Adrian, If you want to share data with individuals using different genealogy programs, it is best to test file transfers *during* data entry and avoid custom fields. PAF has one source field that is shorter than GED 5.5 standard. Other programs used the same field for lengthy source text though the standard was about three lines. Child-parent relationships are lost in all (or most) file transfers *or* may be changed from non-bio to bio relationships. It might be helpful to search for all non-bio relationships and remove them before a file transfer between genealogy programs. "Direct entry" of PAF 5 files by two other genealogy programs has issues with non-bio child-parent relationships. Advanced programs allow sources for name variations. PAF is limited to the main name without a source. Highly detailed source and repository data entry methods are known to cause file transfer problems. Custom GEDCOM tags with underlines are usually ignored by the importing program. Do you have any children attached to non-bio parents? PAF assumes that a child has the same relationship to two parents. If one or both bio parents remarried, the child might be attached to other marriages with a bio relationship or a non-bio relationship. One of the list participants kept the bio relationship for father's second marriage and non-bio relationship for the mother's second marriage in a PAF test file. Other Windows genealogy programs going back to 1993 have allowed children to be attached to one bio parent and second spouse and/or two bio parents and/or two non-bio parents -- always with individual child-parent relationships. -- Elizabeth ----- Original Message ----- From: "Adrian Gray" > I've recently composed a large file in my normal FH software, The Master > Genealogist. > However on beginning to send it round other people as a GEDCOM it became > apparent > that all sorts of funny things happened when it was opened. > > I installed PAF 5.0 to try to make it openable by as many people as > possible, and tried to > import said GEDCOM - result little flashing boxes telling me about errors > etc, so many > that it was obvious it would never import sensibly so I abandoned it. > > Next step - try to save as a PAF file from TMG and open in PAF. Easy! No! > I can save it > & get a file on my disc with the .paf suffix and the fetching little PAF > icon but when I try to > open it PAF simply closes down. No warning, no flashing boxes, it just > vanishes from the > screen as if I'd never opened it. > > The GEDCOM works in TMG and also opens in Legacy so this seems to either > be > problem with PAF or with something I am doing. As a new user I don't know > what, and I > can't find anything in the help file either.