Brother's Keeper Software - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Brothers Keeper 6.5.17 Number Of People Discrepancy

MamesJartin — 2012-09-28 22:51:01Z

Hi All
I Have A BK Database Which Says On The Opening Screen It Has 15272 Names & 5153 Families in It - However When I Run The Unlinked Branches Routine It Says Number Of People 15257: Everyone In The Database Is In The Same Group.
I Was Wondering If Anyone would know why the two different numbers of People are stated...
Thanks

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

no2more — 2012-08-11 17:39:00Z

Yes, I believe it was around 1990, give a year or two, that I was using the Version #4. It was on a floppy and at that time you could store the data on a new floppy and keep the program seperate. That was ok, until you ran out of space on the floppy and then you had to install it on the hard drive. We have come a long way in genealogy software since those days, thank goodness. I am also grateful that we graduated from DOS to windows. Life on the computer is so much simplier now .............

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

b_levy — 2012-08-11 16:28:18Z

As I said, I started with BK for DOS in 1990 which came on HD 3.5" floppies. Don't know which version # it had. Over the years, Mr. Steed upgraded BK to a Windows version and kept enhancing it to 5.2G before starting on BK6.

Still, 5.2 is basically a DOS/Win 3.1 prog underneath which is why it doesn't run on 64-bit Windows -- which doesn't support the DOS command prompt window either which I use every day.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

no2more — 2012-08-11 15:10:32Z

Bernie
As I recall, and forgive me, my memory is not that good, but I believe there was an upgrade to the BK 5.2 program after the windows 3.1 that made it compatible with the newer Windows programs. I started out with the BK 4 programs and have upgraded with Mr. Steed along the way. I love his program, I love the price (reasonable) and now am enjoying the BK 6. It worked well with my vista and now the Windows 7 64 bit.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

b_levy — 2012-08-11 13:29:55Z

Right. I suspect that BK6 is true Windows compatible and therefore runs just fine on 64-bit while BK5 was Win-3.1 (which itself was based on DOS)-compatible and would not run on 64-bit.

I also run MYM (Managing Your Money) a DOS program and am glad that my laptop has Win 7 32-bit, and plan to stick with BK5.2G at least for the foreseeable future.

My other computers are XP and Vista 32-bit.

Bernie

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

no2more — 2012-08-11 11:23:07Z

I upgraded to BK 6 while still running my windows Vista and had no problems at all. At first I kept my BK 5 as well, because there were things I liked better about it, but in time, I found I had all that and more with BK 6. Three months ago I got a new computer with Windows 7- 64 bit. I expected problems changing from the 32 bit to 64 bit. It was one of the few programs on my computer that made the transition smoothly. Some of my Virus protections had more trouble in the transition then BK 6. I am very happy!!

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

b_levy — 2012-08-11 01:26:53Z

P.S. I forgot to mention that I also prefer 5.2G to 6.x, like many others have stated. I started with BK for DOS around 1990 and then went to 5.2. I have tried 6.x several times but it is too complex for my tastes and needs, and as well the migration is problematic.

Bernie

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows 7

b_levy — 2012-08-11 01:24:25Z

First off, why aren't there more recent posts on here. Most, esp. for BK 5.2G is from 2007 and is about running on Windows Vista. Only rare mention of Windows 7.

I am running BK 5.2G under Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. There are some issues (it doesn't display any changed info right away and have to go to someone else and then back to see changes) but otherwise runs well.

Note that I said 32-bit. I was fortunate to buy my laptop when Win 7 was new and mostly coming in the 32-bit variety.

Windows (or Vista or XP) 64-bit will NOT run DOS or Win 3.1 era programs natively, i.e you'd have to install an XP or other emulator to run the app under it.

