Changes to DftCom2

DftCom2 (International) - Version 10.03 - 20 May 2003

DftCom2 (International) - Version 10.02 - 12 May 2003

DftCom2 (International) - Version 10.01 - 1 May 2003

  • DftCom2 installation is now controlled by a fully featured Windows Installer program

    • Creates a DftCom2 Program Group in the Windows Start up menu.
    • Installs (default) in Program Files folder.
    • Creates registry keys and values.
    • Creates optional desktop shortcut to compiler.
    • Provides Uninstall support.

  • The 'Patch' facility for updating previous versions has been withdrawn.

  • The Index now lists individuals in the format: Surname, Forenames

  • When the Filter is used to remove all details, the individual name is replaced by ***** in both the tree and the DFT index.

  • The maximum limit for the number of individuals has been increased from 100,000 to 150,000

  • Language support for Magyar (Hungarian) added.

  • Minor correction to the Swedish language file.


DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.12(NG) - 29 October 2002

  • Limited edition produced as cover disk for New Zealand NetGuide Magazine


DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.12(NG) - 29 October 2002

  • Limited edition produced as cover disk for New Zealand NetGuide Magazine


DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.11

  • Not released.


DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.10 - 10 August 2002

  • As Microsoft no longer provides Java support for Windows XP, the DFT Download page now includes a link to Sun Microsystems Inc where their latest Java Plug-in is available for download.

  • Bug Fix - The icons on the DFT buttons were not being displayed by browsers using the latest Java Plug-in (1.4.0_01) from Sun MicroSystems. To ensure that the DFT functions reliably with all versions of the Java Virtual Machine/Plug-in, the icon image files have been removed from the from the DFT file dftprg.jar and are now held separately in a new file dftico.zip.
    This file is automatically copied to the project Website folder when the DFT Project is SAVED and must be uploaded to the web server with the other DFT files.

  • Bug Fix - When the language selected at run-time used a different Windows Code Page from the user's own code page, some characters were not displayed correctly. This has been corrected.

  • The DFT title bar now includes the version number of the JAVA JVM/Plug-in under which the DFT is running.

  • Minor corrections to the Danish and Swedish language files.

  • A forum for the discussion of all DFT related issues has been launched and may be accessed from this site.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.02 - 24 June 2002

  • The compiler now includes an item in the Language Menu called Auto-select which sets the DFT language to the computer's default language at run-time.

    Provided that the person viewing the DFT has his or her computer set up correctly, this means that the DFT will automatically be displayed in the appropriate language. If the user's computer is set to a language which is not supported by the DFT, the program defaults to English.

    When using applet parameters, the Auto-select feature may also be activated by setting the lang variable to xx.

  • All dates displayed by the DFT are now translated into the appropriate language

  • In previous versions, when the compiler encountered an invalid image file type, it raised a fatal compiler error. The compiler now merely raises a warning message and ignores the reference to the image file.

  • The DftCom2 Help file has been updated.

  • Bug fix - Individuals having a surname but no forename did not always appear in the Index. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.01 - 23 May 2002

  • Bug Fix - Renaming file extensions using the zip parameter did not work correctly. This has been corrected.

  • When using the dft parameter to override the compile-time default owner, an out of bounds reference caused the Applet to fail on loading. The program now reverts to the compile-time default owner if an inavalid reference is supplied.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 9.00 - 18 May 2002

  • DftCom2 now generates zipped database files automatically and the dta file extension is no longer used.

  • The dta parameter which was used for renaming the dta file extension is no longer required and has been removed

  • A family of new parameters dft0, dft1, dft2 etc has been provided whose VALUE is a comma delimited list of the folowing run-time options:
    • menu     - menu item for Extended DFT (not used by the Basic DFT).
    • dbase     - specifies the database file name (with optional relative file path).
    • lang       - overrides the compile-time default language.
    • owner    - overrides the compile-time default owner.
    • imgdir    - specifies the relative file path of an image directory.

    The above parameters/run-tme options enable:
    • Multiple DFTs to appear on the same HTML page.
    • The specification of Extended DFTs.

  • The DftCom2 Help File has been updated to include detailed information on the use of the new family of applet parameters.

  • The DFTX utility is no longer required and has been removed from the DftCom2 download.

  • Language Support for Faroes added.

  • Minor corrections to the Danish language file.


DftCom2 (International) - Version 8.01 - 23 February 2002

  • Language Support for Spanish and Turkish added.

  • As the number of supported languages has increased, there has been a corresponding increase in download time for the language resource file dftlng.zip. Consequently, this file has been split into two, and has been replaced by the files dftlg0.zip and dftlg1.zip.

    i.e. the original file dftlng.zip should be deleted from your web server and both dftlg0.zip & dftlg1.zip should be uploaded.

  • The compiler now includes a Line Concatenation option with the values:
    • No Space
    • Space

    This determines whether or not an additional space is inserted when the compiler processes the Gedcom CONC tag.
    The option was added because reports from users indicate that Genealogy Programs vary in their implementation of the Gedcom CONC tag.

  • The Filtered Index Panel did not display correctly at some screen resolutions. This has been corrected.

