UsageAs commonly encountered in everyday life, in
&app; there is usually more than one way to
accomplish something. The alternatives to some actions will therefore
be listed as appropriate.Starting a New DatabaseTo start a new database, choose FileNew. You will then be
prompted with the Create GRAMPS database dialog asking
to specify the name under which the new database will be stored.
The new database will be created in the BSDDB format, with .grdb
as the default extension.Selecting file
Unlike the version 1.0.X of &app;, this version does not require selecting directory
for the database. Please select filename, as you would in any other application.
Opening a DatabaseTo open a database, either choose FileOpen
or click the Open button on the Toolbar.
The Open database dialog will appear.
The filetype filter in the Open database dialog allows
you to display files of a certain type. If the All files
filter is selected (the default), all the files will be shown. The type will
be deteremined by the extension of the selected filename.
Selecting file
Unlike the version 1.0.X of &app;, this version does not require selecting directory
for the database. Please select filename, as you would in any other application.
If you do not have write permissions for the selected database, it will
be opened in a Read Only mode. In this mode, the data may be viewed, but
no changes will be made to the database. To indicate this mode, the title of the
main window will be appended with (Read Only) text.
Opening XML and GEDCOM databases
This version allows direct opening and editing of &app; XML and GEDCOM
databases. Please keep in mind that, unlike using the native grdb format,
these formats require holding all data in memory. This leads to performance
and memory consumption problems which grdb was designed to solve.While direct opening of a &app; XML or GEDCOM file is convenient
for a small database, it may prove burdensome for large databases.
If you experience this, please consider creating a new native (grdb) database
and importing your XML or GEDCOM data into it. This will make accessing
your data much more efficient and quick.
GEDCOM Editing
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.
To open a recently opened database, choose FileOpen
Recent and select the filename from the list.
You can also use ActionsRecent Documents
from the GNOME Actions menu.
Saving a DatabaseA consequence of the new database backend is that the changes, once approved
by the user, are applied immediately. In short, once you click OK
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.
Choosing EditUndo allows you to undo the changes you made, one step at a time.Reverting the whole sessionIf you would like to revert the whole editing session, choose
FileAbandon changes
and quit. This will be analogous to quitting
without saving any changes in other applications.
If you would like to save your database under a different name,
you can do so by choosing FileSave as... and specifying
the name (and, optionally, format) of your new database.
"Save as" continues editingIf you use the Save as... function, the editing in the
main window is performed on the newly made copy. If this is not what you want
to do, please consider using Export... instead.
Importing DataImporting allows you to incorporate the data from other
databases into your currently open &app; database. Currently,
&app; can import data from the following formats: &app; database (grdb),
GEDCOM, &app; XML, &app; package, and GeneWeb. All of these are
available by choosing FileImport and
selecting an appropriate file.&app; database (grdb), &app; XML, and &app; package are
all native &app; formats in that there is no information loss resulting
from reading from and writing into these formats.
&app; database (grdb)
The native &app; database format is a specific form of Berkeley database (BSDDB)
with special structure of data tables. This format is binary and architecture-dependent.
It is very quick and efficient, but not generally portable across computers with
different binary architecture (e.g. i386 vs alpha).
&app; XML
The &app; XML file was the default format for the previous stable
version of &app;. Unlike the grdb format, it is architecture
independent and human-readable. The database may also have references
to non-local (external) media objects, therefore it is not guaranteed
to be completely portable. The &app; XML database is created by saving
(FileSave
As...) or exporting (FileExport...) data in that format.
&app; package
The package is a compressed archive containing the &app; XML
file and all media objects (images, sound files, etc.) that the
database refers to. The &app; package is created by exporting
(File
Export...) data in that format.
Opening vs importingThe difference between opening &app; database (in any format) and
importing from &app; or GEDCOM database is that importing incorporates all the
data into your currently open database, if any. In contrast, opening the database
will switch from editing your current data to editing another file.After choosing an import format, you will be prompted with the
Import database dialog asking you to specify the
file name from which to import.
Selecting file
Unlike the version 1.0.X of &app;, this version does not require selecting directory
for the database. Please select filename, as you would in any other application.
Upon starting the GEDCOM import, &app;
will display the following GEDCOM import dialog with the summary of the
information about the data. The information is updated as the import
progresses. Upon starting the &app; database or &app; package import,
&app; will display the progress in the
progressbar of its main window.If a media file is not found during import, the following dialog
will prompt you for the possible actions:To remove the object corresponding to the missing file as well as
all the references to that object from various database records, click the
Remove Object button. This will alter your
database so that it will be in a consistent state, but all the
references to the missing file will be gone. Use this option if the
file is irrevocably lost and there is no possibility of ever replacing
it. To keep the reference to the object corresponding to the missing
file, click the Keep Reference button.
This will leave things as is, i.e. in an inconsistent state.
You could supply the missing file later, in which case you will have
to copy it into your database directory. Choose this option if the
replacement is possible, but not available right now. To supply the missing file during import, click the
Select File button. This will copy the file you
select in place of the missing file. No references will be altered
in the database, and it will be in the consistent state. Use this option
if the replacement is readily available.
To automatically use the selection made in this dialog for
all missing media files, check the Use this selection for all
missing media files box. This will remember your choice
and use it for all media files missing during this import, so that no
further dialogs will be presented. Use this option if you anticipate
many missing files and want to deal with all of them in the same manner.
Exporting DataExporting allows you to share any portion of your &app; database
with other researchers as well as to make your database completely
portable to another computer. Currently, &app;
can export data to the following formats: &app; database (grdb), &app; XML,
GEDCOM, &app; package, Web Family Tree, and GeneWeb.Export is saving a copyExporting will create another file with the copy of your data.
The database currently opened in your &app; window is NOT
the file saved by your export. Future editing of the currently
opened database will not alter the copy produced by the export.
To export data, choose FileExport. This will bring up the
Export druid. Its pages will guide you through the
format selection (see ), file selection,
and format specific export options (see ).
After a final confirmation page, the export will be performed according
to the choices you have made. At any time, you can click the
Back and revise any selection, and then go
forward to redo the export.
GEDCOM export GEDCOM export options allow you to fine tune your export
(see ).
Choose the desired Encoding of the exported file.
Use the Filter
pop-up menu to limit the scope of the export according to the stated rule.
Use the Target menu to select the desired GEDCOM
dialect. Select your copyright statement from the
Copyright menu. Check Do not include
records marked private to disable the output of private
records. Check Restrict data on living people
to limit living people's data to family ties. With this option,
information concerning birth, death, addresses, various events,
etc. will be omitted in the exported GEDCOM file. If this option is selected,
you can further choose whether to use the word "Living" as first name, exclude
notes, and exclude sources for the living people. Check Reference
images from path to tell &app; to use the specific path for your
images when writing image references in GEDCOM.
