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Archiver > TMG > 2000-05 > 0957185211


From: "Terrence W. Reigel" <>
Subject: [TMG-L:] Re: TMG-L: GEDCOM for Rootsweb
Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 08:46:51 -0400
References: <90.3afa3ca.263da9d7@aol.com> <4.1.20000430220859.00a1d4c0@pop.mis.net>


Perhaps a bit of clarification on how the WorldConnect update process works would
help here. WorldConnect gives the submitter essentially complete control of their
file. The way it does that is that each file you submit completely replaces the
previous one you sent. This means that when you send an update, you don't just
add new data on people previously submitted, or just send the new people you want
to add. Instead, you need to re-submit everything that you have previously
posted, unless you want to remove that information. Any thing that you do not
re-submit is removed when you send a new file. (see "fine print" at the bottom of
this note).

Lee Hoffman/KY wrote:

>
> Terrence W. Reigel wrote:
> >First, you should create a flag to mark the names you are going to
> include. The
> >reason for using a special flag are several -- I don't believe you can get
> >exactly the group you want without one; it makes it easy to see who is
> going to
> >be included and to manually add or remove someone from the list; and
> having one
> >makes it very easy to create a new Gedcom when you want to update your
> >WorldConnect listing.
>
> I agree that the Custom Flag is probably the way to go. But depending on
> the makeup of the desired group, you _may_ be able to create a GEDCOM (or
> other export method) file that contains the person that you want. The more
> complex the group, the more like you will want to use a Custom Flag.

I believe for this application one does want to create the flag in any case,
because it gives you a running record of who you have posted to the website, and
makes updates easy. And I don't think the group mentioned by the questioner could
be done without it.

> >the Custom Report Writer. Open Custom Report Writer, and open a List of All
> >People report.
>
> Just nit-picking here - the report type is List of People.

Not on my copy of TMG (ver 4.0) - the original name was "List of All People".
Perhaps it was different in other versions. I agree that could be a bit
misleading, but it is the name on the list on my copy.

> > 2- Run the List of All People report again, with a different filter.
>
> If you will be creating later submissions as updates (and you should do
> so), keep the first Report Definition and create a second (or more as
> needed). Name each so that you will know what the report does later. This
> allows you to quickly re-do the GEDCOM as desired.

You don't need to save the report definition -- that's the beauty of using a
custom flag. You can re-create the Gedcom using the flag without going through
the work of redefining the list every time. Plus, having the flag always there
makes it easy to add or delete a few people at any time -- say when you are
satisfied that you have researched someone enough that you are ready to add them
to your next update.


> >At any future time if you want to change who appears on your WorldConnect
> page,
> >you just change the flags for the appropriate people, generate a new Gedcom,
> >and submit it.
>
> If multiple submissions are made using essentially the same makeup of
> people using different beginning persons, you can often use the same Report
> Definitions for each submisions with only minor changes. The first change
> that I would recommend is that on the first List of People report, enter
> the Value of "[?]" (no quotes) instead of an ID#. Then when you generate
> the report, TMG will ask for the ID# and you won't have to change the
> filter. The second change is that you may want to create a List of People
> report to "reset" the WORLDCONN Flag to N in preparation for future uses.

Remember that when you submit a new file to WorldConnect it completely replaces
your previous one. That's why you keep the WORLDCONN flag permanently, and never
reset it to N (unless you actually do want to remove everyone and start with a
completely fresh set of people). Instead you would normally "fine-tune" your list
by changing the flags for a few people to add or delete them as you see the need.
Or, you might use the List of All People report with a new filter to add a new
line, but you would not normally want to reset the flag to N because you would
then be removing the people you had previously posted.

One additional item. My original post mentioned using the features of TMG or
WorldConnect to filter what information is posted on living people. Another, more
conservative, approach is to make sure the WORLDCONN flag is set to N for all
living people, and they will not appear at all.

The "Fine Print" -- Having made that blanket statement at the start, let me put
in a small caveat. WorldConnect does allow you to sign up for more than one ID.
So, if you have a very large file to submit, you might want to create several
IDs, say one for each major family line. Then you could update that line only,
without having to re-sent everybody in a single file. If one did that, I'd
suggest creating separate "WORLDCONN" flags for each line. But this would create
complications with any connections between the files. Most people should ignore
this paragraph and do everything as described before.

Terry Reigel

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