Overview
The Utilities > Logs menu includes commands related to log files written by Gedcom Publisher as it operates:
- The Open GEDCOM Log command opens the GEDCOM log file in the default text file editor.
- The Open Application Log command opens the Application log file in the default text file editor.
GEDCOM Log File
Gedcom Publisher writes GEDCOM log file entries when it loads a GEDCOM file. The log file entries include INFOrmational, WARNing, and ERROR messages about the GEDCOM file.
- Example INFO Message
INFO - Reading GEDCOM file 'C:\GEDCOM\smith-family.ged'
- Example WARN Message
WARN - Line 66: Line length (293) exceeds GEDCOM maximum but will process
- Example ERROR Message
ERROR - Line 85: Unrecognized text 'UNKNOWN' parsing date 'UNKNOWN'
You should review the GEDCOM log to see if there are any serious errors. Most GEDCOM files will trigger some error messages, but you may choose to ignore some (or all) of them. For example, many people put text in date fields, and that leads to invalid GEDCOM DATE tags. Gedcom Publisher will write an error message (see example above), but the error may be ignored because Gedcom Publisher will load the text as a date phrase, and that will yield the expected output. If you use the GEDCOM file for other purposes, you may want to change the data in your genealogy program to avoid the error.
Application Log File
Gedcom Publisher writes Application log file entries as it operates. The log file is recreated when the application starts. The log file entries include INFOrmational, WARNing, and ERROR messages.
Application Log entries include a time stamp and the name of the component within Gedcom Publisher that generated the message. The component name will not mean much to end users, but may provide a useful clue about issues that arise when using the program, and is vital to debugging efforts by support staff.
- Example INFO Message
INFO Gedcom Publisher.FormMain - Opening Gedcom Publisher file "C:\Users\jfc\Documents\Gedcom Publisher\mybook.gpfile"
- Example WARN Message
WARN Gedcom Publisher.GedTagTypes - No sentence for tag 'Marriage', role 'Usher'
- Example ERROR Message
ERROR Gedcom Publisher.MessageWindow - Making site: File not found attempting to copy 'C:\Users\jfc\Documents\Gedcom Publisher\mybook-i\if\mary.jpg'