Export into &app; formats&app; database (grdb) exportExporting to the native format will simply make a copy
of your data under another name. It also may be useful if you have
directly opened XML or GEDCOM file and would like to save it
as the grdb file.&app; XML database exportExporting into &app; XML format will
produce a database compatible with the previous versions of &app;.
As XML is a text-based human-readable format, you may also use it
to take a look at your data.
&app; package exportExporting to &app; package will create a gzip-compressed tar
archive (also known as tarball) which contains gramps database
and copies of all media objects files. This is a
useful format for moving your database to another machine or for sharing
it with somebody, while retaining all the features provided
by &app;.
Export to CDExporting to CD will prepare your database and copies of all media
objects files to be recorded to the CD. This is done through the
burn:/// location in Nautilus. After exporting to
CD, go to the burn:/// location by
selecting GoCD Creator in Nautilus menu
(unless this location is already displayed by &app;). Your
database directory will show up. To record it onto the CD, click the CD
icon on the Nautilus toolbar, or select FileWrite to CD in Nautilus menu.
If a media file is not found during export, the following dialog
will prompt you for the possible actions:To remove the object corresponding to the missing file as well as
all the references to that object from various database records, click
the Remove Object button. This will alter your
database so that it will be in the consistent state, but all the
references to the missing file will be gone. Use this option if the
file is irrevocably lost and there is no possibility of ever replacing
it. To keep the reference to the object corresponding to the missing
file, click the Keep Reference button.
This will leave things as is, i.e. in the inconsistent state.
You could supply the missing file later, in which case you will have
to copy it into your database directory. Choose this option if the
replacement is possible, but not available right now. To supply the missing file during export, click the
Select File button. This will copy the file you
select in place of the missing file. No references will be altered
in the database, and it will be in the consistent state. Use this option
if the replacement is readily available.
To automatically use the selection made in this dialog for
all missing media files, check the Use this selection for all
missing media files box. This will remember your choice
and use it for all media files missing during this export, so that no
further dialogs will be presented. Use this option if you anticipate
many missing files and want to deal with all of them in the same manner.
Export into other formatsWeb Family TreeExporting to Web Family Tree will create the text file suitable
as an input for the WFT program. Specific options include filter selecton
and the ability to restrict data on living people, that is to limit living
people's data to family ties.
GeneWebExporting to GeneWeb will save a copy of your data into
a popular web genealogy format. To find out more about GeneWeb
and its format, visit this site.vCalendar and vCardExporting to vCalendar or vCard will save information in a
format used in many calendaring and addressbook applications,
sometimes called PIM for Personal Information Manager.
Editing Data: Quick Start Editing any portion of data allows you to amend and/or
modify information stored in the database. The available editing
options include editing personal data, relationship data, data about
children and parents, and information about sources, places, and media
objects used in the database. In short, any data stored in the
database can be edited! Adding a new piece of information is the process
of creating an appropriate empty data structure and subsequently
editing that empty structure. This section refers mainly to the menu items and buttons as the main
way of interacting with &app;. In addition to this, &app; provides an
extensive set of keybindings. The detailed reference to the keybindings
is found in the .
To Add a Person To add a person to the database, switch to the People View
() and then click the
Add on the toolbar.
Enter any data you know about this person into the Edit
Person Dialog (see
for details). To edit information about a person already present
in the database, select an entry you would like to view/modify,
and then click the Edit icon on the toolbar. You can also use Add... and
Edit... menu items available under
the Edit. Or you can right-click on the person
and select Add... or Edit...
from the invoked context menu.
To Specify a RelationshipTo specify a relationship, first switch to the Family View
(). Then click one of the two top buttons on
the right of the spouse box. The topmost button adds a new person to the
database and to the relationship, while the second top button adds a person
that is already in a database to the relationship. If using the second button, select the spouse/partner from the list
and specify the relationship using the menu at the bottom. If necessary, you
can add a person to the list by clicking the +
button. &app; will filter the displayed list of people based on the apparent
relation possibility. Specifically, shown are the people who could possibly
be in relationship with the active person, as judged by the available birth
and death information. To override this and display all people from the
database, check the Show all box.
To edit information about a relationship already present in the database,
move the mouse over the Spouse box and double-click.
If the relationship lists has more than one person, you can specify the
preferred spouse/partner by selecting an appropriate item from the context
menu available upon right-clicking into the spouse box. Also, most of the
above function are available from the items of this context menu.
To Specify ParentsTo specify parents of an active person, first switch to the
Family View (). Then click the
+ button on the right of the active person's
parents list box. Select the parents from two lists and specify the
parents' relationships to the active person using menus at the bottom.
You can also specify parents' relationship to each other.
If necessary, you can add a person to the list by clicking the
Add... button. The top and bottom lists contain males and females,
respectively. By default, &app; will
limit both lists to people who could possibly be the parents (judged
by the date of birth) of the active person. To override this, check
the Show all box for each list.
To specify parents of the active person's spouse, switch to the
Family View and then click the + button on the
right of the spouse's parents list box. To edit information about
parents already present in the database, move the mouse over
the corresponding parents' box and double-click. All these functions can
also be performed by right-clicking on the parents' box and selecting
an appropriate item from the context menu. To Specify ChildrenTo specify children of an active person, switch to the
Family View () and then click either the
second or the third button from the top on the right of the children list
box. The second button adds a child to the database and to the family, while
the third button adds a child already present in the database to the family.
If using the third button, select a child from the list and
specify the child's relationship with father and mother using menus
at the bottom. If necessary, you can add a person to the list by
clicking the Add... button. By default, &app; will
limit the lists to people who could possibly be the child (judged
by the date of birth) of the active person. To override this, check
the Show all box.
The relationship of the child to the parents can be modified by selecting
an appropriate item from the context menu available upon right-clicking
into the children box. Also, most of the above function are available from
the items of this context menu.
