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Question Media Links Lost after importing GedCom

  • Ecki
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13 years 4 days ago #1 by Ecki
Hi,
I've just registered in this Forum and hope to get an answer for my question.
But first I would like to point out that webtrees is a great Program and you guys are doing a perfect job.

Well, to my point. I'm editing my Gedcom localy using Ages!. Inside Ages I don't create any Medias. In webtrees (latest Version) I have Photos and I'm using the Media Firewall. The Photos are linked to the Individualls. But each Time I upload a new Version of my Gedcom the Links from the Photos to the Individuals are gone. Playing with the Checkbox does not show any effect to me. Links are gone anyway if checked or not.

Maybe I'm still doing something wrong. I would be happy if you could get me a hint.

Thanks
Ecki

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  • ToyGuy
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13 years 4 days ago #2 by ToyGuy
Replied by ToyGuy on topic Re: Media Links Lost after importing GedCom
Welcome Ecki

Playing with the Checkbox does not show any effect to me. Links are gone anyway if checked or not.

Once they are gone, they are gone. You could only recover them by doing a restore.

So, the checkbox should make a big difference. You download your gedcom from webtrees, manipulate it with your other program (God only knows why as most of us have abandoned these crutches) and then export it for reimport into webtrees. Yes, click Keep Media Links and the previous ones you had should be retained.

Santa Stephen the Fabled Santa
Latest webtrees at MyArnolds.com
Hosted by webtreesonline.com , a division of GeneHosts LLC
MacOS 10.6.8, Apache 2.2+, PHP 5.4.16, MySQL 5.5.28

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13 years 4 days ago #3 by kiwi
Hi, and welcome to webtrees.

I guess I should start by recommending you stop using "ages" on you local machine. That's certainly the easiest answer :-)) Either don't bother working locally at all (that's what most of us have done), or install a local PC version of webtrees using virtual-server software such as XAMPP. Its amazingly easy, and then means if you do need to edit locally, its using the same product.

That said, we should also try and understand why your problem is happening. I'm not aware of "Ages", so we'll need to learn from scratch. Can you show us an example of your data (perhaps a single INDI record) both before you import it back into Ages (i.e. exactly as exported form webtrees) and after Ages has done what ever it does to it.

I suspect Ages may be deleting the links completely, in which case there may not be much you can do with it.

Also - did you "Export" your data to a fresh GEDCOM file in webtrees before you imported it into Ages? If not, then any media links you added within webtrees would not exist - all you have is the original file you imported into webtrees. webtrees does NOT keep that file synchronised as you make changes. Then when you import it back in again, it deletes all the changes you made.

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  • Ecki
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13 years 3 days ago #4 by Ecki
Hi Toyguy, Hi Kiwi,
incredible how fast the answer was there, In fact that could be a reason to abandon Ages ;)

Well I see the point and I could have come to it alone. I never exported anything from webtrees. I had my Original File in Ages and from time to time i just do an upload to webtrees. Revieweing you're comments i see why webtrees can't mantain the Links i made in webtrees. Understandable and logic of course.

Hmm, there won't be a workaround for that, I see. The Reason why I'm working mainly on Ages is that i can run it from a USB Stick which i can use everywhere. Also Ages uses some nice Diagrams which i find useful and i never found any other Software who could display that (webtrees also not, unfortunatly).
Another Reason I never switched compeltely is of course that Ages and webtrees are using some own ways to Describe the Wittness of Baptism, Marriage, Burial and so on. So Importing from Ages into Webtree makes some information unusable. While Importing from webtrees into Ages also makes some Information unusable.

I will create a Macro in Notepad++ to rewrite the Tags in may GedCom in both ways. Then I can Export from webtrees into Ages and vice versa. Then theoretically the Links should be mantained.

Well no "Solution-Button" but you're answer was quite helpful. I know now how to deal with it.
Thanks a lot
Ecki

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  • fisharebest
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13 years 3 days ago #5 by fisharebest
Replied by fisharebest on topic Re: Media Links Lost after importing GedCom
<<i can run it from a USB Stick which i can use everywhere>>

You can install XAMPP (apache/mysql/php) on a memory stick, and run webtrees everywhere

Greg Roach - greg@subaqua.co.uk - @fisharebest@phpc.social - fisharebest.webtrees.net

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  • ToyGuy
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13 years 3 days ago #6 by ToyGuy
Replied by ToyGuy on topic Re: Media Links Lost after importing GedCom
Ecki
Glad you may "see the light"!

I never switched compeltely is of course that Ages and webtrees are using some own ways to Describe the Wittness of Baptism, Marriage, Burial and so on.

webtrees follows the GEDCOM v5.5+ standard pretty literally and does very little to vary from it. I can not speak to Ages, but if you can provide us with more specifics, perhaps we can adapt the import routine to handle these variations as we have done we many other programs that 'distinguish' themselves with custom tags and strange formatting.

