Deleting Unconnected Trees & Individuals

You can have Legacy search for unconnected "trees" and individuals not linked to your main family tree and then tag (mark) them for mass deletion. Please make a backup by going to File > Backup Family File before you start because mass deleting is irreversible.

Here's how to do the mass deletion:

1. Open the Tree Finder by clicking on View on the menu bar and selecting Tree Finder. The resulting list shows the number of trees found and also the count of individuals in each one.  The count is shown to the right of the name of the person having the lowest record number (RIN) in that group. There are a couple of options you will need to use.

To tag the highlighted person, set the desired tag number in the lower-right and then click Tag the Highlighted Individual in the List.

To tag all the people in the tree of the highlighted person, click Tag the Entire Tree of the Highlighted Individual.

Once the unlinked individuals are tagged, they are ready for deletion. Close the Tree Finder screen and then open the Advanced Deleting screen by clicking on Tools on the menu bar and selecting Advanced Deleting.

Select which records you would like to delete by clicking on Delete all Individual records tagged on level: x.  If you want to see each deletion, check the Confirm Each Deletion box.  This will pop up a window for each deletion showing the surrounding family members.

Click the Apply button to start the deletion process. If you need more information, click the Help button in screen you are currently working in.

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The best way to delete just a part of your family file is to first tag the people in wrong person’s ancestral line, and then delete the tagged people. Tagging is like putting slips of paper in specific places in a book to mark or tag those pages for photocopying. In this way, tagging can be used to select only certain people for deleting.

To turn on the Tagging option, please click on Options on the menu bar and select Customize. In the Customize screen make sure you are on the General tab; then check mark the Enable Tagging box and Save.

There is a free video demonstration of Tagging at http://www.millenniacorp.com/_videos/tagging/tagging__preview.html.

The Advanced Tagging screen is reached by right-clicking on any tag box or by choosing Tag Records… from the Edit menu. You can also find it by opening the Name List and clicking Options and selecting Advanced Tagging.

Once the unwanted individuals are tagged, they are ready for deletion. Close the Advanced Tagging screen and then open the Advanced Deleting screen by clicking on Tools on the menu bar and selecting Advanced Deleting.

Select which records you would like to delete by clicking on Delete all Individual records tagged on level: x.  If you want to see each deletion, check the Confirm Each Deletion box.  This will pop up a window for each deletion showing the surrounding family members.

Click the Apply button to start the deletion process. Because mass deleting irreversibly eliminates individuals from your family file, please make a backup before you start. If you need more information, click the Help button in screen you are currently working in.