Is there any way in FOW 9.2 to delete some unwanted data from "NOTES" without editing each individual item one at a time? I have received a LARGE GEDCOM file that I am trying to clean up. There are various alpha-numeric "Note" entries which are meaningless to me. For example, the "I1837:" listed below. These are on almost every person, though some of them also include "normal" text notes. 0 @I1835@ INDI 1 NAME Chris Payne /Richards/ 2 GIVN Chris Payne 2 SURN Richards 1 SEX M 1 NOTE 2 CONT 2 CONT I1837: 1 SOUR @S2@ 1 FAMC @F771@ Should I: 1. Search and delete the "NOTE" and corresponding "CONT" lines on those entries that contain only the unwanted item 2. Search and delete only the corresponding "CONT" line on those that have "normal" data that I want to save? Thanks for any help. David

Would the global search & replace option work for you? By the way, mine is not working right now--does anyone have a clue on that? Linda "Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

"David W. Dorsey" <ddorsey@mindspring.com> wrote: >Is there any way in FOW 9.2 to delete some unwanted data from "NOTES" >without editing each individual item one at a time? > ============= You could if all the unwanted data is all the same word or phrase in every note. The global search and replace in FO works in the notes and you could get rid of the same phrase wherever it occurred in any/all notes. I suspect that is not the case with you, though. ============= >I have received a LARGE GEDCOM file that I am trying to clean up. There are >various alpha-numeric "Note" entries which are meaningless to me. For >example, the "I1837:" listed below. These are on almost every person, though >some of them also include "normal" text notes. ============== The "I1837" looks like a person's record number that someone has transferred into the notes. They're probably all different for each person and do not match the present record numbers because the gedcom has been imported by FO and all records have been renumbered. There is no way to globally separate these bogus numbers from the real data either from within FO or in the gedcom file before you import. You're going to have to look at each one individually. The best you can do is in find, set up a manual search for notes that are not blank, or maybe that contain "I1", and look at each one individually to see what needs to be deleted. Every gedcom file needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb anyway, to insure that the data you import is correct and matches the format of your own data. There are no shortcuts to keeping your data pristine. Wayne League

Thanks Wayne, Alfred and Linda. Now I know what I'll be doing for the next week or so! David > >Is there any way in FOW 9.2 to delete some unwanted data from "NOTES" > >without editing each individual item one at a time?

You could import it into an temporary database and export a GEDCOM without the notes, unless there are some you want to keep. Still using the temporary database, use the Family Origins Explorer find function to fine any individual who’s general note, or fact note if it is that, is not blank, when it finds one, hit the edit button, the note button, erase it , hit the OK button and OK again then next to find the next individual with a note and do it again. Just who is individual 1837 and what relationship exists between 1837 and 1835? Maybe there is some connection that you might want to keep track of, or, it could be that the numbers aren’t the same after the transfer, and therefore are meaningless. Good Luck, Alfred ============== ----- Original Message ----- From: "David W. Dorsey" <ddorsey@mindspring.com> > Is there any way in FOW 9.2 to delete some unwanted data from "NOTES" > without editing each individual item one at a time? > > I have received a LARGE GEDCOM file that I am trying to clean up. There are > various alpha-numeric "Note" entries which are meaningless to me. For > example, the "I1837:" listed below. These are on almost every person, though ------SNIP------ > Thanks for any help. > > David >