To Add ImagesYou can add images (as well as other media objects) to
individual people, events, sources, places, as well as images
generally related to the database (e.g. group family photos). To add images related to a single person, switch to the
People View (), select a person, and
then click the Edit icon on the toolbar to
invoke the Edit Person Dialog
(). Then, select the
Gallery tab, and click the
+ button to invoke
the Select a media
object dialog. Type the filename or select a file with the
image, then provide a title for that image. Keep adding images until you are
done. To add images related to a relationship (e.g. marriage),
switch to the Family View () and then
double-click on the Spouse box invoke the Marriage/Relationship
editor dialog. Select the Gallery
tab and click the + button to add
an image. To add images related to a source or a place, first switch to
the Sources View () or Places
View (), respectively. Then select the
appropriate source or place and then either double-click on it
or click the Edit icon on the toolbar to invoke the
Source Editor (or Place
Editor) dialog. Select the Gallery
tab and click the + button to add
an image. Finally, to add images that are generally related to the
database but not limited to any person, relationship, source, or place
in particular, switch to the Media View ().
Then click the Add icon on the toolbar to
add an image.
If you have already added any images to any individual galleries,
you will also find them listed in the Media View. In any gallery, you can also use the Edit
and - buttons to edit image information
and to remove the image reference from that gallery. Note that in all
galleries removing the reference to the image does not remove the image
from the database. To completely remove the image from the database,
delete it from Media View by first selecting it and then
clicking the Remove icon on the toolbar. To Edit Sources and Places To add a source or a place to the database, switch to
the appropriate Sources View () or
Places View ().
Then click the Add icon on the toolbar to add a
source/place. Enter the information into the Source
Editor (or Place Editor) dialog.
To edit information about sources and places already present
in the database, switch to the appropriate view, select an entry
you would like to view/modify, and then click the
Edit icon on the toolbar. Alternatively, you
may double-click on the entry to edit it.
Editing Data: Complete Description This section provides a complete description of all editing
options for all pieces of data in the &app; database. It refers mainly
to the menu items and buttons as the main way of interacting with &app;.
In addition to this, &app; provides an extensive set of keybindings.
The detailed reference to the keybindings is found in
the .Add, Remove, and Edit buttonsIn order to save precious screen space, most of the
Add, Remove,
and Edit buttons no longer are labeled
with text. Instead, the first two use + and
- icons, and the third uses the icon
depicting a pen on top of a paper sheet.We will continue referring to the latter as the Edit
button, while using + and
- to denote the former two buttons.
Personal Information Editing of personal data can be performed in the
following ways: From the People View:
Double-click the name of the person whose data you would like
to edit, or select the name by single click and then click the
Edit icon on the toolbar. You may also select
the name and then press Return. Finally, you may select
Edit... from the Edit
menu of &app; or choose Edit from the context
menu that appears upon right-click on the name.
From the Family View:
To edit active person's data, move the mouse into the
Active person box, then double-click,
or use any of the menu items described above.
To edit Spouse's data, Shift-click desired spouse entry. Also, from
Spouse and Children boxes
you may select the desired person, right-click, and then select the
menu item from the context menu to edit the selected person's data.
From the Pedigree View:
Move the mouse into the box bearing the name of the person whose
data you would like to edit, then double-click.
With either method, the following Edit
Person dialog will appear: The top of the window shows the name of the person whose
data is being edited. The main part of the window displays ten
notebook tabs containing different categories of available
information. You can bring any tab to the top for viewing
or editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK and
Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button
at any time will apply all the changes made in all tabs and close the
dialog window. Clicking the Cancel button at any time will
close the window without applying any changes. If any of the data
in any tab were modified, the alert window will appear with the
choices of closing the dialog without saving changes, canceling the
initial cancel request, or saving the changes.
Clicking OK will immediately
save changes to the database (write on disk). Unlike previous versions,
this version of &app; does not have a separate saving function,
all changes are immediate.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold). The tabs provide the following information categories of
personal data:
General
The General tab allows editing of
general information about the person. This includes the text
entry fields of Given name,
Family name, Family prefix
(such as de or van), Suffix (e.g. Jr. or III),
Title (e.g. Dr. or Rev.),
Nickname (Bob for Robert),
Type of the name (birth name, married name, etc.)
and Date and Place of birth
and death. Some of these (Family name,
Type, and both Place fields),
also provide autocompletion feature: as you type in these fields, the menu
is displayed below the field with the available entries from the database
that are compatible with your partial input. This allows for a quick selection
of an available entry by selecting in from the menu, either using
the mouse or arrows and Return key.
The Edit button located by the Family name
entry allows editing the preferred name in complete detail, by invoking the Name
Editor dialog (see ).
The Gender radio buttons offer
the choice of person's gender between male,
female, and unknown.
Clicking the colored circle buttons (green, yellow, or red, also called LED buttons)
located next to
the birth and death Date fields will bring up the Date Selection
dialog allowing detailed modification of the date, see .
Clicking either Edit button located next to
the birth and death LED buttons will bring up a dialog allowing you to
edit the corresponding event (birth or death) details, see .
The field ID displays an internal
&app; ID number which identifies the user in the
database. The Image area shows the first
image available in the Gallery of this
person (if any exist).
Finally, the Information is complete and
Information is private check buttons provides
the way to mark whether this person's record is complete or not and
whether it is a private record. Names The Names tab displays information concerning
alternate names of the person and the controls allowing their
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all alternate names
of the person stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected name in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow the addition,
modification, and removal of an alternate name record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an alternate name is selected from the list.
EventsThe Events tab displays information about
the events relevant to the person and controls allowing its
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all such events
stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected event in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an event record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an event is selected from the list.
AttributesThe Attributes tab displays information about
the attributes of the person and controls allowing their
modification. These could be any personal attributes of a person whose
description naturally fits into Parameter-Value pairs (e.g. enormous
generosity can be stored as the parameter "Generosity" with the
value "Enormous", etc.). The bottom part displays the list of all
attributes stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected attribute in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an attribute record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an attribute is selected from the list.
AddressesThe Addresses tab displays information about
the addresses of the person and the controls allowing their
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all
addresses stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected address in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an address record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an address is selected from the list.
Some reports allow you to restrict data on living people.
In particular, that option will omit the addresses of people who
are currently alive.NotesThe Notes tab displays information about
the notes concerning the person. These could be any notes which do not
naturally fit into the Parameter-Value pairs available to Attributes.
To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the text in the
text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
SourcesThe Sources tab displays information about
the sources related to the person and controls allowing its modification.
These could be any general sources which refer to the person but do not
describe specifically any event.
For example, Aunt Martha's memoirs may mention her great grandson Paul,
so the researcher may assume that this person (Paul) existed and cite
the memoirs as the source for this assumption.
Sources documenting
specific events are better recorded in relation to those events, under the
Events tab. The person's Sources
tab is best used for general source references.The central part displays the list of all source references stored
in the database in relation to the person. The
buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this person. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. GalleryThe Gallery tab displays information about
media objects associated with the person and controls allowing subsequent
modification. The central part shows the list of all such media objects.
