***For John Robertson*** John, I've read all this with great interest, and I fully understand the problem with FTM. If I did not have so much time invested in FTM I would go back to Brother's Keeper. Alas, the story of my life. I have BK and PAF on my computer. Here is my problem: when I attempt to open the downloaded info my FTM opens and of course will/can not handle the amount of info. I suspect somewhere along the line, maybe in version 5 of FTM, I selected it to be the default genealogy program on my computer. I attempted to go back to version 5 and change the default, however, the program prevents this. I have checked version 6 and there is no place to make this choice as V6 builds on V5. Suggestions please? How can I prevent FTM from opening as default genealogy program. any help from **anyone** will be greatly appreciated. I there is no other course I guess I'll go back to BK or maybe give PAF a try. My question about PAF: does LDS have a built in section that will allow them to enter my computer and collect the genealogy info? Many thanks for any help or suggestion. Sincerely Jim Allen. (Searching: ALLEN, BOYD, COCKERHAM, HILDRETH, HOLLINGSWORTH, PRATT, PALMER, ROBERDS. At 07:17 AM 8/29/00 -0400, you wrote: >>My apologies for not being more clear. I was referring specifically to the >>downloadable file, not the CD. >> > > >My experience (I've done all this numerous times) with the *downloadable >gedcom* is that it can be imported into practically *any* major Windows >genealogy program (except that it can *only* be imported into FTM by using >WinNT or Win2000), requiring from about an hour for Brothers Keeper to >about 10 hours for Legacy, with typical import times of 2 to 3 hours. It >is quicker by half to get it into Legacy by first importing it into PAF >4.0, then loading the PAF database into Legacy. > >This is exactly the process followed in making the cd. The gedcom is >downloaded exactly as any of you would do it (maybe a bit faster!). Then, >one at a time, this downloaded gedcom is imported into all the various >programs. For many, using the cd is like hiring a neighbor boy to mow >your lawn: you could do it yourself but prefer paying someone to do the >time-consuming work for you (but likely at a lower rate/hour than for >lawn-mowing!). For others, the cd is the only way they can succeed in >accessing the data (e.g., FTM users not caring to bite the bullet and buy >pricey Win2000 when they have no other need for it, or others simply >overwhelmed by the process.). > >Currently, it seems that at least 75% of those interested in the OPD d/b, >use FTM and are faced with the choice of (1) getting the cd, OR (2) >switching to another program such as free PAF 4.0 (for this purpose, if no >other). It is quite possible in PAF to split off a database containing >those of interest to you, and exporting a gedcom of a size (less than >200,000 or so persons) which *could* be imported into FTM in >Win95/98. But some would still prefer getting an occasional cd to the >commotion of doing all this. > >So, at least for now, both methods are still available. > >Mac users aren't so fortunate. The only way they can currently get their >hands on the gedcom is the re-assembled unzipped version of it included on >the cd. And then, for some inexplicable reason, the import seems to be >about 10 times slower. > >I hope this makes all this clear to everyone. > >John Robertson > > > > >==== SC-OLD-PENDLETON-DIST Mailing List ==== >Want to search for a surname in RootsWeb archives >http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl