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* doc/gramps-manual/C/preface.xml: wording fixes.

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2005-09-01 Don Allingham <don@gramps-project.org>
* doc/gramps-manual/C/preface.xml: wording fixes.
2005-09-01 Don Allingham <don@gramps-project.org>
* src/docgen/OpenOfficeDoc.py: fix font point size handling
* src/Plugins.py: sort submenu entries properly

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gramps2/doc/gramps-manual/C/preface.xml
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<!-- $Id$ -->
<title>Preface</title>
<para> &app; is a genealogical
application. &app; is an acronym for the
Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System. To put
it shortly, it allows you to store, edit, and research genealogical data
using your computer. Its functionality is somewhat common to other
genealogical programs. However, &app; offers some unique features. </para>
<para>
&app; is a software package designed to help you with
genealogical resarch. It allows you to store, edit, and research
genealogical data using your computer. Although similar to other
genealogical programs, it offers some unique and powerful
features. GRAMPS is an open source software package, which means
it's distributed for free. It's developed and maintained by a
worldwide team of volunteers.
</para>
<sect1 id="why-gramps">
<title>Why GRAMPS?</title>
<para> &app; was conceived under the concept
that most genealogy programs were designed to provide the researcher the
capability to input information related to a particular family tree.
Most of these programs have allowed for the arranging and storing of
information consistent with the GEDCOM standards. They usually provide
means for displaying descendant or ancestral relationships by means of
graphical displays, charts, or reports. These may be augmented with
pictures or other media to enhance the data. Most provide for inputting
data on unconnected individuals/families that may or may not have a
relationship to the primary surname being researched. Various other
enhancements may also be provided in the genealogical program that
allows for different degrees of importing and exporting data from other
programs and printing the data contained in the various reports. </para>
<title>Why use GRAMPS?</title>
<para> &app;, on the other hand, attempts to
provide all of the common capabilities of these programs, but, more
importantly, to provide an additional capability of integration not common
to these programs. This is the ability to input any bits and pieces of
information directly into &app; and
rearrange/manipulate any/all data events in the entire data base (in any
order or sequence) to assist the user in doing research, analysis and
correlation with the potential of filling relationship gaps. In short, it
is a tool that provides a way to input all your research into one place and
do your analysis and correlation using the speed, power, and accuracy of
your computer instead of pencils and unmanageable reams of paper. </para>
<para>
Most genealogy programs allow the researcher to input
information related to a family tree. They can usually display
descendant or ancestral relationships through graphical
displays, charts, or reports. Some allow pictures or other media
to be inserted to enhance the raw data. Most provide a means to
include data on individuals or familys that may or may not be
related to the primary family being researched. And they may
include other features such as exporting or importing to and
from other programs and printing data contained in various
reports.
</para><para>
&app; has all these capabilities and more. Notably, it allows
you to integrate bits and pieces of stray data as the arise from
your research and put all this information in one place - your
computer. You can then use the speed, power, and accuracy of
your computer to store, manipulate, correlate, and analyze your
data, rather than messing with reams of paper.
</para><para>
&app; has the power to let you rearrage your data in any order
or sequence and to help you fill gaps in genealogical
relationships.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="whats-new">
<title>What's new since 1.0.X</title>
<para>This section lists most notable changes from the previous stable branch of
&app;, the 1.0.X.</para>
<para>
This section lists most notable changes from the previous
stable branch of &app;, the 1.0.X.
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry><term>Berkeley database backend</term>
<listitem><para>The default format for &app; is now the BSDDB database.
This change allowed us to overcome performance issues and memory
requirements of the 1.0.X branch. With the database backend, the database
sizes of up to a hundred thousand people do not
present a major obstacle any longer.</para>
<listitem>
<para>
The default extension for &app; BSDDB database files is grdb. The new format is open and
fully documented in the developer's API reference distributed with the source of &app;.
</para>
<para>A consequence of the new database backend is that the changes, once approved
by the user, are applied immediately. In short, once you click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>
in the Person, Family, Source, Place, Media object, or Event editor, all the changes made to
this object are recorded in the database. No saving is necessary (or even possible). The analog
of quitting without saving would be abandoning all changes and quitting. Also, it is possible
to undo recent actions.