For media object which are valid image files, previews of images are
displayed. For other objects such as audio files, movie files, etc., a
corresponding file type icon is displayed instead. The first available
image in the gallery will be also displayed in the
Image area in the General
tab.
The buttons +,
Select,
Edit, and - allow
you to correspondingly add a new image, add a reference to an image already
stored in the database, modify, and remove a media object reference
to this person. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a media object is selected from the list.
Removing a media object from a person's gallery does not
remove it from the database. It only removes the reference to that
object from this person's record.
InternetThe Internet tab displays information about
Internet addresses relevant to the person and the controls
allowing data modification. The bottom part displays the list of all
such Internet addresses stored in the database. The top part shows the
details of the currently selected addresses in the list (if any).
The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove an Internet address
record from the database. The button Go allows
opening a web-page with the corresponding address with your default
browser. Note that the Edit,
-, and Go buttons
become available only when an address is selected from the list.
LDSThe LDS tab displays information
about LDS ordinances of the person and controls allowing
modification. These are LDS baptism,
Endowment, and Sealed to
parents ordinances, as labeled inside the tab.
Each ordinance is described by its date, LDS temple, and Place where
it happened. An additional pop-up menu Parents is
available for the Sealed to parents ordinance.
Each ordinance can further be described by its status through the
selections available in the Status pop-up
menu and can also be referenced by sources and notes via corresponding
Sources... and Note
buttons.
Dates This section describes the details of entering and modifying dates.
Dates are important in genealogical research, so &app; goes a long
way to preserve and use any date information available.Date types and validity indicators&app; uses color circles to indicate the validity of the entered date. Date LED buttonsThe color circles are also referred to as the LED buttons.
Clicking on an LED button will invoke the Date selection
dialog described in detail below, see Green circle means that the date is valid and
complete regular date (e.g. May 24, 1961). In simple terms, green
means that the date is uniquely defined up to a day. Yellow circle means that the date is valid but is
not a regular date. This could be the date of an alternative type:
a before date (before May 25, 1962), an after date (after May, 1960),
an about date (about May 23, 1961), a range (between May 1, 1961 and May 31, 1961),
or a span (from May 1, 1961 to May 31, 1961). It can also be a complete
single date, but with quality of Estimated or Calculated. Finally, it could
be a partial date, i.e. a regular quality single date missing some
portion, e.g. May 1961 or 1961.While partial dates do
not uniquely define the day, they allow at least for some type of
comparisons between the dates. Red circle means that the date is not recognized as
a valid date (e.g. "Christmas week of 61", or "the summer when I had surgery").
n that case the date will be stored as a text string. Therefore, no comparison
with other dates will be available. It is best to avoid such date entries. Same
information can be entered as a note for the event of interest instead
of a date. In the example considered, a better things to do is to
enter December 1961 as a date and "Christmas week of 61" as a note.
Acceptable date entries&app; recognizes many
formats of exact dates. The numeric formats are determined
by the default environment &app; is running under. Most European
countries use DD.MM.YYYY, the US commonly uses MM/DD/YYYY,
and so on. Besides exact dates, &app;
recognizes many dates that are not regular: before, after, about, ranges
and spans. It also understands the quality: estimated or calculated.
Finally, it supports partial dates and many alternative calendars.
Below is the list of date entry rules to allow precise date parsing.Date parsing rulesThe list below is only valid for English. If you are using localized version
of &app;, your version may or may not provide a localized date parser.
At the time of this writing, localized parsers exist for French, Russian, and
Spanish languages.If the localized parser is available for your version, chances are
that other rules are in effect. If there's no manual in your language yet,
you may try following your instinct and go with the common ways
of denoting dates in your language. If all else fails, use the Date
selection dialog described below.Regular single dates can be entered just as you would
write them in the letter: May 24, 1961 or January 1, 2004. Dates that are not regular should start with the quality:
estimated or calculated, if applicable. Regular quality does not need to be
specified, as it is the default. Example: est. 1961, or calc 2005. Next should appear the type: before, after, or about.
Ranges are denoted with "between DATE and DATE" and spans use "from DATE
to DATE" patterns, where DATE stands for a single date.Examples: est from 2001 to 2003, before June 1975, est about 2000,
calc between May 1900 and January 1, 1990.
Partial dates are entered simply by omitting unknown
information: May 1961, 2004.
Alternate calendars are calendars other than Gregorian
calendar. Currently, &app; supports Hebrew,
French Republican, Julian, Islamic, and Persian alternate calendars.
To specify the calendar other than the default Gregorian,
append the name of the calendar to the date string, e.g.
"January 9, 1905 (julian)".
Graphical User Interface for entering datesWhile the above rules provide a quick and easy way for entering most
common dates, sometimes there is a need to either build a complex date or simply
check the date using graphical user interface. The Date selection
dialog can be invoked by clicking the color circle button (also known as the LED
button) next to the date entry field. The Calendar menu allows the choice
of any supported calendar. The Quality menu
provides choices of Regular, Estimated, or Calculated quality. The
Type menu allows to adjust the exact date type:
Regular, Before, After, About, Range, Span, and Text only.
A set of controls labeled Date allows setting
the day, the month, and the year for a date. The second set of controls,
Second date, is disabled for all dates except
for those of Range and Span type. For ranges and spans, the
Second date controls allow setting the details
of the second date. Finally, the Text comment
text entry field allows storing an arbitrary text string along with the date.
If you enter the date outside this dialog, i.e. as a text
in any date entry field, that text will be copied and stored as the text
comment string during parsing of entered text.Therefore, the comment only lives until the next parsing.
If you have some important text corresponding to the date, you
are probably better off by saving that text as a Note for the
corresponding event.Relationship Data Editing of relationship data is performed in the following
Marriage/Relationship Editor dialog which appears
after double-clicking on the spouse box in the Family View. Alternatively,
you may invoke this dialog by right-clicking into the spouse box
and selecting Edit relationship item from
the context menu. The top of the window shows the names of the people whose
relationship is being edited. The main part of the window displays
seven notebook tabs containing different categories of available
information. You can bring any tab to the top for viewing
or editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK and
Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button
at any time will apply all the changes made in all tabs and close the
dialog window. Clicking the Cancel button at any time will
close the window without applying any changes. If any of the data
in any tab were modified, the alert window will appear with the
choices of closing the dialog without saving changes, canceling the
initial cancel request, or saving the changes. Clicking OK will immediately
save changes to the database (write on disk). Unlike previous versions,
this version of &app; does not have a separate saving function,
all changes are immediate.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold). The tabs provide the following information categories of
relationship data:
General
The General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the relationship: the relationship type.
