What does Heredis mean by media?
A media file is a file external to your genealogy that you link to your genealogy file.
It can be a deed, a register, a photo, etc...
Heredis software manages media on two levels: originals and copies.
Original media
Original media are media that you have saved on your computer.
When you take a screenshot, scan a document or download a deed or photo, you save it in your computer at a given location.
When you link your media into your genealogy file, you select this original media in your computer.
As long as this original is always in the same place on your computer and called up in the same way, Heredis software displays the original.
Media copies
When you link media into your file, Heredis creates a copy which it places inside the genealogy file. This copy is not always of the same quality as the original.
If Heredis cannot find the original, it will display this copy.
These copies are placed in a folder called Media, inside the .hmw file containing the genealogical data.
Some key points:
- If you move or rename the original media, Heredis will no longer have access to them. The software will then display the thumbnails, and image quality will be reduced.
- If the Media folder is removed from the ".hmw folder", Heredis will no longer have access to the thumbnails and will no longer be able to display them.
- When you change computers, you must transfer not only your genealogical files, but also all the original media associated with them. Otherwise, Heredis will only display the thumbnails. If the media folder hasn't been transferred, the software won't be able to access the thumbnails either.
- The GEDCOM format does not always support media. The GEDCOM 5.5.1 standard is still the most widely used. This standard never includes media in the GEDCOM file. Depending on the software/website from which the GEDCOM is created, the paths may or may not be present, but the images will never be present.Some software/websites allow you to create a folder that groups together a copy of the media. It is strongly recommended that you create this folder so that you can easily find your media.
- The new GEDCOM 7 format allows you to embed a copy of your media. When you import a GEDCOM 7 file into Heredis, you will find your media. They will be placed in the Media folder, just inside the .hmw format folder containing the genealogical data.
- If the original media are stored in clouds (OneDrive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc.), their access paths can change at any time or be blocked by antivirus software. It is advisable to keep original media local, i.e. on your computer, and not to store original documents of any kind in a cloud. To learn more about how clouds work, please read our dedicated article: Click here.
How to link your media to original media
Heredis includes a tool that allows you to link your media to the original media if you have moved, renamed, or changed computers.
Open your genealogy file and go to the menu Tools > Media Index > click on Tools:
Select Check media :
A window opens with three tabs. For each of these three tabs, click on Update :
Navigate to the location of the original media on your computer and select the folder containing them.
Heredis will then link the unfound media to the original ones.
Please note that this only works if the originals have not been renamed.
If the originals are no longer on your computer, but the copies are still present in the genealogy folder in Heredis format, you can export the copies to a single directory from the media dictionary:
Once the copies have been exported, use the Check media function to indicate this folder as the location of the originals.
It's up to you to decide how to manage your own original media. The tool we've provided is designed to help you save some time. However, it is important you understand the consequences of media management.