-- Chip Griffin --
After some discussion with other users, we decided there needed to be a page dedicated to automated aids for the genealogist. Here it is. I will gladly host or link to your automation device if you provide me the information. Email me the link or the device itself and I will provide the access.
WARNING:These automation processes come with no guarantee.
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AppleScriptSince I am primarily a Mac user, my first section will be AppleScript (AS). AS is an environment which allows you to control some applications (if they support it). It is extremely handy for automating complex repetitive tasks. You can author your own scripts, all recent Mac OSes come with everything you need. Or you can utilize other people's scripts without any knowledge of how they are constructed. AppleScripts can be very powerful, and consequently can do a lot of damage. They can move, delete, or modify files. Use some caution with scripts from unknown sources as they can cause irreversible damage.
I use Reunion for my Genealogical work. It is not AppleScript savvy (as of version 6.02). But many of the other tools I use are. I use various text editors and HTML editors to create reports and web pages. Most of them are scriptable. Reunion generates excellent web reports (already HTML formatted). These reports may feature thousands of separate pages, even for a relatively modest sized database. AppleScript allows me to perform a handful of operation thousands of web pages with minimal effort (at least on my part).
What does it do?
It is a "drag and drop" application. You take one or more files and folders and you drop them upon the AS application. The application does two major functions. When it encounters a file, it processes it (what it does will be explained momentarily). When it encounters a folder, it effectively drops the entire contents onto the application. That causes the application to then go through the same two major functions on every item in every folder (hence the term recursive).
On each file it performs three major functions. First, it opens the file in BBEdit (not sure if it will work with the lite version). Then it runs three cleaner functions, one for each of three major WYSIWYG HTML editors (CyberStudio, Home Page, and PageMill). The cleaners correct some of the known quirks of these editors. Then it 'munges' all the occurrences of the "@" symbol. The reason for this, is to hopefully reduce the amount of junk email received as a result of robots surfing through the web pages. The hope is that without the "@" symbol it won't be able to recognize your email address and will pass right over it (rather than add you to it's spam list). Finally it does an HTML optimization. BBEdit has a function which removes all unnecessary characters from the file. There are a lot of white space characters that are added to make it easier to read without effecting the formatting in your browser. BBEdit removes these, thereby making a smaller, faster loading, file. Files which were successfully processed are marked by the second from the last label in the Labels control panel, the default color is green unless you've changed it. Folders in which all files were successfully processed will be similarly labeled.
What is required?
Mac OS, AppleScript, BBEdit, HTML files
Known Problems:
Unfortunately the program is not perfect. I've worked hard to eliminate the one major bug, but it seems to be beyond my realm of influence. The problem is that when you drop a folder (or recurse through) a folder with a significant number of files or folders (somewhere greater than 370) it encounters memory errors. The program will report the error and continue on with other files or folders which were passed to it (through dropping or recursion), after you acknowledge the error. If a folder is skipped, you can get the files within it processed by one of two methods. Method 1: open the folder, select all files (Command-A), drag and drop the selected files on the AS application. Method 2: open the folder, select a group of files, drag and drop the selected files on the AS application, repeat until all files are processed. With method 1 you will encounter the same error, but it will not occur until all the files are processed (therefore this is the quickest method).
The file...
Point of contact:
Chip
FileMaker ProA collection of FileMaker Pro databases related to genealogy.
This one, Resources, lets you keep an accessable list of people and places that you use, or can use to aquire information. I have left my collection on it, which is mostly Jewish resources, from when I was researching my Jewish line, just in case it might be of use to someone. The information is easily erased if you want to start with a blank database. 60K
What is it?
This is the first of a series of databases i've created in FileMaker Pro for the Mac. You can easily modify the database to work the way YOU want it to work.
The file...
Point of contact:
Steve
What is it?
EUROLINE: This is a basic time-line database that can easily be changed to whatever topic you choose. Indluded is some data for Europe. The sources are from my EndNote bibliography, if you need to know any of the source names, I'll be glad to supply them. <byars@eudoramail.com>
The file...
Point of contact:
Steve
What is it?
GENEALOGY LANGUAGE: This database is organized to gather words in foreign (to you) languages that you may need to know the definition of. More like a dictionary than the "Terms" database. Included are some words and phrases I collected, mostly from when I was doing Jewish research and didn't understand the language.
The file...
Point of contact:
Steve
What is it?
DOCUMENT DB: This is the database I use the most. Stripped down
The file...
Point of contact:
Steve
Links to other folks works that are on their own servers.
FolderUpdater has been updated to version 1.4.7. Designed as an aid for users of Leister Productions' outstanding Reunion genealogy software for Macintosh, FolderUpdater provides a convenient means of comparing a complete folder of Web Cards, including HTML files and images, to a pre-existing folder. It will copy files if they were not previously present or if their contents (not size) have changed. Version 1.4.7 changes the method by which it identifies Reunion's "Created by" date, so that users who customize using a Reunion Alt Resources file to create pages in a language other than English can still reap its benefits. There are no functionality changes from version 1.4.5 (1.4.6 was a beta release only). What's Different: The previous version looked specifically for the word "Created" in the same line with the word "Reunion" when seeking a "Created by" date. This would not work for any user who customized their copy with a Reunion Alt Resources file to change key words to a language other than English. This version uses a different technique, depending only on the word "Reunion" in the same line with "Macintosh" or "Leister" to identify a "Created by" date and discard it in comparing file contents. In addition, since Leister's system requirements for the new Reunion 7.0 include a Power Macintosh, I have decided to distribute separate 68K and PowerPC (PPC) versions. A complete description of FolderUpdater's functionality, as well as a detailed history of releases and associated changes, is contained in the Readme file included with the program. FolderUpdater (and any of my other programs) can be obtained at <http://homepage.mac.com/stevejackson/MacStuff.html>. - --
FolderUpdater 1.4.7
Steve W. Jackson
Montgomery, Alabama
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As other people send me other kinds of automation devices, I will add categories for them.
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This page copyrighted by Chip Griffin. For problems or comments send email to: webmaster at chipg.com
Chip's Recursive HTML Cleaner (SIT)