Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

[Janet Crosby]

added over 15 years, into 2 trees (maternal & paternal lines) with definitely correct and solidly researched people is my intent.

Following the Help menu is very challenging and leads me from one question to another to another as I try remember or write down the instructions for each step. So I'm pretty discouraged. I know I need to Mark and Prune and make Gedcoms. And then?? For months I've tried and am unable to figure a way through. Is there a way in Reunion for a right-brain computer-user to succeed? Or should I get this much done and transfer to a less elegant, but simpler genealogy database?

[Dennis J. Cunniff]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

added over 15 years, into 2 trees (maternal & paternal lines) with definitely correct and solidly researched people is my intent.

Following the Help menu is very challenging and leads me from one question to another to another as I try remember or write down the instructions for each step. So I'm pretty discouraged. I know I need to Mark and Prune and make Gedcoms. And then?? For months I've tried and am unable to figure a way through. Is there a way in Reunion for a right-brain computer-user to succeed? Or should I get this much done and transfer to a less elegant, but simpler genealogy database?

As always with these questions, I wonder why you want to do this; I suppose there are good reasons (e.g., sharing with people who are not in the least bit interested in the people you want to prune.)

Anyway, all you have to do is:
[1] mark all the people you want to share in the first file
[2] export marked people only to a 1st GEDCOM file
[3] unmark everyone; mark all the people you want to share in the second file
[4] export marked people only to a 2nd GEDCOM file.

You don't actually have to prune anyone in the sense of removing them from your file.

[Michael Talibard]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

Janet, as I see it, there are 2 questions here: the first is about splitting into two trees, paternal and maternal. This is not that difficult, but my advice (and that of many old hands in this forum) is don't do it. What for? The second question is about trimming what is not properly researched. This is well worth doing, but much trickier and harder work. If you are up for it, I think I would suggest starting all over again. Do you have a screen such that you could (legibly) put two Reunion familyfiles alongside each other, old and new?

[Janet Crosby]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

Janet, as I see it, there are 2 questions here: the first is about splitting into two trees, paternal and maternal. This is not that difficult, but my advice (and that of many old hands in this forum) is don't do it. What for? The second question is about trimming what is not properly researched. This is well worth doing, but much trickier and harder work. If you are up for it, I think I would suggest starting all over again. Do you have a screen such that you could (legibly) put two Reunion familyfiles alongside each other, old and new?

Thank you. I like the idea of starting over IF I can copy/cut/paste the good stuff. Is that possible?
I have 2 screens and use them for writing/editing Word docs.
How to I get my files/tree onto the second screen? Or, do I need to create another tree and then copy/cut/paste?
Or, . . . . . .?

[Janet Crosby]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

Thank you. I like the idea of starting over IF I can copy/cut/paste the good stuff. Is that possible?
I have 2 screens and use them for writing/editing Word docs.
How to I get my files/tree onto the second screen? Or, do I need to create another tree and then copy/cut/paste?
Or, . . . . . .?

Thank you. I like the idea of starting over IF I can copy/cut/paste the good stuff. Is that possible?
I have 2 screens and use them for writing/editing Word docs.
How to I get my files/tree onto the second screen? Or, do I need to create another tree and then copy/cut/paste?
Or, . . . . . .?
Today 04:28 AM

[Howard Fink]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

If you are going to continue using Reunion then I would recommend AGAINST exporting and importing GEDCOM files. This can result in some loss of information and/or formatting and settings - not because of any fault in the Reunion application, but because the GEDCOM format simply does not support everything that Reunion does.

Simple solution: duplicate your family file (either from the Finder or by exporting your complete or a marked subset as a Reunion Family File) and then make your removals in the new file. Do this twice if you want to make two different derivative files. Then simply remove each person/family as you come to them in the new file. If you ever make a mistake you always have your original file to go back and get them if necessary. All of your settings, sources, etc. will be exactly the same in each of your new files.

You can then take as much time as you like working on each of those new files.

[Tim Powys-Lybbe]

Re: Need very basic help: trimming tree of 3400 people

If you are going to continue using Reunion then I would recommend AGAINST exporting and importing GEDCOM files. This can result in some loss of information and/or formatting and settings - not because of any fault in the Reunion application, but because the GEDCOM format simply does not support everything that Reunion does.

Simple solution: duplicate your family file (either from the Finder or by exporting your complete or a marked subset as a Reunion Family File) and then make your removals in the new file. Do this twice if you want to make two different derivative files. Then simply remove each person/family as you come to them in the new file. If you ever make a mistake you always have your original file to go back and get them if necessary. All of your settings, sources, etc. will be exactly the same in each of your new files.

You can then take as much time as you like working on each of those new files.

Gosh, that is a massive amount of work and fraught with error as you copy things from one file to another. And I agree that Reunion should never transfer data by GEDCOM as all sorts of good features of Reunion can be lost.

My approach is to put everyone that is remotely connected all into one BIG file.

Then I fully support the earlier suggestion of doing some selections for whatever purpose and then Marking those people. Then any report or chart or book is restricted to the marked people only.

If you are going to make the same selection more than once, it is quicker to make and use a Flag to re-select that bunch of people. A favourite chart is All Executed Ancestors. I have made an Executed flag to permanently mark both all the executed people and the lines of descent I wish to show on the chart. So to remake the Chart I just select everyone with the Executed flag set and pus the button to get the right chart.

Another flag that could be useful is 'Incomplete Research'. Just set this flag for all the people whose research is not finished and needs to be excluded from your chart or report. Then select the people for the report and remove those whose Flag is set on Research Incomplete.

These are the features that Reunion has always had (ever since I started using it in the late 1990s) and make it so easy to report on and communicate precisely the people you need to include.

PS: lest you wonder, I have 44 executed ancestors.

PPS: You must keep lots of backups of your BIG file, one day it will get corrupted: Murphy's Law.