1. Organizing and Protecting Your Digital Family History Files
Tales from Past Mistakes
Victor Horrell
Webmaster
Craven County Genealogical Society of NC

2. Craven County Genealogical Society North Carolina, Inc.
We meet on Second Tuesdays at 7:00pm
Church of LDS
September-June
Website:

3. After searching the internet and creating a Family Tree file-- Organize Your Source Data the Smart Way.

4. When you search the internet you will start to accumulate lots of digital files.
Family tree data illustrated in this slide is only the begriming.
You will also collect:
Death certificates
Census records
Draft Registrations
Marriage Certificates
ETC.
File Format is another big topic . Most media files downloaded will be JPEG or PDF and

5. Your collection of digital files will grow!
Documents
Photos
Videos
Voice Recordings-Interviews
PDFs
Spreadsheets
Note files-.doc, txt Most of these come in various formats.

6. Common Genealogy Files Downloaded will be:
JPG – Graphic files (Picasa will organize and edit)
PDF -Document
GED –Universal Family Tree file
Text or Copy and Paste

8. Use MS Explorer to Organize
Proficiency in MS Explorer is a must.
In Windows 7, create a new Library.
Group all of your Family History files together and put all family tree data in one folder.
Windows XP set up files under documents.
-”Family History” Folder or something similar
-Folders for each media type
-One of those should be your database file(s) for your genealogy software.
Point your software to the individual folder.

9. Screen Capture from MS Explorer

10. Backup-Backup-Backup
Many digital backup resources are available:
-CD/DVD
-External Hard Drive-Schedule software included.
-Zip Drives
-Cloud Storage-Mozy and Carbonite-Schedule included
-Some Virus Protection programs have scheduled backup features as does Windows 7.
Backups should include your program’s native format and GEDCOM format
Backup to your Family History and Backup subfolder.
Backup to a DVD-give copies to family members
Backup to a external hard drive or zip drive
Backup to cloud server-

11. Drag and drop folder(s) or a group of folders to your backup media.
Use zip files when space is limited (DVD or ZIP drives)
Backup program data files after any major work session.
Set up media files in alphabetical or RIN or any method that will work with many files Do as I say not as I did.
Backup Methods

12. For even more information on this topic go to this website for Legacy Family Tree, Training:

13. Questions ?