GenMerge Product Usage
Using GenMerge is a matter of following a few easy steps.
Step 1. Select GEDCOM files.
In this first step you select each of the files you want to process. You have a file chooser to help you navigate through your file system to find the GEDCOM files you want to work with.
Step 2. Set Output Directory
Select output directory. When the GEDCOM files are processed a new GEDCOM file is produced for each with the merged results. These new files and all the output reports are generated in the output directory you choose.
Step 3. Check Setup
This step lets you review your file choices. Here is also where you have an opportunity to set system options that control how the reports and output files are generated. If all is correct, simply press next to analyze each GEDCOM file individually. During this step each gedcom file is reviewed for internal inconsistencies and duplicates are found and removed.
Step 4. Review Cleaning Results.
Here you have a set of reports for each file processed. For each GEDCOM file selected there is a series of reports that show the overall analysis, the duplicates merged, etc. If you find that there are problems with your data files, you can exit GenMerge now and fix them. Because GenMerge never overwrites any of the original data files, you can repeat the use of GenMerge as often as you like. You don't have to worry about losing any data.
For single files you are done! If you want to combine two or more files these are the steps.
Step 5. Choose Files to Merge
In this step you can select and deselect files to include. If you are merging several files into one file, you may also select the "main" file. The other files are considered to be merged into the main file and the New People report is prepared from the point of view of the main file.
Step 6. Choose the Merge Type. When processing multiple files you can select to merge all the files into one file, and give the result a file name. Or you can choose to merge the main file with each of the other files. This might be interesting if you are looking at different files that you have collected from relatives or the internet to see which files have overlap with your data and where that overlap occurs. The final option is to merge each file with each other file. This is used less often, but is very useful if you have a collection of GEDCOM files and are trying to figure out how they work together. When you press Next on this step the selected merge operation will take place. While the merging is processing you will see a progress box letting you know which operation is taking place.
Step 7. Review Merge Results.
Here you see the results of the merging process. The same set of reports is available for the final merged file that you saw for each individual file. Here you can review the set of duplcates found and any linking problems (high scoring failures and parent problems.) Any problems? Just fix your original data and try again! All the reports may be printed and saved for your reference.
