FTM 5 second patch coming
Richard Scheimann
_______________________________________
Dear Family Tree Maker customers:
Software developers are in a unique situation. We develop and thoroughly
test our programs, but no matter how many thousands of hours we (and our
beta testers) invest in testing, when a new version is put into the hands
of thousands of customers, new problems are sometimes discovered. Those of
us who work on Family Tree Maker understand that ours is a unique product:
You, our valued customers, aren't playing a game with this program. You're
entrusting the software to hold and preserve your cherished family
memories. We take that responsibility very seriously, and we stand by that
commitment to protect your family data. While it's impossible to catch and
prevent every problem in the software, we have always said that we simply
won't stand for problems in our software that have the potential to harm
your data. If we find a problem that can pose a threat, even a remote one,
to your data, we act quickly and begin the process of identifying the
problem and determining the best way to correct it and provide you with a
fix. Please understand that we are always listening to your comments and
determining the most appropriate course of action.
We recently identified a problem with the Family File Checker with File
Fixer in Family Tree Maker versions 5.0/5.0a that could delete information
from your file in a very remote set of circumstances. I'm going to run
through the steps (but please don't try them yourself, just trust me that
this will harm your data) and then tell you an easy way to prevent this
from happening. This problem will occur if:
--You have a file from a previous version of Family Tree Maker, you open
the file in version 5.0/5.0a, then add new facts and a source-citation to
the new facts, or
--You create a new file in version 5.0/5.0a, add facts and attach a
source-citation to those facts, AND
--You choose "Copy/Export Family File..." and save the copy in the Family
Tree Maker version 4 for Windows file format, AND
--You open the file you saved in the version 4 format back into version
5.0/5.0a, AND
--You then run the Family File Checker with File Fixer in version 5.0/5.0a
In the Family File in which you ran the Family File Checker with File
Fixer, the source-citation for the fact will simply have an X in the
Footnote field. In the new Family File created by the Family File Checker
with File Fixer, the individual who met the above criteria will be deleted.
There is a simple way to avoid this from happening to you. Before you run
the Family File Checker with File Fixer, compact your file. This is done
from a Family Page by holding down the CTRL and ALT keys while you press
the letter "C" on your keyboard. After compacting the file, the Family File
Checker with File Fixer will run properly without harming any of your data.
While this is not a problem that many people will experience, we are
currently working on an update to prevent the possibility of this problem
ever occurring. The main reason we are creating this update is due to the
problem with the Family File Checker with File Fixer, but we are also
taking the opportunity to correct a few other known issues. The first is an
issue where information from a Text Item in a Family Book is duplicated
when it is saved or spell checked. The second change will be to the way
that information from Family Archive CD-ROMs is imported into a Family
File. On CDs like the Social Security Death Index, we are going to give you
the option to choose which pieces of information to bring in to your own
Family File and where they should go.
Once again it is my hope that our commitment to you and to the data you
entrust to Family Tree Maker is evident by our actions. We anticipate
making this update available to you by the end of September on our World
Wide Web site. At that point we will also begin the process of creating new
program installation CD-ROMs. We will then send a free replacement copy to
registered users of Family Tree Maker version 5 for Windows with addresses
in the U.S.
On behalf of the entire Family Tree Maker team, I'd like to thank you for
your continued loyalty and assure you that the safety of your family's
information is at the heart of everything we do. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Paul Burchfield
Broderbund Software
___________________________
Hope this is of use,
Linda Scheimann
Lesley Robertson
{Stuff from FTM about a new patch.}
>
> Once again it is my hope that our commitment to you and to the data you
> entrust to Family Tree Maker is evident by our actions. We anticipate
> making this update available to you by the end of September on our World
> Wide Web site. At that point we will also begin the process of creating new
> program installation CD-ROMs. We will then send a free replacement copy to
> registered users of Family Tree Maker version 5 for Windows with addresses
> in the U.S.
>
> On behalf of the entire Family Tree Maker team, I'd like to thank you for
> your continued loyalty and assure you that the safety of your family's
> information is at the heart of everything we do. If you have any questions,
> please feel free to contact me.
{sig. of Paul B.}
Ok Paul, here's a question from someone who's been pretty loyal up to
now - why this USA-ocentric attitude? Are your non-US registered
customers so much less valuable? I like FTM, but I'm beginning to
wonder how much the company values those of us who don't live in the US
- I only heard about the 5.0a patch on this group, not from FTM, despite
being a registered user.
Lesley Robertson
Paul Burchfield
The announcement of the 5.0a update was not made to U.S.-only customers.We
announced its availability on the ftmtech-l mailing list as well as on the
Family Tree Maker message boards at our World Wide Web site. For those who
contacted us directly with a report of any issue we corrected with the 5.0a
update was told of the availability of that update. Also, when the just
announced update is made available, we're also planning to send an email to
all those registered 5 users to make them aware of the update. And, because
the updates are small, downloading them from our Web site makes it easier
and quicker than sending new CDs.
--
Paul Burchfield, Broderbund Software
Visit us at:
www.familytreemaker.com
www.GenealogySiteFinder.com
www.GenealogyLibrary.com
Lesley Robertson wrote in message <35FAC1...@stm.tudelft.nl>...
