HELP - GEDCOM - IMPORT

*Importing a GEDCOM will erase any existing data in the workbook already.

RULES & LIMITATIONS:

1. Make sure the GEDCOM file is not open
2. No known limit on size - but only tested up to 14,000 people
3. Only names, birth, death, burial, baptism, marriage, and relationship details are imported - no sources or media.
4. Dates are imported as Text in this version due to the large variation of date formats and excel limitations. 
5. Convert GEDCOM to ANSI encoding so diacritical marks display properly in Excel

ANSI ENCODING:

Switching your GEDCOM file to "ANSI" encoding BEFORE importing allows diacritical marks (è) on names and places to display properly in Excel. 

You can open the GEDCOM file in a text editing software like "Notepad" or "Notepad++" and then save the file with ANSI encoding.

The following steps will show how to do this in the "NOTEPAD" program:

1. Right click on the GEDCOM file you want to import and choose "Open with" then select "Notepad" (A).
2. Once open, click on "File" in the top left corner then "Save As..." (B).
3. At the bottom of the "Save As" window - change the "Encoding" to "ANSI" (C).
4. Change the filename to reflect the new encoding if applicable (Optional) (D).
5. Press "Save" (E).
6. Close the file and Notepad.

 

IMPORT GEDCOM:

*Save any open files FIRST in case of an error

1. Click the "GEDCOM" button
2. Read then click "YES" on the prompt
3. Select the GEDCOM file you want to import
4. A prompt will display when finished
5. Manipulate and edit the data as you wish

 

LAYOUT:

1. Default headers will be in row 3 - keep them there to avoid errors
2. Each person will be given a unique ID which will be used in determining relationships
3. Multiple spouses are separated by line breaks in each cell*
4. Marriage facts that are not provided will be represented by an "X". This allows you to see missing items quickly AND keeps multiple spouse facts aligned.

*When you sort the data the rows will collapse hiding some of the spouses - best practice is to use the FIT option anytime you manipulate the data 

 

TROUBLESHOOTING:

There are 3 potential error messages. 

1. NOBODY FOUND = Likely chose a text file that was not a valid GEDCOM
2. ERROR = Valid GEDCOM but something went wrong during the process
3. VBA ERROR = Something else went wrong that wasn't accounted for

To resolve all (3) - try the following:

A. Close the file without saving 
B. Reopen the file
C. Retry the import process
B. Make sure a valid GEDCOM is selected and it is not open elsewhere
C. If the error continues - EMAIL me the GEDCOM your attempting to import along with the error message you received*

*Only my eyes will see the GEDCOM and I delete it as soon as the problem is resolved