To configure &app;, choose Edit Preferences.... This will bring up the following Preferences dialog.

Shows Preferences dialog.

The pane on the left displays the tree of available option categories. Selecting a tree node will display the corresponding options in the right side of the dialog. This category contains preferences relevant to the database itself. It has the following subcategories: General Automatically load last database Check this box to automatically load the last open database on startup. Family name guessing This option affects the initial family name of a child when he/she is added to the database. This option only affects the initial family name guessed by &app; when the Edit Person dialog is launched. You can modify that name the way you see fit. Set this option to the value that you will most frequently use, as it will save you a lot of typing. If None is selected, no guessing will be attempted. Selecting Father's surname will use the family name of the father. Selecting Combination of mother's and father's surname will use the father's name followed by the mother's name. Finally, Icelandic style will use the father's given name followed by the "sson" suffix (e.g. the son of Edwin will be guessed as Edwinsson). GRAMPS IDs Enter ID prefixes for various kinds of database entries into the corresponding text entry fields. The ID prefixes use formatting conventions common for C, Python, and other programming languages. For example, the %04d expands to an integer, prepended with zeros to have the total width of founr digits. If you would like IDs to be 1, 2, 3, etc, simply set the formatting parameter to %d. Researcher Information Enter your personal information in the corresponding text entry fields. Although &app; requests information about you, this information is used only so that &app; can create valid GEDCOM output files. A valid GEDCOM file requires information about the file's creator. If you choose, you may leave the information empty, however none of your exported GEDCOM files will be valid. This category contains preferences relevant to displaying database records and controls in &app;. It has the following subcategories: General Default view This determines which view will appear when you start &app;. Choose between Person and Family views. Family view style This selects between the two available styles of the Family view layout. The Left to right style is similar to the Family Tree Maker (tm), while the Top to bottom is similar to the Reunion. Always display the LDS ordinance tabs Check this box to have LDS ordinance tabs displayed. If you do not know what LDS is then you probably should not check it. Display Tip of the Day Check this box to have the Tip of the Day dialog appear on every startup. The tips are displayed randomly from the large collection of information bits on &app;. The Tip of the Day is likely to be useful for new user of &app;. Dates Select the display format for the dates from the available formats listed in this menu. Available date display formats are language-specific. Depending on whether or not there is a &app; date displayer available for your language, you may or may not have a lot of choices. Toolbar and Statusbar Toolbar Select the desired appearance of the toolbar icons from the menu. Selecting GNOME Settings will use the overall settings selected for your GNOME desktop. Statusbar Select the desired contents displayed in the statusbar using the radio buttons.