<snip>
LabreAllen
mailing list as well as on the Family Tree Maker message boards at our World
Wide Web site.
Why not send this out as part of the monthly FTM newsletter as well so that
everyone will get it? I never heard of the ftmtech-l mailing list until today!
Sue Allen
(searching surnames Soens, Polakowski, Czerniak, Wodaszak, Verschaeve,
Baekelandt, Vanparijs)
Lesley Robertson
>
> Lesley,
>
> The announcement of the 5.0a update was not made to U.S.-only customers.
My point was that your announcement says "we'll be sending new cds to
all registered users in the US". The rest of us, if we see the
announcement, have to get it from the web site. Why not treat all of
your customers the same - either send them all new cds, or expect them
all to get it from the web site? What happens to registered users
outside the US who are not on line?
Lesley Robertson
Nick Spalding
> My point was that your announcement says "we'll be sending new cds to
> all registered users in the US". The rest of us, if we see the
> announcement, have to get it from the web site. Why not treat all of
> your customers the same - either send them all new cds, or expect them
> all to get it from the web site? What happens to registered users
> outside the US who are not on line?
Do you really want to wait 2 or 3 weeks for it?
Paul Burchfield
Distributing it online is the fastest way to do that.
--
Paul Burchfield, Broderbund Software
Visit us at:
www.familytreemaker.com
www.GenealogySiteFinder.com
www.GenealogyLibrary.com
LabreAllen wrote in message
<199809130143...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
<snip>
>Why not send this out as part of the monthly FTM newsletter as well so that
>everyone will get it? I never heard of the ftmtech-l mailing list until
today!
<snip>
Paul Burchfield
Distribution is not something I control. Clearly, the overwhelming majority
of those using Family Tree Maker are in the U.S. so sending those who have
registered their copies will get it into the hands of the largest group of
people. Also, a very large part of our registered customers (since they are
the only ones we know about) have access to the Internet so an email
reminder will get the news to those inside and outside of the U.S. As we
have in the past, if you are outside of the U.S., we will still send
registered 5.0 users on request, free of charge, the update on CD-ROM when
it does become available
--
Paul Burchfield, Broderbund Software
Visit us at:
www.familytreemaker.com
www.GenealogySiteFinder.com
www.GenealogyLibrary.com
Lesley Robertson wrote in message <35FB8B...@stm.tudelft.nl>...
>Paul Burchfield wrote:
>>
>> Lesley,
>>
>> The announcement of the 5.0a update was not made to U.S.-only customers.
>
>My point was that your announcement says "we'll be sending new cds to
>all registered users in the US". The rest of us, if we see the
>announcement, have to get it from the web site. Why not treat all of
>your customers the same - either send them all new cds, or expect them
>all to get it from the web site? What happens to registered users
>outside the US who are not on line?
>Lesley Robertson
Paul Burchfield
decided to create this new update (which I anticipate will be called 5.0b),
we decided to wait until 5.0b was done and to send that instead. It will
incorporate all of the changes and corrections we've added since version
5.0. And we'll also send email notification as well. And, if a registered
user outside of the U.S. received the email and wants a replacement CD,
we're more than happy to send it to them.
--
Paul Burchfield, Broderbund Software
Visit us at:
www.familytreemaker.com
www.GenealogySiteFinder.com
www.GenealogyLibrary.com
Eric J. Barnett wrote in message <35FDDE3A...@ix.netcom.com>...
the...@my-dejanews.com
l.a.ro...@stm.tudelft.nl wrote:
> Richard Scheimann wrote:
>
> {Stuff from FTM about a new patch.}
>
> >
> > Once again it is my hope that our commitment to you and to the data you
> > entrust to Family Tree Maker is evident by our actions. We anticipate
> > making this update available to you by the end of September on our World
> > Wide Web site. At that point we will also begin the process of creating new
> > program installation CD-ROMs. We will then send a free replacement copy to
> > registered users of Family Tree Maker version 5 for Windows with addresses
> > in the U.S.
> >
> > On behalf of the entire Family Tree Maker team, I'd like to thank you for
> > your continued loyalty and assure you that the safety of your family's
> > information is at the heart of everything we do. If you have any questions,
> > please feel free to contact me.
>
> {sig. of Paul B.}
>
> now - why this USA-ocentric attitude? Are your non-US registered
> customers so much less valuable? I like FTM, but I'm beginning to
> wonder how much the company values those of us who don't live in the US
> - I only heard about the 5.0a patch on this group, not from FTM, despite
> being a registered user.
> Lesley Robertson
>
When I complained to Broderbund that my program had an error which the
downloaded patch would not correct they sent me a new installation CD. The
only poblem is that it is exactly like the first one with the same error. Why
did not someone explain the above instead of sending another incorrect CD?
The error is in playing one of the scrapbooks. When the second picture opens
I get an error message saying that the program ha performed an illegal
operaton and will be shut down. It then freeze the system and I have to
reboot.
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Paul Burchfield
will have no effect. We post a list of what has changed so customers can see
what we have done. What exactly happens in your case? Can you make this
happen in a new file?
--
Paul Burchfield, Broderbund Software
Visit us at:
www.familytreemaker.com
www.GenealogySiteFinder.com
www.GenealogyLibrary.com
the...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message <6uc1il$iq6$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
<snip>