and used that. The process is self-explanatory on their website and is free up to a very large size.
In 4, on ilovepdf, scroll down to Page numbers. I started numbering at p2 on the Contents page of the book, skipping the Cover page, but still using a numbering start point that fits in with a pdf search tool that starts at the Cover – unlike a printed book which starts numbering after the prelim pages. Again, there was no charge for this service.
In 5, my website is generated by Second Site from a TMG database. The process to add the pdf to a GedSite website would be similar – just put the pdf in the appropriate folder and link to it there.
Chris
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gp-l/000701dcbdc7%24e8aa03b0%24b9fe0b10%24%40casasl.net.
John Cardinal
Don and Chris,
According to what I read—but I have not tried—calibre has both page numbering and page heading/footing options when converting an EPUB book to PDF. Have either of you experimented with that?
donla...@casasl.net
John:
I have not, but I will over the next week.
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of John Cardinal
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 11:28 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
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Gedcom Publisher: https://www.gedcompublisher.com
GedSite: https://www.gedsite.com
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Chris Sackett
I just tried calibre pdf conversion with an earlier edition of The Book of Sacketts. Conversion from epub to pdf took 10 minutes for a book of some 2,000 people and quite a lot of images. Calibre has a range of conversion options. As well as page numbering, there are options for page size, font style and size, page margins, and, as you say, header and footer templates.
This process requires the full version calibre, not just the ebook viewer used for compiling/editing.
I'll certainly use it for the next edition of my book—about 3,700 people, but still a year or more off.
Many thanks for drawing this to our attention.
Chris
--
John Cardinal
Chris,
Thanks for sharing your experience with calibre! I may experiment now, and then add something to the GP web pages to suggest using it for PDF/printed output from GP EPUBs.
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Chris Sackett
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 1:49 PM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [GP] Printing a book with GP
John,
I just tried calibre pdf conversion with an earlier edition of The Book of Sacketts. Conversion from epub to pdf took 10 minutes for a book of some 2,000 people and quite a lot of images. Calibre has a range of conversion options. As well as page numbering, there are options for page size, font style and size, page margins, and, as you say, header and footer templates.
This process requires the full version calibre, not just the ebook viewer used for compiling/editing.
I'll certainly use it for the next edition of my book—about 3,700 people, but still a year or more off.
Many thanks for drawing this to our attention.
Chris
donla...@casasl.net
John:
Thank you for the great suggestion. I did a quick review. Here is where one can get the calibre user manual: https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/calibre.pdf On page 76, is the section 4.11.7 Converting to PDF. I tested their two examples, one for headers and one for footers and they both work.
When using the calibre program, start at the top menu with “Convert books”, then “convert individually” then select “Output format: PDF”, then “PDF output” on the bottom left. You add html code to the “Header template” and “Footer” template areas (see examples in section 4.11.7 in calibre user manual), check “Add page numbers to the bottom of every page then press OK in the bottom right. That standard place it writes the new output file is in C:\Users\<user name>\Calibre Library…
Now for a more detailed review..
Thanks again
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of John Cardinal
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 11:28 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
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Gedcom Publisher: https://www.gedcompublisher.com
GedSite: https://www.gedsite.com
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donla...@casasl.net
Since GP already has knowledge of Generations, is there a way to have it to start a new chapter for each new generation and have “Generation {#}” be the title of each new chapter?
I am working on a genealogy pipeline that starts with RootsMagic creating a gedcom file, GedSite working with the gedcom file to create my website, and then, Gedcom Publisher working with the gedcom file to create a book that goes into calibre to create a pdf. The website person page and book person page will be very similar in structure. It looks like it will take a python program (working with ChatGPT on how that needs to be structured) to read the pdf file and create a person index with page numbers for the book.
--
Gedcom Publisher: https://www.gedcompublisher.com
GedSite: https://www.gedsite.com
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John Cardinal
Don,
No, GP will not automatically split generations into chapters. Chapter content is determined by the author/GP user.