Bernie

Re: How to create a GEDCOM from Brothers Keeper

judo53 — 2011-06-19 15:24:18Z

Thank you

Re: How to create a GEDCOM from Brothers Keeper

JamesWilsonCook — 2011-06-19 13:22:14Z

1. First step Go to "File". Click on it.
2. Select Gencom.Click on it.
3. Select export. Click on it.
4. Select All people. Click on it.
5. name the file you are making. type the name of the gencom you are making. press enter.
6. select save. press enter.

How to create a GEDCOM from Brothers Keeper

judo53 — 2011-04-21 14:12:14Z

I do not use Brothers Keeper but a cousin in NY does. He would like some help in updating his files, I have sent him a GEDCOM from FTM but apparently is having problems with it. So I asked him for a GEDCOM from his Brothers Keeper software, he does not know how to create one, any tips.

Also, he seems to only be able to send a PDF file of descendents report that is so confusing to read. I think the Registry Book report is what I need from him, how does he create that?

Re: out of stack space on Brothers Keeper?

Fulton_Underhay — 2010-11-01 02:48:28Z

Greetings,

I too am getting an "Out of Stack Space" error message on my new computer where I transferred my database of 136,000+ names to.

Must keep rooting,

TINY

Re: Win7

alan_h_kennedy — 2010-06-21 18:14:21Z

BK works fine on Windows 7. I'm running Windows 7 Professional and have no issues at all.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

AStew98946 — 2010-04-15 19:49:25Z

No, you helped quite a bit. You have given me several data points. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Andre

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

no2more — 2010-04-15 10:53:08Z

I have the UAC turned off. As the log in user, I am the Administrator - no other users on my computer. However, I am using Vista - 32 bit, and I see that you have the 64 bit. and that could be the difference.
The older version of BK 5.2 is not designed for the newer 64 bit. There may be a fix for that, but you would have to read the instructions for install.
Sorry, I can't help you - I have no knowledge in that department.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

AStew98946 — 2010-04-15 05:17:09Z

I'm running Vista Home Premium 64-bit and I can't even get the setup program to open.

Can you be a little more specific at how you performed the install?

Were you logged in as a normal user or with an Administrator account?

If you were logged in as a normal user, did you use the "Run as Administrator" option?

Do you have UAC on or off?

Did you use a compatibility mode setting?

Any other details you can provide would be great.

Win7

Delilah36 — 2010-02-25 21:23:31Z

Does anyone know if there is a way to use Brother's Keeper on Win7?

out of stack space on Brothers Keeper?

sansue461 — 2010-02-20 18:51:10Z

Hi:
I'm using BK5 and while entering data,it locked up on me and gave me an error message, "out of stack space". Both the edit page AND the main page are locked up tight. Nothing works. I've got plenty of hard drive space so I know that isn't it. Does anyone have ANY idea about this?
Thanks
Sandy

Re: Deleting Imported Gedcom

duvexy — 2010-01-23 19:08:19Z

My programs/gedcom/uninstall

Re: Deleting Imported Gedcom

duvexy — 2010-01-23 19:07:42Z

Uninstall it.

Multiple first names

thadacto — 2009-11-26 15:58:46Z

I have many people who have multiple first names, especially when a descendant uses a last name as a first name. However, BK only looks for the first of the first names.
Examples:
Martin John Harry Minchin [search for > ? Minchin]
Minchin Frederick Frend [search for > Minchin ?]
Joseph Bernard Minchin Boyle [what do I search? ]

I can find those with Last name Minchin no problem, and Minchin Frederick Frend but the third example seems impossible to find easily.
It is possible if I use Find>Word Serach>Any Field>Create Report. But then I have to sift through hundreds of people (I have over 500 Minchins) with the last name of Minchin, but I want to find those that have Minchin as one of their first names. A long a tedious way of searching.
Has any BK user a simpler method??
Assistance greatly appreciated.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

geoffstuttard1 — 2009-10-16 10:40:59Z

My laptop is offically extinct.