  • When Drop-down menus and Help boxes were closed by clicking outside the box, the program generated a Java error (no visible effects). This has been corrected.

  • Users of the Extended Dynamic Family Tree (DFTX) were unable to use renamed versions of the file dftdir.dta. This has been corrected.

  • If a Gedcom Source (SOUR) tag preceded the DATE tag in an Event Record, the subsequent date and place tags (DATE & PLAC) were not recognised by the Compiler. This bug has been fixed.

  • The Extended Family Tree Compiler (DFTX v1.01) has been updated to use Project Folders produced by DftCom2 version 8.1

  • The DftCom2 Web Site has moved to: http://www.dftcom2.co.uk and the email address for program support is now [email protected]
    Although the original URL is still active and will automatically re-direct you the new site, this may not continue indefinitely and I would be grateful if you would start to use the new URL and email address immediately.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 8.00 - 18 November 2001

  • The download now includes the utility program DFTX which builds an Extended Dynamic Family Tree from two or more previously compiled DFTs. The Extended DFT includes a drop down database menu.

  • The compiler now includes an option to select between:
    • All couples shown as married (as in previous versions).
    • Marital status obtained from the Gedcom file.
    The DFT now uses = to indicate that a marriage took place and != for all other cases.

  • The compiler now includes an Automatic Images option which extracts image references directly from the Gedcom file using the linked form of the Gedcom OBJE tag.

  • The Image Manager has been modified to remove several bugs.

  • Multiple FAMC tags are now permitted, although only the first FAMC tag encountered is used.

  • Language support for Polish added. (not supported by Netscape)

  • The Gedcom CONC (concatanation) tag was implemented incorrectly, and introduced spurious spaces in NOTE records. This has been corrected.
    Note: For concatenation to work correctly, lines must be split in the middle of a word and not at word boundaries.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 7.03 - 22 June 2001

  • Bug Fix - Selecting Danish as the default language on the compiler, generated a German DFT and vice versa. This has now been corrected.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 7.02 - 20 June 2001

  • Language support for Italian & Czech added.
    Note: The Czech version cannot be viewed by Netscape.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 7.01 - 6 June 2001

  • Language support for Hrvatski (Croatian) and Slovenski added.
    Note: The above languages cannot be viewed by Netscape.

  • Version 6.13 was changed to use information from the first NAME tag encountered and to discard subsequent NAME tags.
    This change was inadvertently removed from v7.00 but has now been restored!

  • Bug fix - Individiduals with no forename data appeared as completely blank fields on both the Tree and in the Indexes. They are now correctly displayed using the '?' character as a forename.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 7.00 - 16 April 2001

  • As some ISPs do not permit uploading files with particular file name extensions, the user may now use optional Applet parameters to specify alternative file extensions for the dftdbs.dta and *.zip files.

  • The individual language files dftvxx.zip have been replaced by a single language resource file dftlng.zip.

  • Language support for Finnish, Portuguese and Russian added.
    Note: A Russian DFT cannot be viewed by Netscape.

  • Minor improvements to the French and German translations.

  • The compiler now generates an error message if a gedcom file is using the Unicode (or UFT8) character set.

  • Bug fix - DFT record sizes were limited to 32 kBytes. Record sizes are now limited only by computer resources .

  • Bug fix - individuals with very long surnames now display at least one forename initial.

  • Bug fix - some combinations of name and surname suffix were not displayed correctly. This has been corrected.

  • Bug fix - the Filter Editor entry in the compiler Run menu was inactive. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 6.13 - 22 February 2001

  • Bug Fix - A 'data-dependent' compiler bug which on extremely rare occasions resulted in the incorrect linking of individuals in the tree has been fixed.

  • When a Gedcom INDI (individual) record contained multiple NAME tags, previous versions used the last NAME tag found within the record.
    The DFT now uses information from the first NAME tag encountered and discards subsequent NAME tags.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 6.12 - 16 February 2001

  • Bug Fix - Wildcard searches using surnames are now working correctly.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 6.11 - 14 February 2001

  • Children of the individual at the tree focus who have descendants are labelled with an arrow.

  • The Compiler now recognises the optional NAME_PIECE Gedcom tags which are implemented by some genealogical database programs. This enables more complex name structures to be used, such as Lt. Cmdr. Joseph "Joe" Allen Jr.

  • When the optional NAME_PIECE tags are not used, the TITL tag is recognised and implemented as a surname suffix.

  • Multiple OCCU (occupation) tags are now recognised.

  • The CHR (christening) tag is now recognised and implemented as an alternate form of the BAPM (baptism) tag - ie christenings appear as baptisms on the DFT.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 6.10 - 1 February 2001

  • The DFT Applet now recognises zipped database files. The compression program GZip has been withdrawn.

  • The Dynamic Family Tree is now independent of the of the Windows Code Page in use at compile time. e.g. A DFT produced on a computer using the Greek code page may now be viewed on computers using the Western European code page (and vice versa).

    • The format of the database file has changed and the file renamed to dftdbs.dta.

    • The format of the Language Files has changed and the files renamed to dftvxx.zip, where xx is the two character language code.