Are you going to print the book, or are you aiming to produce a PDF?
If you are printing the book… Will the book have so many pages that binding is not practical?
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of donla...@casasl.net
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 7:53 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP
Since GP already has knowledge of Generations, is there a way to have it to start a new chapter for each new generation and have “Generation {#}” be the title of each new chapter?
donla...@casasl.net
John:
I have found that some people would rather use a PDF instead of using a website. Yes, one of the goals would be to print a book. The number of pages would be investigated as I get closer to figuring out how to do the formatting.
You mentioned that chapter content is determined by the user. So, if I want a separate chapter for each generation, do I have to go through book after I print it the first time, find what names that Gedcom Publisher started each new generation with and then create a Descendants chapter for that generation and rebuild the book. If Gedcom Publisher already knows when a new generation begins, is there any kind of code that I can put in the Chapter Descendants Item “Generation Heading Template” to start a new chapter?
Thanks
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of John Cardinal
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 9:23 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP
Don,
No, GP will not automatically split generations into chapters. Chapter content is determined by the author/GP user.
Are you going to print the book, or are you aiming to produce a PDF?
If you are printing the book… Will the book have so many pages that binding is not practical?
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of donla...@casasl.net
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 7:53 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP
Since GP already has knowledge of Generations, is there a way to have it to start a new chapter for each new generation and have “Generation {#}” be the title of each new chapter?
I am working on a genealogy pipeline that starts with RootsMagic creating a gedcom file, GedSite working with the gedcom file to create my website, and then, Gedcom Publisher working with the gedcom file to create a book that goes into calibre to create a pdf. The website person page and book person page will be very similar in structure. It looks like it will take a python program (working with ChatGPT on how that needs to be structured) to read the pdf file and create a person index with page numbers for the book.
VR
--
Gedcom Publisher: https://www.gedcompublisher.com
GedSite: https://www.gedsite.com
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John Cardinal
Don,
> So, if I want a separate chapter for each generation, do I have to go through book after
> I print it the first time, find what names that Gedcom Publisher started each new generation
> with and then create a Descendants chapter for that generation and rebuild the book.
If you want a chapter per generation, you must determine how many generations will be included in the book. You can do that using the method you described. Your genealogy program might offer a better method.
You probably want to cap the number of generations such that you don’t include recent generations where most descendants are living and thus probably shouldn’t be in a book that you distribute publicly.
> If Gedcom Publisher already knows when a new generation begins, is there any kind of code
> that I can put in the Chapter Descendants Item “Generation Heading Template” to start a new chapter?
No. GP will add a generation heading in the current chapter, but that does not trigger a new chapter, just heading in the current chapter.
John Cardinal
Products: ORA, GedSite, Gedcom Publisher, Second Site, TMG Utility, TMG to GEDCOM
Web Hosting for Genealogists: Family History Hosting
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of donla...@casasl.net
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 9:32 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP
John:
I have found that some people would rather use a PDF instead of using a website. Yes, one of the goals would be to print a book. The number of pages would be investigated as I get closer to figuring out how to do the formatting.
You mentioned that chapter content is determined by the user. So, if I want a separate chapter for each generation, do I have to go through book after I print it the first time, find what names that Gedcom Publisher started each new generation with and then create a Descendants chapter for that generation and rebuild the book. If Gedcom Publisher already knows when a new generation begins, is there any kind of code that I can put in the Chapter Descendants Item “Generation Heading Template” to start a new chapter?
Thanks
Don Landing
Landing/Saudade Genealogy
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of John Cardinal
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 9:23 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP
Don,
No, GP will not automatically split generations into chapters. Chapter content is determined by the author/GP user.
Are you going to print the book, or are you aiming to produce a PDF?
If you are printing the book… Will the book have so many pages that binding is not practical?
John Cardinal
From: gp...@googlegroups.com <gp...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of donla...@casasl.net
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2026 7:53 AM
To: gp...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [GP] Printing a book with GP