I just noticed a problem in how TMG Name-Var imports into Legacy and RootsMagic via GEDCOM. For example, for Samuel Hubbard Levegood, his primary name in TMG is: Given Name=Samuel Hubbard Surname=Levegood But, he went by "Hubbard", so I also gave him the tag Name-Var, GivenName=Hubbard, without entering the surname. That works in TMG, because, as Terry Reigel says, "if you leave the given name or surname field blank in a non-primary name tag, the tag will pick up ("infer") the missing given name or surname from the primary name tags."[1] However, Legacy doesn't seem to make that inference. "Hubbard" appears in Legacy as an alternate name (without the surname), but in the Index and in the Name List, there is no entry of the form: Levegood, Hubbard. However, there is one in the index for "~, Hubbard" and in the Name List for "~ Hubbard" (the tilde signals that it is an alternate name) . To find empty Alt. Surnames in Legacy: Find/Detailed Search Tab Look for Whom? Individual Where to Look? Alt. Surname How to Look? Equal to What to look for? <BLANK> The RM import is similar to Legacy's. To find empty alternate surnames in RM: Search/Person List/Find/Surname/is blank. Make sure "Show alternate names in list" is checked. Alternate names appear with "+" to the left. I will wait for the direct import options to appear before making a decision about whether to add the surname in TMG or in my new software, whatever that turns out to be. Maybe the direct import will make the inference. Barbara [1] http://tmg.reigelridge.com/name-variations.htm -- Barbara Levergood levergood@att.net