FTM's new media sub-folders.

 

FTM Media sub-folders.

Users of FTM 2017/19 may notice sub-folders in the Tree Media Folder if they inspect it outside of FTM. These folders are "Darkroom Originals" and "Personal Profiles". While FTM does not directly support user created Sub-Folders in the Tree Media Folder, it does create and manage these two sub-folders as part of the program functions.

- Somewhat confusingly, these two functions handle image files differently.

The folder "Person Profiles" is created whenever you Crop a profile picture using the "Edit Profile Picture" function in FTM 2019. The Cropped image is saved in that folder and displayed in the tree views. The Original Picture is unmodified and retained in the Media Collection.

The folder "Darkroom Originals" is created whenever you use the Photo Darkroom function in FTM 2017/19 in the Media > Detail tab. In this case the Original Picture is saved in the Sub-Folder and the Modified Picture replaces it in the Media Collection.

Neither sub-folder is visible to the user in FTM. Since both sub-folders are located in the default media folder, they are also included with media in Manual Backups. There is really no reason to, but If you do use your OS file manager to look at these sub-folders be sure to not move or rename them or the files they contain. Otherwise FTM will loose track of where the originals are and the Recover Original part of these functions will no longer work.

BTW, it is not recommended for the user to create their own sub-folders in the Tree Media folder. The process to do so is not part of FTM and would require re-linking every image file involved. To Much Trouble in my opinion.

Edit

Add Photos/Videos

Moving FTM to a New Computer, (any version)

 

Moving your genealogy to a new computer is mostly straight forward.  The steps are:

1.  Find your FTM install file for your computer and operating system.  If you need to you can download one from the Software Mackiev FTM replacement Center. https://support.mackiev.com/962348-Getting-a-Replacement-Download-for-FTM-2019

2. If you are also Syncing your tree files with Ancestry, be sure to do one last Sync of each of the tree files on the old computer.

3. Install FTM on the new computer and check for updates, (a newly downloaded install file will be UpToDate).  It is unnecessary to have any prior version of FTM installed on the new computer.  All current versions install as standalone programs. If you wish, you can optionally upgrade FTM versions on new computer.  The new version will handle the old files.

4. On the Old computer using FTM, make new Manual Backup files for each of your trees; “Include Media” and “Allow Restore to Resume Sync”.  You will need to copy those backup files(*.ftmb) to the new computer using any convenient method.  Making Backups is covered in the Companion Guide

5.  As manual Backups include only media stored in the Tree Media folder, those stored in other locations will need to be copied and moved to the new computer separately. If you do not sync with Ancestry, an alternative is to Export your trees versus using Backups.  Export will collect ALL linked media and will, when restored, copy and link ALL to the new Media Folder.  Export does allow resuming sync after restore.

6.  While still on the old computer, review and if desired make screenshots of your current FTM Program Settings.  WIN- TOOLS> OPTIONS, MAC – PREFERENCES.  As the new install will return to program defaults, you’ll likely want to change those settings on the new computer to what you are used to seeing.

7.  Using the FTM on the new computer, do a File > Restore of each of the recent Backup Files for your Trees.  FTM will unbundle the tree data file and the associated media folder, putting them in the location set for “Default Directory for New Trees”.  Restoring backup is covered in Companion Guide

8.  Open each tree file in FTM then review and verify the tree for completeness. 

9.  If you find Missing Media, it is likely that those files were linked to a location other than the tree media folder on your old computer.  You can review the path where FTM was previously linked to those files, then copy them or their folder to the new computer.  Once those files are on the new computer you can use the FTM Find Missing Media tool from the Media Menu to relink them to your data.  The Find Missing Media tool is covered in Companion Guide

10. Be sure that the New FTM is logged into Ancestry and then verify that you are able to continue sync.  You may need to make a small change to trigger the need to sync.

11. Make new manual backups for each tree to collect and save any of your recent changes.

NOTE:

a. Auto backups are not usable to move to a new computer.  They do not include media and only backup the last opened file in each session so will be incomplete.

How FTM stores and keeps track of Media

How FTM stores and keeps track of Media

 As media files are added to Family Tree Maker (FTM), it maintains links to those media file’s location in two main ways.  COPY and LINK.

