Is there a way of deleting/removing records (185) that have not been added to the file yet?
Answers
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I am not sure of the terminology here but when I log in it takes me to the Upload Your Tree page. On that page it shows me my 2 uploaded Gedcom files with the option to "View". When I view the first one it takes me to "Already In Family Tree" with "Compare GEDCOM with Family Tree" at the top of the page. On the left hand side of the page it has a number of options one of which is "Add To Family Tree". It shows me 185 entries which I would like to remove because they are incomplete entries and not worth adding at this time although I still have them in my original GEDCOM.
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That view you are looking at is simply for comparison between your GEDCOM file records and the ones in the FS FamilyTree. Until you actually perform an "add to the tree", those records will just sit there waiting for you to do something. Although initially the software automatically categorizes your GEDCOM records into different categories, you can go in a alter those assignments.
"Add to Family tree" is just what the software could not find what it thinks is a duplicate in the tree and you have to go in and research it to determine if that record in your GEDCOM file truly does not already exist in the FSFT. Furthermore, the items in the "Already in Family Tree" group also needs to be scrutinized because the software makes mistakes and can link up inappropriate records.
The items in the "Potential Matches" group can be scrutinized as well. If the computer's guess has come up with what it thinks is a match, but you disagree, you can select the "Not a Match" function and that record will be moved into the "Add to Family Tree" group.
In any event, until you actually click on the "Add" button (or the "Update" button in the "Already in Family Tree" category), nothing gets modified in the FSFT.
Note that as the FSFT is evolved and changed by other users, that view you are looking at will not update to reflect those changes. If you have had a GEDCOM file that has been sitting there for a while, you might want to upload it again and run a new Compare on it. The view that you get is based on that single compare and the only way to update it is to do another upload of your file first.
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So, it sounds like the only way to get rid of them is to add them to the database and then delete them?
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No, that really would not be a good idea. In the FSFT, even though the term "Delete" is used for records, they are never actually "deleted". They are archived. Once a PID number is assigned, it is forever. Any PID that is "deleted" can always be returned to the FSFT. So doing what you are suggesting will just eat up PID numbers and fill the archive memory with trash records and change history documentation.
And if you forget to remove them or merge them away, it creates work that others have to do for you. Furthermore, it can cause the hints engine software to work less efficiently.
The PROPER way to handle this is to just never copy GEDCOM records into the FamilySearch FamilyTree if you have not vetted each one of them to some degree to each appropriate place in the FSFT. So when you compare your GEDCOM file contents with those of the FSFT's contents and you don't like the fact that many of the incomplete and unvetted records in your GEDCOM file shows up in the report with the suggestion that they need to be added to the FSFT, then you should just create GEDCOM files that do NOT include those records in the first place.
Note that because it is so easy to abuse the database with this tool (both wantonly as well as in ignorance), many patrons over the last several years have continuously pled with FS to remove the ability to load GEDCOM data from uploads directly into the tree. Because of the little to no "easy to find" documentation, many folks here have had to do cleanups of records from people carelessly loading unproven data into the tree. This especially applies to duplicates (or near duplicates). You need to carefully research what is in the tree first and the GEDCOM compare tool does not help you do that very well at all.
Whenever you add a new record or make a change to a record in the FSFT, you need to provide the justification through evidence (such as sources and notes) that the change you've made is more appropriate than what was already there in the FSFT. Although a simplistic way to do this is provided in the Compare tool, the ability to see and work with this type of information in your GEDCOM file and transfer it into the FSFT using the Compare tool does not currently exist.
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