Family Tree Maker 2011 - Splitting an All-in-One Tree

[Runnicus]

Hello everyone,
My All-in-One file in Family Tree Maker 2011 contains over 2,000 individuals. It wasn't a good idea to keep them all in one file and I now realise I have to split it into four separate branches.  However when I "Export", I have to individually select the persons.  I don't see how I can do this if I have an average of 500+ individuals to select because I can't hold in my head all the different surnames and which line they belong to.  Is there an easier way to split the file?
Very many thanks for any help.

[sunflower]

Hi

This is how I did mine

First create a descendant chart of the family you want to split up

right click on the individual at top of chart, then select from the drop down list,  I selected ' Select person & All descendants and spouses'  right click again on chart and click on export. You then have the option to export entire chart to a new file.

Hope that makes sense
Carol

[Runnicus]

Hello there,

A person after my own heart - I too had that thought.  But when I experimented and made three new files with the major options - "Select All Descendents and Spouses", "Select Person and All Relations" and "Select All", the results were rather odd.

My All-in-One file contains 2,187 individuals.  But what I know should be the largest file when exported contained only 212 persons.  And another snag is that if I want to make a SMITH Descendent Chart starting with the earliest known SMITH, it leaves out the earliest known BROWN member who was born before the earliest known SMITH.  But if I start the chart with the earliest known BROWN member it doesn't include all the Smiths.  It's a puzzle...

Thanks for your help,  I shall have to continue experimenting.  FYI: I phoned FTM in Dublin to be told "you can do that easily in FTM 2012".  I wonder if that's a standard answer - I wasn't impressed..

Thanks again.

[HarryW]

FYI: I phoned FTM in Dublin to be told "you can do that easily in FTM 2012".  I wonder if that's a standard answer - I wasn't impressed..

As far as I can see FTM 2012 doesn't have any additional functionality over FTM 2010 for carrying out this operation.

Harry

[sunflower]

Hi

Just another suggestion

create a gedcom for the Smith and another for the Browns and then merge them into a new Family tree file.

Carol

[falcybe]

Hello Runnicus,

You didn't explain why you thought it wasn't a good idea to keep your 2000 individuals in one tree. My sister and I prefer that way because we have found many lines and connections which would not have been obvious (or even possible to find) had we split.

All the FH programmes are based on 'databases' which means:
1- they are very good at showing lots of related information about families, see my introduction paragraph.
2-they are not very good at splitting trees into component families, whatever they boast. In fact you have to hold lots of information in your head or written down in an easily understood format should you wish to split. This is due to:
a-the fact that ancestors are so closely interwoven - where do you stop one family/group and start another?
b-cousins can pop up unexpectedly all over the place so if you split the tree, these cousins will have to be either repeated or annotated.
c-the programmes cannot decide who is closely related in one particular line, 100% of the time, human intervention is needed to make the fine decisions.

Having said all that, if you really wish to split then good luck but be prepared for lots of work.

cheers, falcybe

[Runnicus]

Hello Falcybe,

You've got it in a nutshell and have explained the problem far more succinctly than I could. 

It all began because I am putting 20-odd years of research into four illustrated books, currently on several Word documents, so that when I pop my clogs and the family chucks out the contents of the filing cabinet, their history and all my work is still there on CD or whatever format exists at that time and it won't matter (to them) if the paperwork has disappeared - the story will survive.

As part of that I wanted to create four charts that would take up only one or two pages in each book showing a single line from myself backwards through an average of seven single male (or female) ancestors, including the names of their spouses.

I couldn't find any way of doing this with FTM 2011 and my All-in-One file.  So I thought it might be easier if I split the file into smaller segments.  Har Har Har...  This is where we came in.

As you say, it's pretty much impossible.  Any ideas for my next step would be useful cos I'm stumped.  I'm even thinking of dumping FTM and getting a simpler software package if there is one out there.

All the best, Runnicus

[FearlessFred]

Runnicus

Have you tried a Relationship Chart? It almost does what you want - problem is the spouses are not included.

But FTM2012 will do exactly what you want. There is an option in the Descendant Chart to print a direct line chart between any two persons, with spouses included.

Fearless Fred

[falcybe]

Hello Runnicus,

I have done what you want in two different ways, if I have understood your seven ancestors and spouses correctly, in other words, without lots and lots of siblings coming to the party in each generation:

In Word (which will also work in OpenOfficeOrg writer) I have created two layouts:
1) Insert shapes - text boxes and moved them about the page. My layout here is awful but I'm not going to guess what you want.
2) Insert SmartArt - Hierarchy - Horizontal hierarchy
Have a play around with all the inserts that Word offers, if you have word.

Then in Legacy Deluxe (in other words, paid for) I have a chart going back seven generations (some off the page) just on the male side for the purposes of showing you how I saw your needs.

Legacy ordinary charts are pretty rubbish like all the free FH files I have seen (except the free PAF which is a tad better if I remember correctly. If you want to see this for yourself then you will have to find and download their free charts after downloading their free FH programme). And then of course you will have to make a gedcom in FTM and import it into PAF.