The available types (such as married, partners, etc.) can be chosen
from the drop-down Relationship type menu.
The ID field displays &app; ID number
which labels this relationship in the database. The Last
changed label shows the last modification time for this
relationship.
Finally, the Information is complete check
button provides the way to mark whether this relationship's record is
complete or not. EventsThe Events tab displays information about
the events relevant to the relationship and the controls allowing
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all such events
stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected event in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an event record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an event is selected from the list.
AttributesThe Attributes tab displays information about
the attributes of the relationship and the controls allowing
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all such
attributes stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected attribute in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an attribute record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an attribute is selected from the list.
NotesThe Notes tab displays information about the
notes concerning the relationship. These could be any notes which do
not naturally fit into the Parameter-Value pairs available to
Attributes. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
SourcesThe Sources tab displays information about
the sources related to the relationship and controls allowing its
modification. These could be any general sources which refer to the
relationship but do not describe specifically any event.
For example, Aunt Martha's memoirs may mention that her great grandson Paul
was married, so the researcher may assume that this relationship (between
Paul and his wife) existed and cite the memoirs as the source for this
assumption.
Sources documenting specific events such as marriages
or divorces are better filed in relation to those events, under the
Events tab.The central part displays the list of all source references stored
in the database for this relationship. The
buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this relationship. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. GalleryThe Gallery tab displays information about
media objects associated with the relationship and the controls allowing
modification of such. The central part shows the list of all such media objects.
For media object which are valid image files previews of images are
displayed. For other objects such as audio files, movie files, etc., a
generic &app; icon is displayed instead.
The buttons +,
Select,
Edit, and - allow
you to correspondingly add a new image, add a reference to an image already
stored in the database, modify, and remove a media object reference
to this relationship.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a media object is selected from the list.
LDSThe LDS tab displays information
about the LDS Sealed to spouse ordinance
of the person and the controls allowing
modification. The data can include date, LDS temple, and Place where
it happened. The ordinance can further be described by its status
through the selections available in the Status
pop-up menu and can also be referenced by sources and notes via
corresponding Sources... and
Note buttons. Source Data To edit source data, switch to the Sources View and select the
desired entry in the list of sources. Double-click on that entry or
click the Edit icon on the toolbar to invoke the
following Source Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the Source
Editor
title of the dialog. The main part of the window displays four notebook
tabs containing different categories of available information. You can
bring any tab to the top for viewing or editing by clicking on the
appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK
and Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button at any time will apply all the changes made
in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes. Clicking OK will immediately
save changes to the database (write on disk). Unlike previous versions,
this version of &app; does not have a separate saving function,
all changes are immediate.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold).
The tabs provide the following information categories of
source data:GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the source: its title, author, abbreviated title,
and publication information.
This information can be typed in the appropriate text entry fields.
NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the source. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
DataThe Data tab displays Key/Value
pairs that may be associated with the source. These are similar
to the attributes used for other record types. The difference
from these Key/Value paris and the attributes is that the attributes
may have source references and notes, while the Key/Value
data may not. The central part shows the list of all Key/Value pairs, if any.
The buttons + and -
allow you to correspondingly add and remove pairs. To modify the
text of Key or Value, first select the desired entry (may be an
empty entry when new pair has just been added). Then click into
either Key or Value cell inside that entry and edit the text in place.
When you are done, click outside the cell to exit editing mode.
GalleryThe Gallery tab displays information about
media objects associated with the given source and controls
allowing its modification. The central part shows the list of all
such media objects. For media object which are valid image files
previews of images are displayed. For other objects such as audio
files, movie files, etc., a generic &app; icon is displayed instead.
The buttons +,
Select,
Edit, and - allow
you to correspondingly add a new image, add a reference to an image already
stored in the database, modify, and remove a media object reference
to this source.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a media object is selected from the list.
ReferencesThe References tab displays information about
database records that refer to this source. If the source is not
referenced from any database record, the tab shows an empty list.
If the source is referenced from many records, the tab will list
all of them. The list can be ordered by any of its column headers:
Type, ID, or
Name. Double-clicking on the list entry
opens up an editor for a corresponding record allowing
to view or modify the record.Only primary objects can be shown in the
References tab: Person, Family, Event, Place, or Media
object. The secondary objects such as Names and Attributes, although
may refer the source, will only show up through their primary
objects they belong to.
Place Data To edit place data, switch to the Places View and select the
desired entry in the list of places. Double-click on that entry or
click the Edit icon on the toolbar to invoke the
following Place Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the Place Editor
title of the dialog. The main part of the window displays seven
notebook tabs containing different categories of available information.
You can bring any tab to the top for viewing or editing by clicking on
the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has
OK and Cancel buttons.
Clicking the OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes. Clicking OK will immediately
save changes to the database (write on disk). Unlike previous versions,
this version of &app; does not have a separate saving function,
all changes are immediate.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold). The tabs provide the following information categories of
place data:GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the place: the title which labels it in the database,
city, church parish, county, state, country, longitude, and latitude.
This information can be typed in the appropriate text entry fields.
Other names
The Other names tab displays information concerning
other names by which the place might be known and the controls
allowing their modification. The bottom part displays the list of all
other names of the place stored in the database. The top part shows
the details of the currently selected name in the list (if any).
The buttons +,
Edit, and - allow
you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a name record
from the database. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a name is selected from the list. NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the place. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
Sources
The Sources tab displays information about sources
relevant to this place and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such source references
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and - allow
you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this place. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. GalleryThe Gallery tab displays information about
media objects associated with the given place and the controls
allowing its modification. The central part shows the list of all
such media objects. For media objects which are valid image files
previews of images are displayed. For other objects such as audio
files, movie files, etc., a generic &app; icon is displayed instead.
The buttons +,
Select, Edit.,
and - allow
you to correspondingly add a new image, add a reference to an image already
stored in the database, modify, and remove a media object reference
to this place.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a media object is selected from the list.
InternetThe Internet tab displays information about
Internet addresses relevant to the place and controls
allowing its modification. The bottom part displays the list of all
such Internet addresses stored in the database. The top part shows the
details of the currently selected addresses in the list (if any).
The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove an Internet address
record from the database. The button Go allows
you to open a web-page with the corresponding address with your default
browser. Note that the Edit,
-, and Go buttons
become available only when an address is selected from the list.
ReferencesThe References tab displays information about
database records (events or LDS ordinances) that refer to this place. If the place is not
referenced from any database record, the tab shows an empty list.