Anyone got 5.2 running on Windows 7? Offically the rpoblems with old software not being able to run on Vista does nto apply to 7 but would like to hear from someone that they are using it successfully first. The story is that not all versions of Windows 7 will run old stuff - the entry elvel Home Premium for example might not. Since I expect that version to eb the one installed on all new pcs it woulod be nice to know if 5.2 will run on it or nto before I replace my old laptop.

Re: how to do a backup

wkirkeng — 2009-10-09 17:19:34Z

I copied my text files to a 3.5 floopy (years ago) and when I tried to "restore" to the hard drive of a new computer, the text files didn't go. What did you do to retrieve the text files in your situation....or...what do I do to get my text files from the floppy to the hard drive?
Kirk

Re: old value of Brother's Keeper

autosense1 — 2009-08-14 04:26:01Z

Well thanks again. I am now armed with all the information I needed.Didn't hurt a bit.Thankyou

Re: old value of Brother's Keeper

sailortech — 2009-08-13 10:56:30Z

Hmm. I'm not seeing anything special or different about the needs for somebody in Australia vs any place else in regards to genealogy programming.

BK can create the standard reports (desendent, ancestor, register, etc) like other programs.

It can auto generate family group sheets in html, including the notes (stories, etc) created for the various events / facts. That report can include one photo per group sheet.

I'm not sure if Any program can really easily auto generate a mini magazine.

What I have done is create a web site, partially from BKs auto generated html family group sheets and partially by hand. I copy the entire site to CD along with an auto executable and mail it.

The auto generated part contains up to date facts, notes and stories about everybody in the database. The hand generated part contains the photos of people.

The problem I've seen with sharing info is what happens when you add a fact to a dozen or so people. With the auto generated html, that fact is published faily easily, albeit not in a very pretty method.

Trying to put out a magazine would mean re-formatting, re-editing or such to add in what is often a few lines of often not critical facts such as they lived in Perth during WWII before moving to a suburb of Perth after the war.

In summary, will BK do what you want? Sort of. Will any program do it better? I don't think so.

BK does have a significant advantage over other programs. The programmer runs a mailing list via rootsweb. He has been very willing to add new types of reports to extract data from the database.

Re: old value of Brother's Keeper

autosense1 — 2009-08-13 04:32:44Z

Thank-you very much for taking the time to help me, I really appreciate it.

To define what Mum uses BK for. Originally she traced the usual decendents on the paternal side and some on the maternal in Australia. As you would well know this quickly led overseas (away from young Australia) into our anglo english past. She has done quite a lot in this area as well. Now she is looking to do more but also wants to create an "accessible" mini-magazine type of thing with pictures etc for our family.(Thats where I come in at some point to supposedly help). So I guess what I am asking is will the current version of BK do all that well?
Thanks again for your help
Dave

Re: old value of Brother's Keeper

sailortech — 2009-08-12 16:00:53Z

I'm also a BK user.

As for your questions:

1 - yes, it's a long standing program in the field, with regular updates.

2 - Define better. If you have some specific requirements, you'd have to state them.

3 - Yes and no. Any reasonably modern genealogy program can export and import GEDCOMs, so in that sense, yes. Can she shift from BK to say Family Tree Maker with absolutely no loss of data, probably not. Note, that the same is true for almost all programs. Very few programs can fully read the data sets from another program. So, if she wanted to shift from Family Tree Maker to Roots Magic, she'd likely lose data.

4 - What is special, from a computer programming issue, about Australia?

As for notes, you have to select to back up notes, images, media files, etc when you do the backup routine.

Re: old value of Brother's Keeper

JIMDELL32 — 2009-08-11 15:21:29Z

What version of BK is she using?

I am using the current version 6.

I been using BK for about 15 years with not problems.

