Using Legacy on your main computer and your laptop – how to exchange information and multimedia

Comments (53)

• Thanks for the DropBox information. I have been looking for a way to get relatives to easily view and keep in sync with my master files. I think I can perhaps have them automatically sync my drop box location (which is not in Legacy) directly to their C:\Legacy\Data and C:\Legacy\Pictures folders. It seems most of my relatives cannot handle file copy and paste instructions, perhaps they can’t handle DropBox either but certainly some of them can. Thanks again. GJW

• Will this work. Get a sync program. I use one called Allway Sync to sync My desktop and my Laptop. The basic version is free for moderate personal use. You can sync it in more then one direction if you need it. Legacy is installed on both computers. I set a schedule daily and sync my Folder called Legacy from my desktop Legacy folder on my laptop in a oneway sync. All my work is done on the desktop. I use the laptop to take on trips to show my trees (8), and as a backup in case of one computer fails. This method copies everything and I have not had a problem. PS I also backup to a USB 3 hardrive once a week my Legacy folder and another folder called Gen that contains all my Census and image files of documents. Doing this for a few years without problems.

• Alta – hopefully within a week or so the “Families” application will allow you to run Legacy Family Tree from an iPhone or iPad.

• Is there any way to access Legacy on Apple IPad?

• I have tried the way suggested and find this to be the very easiest way.
  Open window Explorer by right clicking the start button. Find the Legacy file on your C drive, and copy the whole file by right clicking. Then right click the drive you want to save it to and select copy. By doing it this way you are not installing Legacy again, so do not need to reset all your Legacy settings again. Additionally, many lap tops do not have a disk drive or are netbooks which means they do not have a hard drive to install the Legacy program on. So you run the program from your portable drive regarless of which computer you are using.
  Cheers!

• In order to keep everything synced on my PC and laptop I use Microsoft Live Sync. A free program that syncs over the internet. I just select the entire Legacy program folder and everything is transfered. Just be sure you don’t make a change on one then make a change on the other before you sync it – you will loose data!

• @Al Jensen
  That would be ideal to have a D partition on the laptop but I think I would have to rebuild my system to do that(reload Windows, etc.). Maybe there is some software that allows you to create a new partition without wiping out everything. For now, I’ve just moved my multimedia files to drive C on the home PC and that is working fine when I switch to the laptop.

• I’m a fan of Dropbox. The reason being that I needed to use Dropbox to allow me to make the most of Legacy7. I often visit libraries and Archives and collect data, process it on my laptop and then need to synchronise it with my deskop when I get home. Dropbox is perfect for this. As one contrubtor noted, wait a few moments between closing Legacy7 and shutting down the computer: give Dropbox time to synchronise. For home network users, Dropbox also has an option to synchronise over your LAN rather than the Internet.

• My desktop is no longer connected to the internet. As I cannot therefore update legacy I will not be able to restore from my laptop as legacy won’t open newer versions. Any way this can be updated perhaps by copying files to usb keys?

• @C Knight:
  Why not just add a D partition to your laptop so that your computer drives are structured alike?

• @ Kent Robinson
  I’ve sorted out my minor problem with Dropbox.
  Dropbox installs to My Documents which has a different directory structure between XP and Windows 7. The trick is to right click on the Dropbox icon on the systray (bottom-right), click on Preferences and move the Dropbox folder to c:\… simple really.
  Oh, BTW. I’m still sendinf the backups to the default directory of Legacy. Just in case…
  I’d recommend Dropbox to anyone.

• I’ve taken the plunge and installed Dropbox. I’ve shifted all my data to the My Dropbox folder and everything seems to be working fine. I can now use my Legacy on 2 pc’s.
  Except I’ve just come across a problem that was previously asked about by Kent Robinson.
  I too use XP on my pc and W7 on my laptop. The directory structure is slightly different between both OS and so the locations directory structure changes within the Legacy program when I use one or the other. I’ve posted a message to the Dropbox forum if there is a work around. Keep you posted.

• Just as another option – Microsoft has a free syncing program – Live Sync. I use this on my netbook and desktop to keep my database the same on both computers. I simply install the program on both computers and then set up Live Sync to syncronise the Legacy program folder between the 2 computers. Best of all – IT’S FREE!

• MULTIMEDIA on different drive letters:
  The backup/restore method works great but I have a unique situation. On my desktop I store everything on drive D. On the laptop, I only have drive C. Restoring the data files to the laptop works fine but when I restore my multimedia files to drive C, I have now lost the links to them. Has anybody else found a trick to resolving this?