The default format for &app; is now the BSDDB database.
This change allowed us to overcome performance issues and
memory requirements of the 1.0.X branch. With the database
backend, the database sizes of up to a hundred thousand
people do not present a major obstacle any longer.
</para><para>
The default extension for &app; BSDDB database files is
grdb. The new format is open and fully documented in the
developer's API reference distributed with the source of
&app;.
</para><para>
A consequence of the new database backend is that the
changes, once approved by the user, are applied
immediately. In short, once you click
<guibutton>OK</guibutton> in the Person, Family, Source,
Place, Media object, or Event editor, all the changes made
to this object are recorded in the database. No saving is
necessary (or even possible). The analog of quitting
without saving would be abandoning all changes and
quitting. Also, it is possible to undo recent actions.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Interface improvements</term>
<listitem><para>
There were numerous changes in the interface. Most of them are subtle and incremental
improvements, and all of them cannot be listed here. The most noticeable changes are:
<listitem>
<para>
There were numerous changes in the interface. Most of them
are subtle and incremental improvements, and all of them
cannot be listed here. The most noticeable changes are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Removal of alphabetical tabs</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Ability to add/remove/rearrange columns in list views</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Removal of Save function and addition of Undo</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Proper window management and removal of most modal windows</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Support for Tip of the Day</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Person-dependent context menus (right-click) in Pedigree View
listing parents, children, spouses, and siblings</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Export wizard</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Built-in Find function in list views</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Date selector dialog</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Name editor enhancements: patronymic names and non-default grouping</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Recent file support (both gramps-specific and gnome-wide)</para></listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Removal of alphabetical tabs
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Ability to add/remove/rearrange columns in list views
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Removal of Save function and addition of Undo
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Proper window management and removal of most modal windows
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Support for Tip of the Day
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Person-dependent context menus (right-click) in Pedigree View
listing parents, children, spouses, and siblings
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Export wizard
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Built-in Find function in list views
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Date selector dialog
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Name editor enhancements: patronymic names and non-default
grouping
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Recent file support (both gramps-specific and gnome-wide)
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para></listitem>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Other database backends</term>
<listitem><para>
Along with the BSDDB backend, the in-memory database handling for &app; XML and
GEDCOM formats has been added. Simply put, it is now possible to natively open data
in those two formats (although the preferred and default format is grdb) and work with
that data, without necessarily setting up an empty database and then importing into it.
This approach requires holding all data in memory, so it is only useful for small databases
(depending on the available memory size). In such mode, the data is automatically
<varlistentry>
<term>
Other database backends
</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Along with the BSDDB backend, the in-memory database handling
for &app; XML and GEDCOM formats has been added. Simply put, it
is now possible to natively open data in those two formats
(although the preferred and default format is grdb) and work with
that data, without necessarily setting up an empty database and
then importing into it. This approach requires holding all data in
memory, so it is only useful for small databases (depending on the
available memory size). In such mode, the data is automatically
saved upon exit, to mimic the functionality of the real database.
<warning id="gedcom-inmem1-warn">
<title>GEDCOM Editing</title>
<para>
Please keep in mind that some information in GEDCOM file may be lost
during import into &app;. Simply opening and viewing the file will not change it.
However, if any changes were made and they were not abandoned upon exit,
exiting &app; will save the data, with the possible data loss.
Please keep in mind that some information in GEDCOM
file may be lost during import into &app;. Simply
opening and viewing the file will not change it.
However, if any changes were made and they were not
abandoned upon exit, exiting &app; will save the data,
with the possible data loss.
</para>
</warning>
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Import and Export</term>
<listitem><para>
New import and export filters available for the GeneWeb format.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Reports</term>
<listitem><para>
A new report -- Statistics Chart -- has been added to &app;.
</para>
<para>An overall change of the whole report framework has been acomplished.
All reports now remember their options. It is possible to generate reports from the command
line, without launching the interactive &app; session. The report API is much simpler now,
making it easy to write custom report. A single code instance may be used for a standalone
report, a book item, and a command-line report. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Command line</term>
<listitem><para>The new command line functionality includes opening the filename
argument given without any flags, as well as new flags and options for report generation.
