RootsMagic 8 has changes to its database design that render many of the items in RMtrix unusable. It will throw an unhandled exception error in most, if not all, cases.

RMtrix collects a bunch of SQLite queries under a simple, easy-to-use interface. It does many of the queries reported on this wiki – some of the menu items are dormant. RMtrix is intended to progress the development of a more comprehensive set of utilities going beyond the limitations of the database language by itself and make them available to and usable by the average user of the RootsMagic software.

Kim Mills has done a very clear, well illustrated explanation of how to use functions in RMtrix to split shared events prior to exporting and uploading to Rootsweb and Ancestry.com trees. Read it on her Footsteps of the Past blog.

Alpha-7 21 Jan 2013

Alpha-7 has many additional tricks gathered from the last nine months of SQLite Tools for RootsMagic..

Screenshot from RMtrix alpha-7 querying the properties of the RootsMagic 6 database stored in the file “RM6-PLAY.rmgc”. Now uses a RM6.0.0.4 database (reported as 6000) as the reference for comparing source templates, fact definitions, etc.

Note that you can sort on any column by clicking on the header and you can change the order of the columns by dragging one at a time. These arrangements do not persist through to the next running of the query.

The following menu items are active (red text signifies a change from alpha-6, 9 Mar 2012):

• File > Select
• Help > About
• Addresses > Identify Blank Names | How Used
• Database > Analyze | De-Analyze | Integrity Check | Reindex | Properties| Vacuum
• Events > Set same date sort order | Shared events with missing witnesses | Sharable events
• | Birth Year Mismatch List | Death Year Mismatch List | UPDATE Birth and Death Years
• | Convert Shared to Individual (SPLIT Shared to Individual | UNSHARE | UNDO Splits and RESHARE | HIDE Tracks)
• Fact Types > View current outputs | Set all to GEDCOM | Snapshot current | View snapshot outputs | Restore from snapshot | Delete snapshot
• Media > File Links | Media List | DELETE Unused | RESET Media Type
• | Media Tags (COPY from Shared Events to Individual | DELETE Personals duplicating Events)
• People > Duplicate Name Search | Resolved Duplicate Names | Multiple spouses | Nameless People – DELETE
• | Alternate Names (List | Delete Orphans | SET Type “Married” | ADD “Married”)
• Places > Errors | Having Place Details | Unused Places | Orphaned Place Details (List | Delete) | DELETE Unused
• Reports > Paragraphing Strip|Add | Dummy family Add|Delete | LifeLines
• Sources > Master Sources | Source List | Invisible Name Citations (List | Convert to Personal Citations)
• To-Do > To-do List
• Tools > DELETE Phantoms
• Web Tags > MAKE WebTags from citation Comments | COPY from Citations to Persons | DELETE Duplicates

Sorry! No Help screens yet…

Caveat Emptor!

I’m a novice at Visual Studio and C# and have not taken steps to automatically protect or backup your database. So get to know RMtrix by using it on a copy of your database. Some of these functions modify your database and are so flagged in the Tool Tip popup when the mouse pointer hovers over the menu item.

Integrity Check, Reindex and Vacuum – Beware!

The Integrity Check will almost invariably report errors on a RootsMagic database that has NOT been Reindexed or Vacuumed by RMtrix. And RootsMagic 5 will almost invariably report errors on a database that HAS been Reindexed or Vacuumed by RMtrix. That is because RootsMagic 4 and 5 use a secret multilingual collation sequence for comparing strings of text and putting them in order. RMtrix uses a simpler collation; indexes produced by two different collation sequences will sometimes differ. Therefore, it is recommended that:

1. RM5 & 6 databases may be Reindexed or Vacuumed in RMtrix for its use and then, on return to working with RM5, use its File > Database Tools > Rebuild Indexes.
2. RM4 databases should NOT be Reindexed or Vacuumed in RMtrix.

At some future stage of development, hopefully there will be protections built in to prevent changes to RM4 databases that could result in indexing errors.

Download and Installation

RMtrix32.zip  RMtrix64.zip zip files dated 21 Jan 2013 ver 0.1.7

Download the 32 bit or 64 bit version (match your computer’s operating system) to a temporary location on your computer. If your operating system does not open the zip file, you will need an unzip utility to extract all the files and sub-folders to another temporary location. Then open the file “setup.exe”. If your computer does not have the .NET Framework 4 already installed, the installer program should automatically download it from Microsoft and install it before completing the installation of RMtrix. If the installation is successful, RMtrix should open on screen. You should also find a RMtrix folder in your Start Menu.

Please report successful or problem installation to me at ve3meo at gmail dot com and indicate which version of Windows is on your computer and whether 32 or 64 bit. This will help confirm that I have correctly used the Visual Studio Publish tool.

Won’t run?

Getting an error message when you select a database along the lines of “Could not load file or assembly ‘System.Data.SQLite … or one of its dependencies”?

I have an older ThinkPad running Windows XP which was giving me this problem getting the 32-bit version of RMtrix to work. The same issues might pertain to computers running later versions of Windows with either the 32 or 64 bit version of RMtrix. I develop on a 64-bit Windows 7 computer with all the bells and whistles of .NET Framework 4 and the full system.data.SQLite install so getting it to work there does not necessarily guarantee that it will work on other systems.

RMtrix uses the version of SQLite that requires Windows .NET 4 Framework (not just the Client). The installation of RMtrix may not have resulted in the appropriate version of .NET, so Install .NET 4 Framework, the full version, not the Client. You will be given a choice of three things to install – you only need the first of the three, unless you are a developer, the one for running applications.

Even though I distribute the appropriate version of System.Data.SQLite.dll in the installation zip files and it is installed along with RMtrix, that does not seem to be sufficient. I have not found a way in Visual Studio to make the installed app find the DLL. So it is necessary to visit the System.Data.SQLite Downloads page and download and install the package that is appropriate for your computer:
sqlite-netFx40-setup-bundle-x86-2010-1.0.79.0.exe or later, for 32-bit Windows,
sqlite-netFx40-setup-bundle-x64-2010-1.0.79.0.exe or later, for 64-bit Windows.
If you have not previously installed the correct version of .NET 4, System.Data.SQLite will not install.

Discussions & comments from Wikispaces site

Source Code

Here’s the source code for the Visual Studio 10 C# Project in one 7Z compressed file (9MB). You are welcome to use it as you see fit. I have not touched Visual Studio in years so I cannot offer any assistance.

Tom Holden
2021-06-22