| Other Applications' Gedcom Extensions |
You are recommended to use the Load Where Possible option (the default), unless you have a good reason not to. The GEDCOM specification permits applications to extend it, and add their own custom fields. If you choose Load Where Possible, when you import a GEDCOM file into a new Family Historian project, Family Historian will load and incorporate into your project, all data stored in GEDCOM extensions used by other programs, that it recognises. Any GEDCOM extensions that Family Historian does not recognise will still be loaded, but will be saved as 'Unrecognised Data Fields' (UDFs). If you choose, Store Uncategorised, Family Historian will load all GEDCOM extensions, and will save all of them as UDFs. If you choose Exclude, all GEDCOM extensions created by other applications will be excluded. All three options are applicable not just to import, but also when you simply load a GEDCOM file. In this case, however, the Load Where Possible and Store Uncategorised options have the same effect - that is, to load GEDCOM extensions as UDFs. To view details of exactly how GEDCOM extensions are incorporated into your project, if you choose Load Where Possible, see the appropriate log file (log files can be accessed from the Windows menu). |
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| Exclude fields that are not valid for GEDCOM 5.5 | By default, Family Historian will load as much data from a GEDCOM file as it can. It can even load GEDCOM tags which are not valid for GEDCOM 5.5. If you wish it to ignore invalid GEDCOM tags, check this option. |
| Move invalid data into note fields where possible | Family Historian does not put invalid data into fields; but other applications may do. If this option is enabled, and a field is encountered which contains data that is not valid for that field, the data will be moved into a note 'subfield', if that is possible. If it isn't, a special 'Uncategorised Data Field' (UDF) will be created as a subfield to hold the data. If this option is not enabled, UDFs will always be used in these cases. |
| Accept Dates in Numeric Format | Some applications sometimes specify dates in GEDCOM using a numeric format - e.g. 3/12/1998. This is not valid GEDCOM. In the U.S.A. this date would probably be the 12th March, 1998. In the U.K. it would be December 3rd, 1998. If you want Family Historian to interpret these numeric dates as dates, choose one of the choices which tell Family Historian how to interpret numeric dates. For example, if you choose dd/mm/yyyy, Family Historian will interpret 3/12/1998 as 3rd December, 1998. If you choose mm/dd/yyyy, Family Historian will interpret it as 12th March, 1998. Choose 'No' if you do not want Family Historian to accept numeric dates. |
| Check date order of spouses, children & facts on import | If checked, when you import data into a new project, Family Historian will automatically ensure that all spouses, children and facts are in the correct date order. |
| Save using UTF-8 file format | If checked, GEDCOM files will be saved in UTF-8 format. Otherwise, they will be saved in UTF-16 format (the default). UTF-16 files are larger, but opening and saving UTF-16 files may be significantly faster - especially with large files. Some third party applications support UTF-8 only, which may be a reason for preferring it. There is no difference between UTF-8 and UTF-16 in terms of the actual content of data saved. Family Historian can read both UTF-16 and UTF-8 files and will automatically detect which format has been used when the file is opened. |
| Output Family records before Individual records | In GEDCOM, all records apart from the header and trailer, can be saved in any order. However, some applications expect Individual records to be saved before Family records, and some may expect the reverse. Family Historian outputs Individual records before Family records by default, but you can output them in the reverse order if you wish. In general, you are recommended to leave this option unchecked unless you have a good reason to do otherwise. |
| Re-output the Current File’s Header Record (this session only) | In general when Family Historian saves a GEDCOM file, it writes its own details in the header record. However, if you wish to use Family Historian to edit data belonging to another application, it may occasionally be advantageous to preserve the original header record. This option is deliberately not saved persistently, and consequently will always revert to the default (unchecked) at the start of each new session. |
| Automatic snapshot management | If enabled, Family Historian will automatically take periodic snapshots of your main project data file (that is, GEDCOM file). This provides an extra layer of protection against some possible problems that can occur, but should not be seen as a substitute for taking regular backups. Snapshots can be managed, and accessed, in the Snapshot Manager. |
| Enable Autosave | If you enable this option, Family Historian will automatically save any changes you make, every few minutes - you specify how many. Also, if 'Autosave on close' is checked, Family Historian will automatically save any changes when you close a project or exit (if the latter option is not checked, you will be prompted to save changes). |