LDS Vital Records Index - Questions

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

I have a set of CDs from the LDS titled Vital Records Index North
America. It looks like they are from about 1998. I was hoping to
install the viewer on my win 7 Pro computer and use these for some
studies I'm doing, it doesn't work with Win 7 apparently. It installs
fine on my old XP computer. Is anyone familiar with this set of data?
In particular, I'm interested in finding out if the same information
is available now over the net? I haven't used the LDS web site, but
have heard that it is now universally available to non-members... is
that correct? Finally, anyone know if it's possible to simply transfer
the data from the CD set to a hard drive? I know I can make ISO
images of the CDs and use them with DAEMON tools for faster access on
the XP computer, but was hoping to just use the data with MS Access or
FileMaker Pro on the Win 7 computer.

[Joe Makowiec]

On 20 Jan 2015 in soc.genealogy.computing, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:

> I have a set of CDs from the LDS titled Vital Records Index North
> America. It looks like they are from about 1998. I was hoping to
> install the viewer on my win 7 Pro computer and use these for some
> studies I'm doing, it doesn't work with Win 7 apparently. It installs
> fine on my old XP computer.

One item which is included in your Win 7 Pro license is Windows
Virtual PC, which includes a full install of WinXP. Note that because
WinXP is no longer supported, "... your PC might become more
vulnerable to security risks and viruses.".

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7

> Is anyone familiar with this set of data? In particular, I'm
> interested in finding out if the same information is available now
> over the net? I haven't used the LDS web site, but have heard that
> it is now universally available to non-members... is that correct?

I'm not LDS, so I can't answer from that side, but familysearch.org
does seem to have a pretty full set of databases.

> Finally, anyone know if it's possible to simply transfer the data
> from the CD set to a hard drive? I know I can make ISO images of
> the CDs and use them with DAEMON tools for faster access on the XP
> computer, but was hoping to just use the data with MS Access or
> FileMaker Pro on the Win 7 computer.

I can't, at a quick web search, find out what the underlying database
engine is. Have you tried looking at the files on the CD using, say,
a text editor?

--
Joe Makowiec
http://makowiec.org/
Email: http://makowiec.org/contact/?Joe
Usenet Improvement Project: http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:34:50 +0000 (UTC), Joe Makowiec
<mako...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>On 20 Jan 2015 in soc.genealogy.computing, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:
>
>> I have a set of CDs from the LDS titled Vital Records Index North
>> America. It looks like they are from about 1998. I was hoping to
>> install the viewer on my win 7 Pro computer and use these for some
>> studies I'm doing, it doesn't work with Win 7 apparently. It installs
>> fine on my old XP computer.
>
>One item which is included in your Win 7 Pro license is Windows
>Virtual PC, which includes a full install of WinXP. Note that because
>WinXP is no longer supported, "... your PC might become more
>vulnerable to security risks and viruses.".
>

I tried the virtual PC since I have XP set up to run an old copy of
Adobe acrobat for creating PDFs... but although the installation
"said" it installed , when I try to run it, it loads for a rather long
time, then get an error message stating: "Virtual environment for
launching applications has been closed. Start the spplication again."

Of course, repeating hte attempt results in the same error message.

>http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7
>
>> Is anyone familiar with this set of data? In particular, I'm
>> interested in finding out if the same information is available now
>> over the net? I haven't used the LDS web site, but have heard that
>> it is now universally available to non-members... is that correct?
>
>I'm not LDS, so I can't answer from that side, but familysearch.org
>does seem to have a pretty full set of databases.
>
>> Finally, anyone know if it's possible to simply transfer the data
>> from the CD set to a hard drive? I know I can make ISO images of
>> the CDs and use them with DAEMON tools for faster access on the XP
>> computer, but was hoping to just use the data with MS Access or
>> FileMaker Pro on the Win 7 computer.
>
>I can't, at a quick web search, find out what the underlying database
>engine is. Have you tried looking at the files on the CD using, say,
>a text editor?

They are "Folio" files, typical XXXX.NFO. Apparently Folio was quite
the software back in the late 90's. Paul Allen was one of the
principles I think. Searching the web I get other messages similar to
mine.... someone has CDs that they can no longer read and want to
recover the data. One poster mentiond that using Folio View it was
possible to export the NFO files as Folio Flat File (FFF), but I have
yet to locate a place to get Folio View that will run in Win 7.
Apparently Folio as a company is long out of business.

