Merging Databases with V1.214

[Keith Wilson]

Merging Databases with V1.214

These instructions are also included in the iFamily for Tiger Help

There are 3 Merge functions in iFamily for Tiger, two of them are menu options under File - Compare and Merge.

The third Merge function is as follows:

Assumption 1) Assume that we have two iFamily for Tiger databases, we will call them the Source database and the Target database.

Assumption 2) Assume that in the Target database you have Mary BROWN but she has no father.

Assumption 3) Assume that in the Source database you have John BROWN who would make a suitable father for Mary.


Step 1. Open both databases in iFamily for Tiger.

Step 2. In the Source database find John BROWN and select him in the diagram (he is now displayed in red).

Step 3. In the Target database make Mary BROWN the Focal Person in the diagram.

Step 4. In the Target database right click on the ghost box for Mary BROWN's father and a pop-up menu appears.

Step 5. In the pop-up menu select the one that says "Copy John BROWN from xxxxxxxx"

Step 6. If you want to copy John BROWN plus his ancestors then click on the button "Include Ancestors"

Step 7. You can now decide which of John's ancestors you really want to include.

Step 8. Press the Copy button. iFamily will first of all make a backup of the Target database - just in case. It will then add John BROWN as Mary's father and then add his selected ancestors to the Target model. You will get a report of what has been merged into the Target model - I suggest that you save it under a new name.

Step 9. Close the merge dialog and see what is now in the Target model. If you don't like it then you can Undo everything that was merged. Remember that there is still a backup of the Target model to revert to later.

Notes on Merging

If both databases contain imprecise information then merging the Family Trees can be very complicated.

The safest way to merge two databases is to ensure that the information in both database contains matches on FullName + BirthDate wherever possible.

Full Name + Birth Date can generally be relied upon to provide a fairly good unique identification of a person in a Family Tree containing less than 20,000 people.

There are permutations of all the above steps for merging a new person into the Target as a Child or as a Spouse.