Let me start by reviewing a bit of the program's design.  FTM by default will create a default Media Folder for each Tree that is created.  This folder is named the same as the Tree Name but with the word Media appended.  This folder is created in the same folder as the tree file resides.  FTM uses relative addressing for this folder and the media within, so if that folder is ever renamed or moved away from the tree file, FTM will not be able to find the media it contains.  As long as the media folder and the tree file reside in the same folder on the hard drive, all is well.

As we add media into our trees, the program allows us to either COPY the media to the Media Folder or LINK to files located external to the program’s media folder.  The default setting upon install is Copy.  (That setting is in Tools > Options on Win and Preferences on Mac)

Many users wish to have Media named in a specific scheme and to store media in nested subfolders.  While FTM will allow that, there are several drawbacks.  
1. If those media files or their folders are moved or renamed FTM will lose track and declare them as “Missing Media”.  FTM provides a Find Missing Media Tool to assist in relocating and updating the links.
2. The program Backup function can be set to include media, but that only applies to the media stored in the tree’s default media folder. Upon restore, the media folder and the file it contained is recreated. However, Media stored externally are not included and they must be protected by another backup method.
3. If the tree is Exported it can also include media, that function will capture ALL media linked into FTM and put it in the Export file.  However, upon restore, all that media will be saved to the new default media folder and the links adjusted accordingly. The original name is retained, but the external links are not.
4. Moving FTM to a different computer is complicated when media are stored external to the default media folder.  Attempting to copy those folder, subfolders and files to a new computer will almost always result in them being in a different path than FTM is expecting because the new computer basic path structure is different. So, Find Missing Media will need to be run to update the links.

So, my conclusion has been that FTM is just happier having all linked media be stored in the default media folder.  For any media I want to be stored externally (for whatever reason) I rename and file them in my external folder structure as desired, but I also as I add them to FTM I allow it to Copy them so FTM has its own file in the media folder.

As an aside here, because Backup is the only function that can “Allow restore to resume sync), I have submitted feature requests to either add “collect all media” to Backup or to add “Allow restore to resume sync” to Export. If you agree or have a better idea, please submit your feedback to MacKiev using the Help Menu item.

People Workspace

Hint: There is more to the People Workspace than just the Tree and Person tabs.  

In the People - Tree Tab of course there is the Index which can be sorted to display different lists, the Center panel is the Tree itself, below that is the Family Group panel.  To the right is the person's Information Panel [AKA Editing Panel].  That panel displays selected facts about the individual.  We can Customize that View.  But wait, there's more.  In the Information Panel there are 5 tabs; Facts, Media, Notes, Weblinks and Tasks. If you have not explored those yet, you should.  The Media tab shows ALL the media for that person linked either to citations of to the person Directly.  Tasks entered under the Task tab are linked to the individual but still show up on the Plan Workspace Tasks area.

Switching to the Person Tab which has the Individual & Shared Facts panel, that displays ALL the facts you have collected for the selected person.  Below that is the Person Panel.  There you will see 4 tabs; Notes (Person & Research), Media. Weblinks, and Tasks.

The Media tab here shows the Media Linked directly to the person.  Weblinks and task work the same as the tree tab.  To the Right is another Information Panel.  This one displays information about the Selected Fact.  The Panel also has 4 tabs; Sources, Media and Notes.  These tabs are all related to the selected Fact.  The Media tab only displays media linked to Source Citations. 

Back to the Facts panel, there are three columns of numbers which indicate how many Sources, Media and Notes are linked to the selected fact.  Then there are three tabs at the Top bar of the Individual & Shared Facts panel; Facts, Timeline and Relationships.  Each changes the main panel to display relevant data for the selected person. 

Knowing what each of these tabs and panels displays will benefit you in using FTM.  As an example, if I am entering basic data for new persons, the Tree - Information Panel [Editing Panel] is very handy, but if I am looking to determine what Facts I have collected for a person I move to the Person - Facts panel.  Also if I am reviewing a person with lots of Media its easier to use the People/Person Media Tabs:  either the bottom Media panel if it is a photo or snapshot Or the Right Media panel the media is associated with a Fact.

I encourage all to explore all the displays that are available on the People Workspace and if you need more information on what all is there, just press F1 to see the Program Help page which explains each panel, icon and button.

Filters – Why should I care?

 

If you are like most Family Historians and Genealogists, when you start, it is all about the “Search” and the excitement of the “Finds”.  New Users of FTM typically concentrate on entering data, following Hints and merging data from the web.  But eventually, you are going to start asking questions of your data. Who served in a war? Who may be buried in a certain location?  Who are my 2^nd cousins? and the like.  