• I’d be confused by moving files back and forth on a flash-drive. Really, it would be one backup too many and I’d forget the plan.
  I like the Dropbox idea since I use it for so many other things, including about 40 portable apps. I rarely use my laptop so this is all just theoretical for me. Still, I’m interested to know. I’m assuming ‘multi-media’ would also include all the source documents I have linked to Legacy. That’s up to 1.6 GB right now. The photos (which I haven’t gone mad on yet) add another 100 MB. That pretty well does it for my 2 free GB. I’d be looking at running myself into a wall shortly if I went that route. (Even if I was willing to delete everything else that the Dropbox is already being used for, and I’m not.)
  I keep lots of backups in other ways but that wasn’t the question.

• Woopsie!
  My precious comment should have been:
  @ Jim Winfrey
  &
  @ Kent Robinson

• @Bryan S. Larson – I love this idea! I’ve also been using Dropbox, but only for back-ups. When I change data on one computer, I rename the database to the date I changed computers and the computer name (i.e. currently running: 22 feb 2010 desktop). Crazy, I know, but its the only way I can keep track of the one that’s been changed. QUESTION: I travel a lot and don’t always have internet access. My guess is, without internet, you couldn’t access your file in dropbox. Yes or no?
  @Geoff – Hi! I just purchased a Netbook – Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN. It has Windows 7. My desktop: Windows XP. I use my netbook more frequently and I had the same concerns about different operating systems. I LOVE the netbook. It’s tons lighter and more portable than my old Dell Laptop. No problems with the OS whatsoever. Transition was easy. Only complaint is the speaker volume. Must use earbuds:-(.
  Joanne

• Thanks for all your comments, ideas and advice. I have my data on my pc at work and on my laptop at home and have been thinking of storing my data online for a while. My memory isn’t always that reliable either so Dropbox or Sugarsync might be the way to go.

• I always use to utilise Synctoy with great efficiency ….. until I was introduced to Dropbox. Works a treat. Now I switch usuage between my main PC, Laptop and netbook without a care in the world, with the added satisfaction that I know that all my data is additionally backed up externally. Wonderful !!!

• Create an gmail account, and mail your Legacy backup file to yourself in an attachment. You will have an offsite backup that you can download to any machine with an internet connection.
  You can’t have too many backups.

• Forgot to say – I have found Windows 98 through to Windows Vista will cope with this arrangement, although you will get different skins, and some features in Notes work a bit differently

• I’ve used USB flash drives with Legacy (and another genealogy application) installed, with all data files also stored on them. I plug into any USB-supported computer and enter my new data. Regular backups go to my PC and an external HDD. This means that when I misplace a flashdrive, I’ve still got a couple of recent backups to use. I’m not fond of using offsite internet backups for any of my work – paranoid.

• Kent – I’m not aware of any problems.

• My desktop computer has Windows XP . I am considering a netbook that has Windows 7. Is there any problem exchanging Legacy information between computers using different versions of Windows?

• Nancy – you would need to copy the files in your c:\Legacy folder that end with the .usr extension. These files contain your settings/preferences.

• Hi. I have used the Backup and then Restore for a few years now to transfer data files from my laptop to my main base. It works great! However, my question is this: I like the way my Legacy program looks on my laptop (colors, size etc) better then my main computer but have never been able to make them look the same. Any suggestions on how to do that?
  Nancy

• If you have a wireless router, its a(fairly)easy matter to set
  up the Legacy/Data directories as shared directories (right click on the directory and click “Sharing and Security”). This is in XP btw. Easiest way to synchronise then is to go into Network Connections (it helps to give the two directories new names), open one, copy the .fdb file, and paste into the other. It sounds a bit complicated but takes a few seconds once you get the idea. You do need to have both PCs booted up, but then I generally use the Desktop as the “master”, and only copy when I need the file on the Laptop, or to return it if I’ve changed it.