Also, the addition of new formats leads to addition of available format options.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Internationalization</term>
<listitem><para>
The approach for entering and displaying dates has been completely
re-worked. In particular, the new framework allows for a deeper
localization of displayed dates than was ever possible using the
translatable strings.</para>
<para>The internationalization of names have also been improved.
Names can be grouped under a non-default string. Patronymic names are
supported, and it is easy to program new ways on displaying names, as
may be required by various cultures and languages.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry><term>Desktop integration</term>
<listitem><para>All formats known to &app; are now registered as mime types, each
with its icon and &app; as a default handler. Double-clicking on a file with any of these
formats will launch &app; and open that file. &app; also added support for the recent
documents functinonailty. This is on both for the GNOME-wide level and within the &app;.
</para>
<para>The preferences are now properly store using GConf, with schemas, partitioning
of keys into smaller directories, error checking, and notification. </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Import and Export</term>
<listitem>
<para>
New import and export filters available for the GeneWeb format.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Reports</term>
<listitem>
<para>
A new report -- Statistics Chart -- has been added to &app;.
</para><para>
An overall change of the whole report framework has been
acomplished. All reports now remember their options. It
is possible to generate reports from the command line,
without launching the interactive &app; session. The
report API is much simpler now, making it easy to write
custom report. A single code instance may be used for a
standalone report, a book item, and a command-line
report.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Command line</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The new command line functionality includes opening the
filename argument given without any flags, as well as new
flags and options for report generation. Also, the
addition of new formats leads to addition of available
format options.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Internationalization</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The approach for entering and displaying dates has been
completely re-worked. In particular, the new framework
allows for a deeper localization of displayed dates than
was ever possible using the translatable strings.
</para><para>
The internationalization of names have also been improved.
Names can be grouped under a non-default
string. Patronymic names are supported, and it is easy to
program new ways on displaying names, as may be required
by various cultures and languages.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Desktop integration</term>
<listitem>
<para>
All formats known to &app; are now registered as mime
types, each with its icon and &app; as a default
handler. Double-clicking on a file with any of these
formats will launch &app; and open that file. &app; also
added support for the recent documents
functionailty. This is on both the GNOME-wide level
and within the &app;.
</para><para>
The preferences are now properly stored using GConf, with
schemas, partitioning of keys into smaller directories,
error checking, and notification.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="typography">
<title>Typographical conventions</title>
<para>
In this book, we some words are marked with special typography:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><simpara><application>Applications</application></simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><command>Commands</command> you type at the command
line</simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><filename>Filenames</filename></simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><replaceable>Replaceable text</replaceable></simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><guilabel>Labels</guilabel> for buttons and other
portions of the graphical interface</simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara>Menu selections look like this:
In this book, some words are marked with special typography:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<application>Applications</application>
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<command>Commands</command> you type at the command line
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<filename>Filenames</filename>
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<replaceable>Replaceable text</replaceable>
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<guilabel>Labels</guilabel> for buttons and other
portions of the graphical interface
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
Menu selections look like this:
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>Menu</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Submenu</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Menu Item</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
</simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><guibutton>Buttons</guibutton> you can
click</simpara></listitem>
<listitem><simpara><userinput>Anything you type
in</userinput></simpara></listitem>
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<guibutton>Buttons</guibutton> you can click
</simpara>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<simpara>
<userinput>Anything you type in</userinput>
</simpara>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
We also provide assorted bits of additional information in tips
and notes, as follows.
The manual also provides assorted bits of additional information in
tips and notes, as follows.
<tip id="example-tip">
<title>Tip</title>
@ -237,13 +376,13 @@
</para>
<para>
Finally, we have warnings, in cases where you should be careful:
Finally, there are warnings, notifiying you where you should be careful:
<warning id="example-warning">
<title>Example Warning</title>
<para>
This is what a warning looks like. If there's a chance
you'll run into trouble, we'll warn you beforehand.
you'll run into trouble, you will be warned beforehand.
</para>
</warning>
</para>