I think I'll try contacting the LDS tomorrow to see if someone there
has a recommendation.

[Ian Goddard]

I have a CD using what's probably the same technology with English data
including one of my local parishes. I installed it on a virtual machine
running W2K under VirtualBox. It was possible to copy from this and
paste into notepad so that it could be saved as plain vanilla text and
in consequence this text now sits on the Linux host partition.

As it's transcripts the format varies according the whims of the clerks
who wrote up the register. With a good deal of effort I could probably
extract the essentials it into databases. However, because its free
text there's a fair amount of narrative in there such as an explanation
of how someone was blown off a plank bridge and drowned rather than just
the plain burial.

In terms of using it, because it's on Linux I grep for a surname I'm
interested in and process the relatively small files which result.
There's then a fair amount of intensive editing to put the old-style
dates between January & Lady Day into new-style and to put in suitable
field dividers and then import into spreadsheets. It usually needs
further processing of the odd creatively formatted record but it's still
easier than typing in the equivalent printed transcript.

But bottom line; install in XP or whatever, copy & paste into Notepad or
text editor of your choice, save as plain text & transfer that file to
the modern OS of your choice.

--
Ian

The Hotmail address is my spam-bin. Real mail address is iang
at austonley org uk

[Denis Beauregard]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:34:50 +0000 (UTC), Joe Makowiec

<mako...@invalid.invalid> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing:

>On 20 Jan 2015 in soc.genealogy.computing, Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:
>
>> I have a set of CDs from the LDS titled Vital Records Index North
>> America. It looks like they are from about 1998. I was hoping to
>> install the viewer on my win 7 Pro computer and use these for some
>> studies I'm doing, it doesn't work with Win 7 apparently. It installs
>> fine on my old XP computer.
>
>One item which is included in your Win 7 Pro license is Windows
>Virtual PC, which includes a full install of WinXP. Note that because
>WinXP is no longer supported, "... your PC might become more
>vulnerable to security risks and viruses.".
>
>http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7

The following paragraph is important :

"Using Windows XP Mode, you can run programs that were designed for
Windows XP on computers running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or
Ultimate editions. Windows XP Mode isn't supported on Windows 8."

A typical PC is sold with the family version, not the pro one. So it
is not running into the XP mode. A workaround is to use VirtualBox,
which is available from another company but I personally failed to
install it. Long after I tried, I was said there are some step by step
examples.


Denis

--
Denis Beauregard - généalogiste émérite (FQSG)
Les Français d'Amérique du Nord - www.francogene.com/genealogie--quebec/
French in North America before 1722 - www.francogene.com/quebec--genealogy/
Sur cédérom à 1785 - On CD-ROM to 1785

[Steve Hayes]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 23:29:16 +0000, Ian Goddard <godd...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

>I have a CD using what's probably the same technology with English data
>including one of my local parishes. I installed it on a virtual machine
>running W2K under VirtualBox. It was possible to copy from this and
>paste into notepad so that it could be saved as plain vanilla text and
>in consequence this text now sits on the Linux host partition.
>
>As it's transcripts the format varies according the whims of the clerks
>who wrote up the register. With a good deal of effort I could probably
>extract the essentials it into databases. However, because its free
>text there's a fair amount of narrative in there such as an explanation
>of how someone was blown off a plank bridge and drowned rather than just
>the plain burial.
>
>In terms of using it, because it's on Linux I grep for a surname I'm
>interested in and process the relatively small files which result.
>There's then a fair amount of intensive editing to put the old-style
>dates between January & Lady Day into new-style and to put in suitable
>field dividers and then import into spreadsheets. It usually needs
>further processing of the odd creatively formatted record but it's still
>easier than typing in the equivalent printed transcript.

Would AWK help with that?

>But bottom line; install in XP or whatever, copy & paste into Notepad or
>text editor of your choice, save as plain text & transfer that file to
>the modern OS of your choice.

Perhaps it would work in the 32 bit version of Win 7.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

Denis,

I do have Win 7 pro on the computer that is having the problems, even
in the virtual mode running my copy of XP pro.

[Denis Beauregard]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:13:40 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir
<inv...@invalid.com> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing:

>I do have Win 7 pro on the computer that is having the problems, even
>in the virtual mode running my copy of XP pro.

Perhaps, as suggested, you have the 64 bits and 32 bits is
required for a better XP compatibility ?

