GenSmarts Genealogy Software
Contents
Vista Compatibility
GenSmarts Version 2 was compatible with Vista when it was released, so if you have GenSmarts Version 2, you're all set.
If you have Version 1, you need to make sure you have the latest update (it's a free update to Version 1) - click here to visit our update page where you can check your version number.
Installation Considerations
a) There isn’t anything you need to do prior to installing/upgrading Vista itself… all the considerations are for after you’ve gotten Vista up and running.
b) If you’re upgrading an existing PC with Vista, then you’ll already have GenSmarts installed from your previous operating system. Visit our update page and run the update utility there make sure you have the latest free update.
c) If it’s a fresh Vista install (rather than a Vista upgrade of XP, for example), or an upgraded machine that didn’t have GenSmarts on it originally, then you’ll need to install from scratch. If you have a GenSmarts activation name/key (most people don't - they have a CD) then you’ll simply want to download/install the file from our downloads page.
d) If you own a CD (most people do), it’s likely that you don’t have an activation/name key… the CD doesn't need one. In that case (you have GenSmarts on a CD, but not an activation name/key), install from your CD, BUT DO NOT CHOOSE THE OPTION TO RUN GENSMARTS AFTER THE INSTALL. Then click here to visit our update page where you can run the update utility to get the latest update.
e) At this point, after following one of b), c), or d) above… you should have at least Version 1.1.1.xx (or 2.1.1.xx) installed on Vista. We suggest at this point that your run GenSmarts, just to verify that it comes up and functions. Load the sample Gedcom in the program directory (C:\Program Files\GenSmarts) if you don’t have your genealogy file on your machine yet.
f) If GenSmarts was previously installed on this machine prior to Vista, you’re probably done at this point. However, if this was a fresh Vista install, there may be some GenSmarts data and settings you want to move over from another machine. You can simply copy those files over, but be aware that the directory they go in will have likely changed on Vista. Where as the default previous to Vista was to use the GenSmarts program directory (typically C:\Program Files\GenSmarts), with Vista the default is to use the common documents folder (Public…Documents…GenSmarts). Make sure GenSmarts is closed when you do the move. The list of files you’ll want to move are:
*GenSmarts.ini
*ResearchResults.CSV
*PlacePhrases.TXT
*CustomGeo.TXT
*ExcludedPlaceNames.TXT
*GSKB.PAT
the entire Repository folder
The asterisk (“*”) in the above name indicates that you want all the files that end with the name specified (so you’ll include backups and any specialized versions of these files). Don’t worry if you don’t have all of the above files, as some of them aren’t created unless you use a certain feature.
g) If GenSmarts (on Vista) finds that your working files are in your program directory (as would be the case if you’ve just migrated a machine to Vista), GenSmarts itself will offer to move those files out of the program directory and into the public documents directory for you.
h) You don’t need to read the following material entitled “GenSmarts on Vista - Behind the Scenes”. It’s some “stream of consciousness” material we included for those of you that are a bit more technical - we thought you might find it interesting.
GenSmarts on Vista – Behind the Scenes
It’s been pretty widely publicized that Vista is a considerable step up in terms of security. From our experience, that’s accurate. We were taken aback, however, by the usability impact this approach to security has… we’re afraid:
1) the underlying security model is beyond easy comprehension for most users
2) the typical user will be overwhelmed with security exceptions, messages and requests as most application software wasn’t written for this model
3) these messages and requests assume an understanding of the underlying security model, so confused users will respond arbitrarily to them
Power users and technical folks will probably like Vista. Users who don’t do much other than email, Word, and web browsing will be fine. Users who run third party applications (e.g. genealogy software) and aren’t that computer savvy will probably have issues. Time will tell.
Here’s an example of something that I think has the potential to drive people nuts – what Vista calls virtualization. Vista now tries to protect large chunks of your hard disk so your actions don’t impact other users. Suppose you’re running an application that tries to store something in one of those “non public” areas (like C:\Program Files). Vista will let you think you stored it there, but will actually store it in a special area accessible only to you. As long as you are running in the right mode, the file will look like it’s where you would expect. Switch modes however, and the file will have disappeared. If your wife signs onto a different user account and runs the same application, she won’t see any changes you made, but rather be given her own copy of that file. If your backup utility runs in administrative mode, rather than user mode, backing up this folder won’t back up either you or your wife’s changes.