Jim

old value of Brother's Keeper

autosense1 — 2009-07-22 16:39:19Z

Hello,
My mother uses "Brother's Keeper" software for her geneology. She is very experienced at geneology but still has many many struggles with computers/software. When backing up her work she believes the "notes" she makes are not included in the back-up and therefore lost. The price of software is very cheap and so I am wondering if Brother's Keeper" is
1 a well credentialed program
2 Is there better programs
3 Can all her work be transferred easily to any new software
4 Is there programs more suited to people like mum who are "Australian" .

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

JerryBeasley — 2009-06-12 19:05:06Z

Should upgrade to 6.3.13. John is updating with new features montly. Only if we suport him by upgrading with his low cost will he be able to continue with this fine software.

Re: Accessing an unlinked branch as a group

JerryBeasley — 2009-06-12 18:58:44Z

Go to Utilities - Flag group - Range of #'s for the group to want.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

no2more — 2009-03-31 10:12:26Z

I didn't run my from the CD - I am still using the old floppies. I purchased an external A Drive and use that. Did you try running registry repair pro before installation? Make sure you start with a clean cpu - do your housekeeping. Reboot after running all your clean ups and then try again.
ie: scan disk, crapcleaner, system scan and make sure your security is up to date and no viruses.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

geoffstuttard1 — 2009-03-31 09:11:33Z

My laptop is showing signs of giving up altogether now. Every 3 months or so I have to replace the invertor to keep the screen illuminated - the repair costs me only £20 but tis becoming more frequent - I cant now run the CD drive and the sound went off during the last repair.

I would love to know how anyone gets BK 5.2 to run on Vista. I cant get Vista to allow it to even install!

Vista's replacement is due now - I wonder if 5.2 will run on Windows 7?

Accessing an unlinked branch as a group

Jack_Poynter — 2009-02-04 20:08:47Z

I have a fairly large database which contains information on the genealogies of the members of four American civil war military units; my goal is to discover kinship relations among the members. I have now finished doing the genealogies, and need to do reporting on the kinship groups. The "unlinked branches" list identifies the kinship groups nicely, but only shows me one member of each group. One of these groups contains 2700+ people.

I would like to be able to do one or more of the following things:
1. Write a report of all of the people in a given kinship group.
2. Flag all the people in a given kinship group.
3. Split out a given kinship group and form a new database.

If anyone can suggest a methodology, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
JP

Re: Deleting Imported Gedcom

jeecee — 2008-11-03 12:14:17Z

When BK6 will be closed, you should be able to delete the folder and when you restart your BK6, it should start in the Brother's Keeper original folder.

The best way should be to start BK6 with a new database, and after delete your folder you want including the gedcom file.
J. Charles

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

no2more — 2008-10-27 16:54:19Z

I am running Windows Vista and Brother's Keeper ver. 5.2G and have not had any problems. It does have a recommended setting for the monitor and if that is not set correctly, you will have problems.

Re: REF field - BK6.2 free

sailortech — 2008-10-14 01:42:19Z

I've worked with PAF a bit, Family Tree Maker 2005 (v16) and Brothers Keeper. I'm happy with BK. PAF was limited; and the last years version of FTM was reviewed as really bad.

Re: REF field - BK6.2 free

DavidBartelt — 2008-10-14 00:12:01Z

Thanks, sailortech, for the reply. I'm working my way through the "trial" (I mis-spoke "free") version of BK 6.2.80.

In your humble opinion - which of the genealogy softwrre choices do you like??

Re: REF field - BK6.2 free

sailortech — 2008-10-11 13:30:23Z

There is no "free" version of Brother's Keeper.

The program is shareware, with some features not being unlocked until the program is registered and paid for.

What specific version of BK are you using? Current version is 6.2.80 as of 24 August 2008

REF Number and REF Date are event fields.

I presume it's used to keep BK entries in comparision with index numbers generated by other genealogy programs or with other numbering systems. For example if you imported a GEDCOM from Family Tree Maker, the GEDCOM would include an index number for each individual based upon FTM's program. That would be the REF number. You could look at the ref number report and compare it to the FTM database and ensure you got the correct person. Since names can be common, and you might not have enough date info, it helps prevent errors.

