<chapter id="gramps-getting-started"> <!-- User Manual for Gramps - a GTK+/GNOME based genealogy program Copyright (C) 2003-2005 Alexander Roitman This document is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA --> <!-- $Id$ --> <title>Getting Started</title> <para> In this chapter, we'll begin with the basics. We'll show you how to start &app; and how to get help when you need it. </para> <!-- ================ Getting Started Subsection ====== --> <sect1 id="gramps-start"> <title>To Start GRAMPS</title> <para> You can start &app; in the following ways: </para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>From the <guimenu>Applications</guimenu> menu</term> <listitem> <para>Select &app; from the list of programs displayed in your computer's Applications menu. (The location and appearance of this menu vary slightly from one distribution of Linux to another. On the default GNOME desktop, you'll find &app; in the <menuchoice><guimenu>Applications</guimenu><guisubmenu>Other</guisubmenu></menuchoice> menu.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>From the command line</term> <listitem> <para> If you're adept with Linux and like to work from the command line, you can start &app; by calling up a terminal window, typing <command>gramps</command>, and then pressing <keycap>Enter</keycap>. </para> <para> If you would like GRAMPS to open a specific database or to import a specific file on startup, you can supply the filename as a command line argument: </para> <para> <filename>gramps filename.grdb</filename> </para> <para> where <filename>filename.grdb</filename> is the name of the file you want to open. The command line provides many more ways to start &app; and perform different tasks. The detailed reference to the command line options is found in <xref linkend="append-cmdline"/>. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect1> <!-- ================ Getting Started Subsection ==== --> <sect1 id="run-1st-time"> <title>Running GRAMPS for the first time</title> <para> The first time you run the program, GRAMPS will display the "Getting Started" dialogs. Follow the directions that guide you through <guilabel>Researcher information</guilabel>, <guilabel>Numerical date formats</guilabel>, <guilabel>Alternate calendar support</guilabel>, and <guilabel>the LDS extensions</guilabel> sections. You should find them to be self-explanatory. </para> <note id="note-dialog"> <title>Dialog boxes</title> <para>We'll make frequent reference in this manual to dialogs. A dialog is simply a pop-up window into which you can enter information.</para> </note> <para>We recommend you enter your personal information when GRAMPS prompts you for it. GRAMPS uses this information strictly so it can create valid GEDCOM output files (which require information about the files' creator). If you wish, you can choose not to supply this information, but be aware that unless and until you do, any GEDCOM files you export will not be valid.</para> <!-- ==== Figure: Getting Started Druid Window ==== --> <figure id="druid-fig"> <title>GRAMPS Getting Started Window: Researcher Information</title> <screenshot> <mediaobject> <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="figures/researcher.png" format="PNG"/> </imageobject> <textobject> <phrase>Shows Researcher Information Window. </phrase> </textobject> </mediaobject> </screenshot> </figure> <!-- ==== End of Figure ==== --> <tip id="preferences-tip"> <title>Entering personal information</title> <para>This information can be entered at any time in the Preferences dialog, under the Database/Researcher Information category.</para> </tip> </sect1> <!-- ================ Getting Started Subsection --> <sect1 id="choose-db-start"> <title>Choosing a database on startup</title> <para> If &app; is started without a database selected, the following window will appear prompting you to choose one to open. </para> <!-- ==== Figure: Open existing/new database window ==== --> <figure id="first-open"> <title>Open Database Window</title> <screenshot> <mediaobject> <imageobject> <imagedata fileref="figures/first-open.png" format="PNG" /> </imageobject> <textobject> <phrase>Shows Open Database Window.</phrase> </textobject> </mediaobject> </screenshot> </figure> <!-- ==== End of Figure ==== --> <para>To open a database that you have recently opened, choose the top selection, select your database from the menu and click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.</para> <para>To open an existing database you have not recently opened, choose the middle selection and click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>. &app; will then ask you to specify the name of the database you wish to open. </para> <para>As you might guess, to create a new database, choose "Create a new database"</para> <note id="file-notdir-note"> <title>Selecting file</title> <para> If you're familiar with version 1.0.X of GRAMPS, you'll note that version 2.0 does not require you to select a directory in which to store the database. </para> </note> </sect1> <!-- ================ Getting Started Subsection ==== --> <sect1 id="get-help"> <title>Obtaining Help</title> <para> GRAMPS has a <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu></menuchoice> menu that you can consult at any time. It includes the following items: </para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term>User manual</term> <listitem> <para> An electronic version of the manual that you can access while you work in GRAMPS. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>FAQ</term> <listitem> <para>A list of Frequently Asked Questions about &app;.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>GRAMPS home page</term> <listitem> <para>A link to the GRAMPS' project web site.</para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>GRAMPS mailing lists</term> <listitem> <para> Gives you direct access to GRAMPS' mailing list archives. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Report a bug</term> <listitem> <para> Choose this item to file a bug report in our bug tracking system. (Remember, &app; is a living project. We want to know about any problems you encounter so we can work to solve them for everyone's benefit.) </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Show plugin status</term> <listitem> <para> Use this item to display the status of any plugins you may have added. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term>Open example database</term> <listitem> <para> Select this item to load the example database that is included in your GRAMPS package. This database is composed of fictitious people and serves as a useful example for learning how to work with GRAMPS. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </sect1> </chapter>