If the place is referenced from many records, the tab will list
all of them. This information cannot be modified from
the Place Editor dialog. Instead, the
corresponding database record (e.g. birth event) has to be brought
up and its place reference edited. Media Data To edit media data, switch to the Media View and select the
desired entry in the list of sources. Double-click on that entry or
click Edit on the toolbar to invoke the
following Media Properties Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title. Below the title
is the preview of an object and the summary of its properties (ID,
path, and object type). The central part of the window displays four
notebook tabs containing different categories of available information.
You can bring any tab to the top for viewing or editing by clicking on
the appropriate tab heading. The bottom part has
OK and Cancel buttons.
Clicking the OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes. Clicking OK will immediately
save changes to the database (write on disk). Unlike previous versions,
this version of &app; does not have a separate saving function,
all changes are immediate.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold).
The tabs provide the following information categories of
media object data:
GeneralThe
General tab allows editing the title which labels
this object in the database. The title can be typed in the appropriate
text entry field. The Date field allows entering
the date by typing, while the LED button beside it will invoke a
Date selection dialog for setting the date
graphically.&app; no longer has a concept of local media objects.
Every media object is referred to by its path. The users are responsible
for keeping track of the object files. &app; will only reference
and display the contents, not manage the files themselves.AttributesThe Attributes tab displays information about
the attributes of the media object and controls allowing its
modification. The bottom part displays the list of all such
attributes stored in the database. The top part shows the details
of the currently selected attribute in the list (if any). The buttons
+, Edit,
and - allow you to correspondingly add,
modify, and remove an attribute record from the database.
Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
an attribute is selected from the list. NotesThe Notes tab displays information about the
notes concerning the media object. These could be any notes which do
not naturally fit into the Parameter-Value pairs available to
Attributes. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field. The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
ReferencesThe References tab displays information about
database records that refer to this media object. If the object is not
referenced from any database record, the tab shows an empty list.
If the object is referenced from many records, the tab will list
all of them. The list can be ordered by any of its column headers:
Type, ID, or
Name. Double-clicking on the list entry
opens up an editor for a corresponding record allowing
to view or modify the record.Only primary objects can be shown in the
References tab: Person, Family, Event, Source, or Place.
The secondary objects such as Names and Attributes, although
able to refer the media object, will only show up through their primary
objects they belong to.
Events Events are edited through the following Event
Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title including the name
of the persons whose event is being edited. The central part of the
window displays four notebook tabs containing different categories of
available information. You can bring any tab to the top for viewing or
editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading. The bottom part has
OK and Cancel buttons.
Clicking the OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold).
The tabs provide the following information categories of
the event data: GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the event: its type, date, place, cause, and
description. The type can be selected from available types listed
in the Event type drop-down menu. The rest
of the information can be typed in the appropriate text entry fields.
Check the Private record box to mark this event
record as private. This will give you a chance to omit this event from
being included in reports, if you choose so among the report
generation options. SourcesThe
Sources tab displays information about sources
relevant to this event and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such sources references
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this event. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the event. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
WitnessesThe
Witnesses tab displays information about witnesses
relevant to this event and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such witnesses
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a witness reference
to this event, see . Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a witness reference is selected from the list. Source Information When adding source references to events, places, etc.,
the following dialog appears: The top of the window shows the dialog title. The central part
displays the source information. The bottom part has
OK and Cancel buttons.
Clicking the OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes. The source can be selected from available sources listed in the
Title drop-down menu. If the source you are
referencing is not present in the database yet, you can enter it into
the database. To do this, click the New... button
and enter source information into the invoked Source
Editor dialog. You can also set the details specific for
this particular reference: confidence, volume/file/page, date, text,
and comments. Choose the confidence
level from the Confidence drop-down menu.
The rest of the details can be typed in the appropriate text entry
fields. Information in this dialog is specific to the particular reference.
A single source can be referenced many times, and all such references will
have in common the overall source information. This dialog lets you provide
reference-specific data, such as relevant quotes, comments, confidence,
page numbers, etc, to further specify and document the reference.Names Names are edited through the following
Name Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title including the name
of the person whose name is being edited. The central part
of the window displays three notebook tabs containing different
categories of available information. You can bring any tab to the
top for viewing or editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK and
Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold). The tabs provide the following information categories of
the alternate name data: GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of general
information about the alternate name: given name, family name,
patronymic, family
prefix, suffix, title, and type of the name. The information can be
typed in the appropriate text entry fields. The family name and the
type can be also selected from available choices listed in the
appropriate drop-down menus. Options allow you to adjust specific
grouping, sorting, and displaying properties of this name, as well
as to provide the date corresponding to the name. The
Grouping field provides an alternative
grouping node for a given name, overriding the default grouping
based on the family name. This may be necessary with similar
family names that need to be grouped together. To enable
typing into this field, check the Override
check button. The Sort as and
Display as determine the manner
in which the name appears in the People View and in the reports.
The Date can provide information on
the validity of this name -- use spans as necessary.
Check the Private record box to mark this name
record as private. This will give you a chance to omit this name from
being included in reports, if you choose so among the report
generation options. SourcesThe
Sources tab displays information about sources
relevant to this name and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such sources' references
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this name. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the name. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
Attributes Attributes are edited through the following
Attribute Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title including the name
of the person whose attribute is being edited. The central part
of the window displays three notebook tabs containing different
categories of available information. You can bring any tab to the
top for viewing or editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK and
Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold). The tabs provide the following information categories of
the attribute data: GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the attribute: name of the attribute and its value.
The information can be typed in the appropriate text entry fields.
The attribute name can also be selected from available choices (if any)
listed in the Attribute drop-down menu.
Check the Private record box to mark this
attribute record as private. This will give you a chance to omit
this attribute from being included in the reports, if you choose
so among the report generation options. SourcesThe
Sources tab displays information about sources
relevant to this attribute and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such sources references
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this attribute. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the attribute. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
Addresses Addresses are edited through the following
Address Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title including the name
of the person whose address is being edited. The central part
of the window displays three notebook tabs containing different
categories of available information. You can bring any tab to the
top for viewing or editing by clicking on the appropriate tab heading.
The bottom part has OK and
Cancel buttons. Clicking the
OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made in all tabs and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window without
applying any changes.
The tab labels reflect the presence of corresponding information: if the
tab contains any data, its label appears boldface; if the tab has no data
then its label appears regular (not bold).The tabs provide the following information categories of
the address data: GeneralThe
General tab allows editing of the most general
information about the address: date, street address, city or county,
state or province, country, the postal code, and the phone number.