The equivilent report in BK would be BK Number.

REF field - BK6.2 free

DavidBartelt — 2008-10-10 20:09:35Z

I am using BK v6.2 freeware.

On the edit screen for a person, when clicking "Reports/Lists/Reference order display" I get the the message "You do not have anything in the REF: field for anyone.

I can't find a "REF" field in the program and the HELP does not refer to it.

Is this something only in the purchased version - or what am I missing here - or didn't I look hard enough?

Thanks for helping.

Deleting Imported Gedcom

davirennz — 2008-09-11 03:37:57Z

I'm a little confused - some would say, 'so what's new?' :-)

I've just downloaded a Gedcom file and imported it into BK (into a new folder so that it does not get included in my database).

Anyhow, the data I imported has no relevance to my family history, so I wanted to delete the folder to which the data was imported (to the recycle bin).

When I did this, (after I had re-opened my original database in BK), I got the message 'Can not delete reportsw.bk6: it is being used by another person or program.'

If I close BK and then delete the imported file, presumably the reports file connected to my database will be 'safe.'

I would be grateful if someone would confirm this for me.

Thanks.

David

Sources

davirennz — 2008-09-10 07:48:51Z

I am using a registered version of BK - V6.2.79 and have three issues, for which I would be grateful for some guidance:

(1)
What is the difference between 'Actual Text' and 'Actual Text for this Citation' listed on the 'sources' page of BK?

(2)
Where I have a page from the Scottish OPRs containing several records, of which only one record is relevant to my genealogy, do I attach it by clicking on the 'Attach picture/file to citation' on the 'sources' page or ought I place it elsewhere?

(3)
I have attached a page from the OPR as described in (2), but have no way of telling that the picture is attached unless I click on 'Attach picture/file to citation' button. Is this the way it is meant to be?

Thanks.

David

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

sixpack127dad — 2008-08-07 14:09:43Z

I am not sure why you were using gedcom transfer from one version of BK to another. I just usually use the upgrade program included. My wife and I have been using BK since it's early days and love it. We have had very few problems and notes to the programmer (owner) of the company have always been returned in a timely manner. I bought my wife a Vista laptop for Christmas and BK6 seems to run just fine. We have not tried to import many GEDCOM files, so I cannot tell you what we would lose. With BK6 you have the ability to select the data you want exported (and to what fields in the GEDCOM).

Any questions - write me @ sixpack127@wowway.com

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

geoffstuttard1 — 2008-08-06 14:34:16Z

Youre right of course. My first attempt at transferring my data was through the inbuilt conversion tool within BK6 to ove from BK5. I lost far too much of my data that way so attempted to use the GEDCOM method to build the data instead with no better result. i lost all Source information for example.

I consdiered starting from scratch using the new version but didnt like it, and it was far too big a job so I uninstalled BK6, reinstalled 5.2 from my original download and then recovered from my backup and have kept with 5.2 ever since. I found BK6 had lost everything that made 5.2 different to everything else on the market.

Each to his own - there's a lot to be said for finding software you like and does the job for you and sticking with it I am sure you will agree.

My data now runs to 14500 individuals so I would not like to lose a single byte of that data and have to retrace my research steps to build it again.

I started doing my wife's ancestry afer my second marriage 2 years ago and installed Rootsmagic on her desktop which I now use as a subset consisting of her data whilst incorporating her data also into my own tree on my laptop. Rootsmagic is a good package but I prefer the ways I use my BK5.2 Currently I am thinking of installing Legacy for its charting functions which is certainly a weakness in my BK5.

