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Archiver > TMG > 2001-07 > 0995317048


From: George King <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Gedcom
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 16:57:28 -0400


Earlier today Carol asked:

>I am having trouble reading a gedcom. It has an acrobat reader icon on it
>and when it is opened I get an error message that the file does not
>contain the opening %PDF.

You said that you are trying to read a GEDCOM. A GEDCOM file name should
have the file extension .ged. Your note suggests that your computer may
"associate" the .ged file extension with an Adobe PDF format. That's not
correct. GEDCOM files are text files that you may open and view in WordPad,
Windows Write, or another simple ward processor. Another kind TMG-L member
has already described how to do this.

>Also although I have followed the instructions of making a temporary
>gedcom flag, Lop of target person and descendants, and then changing the
>gedcom to Y and checking spouses, for 3 generations I still am getting too
>many people. Although I can't read the file when you make a gedcom it
>tells you how many people. I should have 70 odd and I am getting 948! Any
>help will be appreciated.

A word of caution. If you use an LoP report with the focus of target person
and check descendants and spouses, you will get the target person and
his/her descendants and his/her spouses. Note that you will not get the
spouses of descendants, as they are not the spouses of your focus.

Another word of caution. Are you first using an LoP report to set a GEDCOM
flag to Y, then using another LoP report with a focus of GEDCOM flag
.equals. Y to generate the GEDCOM?? If so, you should always initialize or
reset the GEDCOM flag to some value other than Y as your first step in
creating the GEDCOM. This requires a simple LoP report with a focus of: All
People and a secondary output of: Change Flag GEDCOM to N, ?, or anything
other that Y. This makes your GEDCOM flag reusable. This is likely the
reason that you are getting so many person records in your GEDCOM.

I hope this has been helpful. This is a subject that frustrates many people.

George


George W King, Vice President
Edmund Rice (1638) Association
http://www.edmund-rice.org

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