Family Tree Maker Response Regarding Merging Problems--Free Family Search Look Up Service

Family Tree Maker Response Regarding Merging Problems

In my November 1 blog I discussed a problem I had with media data when I merged two of my Family Tree Maker (FTM) trees.  After discussing the problem with two different technical support people at FTM, I was told to forward the information to their "support" people.  I contacted them and sent them screen shots of the icons I was observing in place of normal photo or document thumbnails.  Following is the response I received from Ancestry support:

"Thank you for contacting Ancestry.com in regards to the default photos that appeared after merging your Family Tree Maker files together.

We apologize for the frustration you have experienced with this issue and the support.  Based off of the images attached in the email you sent us and the description, this sounds like it may be due to some form of file corruption.  Most often, file damage occurs in a family file through merging unchecked files, improper shut-downs of Family Tree Maker or Windows, a virus, or inserting damaged data into the file.

The easiest way to recover from file damage is to restore a backup of your data that was created prior to when the damage occurred. We recommend that our members protect themselves against data loss by maintaining a good backup system. If you do not have any backups of your data, you can attempt to fix the damage in your current file

For instructions for repair a Family Tree Maker file, please follow the instructions from the first section (Compact the File) in this link listed below:

Answer Link: Tips for repairing a Family Tree Maker file "

I haven't attempted yet to do another merge because I am not convinced they have correctly identified the problem.  I received the following statement from Barbara G. indicating she had also experienced these same type of icons resulting from a merge.  

I have been seeing these generic photo icons in my trees (online and FTM) quite a bit, lately. I believe it began after I started using FTM2014 but others seem to have the same problem in 2012. How could Ancestry's tech support claim they had never seen them? They are mentioned quite a bit in the Online Support Community. Are they really not even monitoring this community for recurring issues? I find that after several syncs they generally disappear and are replaced with my actual media picture. She mentioned the problems went away after several syncs; but I am hesitant to sync until after I have he problem solved.  If any of you have experienced similar problem, I would really appreciate hearing from you about the problem and how you solved it.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Free Family Search Look-Up Service

 In Dick Eastman's newsletter of 5 November, he announced the details of a free service provided by Family Search for looking up information from the Salt Lake Family History Library.  Obviously there are limitation on what they can do and you must be very specific with your request; but it is a service that could be extremely helpful if you need information copied from a book at the library or a specific microfilm copied.  I definitely need some research done at the FHL and plan to take advantage of the service.  If you have any interest I highly recommend you read the details in Dick's newsletter. 
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