Is there a way I can upload a new GEDCOM file and update a number of profiles that need updating?

Question

I uploaded my GEDCOM to WIkiTree some years ago.  I haven't been very active since but have spent a lot of time working on my family tree on Ancestry.com. Taking a detailed look at WikiTree today,  I am really impressed with how the site has grown and developed - it is obviously much more useful now than it was when I started.  I would like to update the information that I have uploaded to WikTree.  Is there an easy to do this in bulk (perhaps  by uploading a GEDCOM file), or is it necessary to work on each person one at a time?  Thanks.

Answer 1

Since your family members already have profiles, it is not a good idea to upload a new Gedcom just to "Update" the profiles.

You will end up having to reject all the new people because they already have matches on wikitree.

 It is actually a lot faster to copy and paste the BIO details into each profile. I find that it does not take me too long to update each profile.

Answer 2

The new WikiTree process for working with Gedcoms involves editing (or adding) each profile individually, and you can use it to edit existing profiles. I've used it (Gedcompare) to edit some profiles I had created earlier. If you have a lot of corrections, new information and sources for a person, Gedcompare may make it easier to bring the information into the profile. It also makes it easier to add profiles for additional ancestral siblings you may have added to your file since you imported your earlier. But often when I compare a profile from my current file with the existing profile in WikiTree, I find that there's nothing in the Gedcom file that deserves to be added to the profile, so I'll simply skip that person and move on to the next one.

I suggest that you upload a small Gedcom and use it to experiment with Gedcompare.

Answer 3

Yes Charles, it has been a few years since you uploaded that gedcom file.  Things have changed since then and the new gedcom utility is called GEDCOMpare.  A bit different than the old version.  Please take a look at this page to familiarize yourself with the new GEDCOMpare.

GEDCOMpare Usage Primer

It still needs a little work, but gives you the basics.  As you would be Editing existing Profiles, I would pay close attention to the pages listed there regarding   GEDCOMpare Biography Clean up, Editing and Sourcing so you can get a great Profile right off the bat.

And Ellen is right that smaller gedcom files work better for the user.  Easier to manage and maintain a sense of direction when working on it.

And Robynne is correct as well in many cases.  If you want to make additions to 10 to 20 of your Profiles, I would rather cut and paste.  But if you are talking 50 or more, I would look into a GEDCOM file upload.

The nice thing here is if you're using a GEDCOM file to only make Edits to existing Profiles and not creating new Profiles from new names in the list, you don't have to Confirm or Reject any Suggested Matches for those you don't care to work on.  Just go to the names you want and Confirm your file name to your existing Profile and Edit it to import the new data.  When done with all the names you want to work on, you can delete that GEDCOM file or within 60 days the system will automatically delete it.  No muss, no fuss.

If however, you plan on adding new names to create new Profiles, you will definitely need to read the Primer I supplied above.

I just lost power and am on battery back up.  Gotta go. Good luck.