So one of the Vista changes we made to GenSmarts was to avoid storing any data or settings in any type of protected area… to avoid the need for Vista to “virtualize” anything. As background, prior to Windows Vista, the simplest installation model for end users to manage was to keep everything related to GenSmarts (it's programs, data, and settings) in the "program directory", which was typically C:\Program Files\GenSmarts. With Vista making that “store everything in the program directory” model quite complicated/confusing, we recommend (with Vista), that you move GenSmarts data and settings (the stuff that changes somewhat frequently), to Vista’s common documents area. You don’t really have to do anything to cause that to happen, GenSmarts version 1.0.9.33 (and higher) will do that for you. You will need to know, however, if you go looking for those files that they’ll be in a different place. From Vista’s basic “Computer” dialog, choose the PUBLIC folder, then the DOCUMENTS folder within that. You’ll see you now have a GenSmarts folder there.
GenSmarts runs fine in normal “user” mode, not “admin” mode, which is a good thing as far as security goes. In Vista, you can force a program to run in “admin” mode if you want using the right click properties of the EXE itself. In GenSmarts, that EXE would be gsEngine.exe. We don’t recommend that you do that however.
UPDATE (4/23/2008) - Neither TMG, RootsMagic, or GenSmarts needs to run in Admin mode, so the following comment probably doesn't apply. If you are running in Admin mode, you should be investigating why you are doing that. A point related to “user” and “admin” mode… Vista enforces a security rule that says that a “user” program is not allowed to send a message to a program running in “admin” mode. This has implications for you RootsMagic and TMG users that use their feature of invoking GenSmarts from within RootsMagic/TMG…. because it means that RootsMagic/TMG, if they are running in “admin” mode, will not be able to get responses from a “user” mode GenSmarts. If you find you have to run RootsMagic or TMG in “admin” mode, then you can try running GenSmarts in admin mode as well, and see if that works for you.
UPDATE (4/23/2008) - Vista security prevents an application from sending keystrokes to another, which is how the "go to" functionallity in GenSmarts Version 1 worked. This was a feature that allowed you to press a function key (or use the mentu TOOLS...GO TO INDIVIDUAL...) to be transferred into your record keeping application (e.g. FTM, PAF, RootsMagic, TMG, Legacy, etc.) and positioned to that individual. It was a convenient way of making changes to your data based on what you were finding in GenSmarts. We implemented the feature by simply feeding the right keystrokes to your record keeping application because it required no changes to be made by the record keeping software vendor. As you might understand, it can be difficult if not impossible to get other vendors to put in an interface for other software to use. Unfortunately, Vista requires a formal interface for this sort of thing. So we've put the ability in GenSmarts to use a formal interface if and when then a record keeping vendor implements it. As of this date (4/23/2008), the following record keeping applications have added this "go to" interface:
TMG Version 7
If you want to lobby your record keeping application to add support for this, you can send an email to them along with the following link, which is a page where we explain how to implement the interface and provide some sample code:
http://www.gensmarts.com/gotointerface.html
Another point related to “between program” communication is how GenSmarts drives Internet Explorer with SmartSearch/SmartLink. With the normal “locked down” Vista/IE defaults, called “protected” mode in IE, this sort of thing isn’t allowed – a “user” mode program isn’t allowed to communicate with a “protected mode” IE. So for SmartSearch/Link to work, either GenSmarts would have to be run in “admin” mode, or IE would have to be in “unprotected mode”. Ideally, there would be some one time grant of a small privilege to GenSmarts so Vista would allow the communication… but alas, that’s not the case. Running GenSmarts in “admin” mode opens up a whole can of worms elsewhere, so the best way for us to resolve this is to get IE launched in an “unprotected” mode. The only provision Vista makes for this, is for a “trusted” site. I guess it sorta makes sense, if you “trust” a site, then it’s ok to let something navigate it for you (though it seems like it’s the driver you should be worrying about trusting, not the site). So the solution we chose to this was to have GenSmarts prompt you to grant permission for IE to “trust” the sites GenSmarts will link to. This permission is part of the install routine, and also checked each time SmartSearch/Link is used. If for some reason, you ended up trying to SmartSearch/Link to a site in protected mode IE… the site will launch, but GenSmarts simply does nothing more. You can also manually tailor the “trusted” sites list in IE itself – just click on the words “protected” or “unprotected” at the very bottom of the IE window itself and that will open up the dialog for this. Again, we’ve made the changes to GenSmarts to manage all this for you, so you don’t really have to do anything.
