On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 23:03:14 GMT, Eagle@bellsouth.net (J. Hugh Sullivan) wrote: >On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 11:19:10 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir ><invalid@invalid.com> wrote: > >> >>Hugh, >> >>A question.... will Legacy allow you to do a search/replace like the >>Control-H feature in RM? If so, do a searh/replace on the given name >>field, searching for your " marks and replace with the | character (a >>vertical line found in the uppercase field above the \). > >Legacy allows search and replace but only for the categories they >allow - every fact field, I think. > >I trieh a "Hugh" (Given Name category) some time ago and it found >nothing to replace. I didn't see the ability to search and replace >quote marks. I'll look a little more. > >Thankee, > >Hugh If Legacy won't let you do the replacement in the given name field, then it gets more complicated, but still doable. In essence, you create the GEDCOM from Legacy with the names unchanged, then do the search/replace on the GEDCOM. The reason it's more difficult there is because then you have to write some sort of macro the do the replacement only on quote marks found in the name field. I did a few macros similar to that using Word to process the GEDCOMs generated by FTM back before RM wouldn't do the import directly.

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:48:58 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir <invalid@invalid.com> wrote: >On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 23:03:14 GMT, Eagle@bellsouth.net (J. Hugh >Sullivan) wrote: >>Legacy allows search and replace but only for the categories they >>allow - every fact field, I think. >> >>I trieh a "Hugh" (Given Name category) some time ago and it found >>nothing to replace. I didn't see the ability to search and replace >>quote marks. I'll look a little more. >> >>Thankee, >> >>Hugh > >If Legacy won't let you do the replacement in the given name field, >then it gets more complicated, but still doable. In essence, you >create the GEDCOM from Legacy with the names unchanged, then do the >search/replace on the GEDCOM. The reason it's more difficult there is >because then you have to write some sort of macro the do the >replacement only on quote marks found in the name field. I did a few >macros similar to that using Word to process the GEDCOMs generated by >FTM back before RM wouldn't do the import directly. I think that is the kind of thing that AWK is designed to do fairly easily and efficiently. I think if one knew enough about AWK (which I don't) one could develop quite a lot of useful routines for the manipulation of GEDCOM files. -- Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 08:19:55 +0200, Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote in soc.genealogy.computing: >On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:48:58 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir <invalid@invalid.com> >wrote: > >>If Legacy won't let you do the replacement in the given name field, >>then it gets more complicated, but still doable. In essence, you >>create the GEDCOM from Legacy with the names unchanged, then do the >>search/replace on the GEDCOM. The reason it's more difficult there is >>because then you have to write some sort of macro the do the >>replacement only on quote marks found in the name field. I did a few >>macros similar to that using Word to process the GEDCOMs generated by >>FTM back before RM wouldn't do the import directly. A less techie solution, but still using a GEDCOM file. Read your file with a spreadsheet (LibreOffice or Excel will do the job). Be sure to have all the file in ONE column. Add a column and enter numbers from 1 to the the number of lines in the file. In LibreOffice : Edit - Fill - Series Sort the file by the GEDCOM lines. Replace the fields you want to, as all the 1 NAME lines, for example, will be in a continuous group. Sort by line numbers to get the original order. Remove the column with line numbers. Save as GEDCOM. Denis -- Denis Beauregard - généalogiste émérite (FQSG) Les Français d'Amérique du Nord - www.francogene.com/genealogie--quebec/ French in North America before 1722 - www.francogene.com/quebec--genealogy/ Sur cédérom à 1780 - On CD-ROM to 1780

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:48:58 -0600, Charlie Hoffpauir <invalid@invalid.com> wrote: >If Legacy won't let you do the replacement in the given name field, >then it gets more complicated, but still doable. In essence, you >create the GEDCOM from Legacy with the names unchanged, then do the >search/replace on the GEDCOM. The reason it's more difficult there is >because then you have to write some sort of macro the do the >replacement only on quote marks found in the name field. I did a few >macros similar to that using Word to process the GEDCOMs generated by >FTM back before RM wouldn't do the import directly. I never needed macros to accomplish my purpose so I never got involved. A friend wrote macros 20 years ago to start checking stocks and voice report while he sat for coffee and breakfast. I got as far as the coffee and breakfast part. What might be even more interesting is to remove the quotes to export to RM and replace them to export back to Legacy. Bottom line I think the navigation of the family screen points me to Legacy. I have a Mensa friend who can do almost anything with programming. I might turn the problem over to him. He could probably solve the name source problem, too. But going through the routines everytime I wanted to switch between programs would get cumbersome. My conclusion is that there is no universal best. Meanwhile I will follow the exchange between you and Steve - I'm bound to learn something. Hugh