• I use my 8G USB flash drive to store my “working copy” of all family file databases. Everything is stored on the flash drive, including images that haven’t been linked to my Legacy database yet. Every time I open Legacy it opens the data on the flash drive, regardless of which computer I am using. Then when I do a backup, I backup the data to which which ever computer I’m currently using. That way I am always using the most current copy of my database files. If I’m going to visit relatives (or do other research), I just grab my laptop and the flash drive. While I’m on my trip, I backup from the flash drive to the laptop. When I get home, I plug the thumb drive into my desk top, open Legacy, and immediatly do a backup to my external 650G harddrive. I never have to jump through hoops to transfer data between computers.
  There is one caution you need to be aware of: Any data that is stored in a folder that is not entered in, or linked to a Legacy database (like extra photographs of grandpa’s 85th birthy party) is NOT backed up by Legacy when you use the “Backup family file” feature even when you have backup “Media files” checked. This is true even after you tell Legacy in which folder to find your image files. Legacy only backs up the images that are linked a person or event within the Legacy database. Therefore I recommend periodically coping all you genealogy related files/folders to another storage device using the Windows copy feature.

• Folks, the easiest way to keep your database up-to-date all the time and eliminate the flash drives, having to create a backup to move your database, etc. Download DropBox to both computers, load your database into DropBox on one computer and the other will be automatically updated. I keep my data and media in DropBox. I’ve used it for about a year and haven’t had any problems. The basic, up to 2gig storage, is free. The only caveat – give DropBox a couple minutes to sync before you open Legacy on the other computer.
  Jim

• I have a large file that I collaborate with a small number of other family members who do not live near me. As we make changes separately, the match merge gets a little ugly sometimes. I have been considering a solution so that we can all work on the same file and not deal with merging.
  Here is the solution I have thought of, and I wonder if anyone else has tried this or whether it would work.
  I want to purchase a NAS device (network attached storage) with 2 RAIDed hard drives connected to my wireless network. I would like to be able to have a portion of the NAS with permissions set so that a few people can mount a network drive from my NAS. Doing this should (in theory) allow people to open the same file from multiple locations (not simultaneously). This would also allow me to work on my file from multiple places without lugging around a portable hard drive. I have been doing this for some time, but for some reason my home computer doesn’t like anything on my portable hard drive if it has been opened by another computer.
  I am well aware of the issues associated with sharing a file in this manner (and will keep serial backups in a private location). I just want to know if it will work as I intend it to and if others have tried the same thing.

• I also backup to a file in Dropbox which works wonderfully as long as I remember to backup each time. It would be even better if the automatic data saved each time I close Legacy could be changed so that the Legacy-Data file could be moved to the Dropbox rather than under “my computer” “Legacy” “Data”. I did try to alter those parameters once but the program didn’t work properly so I changed it back. If I could do that, I could be assured that the most up to date information is being used and not rely on my human memory. Here’s the big problem – if you happen to use an “old” backup to use your laptop, even if there was only one piece of info missing, then you reverse the process when you are done using your laptop, you are restoring the “old” information with the updates and whatever was missing is gone for good. This is why I try not to use two computers to do actual updates on my files; I am fallible so I prefer to rely on the program’s automatic backup system.

• Ken – yes, they are part of the .fdb file.

• Arnold,
  Not being the real-technie, I don’t know for sure which all files you 100% must copy over. I do know that the required files are included in the Legacy backup. You shouldn’t go wrong with a backup/restore.

• My away task would be to clean up master lists
  How do I ensure that my changes are reflected back onto my main site?
  I understand the data and media files being swopped by various means but not sure what I need to do to keep master links in sync are they part of the ftd file

• Graham Mason, February 11, 2010 at 03:20 PM, wrote, “Copying the .fdb file means that I can have all sorts of settings on my laptop that are completely different to those on my home computer.”
  I, on the other hand, want my laptop and home computer to be identical.
  What Legacy files do I need to transfer, in addition to the .fdb file, to ensure that the two computers are the same??

• I use a synchronising application across the home network to do this.. doing it this way avoids the need to copy (possibly large) amounts of unchanged data.
  Microsoft has a tool SyncToy which will do it for free. But note that just opening the database will reset the filestamp, even if nothing is changed in that session, possibly causing a newer file version to be overwritten (because the sync will run the wrong direction)! Verify what is going to be done before actually running the sync.

• Karl – you need to install the Geo Location database separately on your laptop. These files are not included with the data backup.

• Can the GEO database be transferred also or is that something I would have to recreate on my laptop? Is that included in the backup fdb or media files?

• SugarSync is an alternative to Dropbox for uploading to an online storage site. As with Dropbox, it allows automatic synchronization of files between computers. The main advantage over Dropbox is that any folder can be synchronized.
  The other advantage with this type of solution is of course that you always have a back up “somewhere else” in case of fire, etc.
  https://www.sugarsync.com/

• I’ve recently started using Dropbox for keeping my Legacy database files, as well as others, syncronized between my computers. Any changes made to files on one computer are automatically updated on the other once the computer is online.

