On this page: Introduction, Using TMG Utility
Introduction
TMG Utility, often called TMGU, is a program that makes modifications to The Master GenealogistTM (TMG) databases. It is a separate program from TMG, and is not designed to be used while TMG is running.
These pages describe version 7.3+ of the program. These help pages do not apply to earlier versions in other than a general fashion.
The features available in TMG Utility complement the capabilities of TMG itself. People who have recently converted to TMG from another genealogy product will find a number of features designed to help them take advantage of TMG features. For example, TMG supports multiple names per person. Whenever a marriage is created in TMG, an option is provided to use the surname of the husband to create a married name for the wife. If you convert a large database to TMG from another program that does not support multiple names, you can use this program to add the names automatically. This is a one-time operation; you use the TMG option described above for people and marriages you add after converting to TMG.
Using TMG Utility
You should back up your database before using this program.
Close TMG before using TMG Utility.
To start the application, choose "TMG Utility" from the Start menu. If you chose the default options on installation, the program can be found as follows:
Start > Programs > TMG Utility > TMG Utility
When you start the application, the main window is mostly blank. Choose Open... from the File menu to open a database.
Once a database is open, the main window will contain a list of functions in a tree structure on the left. This tree displays a node for every function the program performs, as well as entries that group the functions into groups.
Clicking on a function name in the tree will display a panel of controls for that function. These controls determine the exact operation of that function. For example, the "Find and Replace" panel contains text boxes for the "Find what" and "Replace with" text and other controls.
Each function produces a listing of the changes that were made in a log file. For testing purposes, you may choose to produce the log only. In the log only case, no changes are made to the database.
The log only feature is important. The utility is a powerful tool, but it can be very dangerous if not used properly. You should do a test run using the Log Only feature before you make any changes. You should always review both the log and the updated database (using TMG) to verify that the program did what you wanted.