US Surname Distribution Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions

Home | UK Distribution | US Distribution  Help 
 
Q1  I'm trying to paste the records I copied from the National Index into Notepad/Excel/Word but nothing happens.
 
Q2  I've copied and pasted the National Index data into an Excel spreadsheet and saved the spreadsheet as a Text (Tab-delimited) File with the name bloggs.nif.  But when I look at the files in the folder I see the file is now called bloggs.nif.txt.
 
Q3  I'm trying to create my own Aggregated Distribution File and have data for my name for New York State, not for New York City.
 
Q4  When I uploaded the 1880 Census data, and plotted the Distribution Map,  I noticed that North Dakota and South Dakota appear as Dakota Territory.  I want to plot a map based on later records that contain data for North Dakota and South Dakota separately.  Do I have to combine the data for the two states?
 
Q5  I use a Mac, not a PC running Windows.  All the examples refer to Windows.  Can I still use this facility on my Mac?
 
Q6  Why is the default distribution map image a PNG file?  Wouldn't a GIF file be better?
 
Q7  Why does the map take so long to display when I select the JPEG format?
 
Q8  When I upload a file and click on the 'Plot the Distribution Map' button I see no map, just a broken image icon.  Is the Distribution Mapping facility broken?
 
Q9  I'm having problems. I've read all the Help info here and all the info in the FAQ, but I'm still getting nowhere.
 
 

 

Answers

 
Q1  I'm trying to paste the records I copied from the National Index into Notepad/Excel/Word but nothing happens.  What's the problem?
 
You have tried to copy too many records and have given the Windows Clipboard indigestion.  Return to the LDS Census National Index and manually select half the records by scrolling up to the top of the list and clicking to the left of the first record and dragging downwards until you have selected half the records returned by your search.  Copy these to the clipboard and try pasting into Notepad/Excel again.  If you get the same result then try selecting a quarter of the records and so on.  Paste the first batch of selected records into Notepad/Excel/Word then go back and select the next block of records and so on until you have copied all the records from your National Index search.

On my laptop which has 384Mb of RAM (memory) and is running Windows 2000, I can copy about 8,000+ records into the clipboard.  Your mileage may vary. :-)  -Top- 

 
Q2  I've copied and pasted the National Index data into an Excel spreadsheet and saved the spreadsheet as a Text (Tab-delimited) File with the name bloggs.nif.  But when I look at the files in the folder I see the file is now called bloggs.nif.txt.  What's going on?
 
Excel has decided that if you are going to save your data as a text file, then the file WILL have an extension of .txt, whether you like it or not.  Either rename the file, removing the .txt extension, or leave it as it is.  Although the filename looks a little odd (particularly to Windows users), it is perfectly valid.  -Top-   
 
Q3  I'm trying to create my own Aggregated Distribution File and have data for my name for New York State, not for New York City.  What do I do?
 
This facility was designed as a way to display Distribution Mappings based on the LDS 1880 Census CDs, which separates out the New York City data from the New York State data.  The solution is to ignore the problem.  If you save the image of the Distribution Map you can always open it up in your favourite graphics package and edit out New York City.  -Top-  
 
Q4  When I uploaded the 1880 Census data, and plotted the Distribution Map,  I noticed that North Dakota and South Dakota appear as Dakota Territory.  I want to plot a map based on later records that contain data for North Dakota and South Dakota separately.  Do I have to combine the data for the two states?
 
No.  The 1880 US Census contains data for the administrative regions (some of which were states) at that time.  North and South Dakota did not become separate units until 1889 when they both achieved Statehood.  

When you upload a file it is examined and if it contains a state code DT, then it is assumed that the data is pre-1889 and the map will show Dakota Territory, rather than the two states North and South Dakota.  If no state code DT is found, then it is assumed that the data is post-1889 and the map shows the two states.

This situation will cause an anomalous display if your pre-1889 data contains no information for Dakota at all, as Dakota will be shown as two states, rather than one territory.  However, as you have no data for Dakota it won't affect the validity of the Distribution Map.

If you are creating your own Aggregated Distribution File, you should take care that you use either DT or ND and SD.  If you do include DT and either ND or SD then the data for North and South Dakota will not be plotted and will appear as Other in the Legend.  -Top-  

 
Q5  I use a Mac, not a PC running Windows.  All the examples refer to Windows.  Can I use this facility on my Mac?
 

You won't be able to extract data from the LDS Census CDs on your Mac, as there is no Mac version of these. However, if you can extract the data from the LDS on a PC and can transfer the resulting National Index file to your Mac, you can upload the file to this facility from there.  You can also save Aggregated Distribution Files to your Mac and upload them in a later session.  

You may also create an Aggregated Distribution File from your own data on your Mac and upload it to this facility via your web browser.

The utility for aggregating National Index Files on a PC will not work on a Mac.

The same constraints apply to other operating systems such as Linux and other flavours of Unix.  -Top-  

 
Q6  Why is the defaut distribution map image a PNG file?  Wouldn't a GIF file be better?
 

The PNG image format has the advantages of being a better format and of having an even better compression algorithm than the GIF format, resulting in smaller file sizes.  The PNG image format is supported by all modern web browsers and many graphics packages.   -Top-  

 
Q7  Why does the map take so long to display when I select the JPEG format?
 

The compression algorithm used for the JPEG image format was design for and works best with photographic images.  The algorithm does not work well with line-drawing type images like the Distribution Map, either in terms of compression, or image quality.  The JPEG images are some eight times the size of the equivalent PNG image.  As a consequence, download times are eight times longer, on average, than the download time for the equivalent PNG image.  The JPEG format is provided for the convenience of those using browsers which do not support the PNG image format, or are not configured to correctly display dynamic PNG images.  If your browser supports PNG image format, then this is the best format to use, both in terms of image quality and file size.  For more information about the PNG image format see http://www.libpng.org/    -Top-  

 
Q8  When I upload a file and click on the 'Plot the Distribution Map' button I see no map, just a broken image icon.  Is the Distribution Mapping facility broken?
 

If you have successfully uploaded a file then it is unlikely that the Distribution Mapping utility is broken.  

The most common reason for the distribution map failing to display is you are running software that is blocking the display of the image, such as a personal firewall, Like Norton Firewall.  Try turning the firewall off and changing one of the map display options at the top of the page, to refresh the map.  If the map now displays, turn the firewall back on, and check the configuration options that control the display of images.  Alternately you may be able to add this site to a list of 'trusted' sites. e.g. in Norton Firewall see Internet Options -> Advanced -Top-  

 
Q9  I'm having problems. I've read all the Help info here and all the info in the FAQ, but I'm still getting nowhere.  What can I do?
 
Email me at distribution.support@wykes.org with a description of the problem, the time and date it occurred and the country and surname you are mapping the distribution for.  Please do not send any files in the first instance.  If I need to see your files I'll ask you to send them.   -Top-

Top | Home | US Distribution | Help