  It requires moving the location of the database files to the dropbox folder on each computer.

  A word of caution: Do make a backup before doing this. I prefer to exit the dropbox program while working with a database and running dropbox after I’ve closed Legacy. It won’t sync while the files are in use and you can’t open the database while it’s being synced. Large files can take a few minutes to upload, so be patient.

  It’s free for 2+ GB of files. https://www.dropbox.com

• you can backup your legacy on your desk top and then e mail it to your self , then receve the email on your laptop and download it to your laptop then import it ,using the legacy program on your laptop .

• Karl – yes, just install Legacy on your laptop and then unlock the deluxe features at Help > Unlock Deluxe using your Deluxe Customer number.

• I have an internal network that allows me to copy files between my desktop and my laptop or run Legacy straight off my desktop from my laptop. When I want to take my laptop somewhere I copy the backup files to my laptop and restore.
  My laptop has the standard edition and my desktop has the deluxe edition so I cannot use all the deluxe functions from my laptop. From your comment it seems I can have the deluxe on my laptop also without buying it again. Can I load the original version I received on my laptop from the deluxe CD and then get all the updates? Or how can I get the deluxe edition on my laptop?

• I use the flash drive method too exactly how he described it above and it works beautifully–that way you never have to remember which file you backed up last..

• The best way to accomplish this with no headaches is to use a USB external hard drive. Cost about $60.00 and holds tons of information. Works on both desktop and laptop computers. Personally I did away with my desktop and use only a laptop now. Goes everywhere with me.

• It would be nice to have the option to save and access all your files to/from an online storage site. Then no matter where you are, as long as you have internet access and the system has legacy installed, you would be in business.

• You should really look into the Briefcase synchronization method. Windows has a built in Briefcase funtionality that keeps files in sync between a desktop and portable computer.

• Similar to what Dave had said earlier, I use a 250 GB “My Passport” external drive (about 3″x5″x1/2″) to save my legacy files (I have two different family files) via USB port. I back up these files on the C drive on either the desktop and laptop when finished any session. So my working file moves from computer to computer by simply pluging in the external drive to the one I am currently using and the current backup is on the last computer I used.

• I have been using the following system for many years without any errors. I have about 70,000 people and 7,500 photos.
  I am a volunteer in the local library once a week. I help people with their Family History Research, and if there are no customers I work on my Legacy file. Before I go I drag and drop the .fdb file from Legacy/Data to a USB drive and then drag and drop it into Legacy/Data on my laptop.
  When I get home I move the altered file back to my home computer.
  Copying the .fdb file means that I can have all sorts of settings on my laptop that are completely different to those on my home computer.
  About once a month I copy the .fdb file and my Legacy/Pictures Folder to a DVD and use that to update the laptop. I then post the DVD to my daughter who puts it on her computer, and stores it as a backup.

• Dani – when you “restore” the backup back to your main computer, you will be “replacing” the now-outdated family file so Legacy will ask you if you want to replace it. Click yes and the updated family file will replace it. Same thing for the multimedia, if it asks if you want to replace the existing media, either say no (to save time) or say yes, and it will replace the existing multimedia where the file names are identical.

• Transferring data between my desktop to laptop has been a struggle, I can’t believe it was this easy all the time. Does this method overwrite anything that is in either computer. Will this method leave information on the laptop or desktop that doesn’t match the new download. For example, I had been using my laptop to show others how to scan in photos and how to use previously scanned photos to Legacy. I was just planning to delete these photos. Will the method above delete those photos? I am not planning a multimedia backup/restore as done above? Even though there are files already in my laptop that should match my desktop will the backup/restore shown above put both computers completely in sync?
  Dani Lee McGowan

• I use a folder called “Genealogy” on both computers and also just copy that folder to a USB flash drive to move in both directions.
  I then take the USB drive to my daughter’s house so it acts as an offsite backup in case of a house fire or something else that might destroy my computers and backups at home. I’ve got way to much effort involved in compiling the data to take any risk on losing it.
  I’ve tried using the Windows Briefcase function to set up folders that would be easier to syncronize, but I haven’t been able to get this to work yet.

• I have an 8 gig USB Flash Drive and have simply Set up a Legacy Folder on the that drive and directly copied my data file, and midia files to the my flash drive. I actually access my data on the Flash Drive then I can move seamlessly between my Desktop and my laptop. I back up my flash drive to my desktop.