Should I Copy or Link to a New Media File?

When adding a new media file to Family Tree Maker, you are giving two options. Copy or Link.

Media Workspace, on the right, ADD and there is a menu, will select Add New Media.

Selecting that your File Explorer window will open where you navigate to where the media file is, and you select it. The filename will appear on the "Name:"  field, and click Open.

A new window will open; By Default, Copy this file to the media folder for this tree and link to in there.

That is always my choice and I put a check mark in the "Always use ... " statement.

Here is why. I received a Back Up file, with Media in the back up and I had this problem.

In the lower right is a red filename because the file wasn't in the Back Up up file. The Find Missing Media command wouldn't find it because the Media file is not on my computer.

The reason is that in the owner's file had used the LINK option. That image is somewhere on that other computer.

My Best Practice is to use the COPY command. First to that it IS in the Back Up file and secondly, if I were to edit that media file in Family Tree Maker, I can always make another copy and bring it into the program as a copy again.
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Copyright © 2017 by H R Worthington