Home > Technical Support > Importing Multi-floppy GEDCOM Files

When a GEDCOM file is saved across multiple floppy disks (usually using PAF), the program actually creates multiple files: one on the first floppy disk, another on the second, etc. The following instructions outline how to merge these multiple files into one GEDCOM file that can be imported into Family Tree Detective.

1. Click the Windows 95/98 Start button, select Programs, then MS-DOS Prompt. If you're in Windows 3.1, exit out of Windows to the DOS prompt.

2. At the prompt, type

   cd c:\

   The prompt should now look like this:

   C:\>

3. To create a directory named "gedcom" on the c: drive, type

   mkdir gedcom

   and then press the Enter key on the keyboard. This is where we will copy the files located on the floppy disks onto your hard disk.

4. Place the disk that contains first portion of the GEDCOM file you want to import into the floppy drive. At the prompt, type

   copy a:gedcom.ged c:\gedcom

   and then press Enter. This assumes that the letter "a" corresponds to your floppy drive and that the name of the file is "gedcom.ged." If this differs for your system, be sure to make the appropriate changes in the command line. For example, if your floppy drive is drive b and the name of your file is roberts.ged, you would type

   copy b:roberts.ged c:\gedcom

   When the computer's done copying the file, it should say 1 file(s) copied on the screen.

5. Insert the next floppy disk into your drive (the one that contains the next portion of the GEDCOM file you want to import). At the prompt, type

   copy a:gedcom.g00 c:\gedcom

   and then press Enter. Again this assumes that the letter "a" corresponds to your floppy drive and that "gedcom.g00" is the name of the continuation file on this disk. When the computers finished, it should say 1 file(s) copied on the screen.

6. Repeat step 6 for as many additional diskettes you have containing the GEDCOM data. If you don't know the name of the file on one of the floppy disks, type

   dir a:

   and then press Enter for a listing of its contents.

7. When you're finished copying all associated files from the floppy disks to the c:\gedcom directory, type

   dir c:\gedcom

   and then press Enter for a listing of the files in this directory. You should see all the files you copied in steps 5, 6, and 7 listed: gedcom.ged, gedcom.g00, etc. If you don't, follow the appropriate steps above to copy the missing file(s) to the c:\gedcom directory.

8. Once you have all the files copied to your hard drive in the directory specified above, change to the c:\gedcom directory. To do this, type

   cd c:\gedcom

   and then press Enter. Your prompt should look like this:

   c:\gedcom>

9. At the prompt, type

   copy gedcom.ged + gedcom.g00 + gedcom.g01 final.ged

   and then press Enter.

   Be sure that you list all the file names from each floppy disk. The example above assumes that there are three separate files making up a single GEDCOM file named "final.ged."

10. Once the prompt returns, type

    dir c:\gedcom

    and then press Enter. You should now see "final.ged" listed with the others. If you don't, you may have made a mistake. Make sure you typed everything exactly as you see it above: letter for letter, space for space.

    You have successfully merged the separate files into one file named "final.ged." You now want to import "final.ged" into Family Tree Detective. Refer to section 5.12 of this FAQ for instructions on importing a GEDCOM file.

    Once you're finished with the GEDCOM file, you can delete the c:\gedcom directory as well as its contents (assuming there isn't anything in there you want to keep).