I have subscribed to your list again and I have a problem. I have used FO since I started using computers and doing genealogy and I am up to the 9th version. In between the 9th ver. and the 2.0 I started with, I installed Family Tree Maker, ver. 5. The problem is when I try to import a gedcom into my FO the FTM jumps out and grabs it and puts it in its program. I only put FTM on my computer because my cousin has it and don't want to use anything else so I thought I'd put hers on. Would someone know how to "fix" my problem as I want FO to be the default genealogy program? Thanks ever so much, Echo Zornes

Echo, It sounds like you are using windows explorer to double-click on the gedcom file and then you are expecting FO to come to life and import the data. To my knowledge, FO doesn't work that way. Whenever I want to import a gedcom file into FO I simply start up FO then go to the menu bar, select FILE, GEDCOM, IMPORT GEDCOM, then follow the prompts for selecting and importing the gedcom file. I would recommend importing the gedcom file into an empty database first so you can examine the data, before importing it into your primary working database. Allan Plucinik Colorado Springs, CO Echo Zornes wrote: > > I have subscribed to your list again and I have a problem. I have used FO > since I started using computers and doing genealogy and I am up to the 9th > version. In between the 9th ver. and the 2.0 I started with, I installed > Family Tree Maker, ver. 5. The problem is when I try to import a gedcom > into my FO the FTM jumps out and grabs it and puts it in its program. I > only put FTM on my computer because my cousin has it and don't want to use > anything else so I thought I'd put hers on. Would someone know how to > "fix" my problem as I want FO to be the default genealogy program? > Thanks ever so much, > Echo Zornes > > ==== FAMILY-ORIGINS-USERS Mailing List ==== > Family Origins GenForum - http://genforum.genealogy.com/fo/ > Tech Support Knowledge Base http://www.familyorigins.com/support/ > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB

Some people are annoyed by the way FTM puts it's name and icon on a GEDCOM file, but It hurts nothing. The only way that Family Origins can use a GEDCOM is to import it from within Family Origins, using the file menu, GEDCOM - Import GEDCOM. You have to pull it into the program, you can not click on it and have Family Origins open it whether the FTM icon and name are on it or not. You *can* double click on a file with an FOW extension and Family Origins will open and load that database. But it won't with a GEDCOM. As Derick said, you can change the association, but it is a bit tricky, FTM will come back again if you delete it from the association list. You have to move it down and add the preferred link above it if I remember right. The icon and name do not hurt a thing, except that if you forget and double click on a GEDCOM file, it will open FTM and show you what is in it. All you have to do is close FTM. It does not hurt the GEDCOM file a bit. Good Luck, Alfred ================ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Echo Zornes" <echo70@oz.net> > I have subscribed to your list again and I have a problem. I have used FO > since I started using computers and doing genealogy and I am up to the 9th > version. In between the 9th ver. and the 2.0 I started with, I installed > Family Tree Maker, ver. 5. The problem is when I try to import a gedcom > into my FO the FTM jumps out and grabs it and puts it in its program. I > only put FTM on my computer because my cousin has it and don't want to use > anything else so I thought I'd put hers on. Would someone know how to > "fix" my problem as I want FO to be the default genealogy program? > Thanks ever so much, > Echo Zornes

Echo, There are a couple of possibilities.... First, do you still use FTM, even occasionally? If yes, the you need to know that even if you change the "association" in Windows to something other than FTM, FTM will "reset" that association to FTM every time you start up FTM. This has been a complaint about FTM for as long as I've known about the program. So changing the association will do nothing to help you with that problem. Second, you can still import any GEDCOM into FO from within FO. What is happening when FTM starts up and then loads the GEDCOM is that you are double clicking on the GEDCOM file from "My Computer" or Windows Explorer. You can't get a GEDCOM into FO using this technique. Third, if you still want to double click on the GEDCOM, and have some other program start (I have my computer set up to start MS Word and then load the GEDCOM into Word), there is a way to do that. On the possibility that this is what you want to do, I'll list the steps here: Open Windows Explorer and from the menu bar across the top, click on View Then click on Folder Options Then click on File Types Then scroll down the list until you find FTM GEDCOM File (Note, it will only be called this if you've run FTM on this computer) Highlight this and click on the button labeled Edit In the box labeled Actions there should be the word "Open" (we'll be adding another action by the following steps) Click on the box labeled New In the box that opens up enter START for the new action, and browse to enter the application used to perform the action. On my system this is what it looks like: "C:\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" Close this window, then highlight START and click the button labeled "Set Default" so this is the action normally performed when you double click on a file name. Close all windows and open Windows Explorer and test to make sure everything works as you expected. I hope this helps... Echo Zornes wrote: > > I have subscribed to your list again and I have a problem. I have used FO > since I started using computers and doing genealogy and I am up to the 9th > version. In between the 9th ver. and the 2.0 I started with, I installed > Family Tree Maker, ver. 5. The problem is when I try to import a gedcom > into my FO the FTM jumps out and grabs it and puts it in its program. I > only put FTM on my computer because my cousin has it and don't want to use > anything else so I thought I'd put hers on. Would someone know how to > "fix" my problem as I want FO to be the default genealogy program? > Thanks ever so much, > Echo Zornes -- Charlie Hoffpauir http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

Echo Zornes <echo70@oz.net> wrote: >The problem is when I try to import a gedcom >into my FO the FTM jumps out and grabs it and puts it in its program. Well, FO will not import a gedcom file from your double clicking on it, even if you did not have FTM on your computer. The way to import a gedcom file into FO is first open the FO program and then choose to import the gedcom file from the file menu or the tool bar. And as far as FTM claiming that gedcom files belong to it, you can ignore that, because it is not true and it doesn't mean anything. And if you want to stop FTM from importing the gedcom file into itself every time you double click on one and have your computer do something useful with the gedcom file instead when you double click on it, like opening it in your text editor, maybe, then go to your folder options, find the gedcom file type, leave the "open" action alone but add another with a different name and set up the program that you want to use it. Then set that new action to be the default instead of the "open" action. Fortunately, the hardheads at FTM have not made their program reset the default too. But if they do, you could still right click on the gedcom file and choose the action you set up for it. Every time you merely open the FTM program it is going to reconfigure the gedcom file type to claim the "open" action for itself and to "claim" that gedcom files are FTM files in the "type" column of windows explorer. There is nothing you can do about this, but it does not mean a thing. It does not interfere with FO's ability to import gedcom files in the slightest bit. Wayne League

Wayne League wrote: > <snip> > Every time you merely open the FTM program it is going to reconfigure > the gedcom file type to claim the "open" action for itself ... > If you follow the instructions at http://genforum.genealogy.com/using/messages/17980.html very carefully the change will be permanent until you change it again, unless maybe reinstalling FTM would change it back... never tried that. FTW GEDCOM will still be shown in the File Type box, however. My .ged files have been associated with EditPad for some time now and opening FTM has had no effect. I seem to remember that following the Windows instructions on changing associations did give the effect that Wayne describes, like something was omitted. Al