Access the menu File – Assign or change the Data Directory (Folder) – I am lost – Search for a GDS Database on the computer. Let GDS find all your Databases, double click on the one you see is yours. Once that name is indicated in the Choice Panel, click OK.

The GDS works on two well-differentiated parts:

A) The Program itself. B) The Database.

A) The program is installed using the installer that can be found on the web www.gdsystem.net. The installation of GDS must always be done from the installer. It is not correct to copy it from its previous location, since this action does not guarantee its operation, because the installer not only copies the files, but also registers certain components in the Operating System. The program is installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\GDS along with other files in the System Directory.
B) The Database is the set of files that GDS creates and maintains as the user enters people, relationships, documents, photographs, etc. This Database is contained in the Data Directory, which is freely chosen by the user and is expressed in the lower left corner when GDS is operational and has nothing to do with the Programs Directory (x86) expressed in A), up. This folder cannot be under C:\Program Files (x86)

Restoration of the situation when for any reason the GDS operation must be started on a computer:

Starting situation:
– You must have a copy of ALL the files contained in the Data Directory (See section B) above)
– You must have a copy of the GDS installer for your version. If you don’t have it, just download it from www.gdsystem.net. You should pay attention to the version you had installed. Keep in mind that if you had a version prior to Version 8.0 and you download this version, the system will work but it will not let you update, and you will have to purchase the migration to Version 8.0
Actions:
1) Create a Directory (Folder) in the place you want. For example, C:\Mytree. This Directory will be the new Data Directory and does not necessarily have to have the same name as before. This folder cannot be under C:\Program Files (x86)
2) Copy ALL the files mentioned in section C) to this Directory, or directly copy the entire folder, copying it directly without doing step 1).

3) Install GDS with the installer repeatedly mentioned above.
4) Start GDS normally. Answer a few simple questions.
5) When it tells you to indicate your Data Directory, assign the Data Directory mentioned in 1)

Assigning photos to people is done at the time you assign a rectangle of the photo to a person in the Database. Thus, a photograph can be associated with all the people who appear in it. In other words, a photograph is placed in the photo album of all the people contained in it, with the condition that a rectangle (the one that frames their face, for example) is assigned to each person.
How to assign a rectangle to a person:

A) Make the display of the photograph.
B) In the icon bar, click on the Update icon. Some controls will appear to the right of the photo.
C) Among the controls that appear to the right of the photograph, click on the one that says Define rectangles. A box will appear at the top right of the photo with the options to Insert, Delete and Exit. The Insert Option will be activated.
D) Moving the mouse over the photo will show a hand with a pointing finger. Move the mouse to the top left corner of the rectangle you want to define. Press the left button and keep it pressed, move the mouse until the rectangle you want to describe is drawn (for example, the face of the person to be assigned).
E) Release the button. Three controls will immediately appear at the top right of the photo. If the person you want to identify is in the Database, click on the Database control. If, on the other hand, you only want to describe the content of the rectangle, click on Text Describing.
F) If you have clicked on Database, the system will take you to the search for the person. Once identified, the GDS will automatically assign this person to this photo.
G) Steps D) to F) can be repeated as many times as desired.
H) Exit update.

The descendant tree relates a person to any of their ancestors.

In order for the GDS to perform the descendant tree, it must have calculated the ancestors of a person.
Therefore, to create a descendant tree, proceed as follows:

A) From a person’s panel, search for their ancestors by any of the two procedures (List of Ancestors or Chart of Sides). This operation causes the GDS to calculate all the ancestors of this person.

B) From any of these reports, or simply because any person who is an ancestor of this person is accessed, the Descendant Tree control appears available. By clicking on it, the corresponding descendant tree is obtained from this person to the initial person.

C) This last operation can be carried out as many times as desired from any ancestor of the first person.
To make descendant trees towards another person, simply repeat the operation expressed in A).