I suppose the CD are made with folio bound, i.e. .nfo files.
There is a database I have seen in local libraries and that is using
folio. It is running on some computers with Windows 7 (or 8 ?). So
there is some solution but can't say more.

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:19:15 -0500, Denis Beauregard
<denis.b-at-f...@fr.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:13:40 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir
><inv...@invalid.com> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing:
>
>>I do have Win 7 pro on the computer that is having the problems, even
>>in the virtual mode running my copy of XP pro.
>
>Perhaps, as suggested, you have the 64 bits and 32 bits is
>required for a better XP compatibility ?
>
>I suppose the CD are made with folio bound, i.e. .nfo files.
>There is a database I have seen in local libraries and that is using
>folio. It is running on some computers with Windows 7 (or 8 ?). So
>there is some solution but can't say more.
>
>
>Denis

Yes! On one of the CDs there is a text file, telling how to set the
data up on a network. Apparently you simply copy the NFO files to the
directory structure they specify, and it runs. However, looking for a

The text file is not all that long... I'll copy it here just for
information:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Network Installation Instructions
---------------------------------

The Resource Files were designed for home use and as such, an
automated network installation was not included. The Resource File
Viewer has been designed to allow for network installations with only
a few modifications to access the Resource File titles (such as the
Vital Records Index - British Isles.)

This document will take you through the steps required to properly
install the data and software to the network.

Note: You are required to install the About The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints options portion to the network if any Family
History Resource Files are installed to the network. Failure to do so
will violate the copyright of the Resource File Viewer.

Steps for Network Installation:

1) Create a directory for each resource file title

Sample Final Directory structure

L:
|
|-- LDS
|
|-- Census
| |
| |-- US1880
| |
| |-- BRIT1881
|
|-- Vital
|
|-- British
| |
| VRI_BI98
| |
| ABOUT
| |
| STANDARD
| |
| .nfo files
| .lcf file
| title.cd
|
|-- NortAmer

Note: The titles do not have to be on the same disk or server. The
Windows registry is used to control the location of the data files.

2) Copy the first disc of the set into the appropriate subdirectory,
maintaining the directory structure of the CD. The root directory of
the CD will become the destination subdirectory.

2a) For the LDS options, copy the Intro directory from the Resource
File Viewer CD into the subdirectory created on the network.

3) Move the Title.cd file from the subdirectory root into the
directory containing the .nfo data files.

4) If a multi-disc set, copy the two large .nfo files and the .lcf
file from each cd into the network directory with the other .nfo
files.

5) Run the setup.exe for the data discs located on the first disc of
the title. This will update the registry on the computer where the
setup is run.

Note: The Resource File Viewer must have been previously installed
for the title installation to work properly.

6) Repeat the setup.exe process for each title to install.

7) Open the registry for the computer you are on.

8) Move to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Family History/Viewer key.

9) Change the CD Drive value to "Network".

10) Change the IntroLDS value to the full path name of the location
where the intro32.exe file has been installed. (i.e.
"L:\LDS\Intro\Intro32.exe")

11) For each title installed, open the subkey with the title name and
modify the DataPath value to include the full path (including drive
letter) to the .nfo files for the title on the network. (i.e.
"L:\Vital\British\VRI_BI98\")

12) Export the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Family History/Viewer key.

13) For each machine that has the Resource File Viewer already
installed on it, run the exported .reg file.

14) Modify the IntroLDS and DataPath values to reflect the user's
drive mappings.

The Resource File Viewer should now allow users access to the data
files hosted on the network. For further assistance, call technical
support as detailed in Help.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From what it says above, I "should" be able to install on my XP
computer, and have everything available from the hard drive, which
would make accessing the information much faster. AND, if I could get
the Viewer software to work on my WIn 7 pro machine, either native or
in XP mode, I'd have the ideal setup.

Next steps I think will be to sign on to LDS and do some checks to see
if it looks like all of the CD data is available on line. If they have
put all the CD data in their on-line database, there's no longer a
real advantage to the CDs, other than access would be faster.

[Denis Beauregard]

On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:52:54 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir
<inv...@invalid.com> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing:

>Next steps I think will be to sign on to LDS and do some checks to see
>if it looks like all of the CD data is available on line. If they have
>put all the CD data in their on-line database, there's no longer a
>real advantage to the CDs, other than access would be faster.

But familysearch.org is using the ancestry.com philosophy to deliver
much more data than needed. For example, you look for a couple where
the husband is born in 1850 and you will get records with more or less
similar couples (i.e. you can get 1 name out of 4) living in the
1700s.

