User Question:
In FTM 2017, when adding a picture, do you link to the media or allow FTM 2017 to make a copy and link from there?
My Answer:
Use the COPY option,when adding a New Media File to your FTM2017 file.
Reason: (and I have blogged about this before)
It's another COPY of your / my valuable images. When I take a photograph, scan an image, I do NOT want to touch that file again. I always want to work with a COPY of it. I might want to crop that image, resize it, change it's looks. I have messed up in that past, and I am guessing others have as well, but that is OK, because I am working with a copy.
The same goes when adding a new media file to Family Tree Maker. There is another reason from the above, and that is when you do a Compact and Back Up, the Media Folder, where that COPY is saved, will be included in that Back Up. Using the Linked option, will only include a LINK to that Media file.
IF you were to send a Back Up file, with Linked Media, those Media Files will not be included. When that sent back up is restore, those Media files will be missing.
Here is a link to a Blog Post on this topic
Why the difference in the Number of Media Files ?
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Copyright © 2017 by H R Worthington
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