Another point related to RootsMagic and TMG users is the Windows drivers we use to access their database. Known as “foxpro” drivers, there are two sets of these that Microsoft provides – older technology, known as ODBC (available with a driver called VFPODBC), and a newer technology known as OLEDB (available with a driver called VFPOLEDB). A couple of years ago, we found bugs in the newer technology, so built support into GenSmarts for the older technology, which has been very reliable up to this point. However, while the older technology driver works find with Vista, it’s installation routine doesn’t and Microsoft doesn’t seem to be too interested in fixing it. It is possible to install it, but it’s too complicated for most end users. We tested the newer technology, VFPOLEDB, and found it’s previous bugs have been fixed, so have added support for it. The net of this is that either of these drivers will work equally well, it’s just that we now recommend the newer technology with XP and Vista, rather than the older technology. We’ve updated are install and detection routines accordingly. If you’re using Vista and happen to have the older technology installed, GenSmarts will simply use it without complaint. If we find you don’t have either driver installed, GenSmarts will give you a link and instructions for the one we recommend. On our CD’s or in situations where we know a RootsMagic or TMG user will be installing GenSmarts, we package these drivers up in the installation so we can resolve this at install time, rather than at run time. Version 1.0.9.33 that you can download above, does not have either driver packaged in it, so if you’re using a “from scratch” Vista install (rather than an upgrade) you’ll get some instructions at run time on where to download the driver you need.
We've had a couple or users report a RootsMagic bug where RootsMagic "shuts down" when you ask it to get suggestions from GenSmart. GenSmarts works fine standalone and also is able
to be called by other applications, but not RootsMagic. Since many more users have reported it works fine, we assume it's some
machine specific RootsMagic issue. If you run into this, contact RootsMagic support for the latest update on this issue. UPDATE (4/23/2008) While the issue in RootsMagic relating to invoking GenSmarts doesn't appear to occur for all Vista users, the percentage affected seems to be growing. I suspect the issue is somehow rooted into something that's changed in Vista itself since it's initial release. In working with a couple of users experiencing this problem, we've been able to confirm that the problem is occurring in RootsMagic before it makes the call out to GenSmarts. So it's an issue that will have to be addressed in RootsMagic and not something we can resolve in GenSmarts. RootsMagic is aware of the issue and you should contact them is you have any questions as to the current status of a fix. If you want to test GenSmarts to make sure it's working correctly in this scenario (being invoked on Vista by another program), we have a small test program that tests GenSmarts by invoking it externally like TMG and RootsMagic does - see http://www.GenSmarts.com/integrationTest.html for more information.
When running an application that doesn't have an explicit Vista security declaration (e.g. almost all older applications), Vista will run the application in the protected "user" mode
unless the application has the word Setup or Install or Update in it's name or description. In the case of those special words in the name/description, Vista will run in "admin" mode,
because the assumption is that an install or setup routine will need to add files to protected areas. One problem
with this is that many install routines give you the option of running the applicaiton your installing at the
tail end of the install. If you do that (run the app at the end), it will also run in "admin" mode... that's a
bad thing as it will allow you to store things where you shouldn't. Later when you run the app again, now in "user"
mode since you didn't run it off the back of the install, you'll find you can't access data you created in the
very first run. That's exactly what happened to me when I installed some genealogy software... I created a test
genealogy database that I was going to have GenSmarts analyze, and then I couldn't get access to it later
because I really shouldn't have been allowed to create it where I did in the first place. So, for now, a well behaved
Vista application won't let you invoke it immediately after the install. You may notice that the GenSmarts install
no longer presents this option when it is run on Vista. If you're installing other applications, I'd suggest
you decline the option to run them immediately after the install.
Vista no longer supports the old style Windows help files (those with an extension of .HLP). So we've switched over to the newer style ".CHM" format. It's similar but you'll notice it has a slightly different GUI. For older platforms (e.g. XP) we install both formats, though default to using the ".HLP" format.
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