By registering a GDS Database you are entitled to use it on your desktop and laptop. When copying the Database to the new computer, keep in mind that GDS must be installed on it in order to use the Database, as well as having assigned the corresponding folder as the Data Directory.
You must keep in mind the following recommendations when using the GDS on more than one computer with the same Database:

Always update one of them at a time. If you don’t do this, when you copy from one computer to another, any data you changed on the second computer will be lost.

To install on the second computer, proceed as follows:

1) Copy all the content of your Database from the first to the second.
2) Install the GDS on the second.
3) Start the GDS in the second and assign the Directory of your newly created Database.

With your PAF program, you can export to a GEDCOM file. From this one
file, you can import into the GDS.

The GEDCOM language is a standard language for importing and exporting genealogy files between genealogy programs. However, by its very construction, it does not guarantee that all data is exportable/importable, so it may be that some data contained in the PAF file does not appear in GDS. In any case, the experiences so far have shown that a very good exchange takes place.

Keep in mind that the PAF program (Like all Genealogy programs, except GDS), only deals with one surname, so the two surnames of the people are only placed in one field.

When importing to GDS, this situation is automatically detected and it will ask you if you want it to try to discriminate the last names and place the second in the corresponding field of the second name of the GDS. This transformation is carried out with an internal algorithm that cannot be perfect, so you must review the names entered a posteriori in order to ensure that the discrimination has been correct.

– View the photo.
– Click the Update icon on the icon bar, or Right-click on the photo. A dropdown will appear.
– Click on Delete and agree to delete it.

Normally it is not necessary to uninstall GDS. The new GDS will simply be written over the old one. If the Database has changed format for the new Version, the conversion will be done automatically.

Each new GDS revision is compatible with the previous one. When the Version changes, if the Database format changes to the new Version, the system detects it and converts it automatically. In this case, the Database converted to the new Version can no longer be used with the previous Version.

Please note that any database that has been converted to a new version will need to be registered again. Registration is done from the program itself at the time you request it. See the price at the time of doing it.

Once a Database has been registered, you can copy it to another computer. You agree that GDS will be used in this database by only one user at a time.

However, if two Databases are maintained, care must be taken not to add or update data simultaneously, since, if they do, subsequent synchronization will be impossible. Our recommendation is that you keep the data in one of them and periodically copy it to the other. In other words, always maintain a master and a slave Database.

There are two methods for assigning a photo to a person panel:

First method:

The procedure is as follows:

Requirement: There is a photo in which there is a rectangle assigned to the person to whom you want to assign this photo (To assign a rectangle to a person see the question How do I assign a photo to a person’s album.
For example, it can be a photo in which there are several people assigned (Several rectangles assigned to people from the Database), and one of these people is the person to whom you want to assign the photo.

– Open the photo.
– Move the mouse to a place that corresponds to the person you want to assign this photo to. On the screen you will see the name of the corresponding person….
– Press the right mouse button…. a drop down panel will appear…
– One of the drop-down options is Assign to person panel. Left click on this option…. answer the questions.

Second method:

This method is even faster:

Requirement. The same as above.
Go to the person… Click on Photos in this person’s panel….. This person’s photos box will appear…. You will see that there is an option that says Assign photo to person panel…Turn it on …Simply without pressing the button access until the chosen photo turns blue….. and press the left button.

Another trick:
From a photograph in which there are several people, we want the face of one of them to be in this person’s panel:

To do this, keep in mind: From any photograph you can extract a rectangle, creating a new photograph that is part of the previous one and in which all its properties are copied.
So to do what you want is done in two steps:

Step 1: Extract a rectangle from a photograph.
– Open the photo.
– Press the right mouse button…. a drop down panel will appear…
– One of the drop-down options is Extract a rectangle. Left click on this option….
– A hand with a pointer will appear…. move the mouse to the upper left corner of the rectangle you want to extract (Over the face of the person on the left)… press the left button and HOLD IT… move the left mouse to the lower right corner of the rectangle you want to extract (under the face of the person on the right)… release the mouse button…
– An excerpt of the previous photo will appear… This is a copy and the previous photo is not modified. You will notice that this photo contains the same title, the same date and correctly identifies the person.