The information can
be typed in the appropriate text entry fields.
Check the Private record box to mark this address
record as private. This will give you a chance to omit this address
from being included in reports, if you choose so among the report
generation options. SourcesThe
Sources tab displays information about sources
relevant to this address and controls allowing its modification.
The central part displays the list of all such sources references
stored in the database. The buttons +,
Edit, and -
allow you to correspondingly add, modify, and remove a source reference
to this address. Note that the Edit and
- buttons become available only when
a source reference is selected from the list. NoteThe Note tab displays any notes concerning
the address. To add a note or modify existing notes simply edit the
text in the text entry field.
The Format option allows you to set the
appearance of the note in the output (i.e. in reports and web pages).
Selecting
Flowed will replace all multiple spaces, tabs,
and single end-of-line characters with single space in the output.
The two consecutive new lines (i.e. an empty line) denote a new paragraph.
Selecting Preformatted will honor all multiple spaces
tabs, and new lines, so that the output will appear as it is entered
into the text entry field.
Witnesses Witnesses are edited through the following
Witness Editor dialog: The top of the window shows the dialog title. The central part
of the window displays information about the witness. The bottom part
has OK and Cancel buttons.
Clicking the OK button at any time will apply all the
changes made and close the dialog window. Clicking the
Cancel button at any time will close the window
without applying any changes. The witness name can be entered in two ways, depending upon
whether the witness is a person already stored in the database or
not (unrelated person). If the person you would like to add as a wittness is in fact
a member of the database, it is better to use the first method below.
Person from the database
If the person's data are stored in a database, check Person
is in the database box. Then click the
Select button to evoke Select
Person dialog. Choose the person from that dialog and
click the OK button. The Person
text field will display the name of the person you selected.
Even though the person's name is displayed in the
Person field, it is not available for direct
editing. Unrelated person
If the person is not in the database, make sure that
Person is in the database box is unchecked.
Then enter the name or any description of a person into the
Person text entry field. This information
is stored as entered, and this is the only place it is stored.
In other words, there is no reference to that person in the entire
database except for this witness reference. If the person is in fact
a member of the database, it is advised to use the former method.
The Comment text area allows you to enter
any comments concerning the witness. To add a comment or to modify
existing comments simply edit the text in the text area.
Merging records Sometime several records in the database turn out to be
describing the same object: same person, same place, or same source.
It could happen either when the data is entered twice by mistake,
or when new information reveals that the two entries refer to the same
person. It can also happen after importing GEDCOM obtained from a
relative, whose database overlaps with your existing data.Whenever you detect duplicate records, merging them
a useful way of correcting the situation. To make a merge, exactly two records have to be selected
in the appropriate view (People View, Sources View, or Places View).
This is accomplished by selecting one entry and then
selecting another person while holding down Ctrl key.
Merge People There are two ways of merging personal records:
Compare and Merge and
Fast Merge, both available from the
Edit menu.
Merging people does not discard any information with either method.
The decisions you make during the merge only affect which data will
become primary and which will become secondary for the resulting
merged record.
Compare and Merge
When exactly two people are selected, choose
EditCompare and
Merge... to evoke Compare
People dialog.The dialog allows you to make a decision on whether or not
the selected records should be merged. If you decide that the records
should not be merged, despite similar names, you may click
Cancel to close the dialog without making
any changes. If you decide to proceed with merging, select the
appropriate Select radio button to specify
the record to be used as the source of primary data,
then click Merge and close. The data from the other record will be kept as alternate
data. Specifically, all names from the other record will become
alternate names of the merged record. Similarly, parents, spouses,
and children of the other record will become alternate parents,
spouses, and children of the merged record, and so on.
Fast Merge
When exactly two people are selected, choose
EditFast
Merge to evoke Merge
People dialog.The dialog allows you to quickly merge two records, specifying
the record to be used as the source of primary data.
The data from the other record will be kept as alternate
data. Specifically, all names from the other record will become
alternate names of the merged record. Similarly, parents, spouses,
and children of the other record will become alternate parents,
spouses, and children of the merged record, and so on.
If you are not certain whether or not you need
to merge the records, or which record to specify as the source
of primary data, use Compare and Merge method
described above..
Merge SourcesWhen exactly two sources are selected, choose
EditCompare and
Merge... to evoke Merge
Sources dialog.The dialog allows you to make a decision on whether or not
the selected records should be merged. If you decide that the records
should not be merged, despite similar titles, you may click
Cancel to close the dialog without making
any changes. If you decide to proceed with merging, choose the
appropriate radio button to specify the title, author, abbreviated
title, publication information, and the ID to be used for the
merged record, then click OK. Merge PlacesWhen exactly two places are selected, choose
EditCompare and
Merge... to evoke Select
title dialog.The dialog allows you to make a decision on whether or not
the selected records should be merged. If you decide that the records
should not be merged, despite similar titles, you may click
Cancel to close the dialog without making
any changes. If you decide to proceed with merging, choose the
appropriate radio button to specify the title of the merged record,
or specify Other and enter new text,
then click OK. Navigation As long as any database is open, &app; is focused on a
single person usually referred to as an Active person. This
allows you to view or modify the data concerning this person,
his or her immediate family, etc. Navigating in the database (i.e.
moving from person to person) is in fact nothing else but changing
the Active person. This section describes many alternative ways
to navigate through the database using both the complex and the
convenient interfaces &app; provides. All these ways eventually
accomplish the same thing, but some are more convenient than others,
depending what you are doing in &app; at the moment. Using the People View The most intuitive way to select an active person is
to use the People View (see ).
When in the People View, just select the
name of the desired person from the list by clicking that list
entry. The person you have selected becomes active. The statusbar
updates to reflect the change of the active person. Using the Family View When in the Family View (see ),
you can easily navigate between the members of the displayed family
as follows: To make the currently selected spouse the active person,
click the double-arrow button to the right of the active person box.
Alternatively, right-click into the spouse box and select
Make the selected spouse an active person item
from the context menu.
To make the currently selected parents the active family
(thereby making father the active person and mother the selected
spouse), click the right-arrow button to the right of the active person's
parents box. Alternatively, right-click into the active person's parents
box and select
Make the selected parents the active family item
from the context menu.
To make the currently selected spouse's parents
the active family (thereby making father the active person and mother
the selected spouse), click the right-arrow button to the right of the
spouse's parents box. Alternatively, right-click into the spouse's parents
box and select
Make the selected parents the active family item
from the context menu. To make the currently selected child the active person,
click the left-arrow button to the right of the children box.
