Delete or Rename
This tool deletes data elements from a genealogy, or rename them. When renaming, you can even move data elements within the same entity.
Description
Terminology
- Your genealogy information is stored in a Gedcom file.
- In this file, each piece of information is stored in a data element called a Property. Example: Name, date of birth, place of marriage, etc.
- Each property is referenced by a tag. A tag is the name of the data element. See the page about the tags for more details. The tag is the last part of the tag path.
- Each tag has a unique address to be accessed which is called a tag path. This is the path from the entity to the data element. WHen data elements have the same tag path within the same entity, the tag path is suffixed by a unique sequence number.
Main tool panel
This tools is made of one panel only with everything you displayed on it.
Entities to be considered
These are the entity categories included in your genealogy. Your genealogy is stored in Ancestris as a Gedcom file hence you see the Gedcom categories of entities.
The "All categories" check box can be use to select or unselect them all.
You select a category to select the types of entities you want to delete or rename tags from.
Types of tags
All tags
Includes all existing tag paths of the selected entities.
Invalid tags
Specific Tag or Tagpath
Use this option to select tags or tag paths based on their name. That what you use to select User defined properties (e.g. starting with an underscore liske _SOSA, _MY_SELECTION).
Tags with empty values
Tags with asserted value
Tags with specific value
Tag paths found
This is the list of all tag paths matching the Entity and Tag type criteria.
Clicking on the list displayed the corresponding values in the right hand side table. You can select multiple lines.
Double-clicking on a tag path will paste it in the rename filed underneath.
Values found
This table shows all the properties of your genealogy corresponding to the selected tag path in the list.
The table can be sorted by the entity ID it belongs to, or by the value displayed.
For properties that have no value, the sub-tags are indicated.
Double-clicking on a row of the table displays the corresponding Enity and property in the Gedcom editor.
Action Buttons
Underneath the list and the table are the two possible actions that will apply on all the table items.
Rename action
What you rename is actually the whole tag path, not just the tag.
All properties appearing in the table, that correspond to the tag path selected, will be renamed using the new tag path you enter in the text field on the left hand side of the button.
- If you just change the tag, that is the last part of the tag path, the properties tag will be renamed. You may use it to change a christening to a birth (CHR into BIRT), or an event from FACT to EVEN, etc.
- If you change the path before the last tag, it ill actually move the properties inside their hosting entities. You may change from OBJE:TITL to OBJE:FILE:TITL for instance. Please note changing the root part of the tag path (i.e. the entity type, the first part) has no effect because Ancestris will rename the tag within the same entity.
A confirmation will be requested.
Delete action
The Delete action deletes the listed information displayed in the right-hand side table.
A confirmation will be requested.
Usage
The top 3 use case for using this tool are:
- Delete properties from you genealogy, such as empty or invalid tags for instance.
- Rename properties coming from a previously used software that are not Gedcom compliant and for which Ancestris could not convert during import.
- Move properties within the same entity. This could be usedful similarly when migraiting from another software which would use official Gedcom tags but at incorrect locations.
Start this tool using the Edit Menu > Delete.
Use the window from left to right.
- Select entities: select which entities you want to operate on.
- Select type of tags and enter relevant information: the tags the deletion or renaming will be limited to.
- Locate the tag path you are interested in. You can select multiple lines using the mouse.
- All corresponding properties will be added to the table on the right hand side.
- You can double-click on any of this property to display it in the editors, so you can see it in the context of your genealogy.
- Action
- In case of delete, directly press the Delete button.
- In case of rename or move, enter the new tag path all the selected tag path will have and press the Rename button.
- In either case, a confirmation will be asked, and a window will let you know when it is finished
- Completion
- At completion, a message is displayed to let you know it was successful or not.
- The output window will display the trace of the operation where you will see all the entities and properties impacted by the operation.
If you want to go back, press the Undo button on the toolbar or hit Ctrl + Z.
Example of Delete action
Select the tag path you want to delete.
In the window below, we select all entities, all tag paths, and choose INDI:NAME.
It shows 210 properties in the table list.
Let's press the Delete button.
A confirmation is asked.
Let's press OK. Ancestris tells us the operation was successful.
Then the Output window is shown to let you see what was deleted in detail.
Example of Rename action
Select the tag path you want to rename.
In the window below, we select all entities, all tag paths, and choose INDI:BIRT.
It shows 156 properties in the table list corresponding to a birth.
If we want to change the Birth events to Christening events, we type in INDI:CHR in the New tag path field.
Then we press the Rename button.
A confirmation is asked.
Let's press OK.
Then the Output window is shown to let you see what was renamed.
Customization
There is no customization of this tool.