Software

[Buzzy]

Hi ,as a new member I can only presume the the same Question as been asked before .apologises if it as been discussed before.
As I have been a win Pc person other the past using a old 2005 ver of Family Tree Maker which did meet my requirements , until I found I couldn’t retrieve or find my Data / photo that are stored in the Program ?? I have now been persuaded to buy a Mac , so could anybody recommend a Mac program that I will be able in the future to retrieve all the Doc/photo that are stored in the program. I don’t want to keep finding my info and start again inputting in to a new program because the software maker stops selling its product.
Thanks in Advance Buzzy

[kiterunner]

Welcome to the forum, Buzzy. I haven't heard of people having that problem with Family Tree Maker before, but it is always a good idea to take regular backups of your tree and store them on a memory stick or on the cloud or on a separate computer. I don't think anyone can guarantee what will happen in the future, but hopefully some Mac users on here can recommend something.

[Buzzy]

Thanks for your responce I do have a backup file which FTM generated but what I don’t is how to see what it has saved for example has it got all the photo and the copy of scans I have inputted into FTM how would I know what and where is all the data stored in the program .I did follow a suggestion on the Web but the Data folders they pointed to did not exist .
Thanks Buzzy

[kiterunner]

Have you still got the computer which you had FTM 2005 installed on? I think that when you installed it, you would have had the option of choosing where it stores its files so you may not have gone with the defaults. If you can import the backup file into FTM 2005 or a later version you will be able to see whether it has all the data. Also some other family tree programs will import directly from an FTM backup file.

[Buzzy]

Don’t have the original computer but still got a windows comp few years old,
Do you believe that the photo etc are stored in a folder in the program or are they hidden on the Comp.
Thanks Buzzy

[kiterunner]

Sorry. If only I had ever saved a photo in my Family Tree Maker I could probably find out where it gets stored.

[Mary from Italy]

Do you remember the name of any of the files containing photos? If so, you could search the old computer for the file name.

(I'm assuming you upload photos to FTM from your computer; like Kite, I've never done it myself, but that's how it works with another program I use.)

[Mary from Italy]

I've just had a look at my old copy of Family Tree Maker (FTM14); I'd quite forgotten that I'd added a few photos to my tree years ago, and I can see how it works now.

See if you can open your copy of FTM on your old computer.
The top line you see on the screen will be the name of your tree and your version of FTM. Click on Media in the second line (between People and Sources; it has an icon showing books alongside it).

Then click on Media in the 3rd line (between View and Tools), and then click the 1st item in that menu, which is "Add new media".

The program should automatically take you to the place where you have your tree. You may find your lost photos etc. in that folder.

If not, try uploading something from that folder to the tree, such as a photo. You do that by clicking on the file name, then on Open.

You're then given two alternatives:

- copy the file to the media folder for your tree

- leave the file where it is (link to the file without copying it).

If you choose the first option, it will save the file to a folder containing media such as photos and other documents for your tree.

To find out where that folder is, just look at the bottom right-hand side of the screen, and there'll be a link you can click to take you to that folder.

For example, mine is C:\Users\[mycomputername]\Documents\Family Tree Maker\[mytreename] Media

So somewhere in your computer there should be a folder containing the name of your tree followed by the word Media (so if your tree's called Buzzy, the folder will be called Buzzy Media).

If you can't find it, do a search of your computer for the word Media, and hopefully it'll turn up.

[Buzzy]

Thanks to Everybody for all your suggestions , after following your instructions couldn’t find a media folder anywhere I have come to the conclusion that the data is all compressed into the backup file but you can’t access the data photo etc,
I have come to the conclusion I will have to start again with the media but making sure the program I use on Mac has a Media storage area , haven’t decided on which program yet.

[benrymnd]

Try roots magic 9 find this is great and works like a dream on my mac running venture 13.3