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Archiver > WHITNEY > 1997-09 > 0874124653


From: <>
Subject: Re: 8467 individuals
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 00:24:13 -0400 (EDT)


Dear Alice:

I, too, use PAF 3.0 and have yet to be able to open the complete file. I've
tried two different versions that Jon sent me - the first one had an error in
it that stopped the conversion process somewhere in the middle - I didn't
mark it down. The second one he sent ran into an error condition also, after
converting 7028 individual records and 1254 marriages/families. I had
thought that my computer, which was behaving somewhat strangely about that
time, (giving me General Protection Faults and [seemingly] randomly closing
out my modem in the middle of on-line sessions) might have "corrupted" the
file during the download process, but the second try also had the same
problem (although I cannot swear it was in the same place) and both
downloaded without interruption from AOL. I've basically decided to wait for
Whitny13, in the hopes that it will work with my programs. I really feel a
strong need for all the sourcing and notes, so am not going to try to take it
into PAF2.31.

I have appreciated all the various suggestions and posts on the subject. A
particular thanks to Debbie Stelmach for her explanation of the basis for
some of the problems, but even my increased understanding after reading her
explanation does not help me cope with the fact that my PAF3.0 stops dead
when it runs into the error and then quits the conversion process right
there, leaving out everything after that point. If it would skip over the
error, omitting whatever is there, and go on until it finds the next "good
data" and pick up and go on, I'd be perfectly happy with that result. I
don't think I want to take a file that is 2,183,766 bytes long and open it in
my word processor to hunt for a mistake that I probably wouldn't recognize
anyway.

For what it's worth, the PAF program, version 3.0 uses the Gedcom 5.5
standard, whatever that means - I think it is supposed to address the problem
of transfer of notes and sources. I really don't understand this problem,
and why it seems to be happening to so many of us. I do realize that we
probably have a minimum of 5 or 6 and probably more different genealogy
programs in use among the WRG, and that each of those probably has updates
periodically (PAF update was VERY long in coming - we waited several years!),
and so the problem of compatibility of GEDCOM standards will continue to
remain a complex one.

What has me most puzzled is that Jon sent me an advance copy of Whitny12 way
back in June before I left on my West Coast trip, and I downloaded it just
fine into PAF3.0 and have had no trouble with the material it included. Why
the later version that came out after all the more recent contributions had
been added now does not want to convert sucessfully is beyond my ken.

Please, I hope that no one takes these postings as a criticism of Jon Aston.
There is absolutely no way he can be held responsible for technical problems
like these. He is using a relatively recent version of probably the most
popular genealogy program, one that does have reasonably frequent upgrades,
and he is making every effort to accommodate everyone else's problems. I,
for one, really appreciate the tremendous contribution he makes and hope
everyone else does too.

Happy Hunting to all!

Allan
GENEALOGICAL TRUTHS! "The census taker with the clear handwriting and the
good ink never enumerated my/our ancestors."

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