Extra URL Filelinks

Notes:

Comments on "Extra URL Filelinks" INDIVIDUAL Record.

File links in GEDCOM are created by having an OBJE structure with the path name to the file in a subordinate FILE tag and the format of the file in a subordinate FORM tag. It does not make sense to limit file links to the small set of multimedia file types mentioned in the GEDCOM standard (see INDIVIDUAL record "Standard GEDCOM Filelinks" for those file types) or even to limit them to local files. This INDIVIDUAL record has a series of links with universal resource locators (URL) in the FILE tag and the file "URL" in the FORM tag.

The sample URL links include links to a web sites, a link to an FTP site, and a link to send email.

This extension of file links to URL links is non-standard GEDCOM. What will a genealogy program do when in encounters URL file links? Cleaver programs will find the file on the Internet using your default browser, FTP program, or email program. Weaker programs will simply delete them from your file (it is bad manners to delete someone's data).