  • Language support for German and Greek added.
    Note: A Greek DFT cannot be viewed by Netscape.

  • Minor revisions made to existing Language Files.

  • The DFT Index now sorts non-english characters in correct alphabetical order.

  • Bug Fix - The compiler Help file was sometimes inaccessible. This has been corrected.

  • Bug Fix - The first five entries in the Full Index were never selected by a wildcard search. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 (International) - Version 6.00 - 14 December 2000

  • The Dynamic Family Tree may now be displayed in various languages.

    At compile time the user may use a new 'Language' option to select the default language in which the Dynamic Family Tree will initially be displayed.

    The Dynamic Family Tree has an additional toolbar button, which enables the viewer to change the display language on-line.

    Languages currently supported are:
     Dansk - English - Français - Nederlands - Norsk - Svenska

  • When the compiler detects an error in the Gedcom file, it now returns to the compiler, rather than terminating and returning to the Windows Desktop.

  • When using the Filtered Index, searches using the '?' wildcard character sometimes returned an incorrect result. This has been corrected.

  • The context-sensitive Help buttons on the compiler now work correctly.
    When running the compiler, the F1 function key now also displays context-sensitive help where available.

  • On first using an updated version of DftCom2 with an existing database file, the compiler reported an Invalid File Error. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 - Version 5.01 - 6 November 2000

  • Upgrading from v4.13 to v5.00 generated error. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 - Version 5.00 - 5 November 2000

  • A single image per individual may now be included in the database. This is downloaded from the server on request, by clicking on a button positioned over the individual at the tree focus.

    Notes are now accessed by a similar button rather than by clicking on the individual at the tree focus.

DftCom2 - Version 4.13 - 11 June 2000

  • Previous fix for truncated Notes only partially successful. Notes are now displayed correctly.

DftCom2 - Version 4.12 - 8 June 2000

  • Notes were sometimes truncated. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 - Version 4.11 - 6 June 2000

  • Gedcom files exported by some Family Tree packages would not compile when the 'Exclude Notes' Filter Box was checked. This has been corrected.

DftCom2 - Version 4.10 - 4 June 2000

  • New 'Turbo' Compiler - Compiles up to 20 times faster.
  • Filter now includes option to automatically select all individuals who are possibly still alive.
  • Previous versions inflated the reported Number of Individuals by five & the Number of Mariages by one. This has been corrected.
  • The default installation directory is now C:\DftCom2\ and will remain so for all future versions. The currently installed version may be ascertained from the text file Version.txt

DftCom2 - Version 4.02 - 25 April 2000

  • The Dynamic Family Tree now provides two Indexes.
    • A full Alphabetical Index.
    • A Filtered Index which can be generated by a user search of the database (using wildcard characters if required). The Search Facility has its own HELP file.
    The original index based on Family Groups, no longer exists. Consequently, the compiler's Variant Surname facility is redundant and has also been removed.
    Also, all compiler options which require the selection of an individual have also been modified to use a single alphabetical index rather than the two stage Family Group index previously used.

  • The Dynamic Family Tree applet can now read database files in either the original format or a new compressed format which greatly reduces download times.
    The DftCom2 package includes a utility program DftGZip.exe for generating compressed database files.

  • The Dynamic Family Tree no longer displays a blank Ref label if the Reference Number Option is set to None.

  • The compiler now correctly interprets the Gedcom TRLR tag and permits the Gedcom File to end with a blank line.

DftCom2 - Version 4.01 - 10 April 2000

  • Beta version not generally released.

DftCom2 - Version 3.01 - 23 March 2000

  • Gedcom NOTES are now displayed in a scrolling window.
  • The Gedcom CONT and CONC tags (substructures of the NOTE tag) are now processed correctly to preserve the format specified by the Gedcom file.
  • Minor amendment to DFT on-line HELP.
  • The version numbers of DftCom2 and the compiled DFT have been brought into line and are both now at Version 3.01.
  • The default installation folder is 'DftCom2_301'.

DftCom2 - Version 2.01 - 17 March 2000

  • After compiling a Dynamic Family Tree using DftCom2 version 2.01 you must ensure that the both the database file 'dftdbs.txt' and the java archive file 'dftprg.jar' are uploaded to your web server as these files are incompatible with those from previous versions.

  • Image files are now included in the applet archive file 'dftprg.jar'
    Consequently, the eleven image files (*.gif) required by the previous version should be deleted from your web sever when uploading the new version.

  • The default installation folder is 'DftCom2_201'. If you chooose to override the default and install in a folder containing a previous version of DftCom2 however, you will need to delete the eleven redundant image files (*.gif) from the Project Web Folder.

  • The previous version (1.01) of the Dynamic Family Tree could not be displayed on platforms running under the OS2 operating system. This problem has been rectified.

  • DftCom2 now reports the Gedcom line number when encountering a fatal syntax error. It is also now more tolerant of certain errors involving missing Gedcom Tags.

  • The DftCom2 Help File now includes a section on Error Reports.

  • Dynamic Family Trees generated by this release of DftCom2 now display version 1.02 in the window title. There are no other visible differences in the Display of the Dymamic Family Tree