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Split Tree Helper: Delete Unwanted Data & Perform Other Tasks


Split Tree Helper


The Split Tree Helper is accessed by clicking Split Tree Helper on the File menu.

A common requirement is to split a project into smaller parts. The standard way of doing this is to first backup your project so that whatever happens, you won't lose any data; then make copies of your project or the GEDCOM file, and delete unwanted records from each copy. If you delete a particular set of records in one copy, and delete everything except that set in the other, you will have two versions of your project or GEDCOM file, and you will effectively have split it. If you made copies of the GEDCOM file, you can then import these GEDCOM files into two new projects (the advantage of initially making copies of your GEDCOM file, rather than the entire project, is that when you import each GEDCOM file into a new project, you can opt to import images that are referenced in the GEDCOM file at that point - and thereby control which images end up in which project).

The way you delete the unwanted records is to use the Split Tree Helper facility. Although designed to be used as part of the process of splitting projects, this facility can be used at any time, to delete unwanted records, and to perform other tasks - such as converting notes to plain text. However, it should be used with care, for obvious reasons.

Another common scenario is this: suppose a cousin of yours expresses interest in the research you have done on his side of the family, you might wish to send him a GEDCOM file containing only material that would be of interest to him. The easiest way to do that is to use the Export GEDCOM File dialog to export a copy of your file with selected records. It is possible that the options provided by that dialog might not be enough for your purposes. If you wish to delete more fields and/or records than you are able to do using the Export GEDCOM File dialog alone, one option is to use the Split Tree Helper dialog to delete further records and fields from that file.

To copy a Family Historian project, close the current project (click Close Project on the File menu).  The Project Window will open.  Select the project you wish to copy.  Click the More Tasks button and choose Copy Project.  To just copy the GEDCOM file, use the Save a GEDCOM File Copy facility on the File menu (under GEDCOM File Tasks).

Fields

Individual Records

You can opt to delete all Individual records found by a given query, all records not found by a given query, or no Individual records. An 'Individual query' is a query where the Query Type is 'Individual'. The Query Type is specified in the General tab of the Query Window. In an Individual query, every row in the Result Set corresponds to one Individual record. A given Individual record never has more than one row in the Result Set. The columns in a query show data relating to the Individual record - usually, tags belonging to it. When used as a means of identifying records to delete, however, the columns of a query are immaterial. It is useful to have a column which clearly identifies which Individual Record is in question; however, so that you can run the query and check before hand exactly which records will be deleted.

When installed, a sample query Relations - Simple List is provided as an example of a query you might want to use for deleting unwanted records. When run, it will prompt you for a 'root' person, and then find all the relatives of that root person. It only has one column, to identify the Individuals found.

As this example shows, some queries prompt you to specify details when they are run. If you have selected a query of this kind, the prompt dialog will appear when you click the ‘Delete’ button in the main dialog. You will be able to Cancel at this point, if you wish.

Tip: Use the Has Flag query to select records with a given flag. Use the Named List Members query to select members of a named list.
Other Records The Delete Unwanted Data facility will start with Individual records. Once it has done this, there may be other records, such as Source records or Media records, that no longer have any links to them. Depending on why you are splitting the tree, you may wish to consider deleting records if they have no links to them. In some cases you may even consider deleting all records of a given type.

Note: You never have to worry about deleting Family records, as Family Historian takes care of removing unused Family records automatically.

Tip: If some of the record types are not familiar to you, you can view them in the Records Window, by choosing the appropriate options from the Records Window Options dialog, which is available from the Tools menu.
Facts (events/attributes) As well as (or instead of) deleting entire records, you can also delete facts (that is, ‘events’ or ‘attributes’) within records. Family Historian allows you to specify that you want all of a given set of fact types to be deleted (e.g. ‘Census’) or all except a given set.
Notes

You can specify that you want all note fields within records to be deleted. This option does not affect the main note in a note record. If you want these to be deleted, choose “Delete all Note Records” in the Other Records area, above. If you choose “Delete all [[private]] notes”, any private notes in the current file will be deleted. This includes private text within the main note in Note records. To learn more about private notes and where they can be used, see Private Notes. Do not assume that if you choose the option "Delete all note fields within records" all private notes will be deleted. Private notes can be entered into some fields other than note fields - such as Address fields.

You can also opt to convert all notes to plain text.  Again, this affects all notes within the project.
Delete All Flags Tick ‘Delete All Flags’ to delete all flags in the file. To delete (clear) selected flags only, use Work with Named Lists and Flags on the Tools Menu.
Delete All Named Lists Tick ‘Delete All Named Lists’ to delete all named lists in the file. To empty selected lists only, use Work with Lists and Flags on the Tools Menu, or use the commands on the Lists Menu, when viewing Named Lists in the Records Window.