SAG CDs Technical Support
Technical support for SAG CDs
This page provides access to technical support relating to CDs published by SAG in its own right. The AGCI CDs have their own technical support page. If you're using Microsoft's Vista operating system, you should also visit our Vista Technical Support page.
If you have trouble with installing or using a CD, or believe you have found a "bug" in the program or an error in the data, before calling or writing to us, PLEASE read the paragraphs below relating to your CD. You may well find the answer to your problem there.
We are unable to give advice about particular individuals you found on your CD, except as set out under "Learning more about your ancestors" in the CD's help files, or as set out on our research page on this web site.
For technical support of our various CDs, select an appropriate link from the following list:
- Convicts to NSW 1788-1812
- Cemetery Transcriptions - issues for all cemetery CDs
- Rookwood CD-specific issues
- Macquarie Park Cemetery CD-specific issues
- Waverley & South Head General Cemeteries CD-specific issues
Convicts to NSW 1788-1812
No known issues. If you're having problems, please check the help files on the CD itself - clicking the Help button on any screen will explain how to interpret the data on that screen and how to use the displayed buttons.
NB: the data for any convict - spelling of name etc - is as found in the quoted sources. We know that these details are sometimes wrong, or at variance with details provided by other records. We will be glad to hear from you if you believe that we have misinterpreted some detail from the quoted sources - but please check the quoted source yourself before you write to us!
Cemetery Transcriptions - various CDs
If you're having problems, please check the help files on the CD itself - clicking the Help button on any screen will explain how to interpret the data on that screen and how to use the displayed buttons.
NB: each transcription - spelling of name etc - is as found on the headstone. We know that these details are sometimes wrong, or at variance with details provided by other records. We will be glad to hear from you if you believe that we have misinterpreted some detail from the headstone - but please check the headstone yourself before you write to us!
Problems using "Wild Cards"?
Using a ? or * to represent one or more missing characters in a last name is a memory-intensive process. If your computer runs Windows 95 with just 16 or 32 megabytes of memory you are likely to have difficulty conducting such "wild card" searches. They will either be very slow or cause crashes. Even computers with much larger amounts of memory may have difficulty with wild card searches that are likely to give many hits.
You can make things easier for your computer by breaking down big searches into several parts. For instance, if you want to find all the Smiths, Smyths and Smythes, search for each separately rather than as SM*TH* - i.e. do three searches, for SMITH, SMYTH and SMYTHE. Or combine the search with other criteria, such as a year range or an initial or forename.
If your computer has a large amount of memory, or the names being searched for are much less common, wild card searches should present few problems and strategies for reducing the use of memory will be of little relevance.
Wild card searches can also cause a crash if the name includes an apostrophe. Thus searching for O'N*l? to find all the O'Neals, O'Neils and O'Neills will not work. You can work around this problem by using a questionmark as a wild card to replace the apostrophe. Alternatively, see Downloads below.
Can't find someone you know is buried in one of the cemeteries?
There are many reasons why this could happen - check out the Search Tips in the relevant CD's help files.
Other cemetery issues
Apart from the above issues, there are downloads available for both our Rookwood and Macquarie Park CDs to address a range of other issues that are described below. Simply click on the relevant link in the previous sentence for further detail.
Waverley-specific issues and downloads
The Waverley & South Head General CD has no other known issues and the CD remains up-to-date.
Rookwood-specific issues and downloads
Why aren't there any inscriptions from Rookwood Crematorium?
We concentrated on Rookwood Cemetery and then moved on to transcribe other long-established Sydney cemeteries before headstone legibility deteriorated further. We may well transcribe the Crematorium at a later stage.
I've found a grave that seems to be both Lutheran and Anglican!
As noted in the CD's help files, the fiche from which the CD was produced used transcription numbers 177926-180781 in both the Anglican and Lutheran areas of Rookwood. The CD did not attempt to eliminate this duplication. As a result, if you do a search using a transcription number someone has referred you to, and which falls in this range, you will find both Lutheran and Anglican possibilities. The other data listed should enable you to readily distinguish the transcription relevant to your research.
