| < previous
> - < next > - < index >
- (4 of 15) - No Software |
|
| If your computer does not support software (no room, too slow, no
Windows, do not have a computer, . . .) you may still organize your genealogy on something
other that bits of paper with cumbersome relationship lines. You could print or
purchase pedigree charts and family group sheets and
place them in a notebook. This could become tiring, since an individual and their
statistics may be mentioned in many places and change as you learn. Libraries usually
have computers for public use so all you need is a 3.5" floppy disk to start your
genealogy work and that costs only a $1.00. By going this way or using some similar
route like a friend's or neighbor's computer, you could preserve that information that you
record on something that is transportable, and that can be E-mailed or snail mailed.
For other computer ideas see Start 105 - new window in the Class Notes - new
window.
By using "Notepad", which is resident on all computers using Windows or
"Edit" on DOS computers, you can create a text file that contains all of your
information that you can edit or print at any time using any computer. It is only a
temporary solution because your information will soon get too large and complex to handle
in that way, but these programs will handle files up to 64,000 characters each and you can
put 20 of those files on one floppy. The files can be named 001-050.txt,
051-100.txt, . . . where about 50 names, using 1,000 characters each, are in the each
file. That means you could have 1,000 names on each disk. That leaves room for
14,000 characters of expansion. The data would look something like:
|
001 Your
/Name/ - use ID number and /last name/ in slashes
birt - opens the birth data
date mm-dd-yyyy or dd mmm
yyyy - your birthdate
plac city, county, state,
country - your birth place
fath xxx - your father's number -
fath and moth are only for
moth xxx - your mother's number - your convenience in navigating
marr 002 - ID number of person
married to
date dd mmm yyyy -
marriage date
plac city, county, state,
country - mariage place
chil 003 - ID number of children
chil 004 - use these ID numbers to
easily find that person
chil 005
marr xxx - next spouse if there is any
chil xxx - children of that next marriage - and so on
note - opens the note record
This is where a comment on the source of the above information
can be found (like registration, bible, grave stone,
etc.),
a story about the person (where the person
lives/lived,
what they did, military record, etc.), and notes to
yourself
about where to look next or a question you have would
be
placed.
These are the notes for this person and are assumed
to
continue until the next person begins.
Therefore,
they MUST be in the last tag for the person and must
NEVER begin with a numeric.
The SEX tag MUST be given if the person is married,
so that the role of husband and wife may be
determined.
The FATH and MOTH tags are used for navigation in
this file format only and are not used when making
the GEDCOM file. But, they should NOT be used
to
replace the CHIL tag in the parents.
The MARR tag MUST precede the CHIL tag, else the
child will be considered as out of wedlock. The
marriage date and place needs only to appear on one
of the parents.
002 Your /Spouse/'s name
birt - opens the birth data
date dd mmm yyyy
plac city, county, state,
country
fath xxx - father's number
moth xxx - mother's number
marr 001 - you only need to show the
date and place once
deat - opens the death data
date dd mmm yyyy - death
date (only if deceased)
buri - opens the buried data
date dd mmm yyyy - date
inturred
plac plot, cemetery, city,
county, state, country
note - opens the note record
Well, you get the idea.
Just use the tags (bold words)
in either upper or lower case and spelled exactly as
shown. Indentation and blank lines are
optional.
003 Your first
child's /Name/ Jr. - suffix after last name
birt - opens the birth data
date dd mmm yyyy
plac city, county, state, country
fath 001 - father's number
moth 002
- mother's number
. . . etc.
|
| Bold text are required "tags" (exact
spelling) to identify information and red text are your data. Using this method, you can
record and organize a lot of data, show relationships, keep notes, etc. Since the
persons are numbered, there is no particular order except a sequence of numbers.
Just check the size of the file occasionally and start a new one when 50,000 characters
are reached. That leaves 14,000 for further editing/additions. Just be sure
to continue the number sequence. No information needs to be repeated since each
person is handled separately and referred to by a number. You can copy repeated
place names easily. You can show adoptions, and other complex relations in the same
format. The important thing is to GET WHAT
YOU KNOW RECORDED. See "Scanning"
(new window) in the Class Notes for methods to copy
material you find.
The above format can be easily converted to a GEDCOM (new
window) because of the way it is structured. Click here to download a simple (56K) DOS
based program, MakeGed.exe
(download), to do that conversion. This can be
placed on your data floppy to make a complete portable Genealogy package on one disk that
will run on ANY computer. A sample ASCII (3K text) file structured like the one
above is available for download as Sample.txt (new
window) - copy the page displayed using Ctrl/A and Ctrl/C and save in a text (.txt)
file using NotePad (Windows OS program) or Edit
(Windows OS - DOS program) and Ctrl/V to paste - a simple way is to
click on the dropdown menu "File" and select the item "Save
As"). Running the MakeGed (DOS program)
program should produce a file that looks like Sample.ged (download)
which can be viewed in GedView (new
window - Windows program), any genealogy program, and sent by
E-mail, so none of your work here will be lost or become effort for
nothing when you advance.
Since stepping from the above ASCII text file to a GEDCOM is so easy, just take the
next step to posting your GEDCOM (see Web Site - (new
window)) and you are on the Internet and your extended family can help provide
data. If you think your family is too complicated, please check "My Own
GrandPa" (new window).
Now that you have no excuse, what are you waiting for? |
|