Questions about backing up, restoring, and transferring your data:

* How do I backup my data?

* How do I import a GEDCOM file?

* How do I open backup files (*.zip)?

* How do I retain record numbers importing a GEDCOM file?

* How do I transfer data from one PC to another?

* Why am I getting the Error message "Backup not fully restored" (Vista)?

* Why are some of my Generations notes not importing (GEDCOM)

* Why do I get a "Burn Error" message when creating backup or Shareable CD?

* Still having problems?

How do I backup my data?

Backing up to CD
1 - Start RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Backup"
3 - Select "CD-ROM"
4 - Name the backup file
5 - Click "Begin Backup"
6 - Insert a blank CD in to your drive
7 - Click "Burn CD/DVD"

Backing up to you hard drive (floppy, memory stick etc)
1 - Start RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Backup"
3 - Select "Floppy disk, hard drive, USB drive, etc"
4 - Click "Begin backup"
5 - Name the backup file and choose a destination to save to
6 - Click "Save"

Saving backup files located on your hard drive to CD
1 - Open your CD burning software (eg Nero, Sonic easy CD)
2 - Insert blank CD
3 - Navigate to your backup file and add it to the selection (for details on this procedure please consult the help files for your CD burning software"
4 - Burn CD

How do I import a GEDCOM file?

1 - Start RootsMagic
2 - Click "File" - "Close" to close any open databases
3 - Click "File" - "Import" - "GEDCOM file..."
4 - Use the "Look in" box to navigate to where your GEDCOM file is kept
5 - Select the file and click "Open"
6 - When asked, click "Yes" to create a new database
7 - Choose a name for your new database and click "Save"
8 - Click "OK" for the database options
9 - Click "Begin import"

How do I open backup files (*.zip)?

To restore a backup file into RootsMagic you must do the following:
1 - Open RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Restore backup..."
3 - Click the top "Browse" button
4 - Navigate to where your backup file (*.zip) has been saved and press "Ok"
5 - Press "Begin restore"

How do I retain record numbers importing a GEDCOM file?

Import the GEDCOM into a new, empty database and check the box to keep original record numbers.
If you do not find a checkbox for "keep original record numbers" then edit the GEDCOM file SOUR tag to read RootsMagic e.g.
1 SOUR Legacy change to 1 SOUR RootsMagic

How do I transfer data from one PC to another?

There are two stages to this process. Stage 1 is to create a backup on CD or Memory stick. Stage 2 is to restore the backup on your new machine.

STAGE 1:

Backing up to CD
1 - Start RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Backup"
3 - Select "CD-ROM"
4 - Name the backup file
5 - Click "Begin Backup"
6 - Insert a blank CD in to your drive
7 - Click "Burn CD/DVD"

OR

Backing up to you hard drive (floppy, memory stick etc)
1 - Start RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Backup"
3 - Select "Floppy disk, hard drive, USB drive, etc"
4 - Click "Begin backup"
5 - Name the backup file and choose a destination to save to
6 - Click "Save"

STAGE 2:

To restore a backup file into RootsMagic you must do the following:
1 - Open RootsMagic
2 - Go to "File" - "Restore backup..."
3 - Click the top "Browse" button
4 - Navigate to where your backup file (*.zip) has been saved and press "Ok"
5 - Press "Begin restore"

Why am I getting the Error message "Backup not fully restored" (Vista)?

Vista does not allow backups to be restored to the Program Files folder or any of its sub directories. Try restoring to a different location.

Why are some of my Generations notes not importing (GEDCOM)

When you export notes from Generations they will go across if they were entered in the "Misc" notes section. If you created other notes or custom notes titles they would be saved in the GEDCOM file with non-standard tags. Therefore no other package would recognise these.

However, it is possible to get all of your facts to display in the general notes section of RootsMagic by changing the GEDCOM tag names.

Example:

1 NOTE @N25@
1 MILI @N27@
1 CSTM @N28@

The above is an example of a GEDCOM file from Generations. Line 1 relates to the "Misc" notes. Lines 2 and 3 relate to a military note and a custom note (that I created).

What you need to do is go through the GEDCOM file and change the tags for the notes so that they all appear as "NOTE". This will then force all of the notes to appear in the general notes section of RootsMagic (after importing the GEDCOM).

Using the above example, the final result should appear as follows:

1 NOTE @N25@
1 NOTE @N27@
1 NOTE @N28@

How do I increase the font size in RootsMagic (data entry screens)?

You cannot increase the font size in RootsMagic (apart from charts etc). You can change the font size for windows by doing the following.

1 - Go to "Start" - "Control panel"
2 - Click on "Display"
3 - When the "Display properties" box appears, click on "Settings" tab
4 - Click the advanced button
5 - Under "General" is a section for "Display", change the DPI setting
from 96dpi to
120dpi.
6 - Press ok

Why do I get a "Burn Error" message when creating backup or Shareable CD?

This usually occurs when the disk you have put into the drive is not blank. On some CD drives the previous data will not be overwritten therefore if you are using a CD/RW you will need to format it before creating a backup. If you are using CD/R you will need to insert a new blank disk.

Or

Use your CD burning software to manually burn the files to CD. The files for the shareable CD can be found in C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\RootsMagic\CDProg\ You will need to copy the entire contents of this folder to the CD.

Or

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03september16.mspx