I've found a grave showing the wrong denomination or section
The denominations and sections shown are those shown on the original fiche transcriptions and we believe are generally correct. However, some areas of the cemetery were very overgrown in the 1980s, it was poorly signposted, and sometimes the boundaries between different areas were very difficult to distinguish, particularly if the headstones were sparse and scattered. We generally tried to solve such areas of doubt by consulting the relevant Trust offices at Rookwood. However, there may well remain instances where errors have occurred in identifying the appropriate denomination or section. We would be interested to hear from you if you can show this to be the case.
If your program is Version 1.10 then there some Anglican transcriptions numbered in the range 178425-180383 that have been incorrectly labelled as Lutheran, and are showing incorrect section and row details. If you have found hits in this range and wish to have the correct details, see Downloads below. If your program is later than Version 1.10 then you are not affected.
Nothing happens when I try to look at the maps
There are links in the help files to a good few maps of various parts of Rookwood, all of which are held in "pdf" format. If you have Acrobat Reader® installed on your computer, a click on the map link in the help file will automatically display the map. If not, you'll need to install it - there's a copy on the Rookwood CD - look for "Acrobat Reader" in the Rookwood help file.
How do I check what version of the Rookwood search program I have?
Open the Rookwood cemetery search program and click Help at the top of the search screen, then About Rookwood Cemetery Search. If the version displayed is 1.14 then you already have the latest version installed. If not, you can download a replacement by clicking the link below that is relevant to your situation.
Rookwood downloads
Rookwood search program patch
The search program has been revised in minor ways since the initial release of the Rookwood CD:
- Version 1.11 - eliminated crashes caused by using wild cards and apostrophes in combination; and corrected the data displayed for some transcriptions numbered in the range 178425-180383 as described above.
- Version 1.12 - improved functionality for library purchasers.
- Version 1.13 - added network printing; maintained highlighted record in search results after sort order changed; search truncation made more responsive to Esc key.
- Version 1.14 - added a check that the CD being read is for the correct cemetery; if not, looks for other CD drives. This patch is relevant only if you use more than one of SAG's cemetery transcription CDs - i.e. Rookwood and either Macquarie Park or Waverley. Without the patch, your program could read from the wrong CD, with strange results. With the patch - or by choosing the right CD! - you can avoid strange results. If you decide to download the patch, then you may need Macquarie Park V1.14 as well (see below).
Version 1.14 is available for download below - select the file appropriate to your situation and follow the instructions.
NB: You don't need to download this patch if the issues above are of no relevance to you. You can also avoid the apostrophe problem by using a questionmark to replace it, when searching in conjunction with other wild cards.
| If you have WinZip® or a similar program installed on your computer - and are reasonably familiar with your computer |
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| Otherwise |
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Rookwood help file
In the course of preparing the Macquarie Park help file we improved the wording in minor respects, to make clearer how to use the CD, and change web and email addresses to live links. Similar changes have now been made to the Rookwood help file. If you've found no difficulty in using the Rookwood CD and finding what you want, there's little point in downloading it; if otherwise, you may find the new help file worthwhile - select the appropriate file below to match your situation and follow the instructions.
| If you have WinZip® or a similar program installed on your computer - and are reasonably familiar with your computer |
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| Otherwise |
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Macquarie Park-specific issues and downloads
The search program has been revised in just one minor way since the initial release of the Macquarie Park CD:
- Version 1.14 - added a check that the CD being read is for the correct cemetery; if not, looks for other CD drives. This patch is relevant only if you use more than one of SAG's cemetery transcription CDs - i.e. Macquarie Park and either Rookwood or Waverley. Without the patch, your program could read from the wrong CD, with strange results. With the patch - or by choosing the right CD! - you can avoid strange results. If you decide to download the patch, then you may need Rookwood V1.14 as well (see above).
How do I check what version of the Macquarie Park search program I have?
Open the Macquarie Park cemetery search program and click Help at the top of the search screen, then About Macquarie Park Cemetery Search. If the version displayed is 1.14 then you already have the latest version installed. If not, you can download Version 1.14 - simply select the file appropriate to your situation and follow the instructions.
NB: This patch is relevant only if you use more than one of SAG's cemetery transcription CDs - i.e. Macquarie Park and either Rookwood or Waverley. If it is relevant, you may need Rookwood V1.14 as well (see above).
| If you have WinZip® or a similar program installed on your computer - and are reasonably familiar with your computer |
|
| Otherwise |
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