Step 2: Assign to the panel of the person… Use the method first exposed at the beginning of this section.

At the moment of finishing updating the data of a photo, GDS detects if there are photos with an identical date. In that case, the photo album with the same date appears automatically.

Simply left-click on the photo you want to move, and without releasing the mouse button, move it to where you want it to be by releasing the button below. At the moment the album is rearranged.
To exit, simply click on Apply, or close the panel.

There are two cases:

– That in the list of siblings all have a date of birth.

In this case the siblings are sorted automatically when they are entered. However, if once entered there is a change in the date of birth of one or more of them, the system keeps them out of order until the GDS is started again and the verification of all the sibling lists is carried out. If it finds any unordered list, it automatically sorts it.

In any case, the user can carry out the verification from the menu Tools…Analysis of link chains of people.

– Case in which one or some of the siblings on the list of siblings does not have a date of birth assigned.
In this case, a question mark appears to the right of the list. By pressing this symbol you can sort them properly.

The GDS Database license will allow you to change computers without paying again. Likewise, you will be able to transfer your Database to the new computer without having to purchase a new license. In addition, since GDS is constantly being revised, you can download the successive revisions of the program and install them on your computer, as long as it is the same Version.

GDS is in continuous development. Like any complex and live computer program, it has the possibility that there is a bug that has not yet been detected. On an ongoing basis, and each time a bug is found, both internally and from user input, we try to reproduce the problem and then fix it. Periodically we post on this website the new revision of GDS that corrects all the errors found, as well as the improvements that we are adding to the system.

Therefore, we recommend doing the following in the event that the system announces a problem:

A) – Check that the version you have installed corresponds to the latest version available on the Web. To do this, note that when starting GDS, it indicates the version and revision (For example, Revision 8.0.00). If the revision you have installed is less than the one available, proceed to download the new revision for free and install it. This operation does not change your registration or your Database, which remains unchanged. The system you install is compatible with the previous one and it is possible that the error that has occurred to you has been corrected.

B) – If your version matches the one available on the Web, simply follow the GDS directions for sending Marshall System ® the error indication. We will do our best to correct it and we will tell you when the course of action is resolved.

The quality of GDS is based on the invaluable help that we continually receive from our users. Just think that if there is an error, we at Marshall System ® would greatly appreciate it if you let us know. We are proud to be able to respond quickly to it, thank you and apologize for the inconvenience.

Simply remove the duplicate person from the Database. If there is data that you want to keep and move to the original person, you will need to copy it from one to the other.

If you had already assigned links to the person, when you delete the person, the system will ask you if you agree to delete these links. The other people are not disturbed.

GDS does not keep a copy of your data. If you suffer a computer failure and for any reason lose the Database that you have been creating over time, we will not be able to help you reproduce it.

However, if you lose the program, it is no more important than downloading it from our website.
That is why we recommend that you make regular copies of your Database. To do this, use any safeguard procedure available to you.

Normally you only need to save all the files contained in the Data Directory.
You can make the backup directly from GDS when closing the program, since the possibility of doing so appears in the closing window itself.

Act as follows:

A) Go to the File menu… Export… Create a partial database… A window will appear to fill in the necessary data.

B) Assign the output folder. That is, the folder where you want a new database to be created. If that folder already exists, it must be empty.

C) Optionally type a description of the new database.

D) Under Select people, assign all people.

E) Indicate all the information to be exported. In particular, if you have photos, point out all photos.

F) Execute by clicking on Export.

This action will create a new database in the folder pointed to in B) above. The new database will have eliminated the empty spaces, but, be careful, it will have changed all the control numbers of the people.

A) Go to the Tools menu… Massive changes of names, surnames and places…

B) Select the people you want to change. Normally you will say all people.

C) Click on Reduce names and surnames all uppercase

D) Press Execute