Santa Stephen the Fabled Santa
Latest webtrees at MyArnolds.com
Hosted by webtreesonline.com , a division of GeneHosts LLC
MacOS 10.6.8, Apache 2.2+, PHP 5.4.16, MySQL 5.5.28

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  • Ecki
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12 years 11 months ago #7 by Ecki
Hi Again,
sorry fo coming back so late with a reply.
Well first there is another reason to not abandon Ages. Ages also support a task list and store this in the Gedcom file. In my task list i have a couple of hundred tasks of which i have to keep track. So thats another point i do not move 100% to webtrees (at least for the time being)

BUT i found a simple way that the Links are mantained even if I never exported from webtrees to Ages!
In Ages i can add a Media and put a Hyper Link as Location. Then I upload the Photos on webtrees and Copy the Link of the foto. I add the Media in Ages and paste that link as Location. Voila - when importing this Gedcom into webtrees the Links are mantained ;)

@Toyguy, Ages stores the Witness in the following ways:
On every Type of Events that apply to an Individual it looks like this:
1 CHR
2 DATE 23 MAY 1976
2 PLAC Wiesbaden, Hessen, Deutschland
2 ADDR Kreuzkirche
2 _WTN @I10@
3 TYPE GODPARENT

other Sample:
1 BURI
2 DATE 24 DEC 1834
2 PLAC Biebesheim, Kreis Groß-Gerau, Hessen, Deutschland
2 _WTN @I92@
3 TYPE Zeuge der Bestattung

On every Type of Event that points to a Family it looks like this:
1 MARR
2 DATE 22 OCT 1878
2 PLAC Friedelshausen, Kreis Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Thüringen, Deutschland
2 _WTN @I430@
3 TYPE WITNESS_OF_MARRIAGE

So here a custom Tag _WTN is used while webtrees uses ASSO & RELA
Not sure if you can or will cover this but you have sample at least.

However, thanks a lot for thej support in thsi Forum. I appreciate it a lot.
And you guys are damn fast with the answers, Additionaly maybe someone else has use for my Individual solution of the Media Links. I image that other Programs also can store URL's as Link to the Photos and then it sould be possible in other Programms as well to just Paste the URL from the Mediathek.

Cheers
Ecki

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12 years 11 months ago #8 by ToyGuy
Replied by ToyGuy on topic Re: Media Links Lost after importing GedCom
Ecki
Looks like several other programs support _WTN and _WITN. We can certainly give consideration to handling the tag. It is not lost upon import into webtrees, but is simply ignored.

Please submit a New Feature Request for these tags of similar function. The standard says that, where an existing tag handles these events, a custom tag should not be created. Not sure why Ages and a few others went the custom route.

Santa Stephen the Fabled Santa
Latest webtrees at MyArnolds.com
Hosted by webtreesonline.com , a division of GeneHosts LLC
MacOS 10.6.8, Apache 2.2+, PHP 5.4.16, MySQL 5.5.28

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  • norwegian_sardines
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12 years 11 months ago #9 by norwegian_sardines
Replied by norwegian_sardines on topic Re: Media Links Lost after importing GedCom
@Ecki,

Welcome to webtrees (WT for short).

I'm not a developer on this project, however I've been involved in genealogy for a long long time. I'm also a programmer (not PHP or web), understand the GEDCOM rather well and have used many programs (written a few too) over the years to store my genealogy.

The GEDCOM standard was developed as a way to transfer genealogical information between programs. However, many software programs have created their own dialect of the GEDCOM. The differences introduced by these changes make the transfer of information back and forth (aka "round-tripping") very problematic and for some almost impossible. Also many programs use GEDCOM tags in ways that were not intended and this could cause issues with the receiver of the GEDCOM.

The topic of Round-tripping has been discussed several time on this forum and IHMO should be avoided because of the problems with GEDCOM dialect differences.

WT is very transportable on a memory stick using XAMPP, many of us have done this. You should also check out the reports and live family trees that are generated using WT and see if they are good substitutes for reports you see on your current desktop application.

If your main reason for using WT is to get your genealogy on the web but you are not going to actively use the collaboration aspects of WT (i.e. engage your known relatives to share information and to find new family members via you site) you are missing the best part of the project.

I am rather strict in the use of the GEDCOM tags and believe they should not be misused. If someone downloaded a "clipping" of your GEDCOM, a link in you PLACe tag could cause them problems and would also show up in any reports you run displaying Place.

These are just my opinions and do not reflect the opinions of the developers of WT.

This being said, everyone on this forum is happy to help you understand the project better and as you learn you will begin helping others. Remember, no one makes money on this project, they do it for fun and because it is useful to them and they all hope that it is useful to others as well.

Ken

Ken

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