Split database

 

To split off some people from a database into a smaller database, pick File from the main screen menu and then pick Split database.  The routine to split off part of a database is useful if you want to send information to another Brother's Keeper user.  Often, the other person is only interested in some of the information that you have, and this routine will let you pick certain people and create a new database of just those people.  For example, you may select all the ancestors of a person, or all the descendants of a person, or any combination of ancestors and descendants of several people.  The normal mode is to select people.  However, you can select a group and then press the de-select option and de-select some of the people you have selected.  For example, you could select everyone (using the range of numbers routine) and then press de-select and de-select all the descendants of one person. 

 

After selecting the people, pick the button that says "Copy" to copy the people to the new folder.  The program will run much faster if you create the new data files in a temporary sub folder on your hard disk as opposed to creating the new data files on a floppy.  

 

After creating the new database, you may pick File, Open database and open the new database.  (Before doing this, remember where your regular database is located so that you can return to it later.)  You may then copy the new database to a floppy (using File, Backup) to send to someone else.  If the other person uses a different genealogy program that can read GEDCOM files, then use the GEDCOM routine to create a GEDCOM file from the new data files and send the other person the GEDCOM file. 

 

This split routine creates a new set of Brother's Keeper data files.  It does not delete people from your existing database or change your existing database.  However, you could use the routine to in effect delete people.  You could select the people you want to keep and copy them to a new temporary folder.  Then, after you are sure you have the correct people, you could stop the program and COPY the data files from the new folder to your regular folder and then you would only be left with the people you selected to keep. 

 

When you split a database, if a person has an external text file or a picture file attached, the split program will create a file called BKSPLIT.LST with a list of the text files that you should copy to the new folder.  If you are sending your data files to someone else, you should copy those message files to the CD also.  If you are creating a gedcom file from the new split database, then those text files will still be included in the gedcom file.