Re: Running Brothers Keeper 5.2G on Windows Vista

geoffstuttard1 — 2008-08-06 11:23:22Z

Before I started my family history project in 2001 I picked up a free download of BK5.2

I tried many of the other Genealogy software once I got started and didnt find one i liked so stuck with BK5.2

Later I purchased a laptop to add to my desktop and its main function at first was to accompany me on my research trips to libraries and records offices. I took the opportunity to purchase BK6 at the time to get hold of a manual to see what functions in the software i hadnt made use of. I found when I uploaded my GEDCOM form the BK5.2 desktop to the BK6 on the laptop I lost what i considered far too much crucial information. Also i foudn it looked like too many fo the other products I had tried and rejected.

Specifically I make considerable use of the 7 blank text lines per person to record birth death and cnesus details in full. When I export the data to a gedcom and send it to Rootsweb for example that data coopies across intact but when I import that same GEDCOM into BK6 and many other genalogy software it is lost completely. Similarly I had customised the 2 lines for marriage recording and some of the less useful lines on the person records all of which gets lost in a GEDCOM transfer so i much prefer BK5.2 to anything else for recording my raw data.

I am on my 2nd laptop now and it is 6 years old and has ahd a number of faults and repairs leading my wife to worry about it packing up entirely ( ironically it is running better than ever currently as I doubled the RAM at last repair. It runs XP with service pack 2. ( I do have both online and memory stick backup regimes in place as well as copies of the data and program on my wife's desktop also running XP so i am not that vulnerable.

However my wife has just acquired a new laptop free with a mobile phone contract and wants me to have that and her to take over my old laptop. The problem is it runs Vista and wont even allow a lot of old software to install giving some obscure incompatability messages. It is runing Vista with service pack 1 I have heard some horrendous tales of Vista service pack 2 (i am scrupulous about not running Microsoft Updates - they test everything out in the wild and I lost my first laptop to XP service pack 1 whcih disabled all USB ports and apparently the motherboard itself! so where do i stand re BK5.2 on Vista with SP1. Does that include your fix to emulate older windows versions or would I need to upgrade it. Personally i want to stick with my old laptop but the wife is definitely scowling about that!

BK version for iMac OS ?

OdessaElliott — 2008-04-01 19:35:38Z

I once used BK on DOS on an IBM personal computer. When it expired of old age, I bought a "purple egg" iMac. It took me some time to discover that BK didn't run on any Apple Corp computer.

Does anyone know if BK now has an iMac version?

Does anyone here know if there is any genealogical s/w for MacIntosh owners?
(Steve Jobs is always too busy to assign programmers to this task: it's not as glamorous as iPods, iPhones, and AirMacs.)

Odessa Southern Elliott

how to do a BK backup

Lucie1955 — 2008-03-29 23:56:16Z

I made regular backup of my bk6 files, on my C drive (normal or zip one), following the instructions in the manual. I never had to use it. Today, I trie to restore it on another computer that I have, on which an old database of bk6 was installed. It did not worked !

I also realize that all my pictures an media files are not copied with the backup.

Anyone to tell me how to proceed - how to backup up my bke6 database, including pictures and media files ?

Thank you very much

Lucie

Re: how to do a backup

Lucie1955 — 2008-03-30 23:14:31Z

I think I found out what the problem is. When I did a backup, the program did send the pictures files, and the txt and the media files, as I wanted it to, but it was put on the cd all mixed up - not in their respective file.

So, when I tried to restore it, the program could not find the files named "Txt", "Pictures" or "Medias" cause they weren't any !!!

very curious ...

Re: how to do a backup

sailortech — 2008-03-30 10:43:10Z

When you did the backups, had you been checking the box to backup pictures? It's not checked by default, you have to select it each time.

When you did the restore, what failed? The entire backup failed, or just the pictures failed to be part of the restore?

RTF Files

WPryer63 — 2008-03-20 21:43:05Z

I downloaded BK6 a month or so ago to try it out. I like it a lot but have a question before registering. When creating a register report or indented book, etc. . . . is it possible to save them as a .rtf file or Work Perfect file?? It appears they can only be saved as a graphics file. Are those features that are turned on by the registered version? Can some one help.

Wayne