So, when that happens – Filters to the rescue!  

Filters and Publish go hand in hand to help answer those questions.  Filters help select people from your data who meet selected criteria.  The resultant list can be used to limit display to just those people in the Index, or as input to select Reports.  A Filter does not change your Data, it only limits the focus to those in the list.  Filters once created can be saved and reused.

At first glance, Filters may seem “geeky” or “complex” and that may be one reason many FTM users also put off learning about them.  While it is true that Filters are very powerful by creating and combining complex Logic Queries, they do not have to be so. 

The easiest place to learn to use Filters is on the Index using the Filter Button at the bottom of the index.  Clicking on Filter opens the “Filter Individuals” dialog.  In its simplest application, one only needs to select a focus person from the left panel, then click on one of the predefined criteria buttons, like “Ancestors” or “Descendants” of the focus person.  The Right-hand panel will show the list of selected individuals.  Then click “Apply” and the Index will now only show those individuals.  Back at the bottom of the Index we can remove the filter just by unchecking the Apply check box.  Again your data was not changed.

While you have a filter created, you can also choose to Name it, add a Color Code and/or save it for later use.  FTM 2019 Filters are “Smart” in that each time they are applied they rescan the data and include any new or changed individuals.  (a feature missing in FTM 2017 and earlier versions).

Included with FTM 2019 is a powerful Query Editor at the bottom half of that screen, here you can create and “stack” multiple queries to be use by the filter.

The main concept is to filter in the largest group, then filter out smaller groups until all that remain are the individuals you are looking for.  You do that with the “Filter-In” and “Filter-Out” buttons. Those also give you access to advanced Logic Queries. The use of Logic Queries requires a bit of study and experiment in understanding the options that are available to use.  (Things like Exists/Does Not Exist; Includes/Does Not Include; Is Blank/Is Not Blank, etc.). There are tons of help when it comes time to learn to use this more advanced part of Filters.

The purpose of this post is not to teach how to build complex query logic, but rather to introduce you to Filters themselves.  Learning on the Index gives direct positive feedback as to how your filter is working, and Remember No Data Is Harmed.  Once you have a filter you like, you can always use it to “Select Individuals” as input to Publish Reports

Play around and explore.  You’ll be glad you did. 

Basic Concept: To get something out of FTM is different than many other software programs. For Example, saving a report or chart actually just saves them in the FTM program, so you can run them again. We use the Share and/or Print icons (upper right) to actually make a output file, send to someone or print to paper. Check out each option available on both Icons they change depending on where you are in the program.

To make a copy of the Tree, we do not Save or Copy, we use either Export or Backup. Export is best used to share the output with someone else and Backup is best to save a restorable copy for yourself or to move the data to a new computer.

More can be learned about each operation by studying the Guides in this group or the FTM Help File.

 FTM Media Collection

Family Tree Maker shows media in numerous places within the program.  The primary place is in the Media Workspace on the Collection Tab.  All media added to the FTM tree will appear here and if highlighted will be shown in the Detail Tab.  The Collection can also be sorted by File Name or Caption.  That setting is in Tools > Options on Windows or Preferences on Mac.

In the Collection, the right hand Information Panel shows information about the highlighted media item depending on which of the three tabs you select there.  First tab is information, Second tab is Links and Third is Notes.

On the Detail Tab, you get the same information but all at one time.  Plus you get a larger Image and the ability to edit the actual image.  This is the location of the Photo Darkroom tool as well.

Media can also displayed on the People Workspace,

On the Tree Tab, the right hand information panel has a Media Tab (2nd tab).  That will display all media linked to the selected person directly or by Source Citation.

On the Person Tab, media is split between the right hand and bottom panel depending on how it is linked.
The bottom panel Media Tab shows items linked directly to the individual.
The right hand panel Media Tab shows items linked to the Fact selected in the center panel. 
If you do not see a Media Tab or a Notes Tab in the right hand panel, use the Options pull down to show them.  Or that is also a selection in the Tools > Options on Windows or Preferences on Mac.

One Media item can be selected as the Individual Profile Picture.  Right click on the silhouette and pick from existing media, or use the People > Person Menu to assign and manage the profile picture.

Using Media in Reports and Charts for the most part display the assigned Profile Picture.  Exceptions are in the Media Reports group.