GEDCOM Maze

[rdw1936]

Four or five years ago I was a genealogy enthusiast. Then I got busy and did not do much on the family tree. In those days a GEDCOM, I think, was a file of genealogical info that would work on either Windows, (poor dears) or Macs.

Now I go to the main page of my family site and there are pdf files--700+pages that could be typed into Reunion 8. Or Zip files that do not seem to be GEDCOM at all.

Have GEDCOMS changed. Are some now hostile to one or the other program? What about the CD's What I would like, is to be able to take someone elses very extensive work, and import it to my Reunion 8 and not have to retype everything.

Any ideas here?

Bob

[Mary Arthur]

Four or five years ago I was a genealogy enthusiast. Then I got busy and did not do much on the family tree. In those days a GEDCOM, I think, was a file of genealogical info that would work on either Windows, (poor dears) or Macs.

Now I go to the main page of my family site and there are pdf files--700+pages that could be typed into Reunion 8. Or Zip files that do not seem to be GEDCOM at all.

Have GEDCOMS changed. Are some now hostile to one or the other program? What about the CD's What I would like, is to be able to take someone elses very extensive work, and import it to my Reunion 8 and not have to retype everything.Dear Bob,

Gedcoms are still a midly inefficent way to transfer some data from one genealogy program to another.

Contact the person who did the research and ask them if they would let you use their data and send you a gedcom, being sure to site them as the source when you import the information to a new Reunion file. Then check all the information to see if it is correct, siting your own sources, and editing as necessary when compared to the pdf, then add your own information.

The reason many people post pdfs and other files is in the (IMHO vain) hope that their information will not be stolen.

It depends on what cds you are refering to - many are not Mac compatible.