Q. Should I create separate family files for each of my parents and my spouse's parents? How can I print reports from several files?
A. Each FHS report can only have information from a single family file. Therefore I always recommend that all information for individuals who are linked in any way, whether by marriage or family relationship, be kept in a single family file. The only exception would be if the file were so large that it exceeded the maximum size allowed for the disks you are using (currently 3600 name records for 360k diskettes, 7200 records for 720k diskettes, 12000-14000 records for high density diskettes or 32000 on a hard disk). When you reach that point, it is possible to subdivide a family file, along family lines, into two or more separate files. (The Search/Select/LIST option and Export/Import option of the extended system are best suited for doing this.) If the subdivision is done carefully, you may be able to make each family file correspond to different "chapters" of a family history so that you may not need to be so concerned about being able to include information from multiple files in a single report.