So, if you are looking for some specific pattern, the CD could give
you a result closer to what you want even if the site has much more
data (it covers more places).

[Charlie Hoffpauir]

On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 10:10:17 -0500, Denis Beauregard
<denis.b-at-f...@fr.invalid> wrote:

>On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 08:52:54 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir
><inv...@invalid.com> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing:
>
>>Next steps I think will be to sign on to LDS and do some checks to see
>>if it looks like all of the CD data is available on line. If they have
>>put all the CD data in their on-line database, there's no longer a
>>real advantage to the CDs, other than access would be faster.
>
>But familysearch.org is using the ancestry.com philosophy to deliver
>much more data than needed. For example, you look for a couple where
>the husband is born in 1850 and you will get records with more or less
>similar couples (i.e. you can get 1 name out of 4) living in the
>1700s.
>
>So, if you are looking for some specific pattern, the CD could give
>you a result closer to what you want even if the site has much more
>data (it covers more places).
>
>
>Denis

Yes, I'm definitely seeing that. It looks like the CD data is there,
but it is taking longer to find it than using the CD. For now, I'm
thinking I'll just use the CDs on the XP computer to do all the
searching, and send only selected data over to my Win 7 for including
in my database. The Software installed on the XP will allow exporting
data in either a text file (RTF) or as a GEDCOM.

[Ian Goddard]

On 21/01/15 02:36, Steve Hayes wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Jan 2015 23:29:16 +0000, Ian Goddard <godd...@hotmail.co.uk>
> wrote:
>> In terms of using it, because it's on Linux I grep for a surname I'm
>> interested in and process the relatively small files which result.
>> There's then a fair amount of intensive editing to put the old-style
>> dates between January & Lady Day into new-style and to put in suitable
>> field dividers and then import into spreadsheets. It usually needs
>> further processing of the odd creatively formatted record but it's still
>> easier than typing in the equivalent printed transcript.
>
> Would AWK help with that?

Doubtfully. Here, for instance is a period of a month with nothing but
burials:

01 Apr 1558 Jacobus Brookesbanke de Croslande Fosse sepult
07 Apr 1558 Robertus Malyson adolescens sepult
09 Apr 1558 Margerea Beamount sepult
10 Apr 1558 Thomas Olfelde frater Antonii sepult
23 Apr 1558 Isabella Shaye f Gilberti sepult
27 Apr 1558 Cecilia Hyrste vid sepult
01 May 1558 Joannes Royse sacrificus de New Chaple sepult
Huddresfeldiae per me Robertum Stayntonum vicarium Almonburiae
01 May 1558 Margareta Hanson ux Ricardi sepult ad vesperas

We've go a straight name, Margerea Beamont & one with a locality, we've
got a couple with status, adolescens & vid, we've got a selection of
relationships. Joannes Royse combines a status, a locality & a
narrative whilst Margareta Hanson has a relationship and a brief
narrative. The relationships all give the surname for the subject but
this isn't universal whilst the localities here use "de" but in the
previous month there are baptisms with "off" and "in".

And shortly after these entries is:

26 Jul 1558 - 30 Jul 1558 Thomas Skamenden Robertus Radulphus
Dorothea Elizabeth filii eiusdem Thomae plaga moriebantur
imprimis Robertus f Thomae sepult 26 Jul 1558 sub hora
decima nocte per Wyllelmum fratrem et Beatricem sororem
eiusdem Roberti Radulphus sepult 27 Jul 1558 sub hora nona
nocte per prefatos Wyllelmum et Beatricem Thomas Skamenden et
Elizabeth f eius consepult 30 die sub hora nona nocte per
uxorem et prefatos filios scilicet Wyllelmum et Beatricem

[Ian Goddard]

On 21/01/15 16:05, Ian Goddard wrote:
> 01 Apr 1558 Jacobus Brookesbanke de Croslande Fosse sepult
> 07 Apr 1558 Robertus Malyson adolescens sepult
> 09 Apr 1558 Margerea Beamount sepult
> 10 Apr 1558 Thomas Olfelde frater Antonii sepult
> 23 Apr 1558 Isabella Shaye f Gilberti sepult

That nicely illustrates one of the problems with retrieving data from
odd sources. There was some odd character at the end of the Margerea
Beammount line. I'm not sure what it did to other readers but it
certainly added a lot of blank lines in Seamonkey.