> My interest is in Family History and to accomodate that I try to understand > every which-way of Family Origins but I have baulked at tangling with > GEDCOMS. It now seems that I have no choice but to get my feet wet so how > best can this be done without wading through the full GEDCOM spec (which I > assume is available somewhere? > You are not alone, but are missing the biggest tool for sharing data, both incoming from another and sending to interested reseachers. Here are some simple recommendations: Start out small - export (the term for writing a GEDCOM) one for your immdiate family, the import (the term for reading a GEDCOM) into a test database. Look at the results. Did everything get transferred? Did you get all the individuals you expected? Next review the LST file. This is the transaction and error file created during import. It will have the same name as your GEDCOM file. Example Test.ged is your GEDCOM, then the name will be Test.lst. Next, try downloading a GEDCOM from the Mormon site (http://www.familysearch.org/). It doesn't matter if the person picked is family or not, this is for learning. You could search for some of your family and may find something useful. Again, check your LST file. Now just expand the sizes and selection methods for creating files. The process is the same as for the reports. Add in GEDCOM's from different sources such as Legacy, PAF, and FTM for an understanding. Remember, each program "complies" to the standards, but the implementations are slightly different. Example PAF does not support Fact Notes and Sources - everything is a General Note and Source. Many utilities exist for "converting" GEDCOM's from one program to another. All they are really doing is taking the exceptions in the implementation from one program to another. Basically minor changes to the created file. For specific questions, feel free to ask the group for help. We all were at your point at one time. Dick