Alternatively, right-click into the children box and select
Make the selected child an active person item
from the context menu.
In addition to this, &app; provides an extensive set of keyboard
navigation options. The detailed reference to the keybindings
is found in the .Using the Pedigree View The Pedigree View (see ) also
allows you to move along the family tree.
The benefit of this method is that you can see more than one
generation of the family tree. Also, you can jump directly from a
great-grandson to a great-grandfather without going through the
intermediate generations. Note that after changing the active person in the Pedigree
View, the display is re-adjusted to show four generations, starting
from the newly selected Active person. When in the Pedigree View, you
can easily navigate between the members of the displayed family tree
as follows: To make any displayed person the active person,
double-click the line that connects to the left side of the
corresponding box. To make a child of the currently active person (if any)
the active person, click the left arrow button to the left of the
corresponding box. If there is more than one child, the button expands
to the menu listing the children to choose from. To move the whole family tree one generation back,
click on the corresponding right arrow button on the right-hand side
of the display area. Clicking the upper button will move the tree
along the paternal line. Clicking the lower button will move the
tree along the maternal line. Clicking either of these buttons is completely equivalent to
double-clicking the lines connecting to the left of the corresponding
boxes for father and mother. You can also quickly access any of the spouses, siblings,
children, or parents of any displayed person. To do this, move the
mouse over the desired person's box and right-click to invoke
a context menu. The appropriate menu items will contain submenus
listing all spouses, siblings, children, and parents of the
corresponding person.
Advantages of using right-click menusDirect access to spouse and siblingsComplete lists of all member of all categories,
not only the preferred members.Setting the Home Person One and only one person in the database can be selected as the
Home person. Once the Home person is selected, moving to that
person becomes a matter of a single click, regardless of which view
you are using at the moment. To set the Home person, first navigate to that person using
any method you like. Then choose
EditSet Home person. Once this is
done, you can move to the Home person from anywhere in the
database by simply clicking the Home icon
on the toolbar. You can also choose GoHome from the menu or select
Home item from any context menu available on the
right click.
Using history-based tools &app; also features a powerful set of history-based navigation
tools. These tools are similar to those commonly used in web browsers.
They include Back and Forward
items available from the Go
menu, context menus (available in People, Family, and Pedigree views),
and the toolbar buttons. They also include the list of the recent
selections available under the
Go menu that allows you
to jump directly to any of the recent selections.
Finally, right-clicking on the Back
and Forward toolbar buttons invokes the
popup menu with corresponding portion of the history. Select any item
from the menu to jump directly to it. Bookmarking People Similar to setting the Home person, you can bookmark other
people from the database to simplify further navigation. To bookmark
a person, first navigate to that person, then choose
BookmarksAdd bookmark. To move to that
person from anywhere in the database, choose
BookmarksGo to bookmarkPerson's name. You can manage your bookmarks by choosing
BookmarksEdit bookmarks.... This opens
the following Edit Bookmarks dialog with the
list of bookmarks and the controls to modify this list. Finding recordsTo find a record in a database, first switch to the appripriate
View that provides the list of the desired records: People, Sources,
Places, or Media. Then start typing the name of a person or the title
of a Source, Place, or Media object that you are looking for,
respectively.
You may also press Ctrl+F to turn on the search
mode, but simply staring to type is also enough. As you type, the first record in the list that is compatible
with your input will be selected.Finding PeopleFor more complex people searches you may want to use filters.
Enable filter controls by choosing ViewFilter, select the desired
filter, and click Apply.
For details, see Generating Reports Reports are the most common form of the output produced by
genealogical research. The majority of genealogical software puts a lot
of emphasis on developing nicely looking reports. &app; is no
exception in this regard: it offers a choice of a variety of reports.
&app; can generate reports in a multitude of open formats, both
text based and graphical. &app; can also produce screen based reports
that are convenient for viewing a summary of your database.
Finally, &app; can generate a web site suitable for immediate
posting on the Internet. All these are almost infinitely flexible:
if you wish to modify or extend the default format of &app; report
you can design and choose the style for each of your reports. All reports can be accessed through the menu by choosing
ReportsReport TypeParticular
Report. Alternatively,
you can browse the complete selection of available reports along
with their brief descriptions in a Report
Selection dialog evoked by clicking the
Reports icon on the toolbar.
Books Currently, the only available report under this category
is the Book Report. The Book Report creates a single document (i.e. a Book)
containing a collection of graphical and textual reports.
Consequently, this allows for a very rich set of documents
that &app; can produce.
When Book Report is selected, the following book configuration
dialog appears: The Book name text entry field is used to
save the book (a set of configured selections) for future use.
The top pane lists the items available for inclusion in the
book. The bottom pane lists the currently selected items in
the order they will appear in the book. The horizontal set of buttons by the Book
name field operates on the whole book. Click
the Clear button to clear all items from
the current book. Click the Save button to
save the current book (under the name typed in
the Book name text entry field) for future
use.
Saving the book also saves the configuration for each item.
Click the Open button to load
the book from the list of previously saved books. Finally, click the
Edit books button to evoke the editable list of
available books. The vertical set of buttons to the right of the bottom pane
operates on the
selected book item. Click the Add button to
add selected item from the available list to the current book. Click
the Remove button to remove an item from the
current book. Use Up and
Down to change the items order in the current
book. Click the Setup button to configure the
options of the selected item of the current book.
The configuration dialogs evoked by Setup
are item-specific. If you choose not to configure the item, sane
defaults will be used for all needed options. The common option for
almost all book items is the center person: the person on whom the
item is centered. Thanks to this option, you can create a book with
items centered on different people (e.g. your mom's and dad's
ancestors as separate chapters). By default, the center person is
set to the active person. Almost all items available for inclusion in the book are textual
or graphical reports, and are therefore available in the form of standalone
reports. The exception is the following items which are only available as
book items:Title PageThis item produces a customized Title page. You can
configure the text of title, subtitle, and the footer of the page.
An image can be optionally placed between the subtitle and the footer.
Because of its configurability, this item can be used to create
title pages for the whole book, its chapter, or even a single item.
Custom TextThis item produces a page with three paragraphs, each
containing custom text. The appearance of the text can be adjusted by
using custom styles. This item was meant to be used for epigraphs,
dedications, explanations, notes, and so forth.
Code Generators This category contains reports that produce code intended
to be run through the computer, rather than the usual formatted
output for human reading. The only code generator currently
available in &app; is the Relationship Graph producing the
GraphViz description of the graph.The Relationship Graph creates a complex relationship graph in
GraphViz format. The GraphViz dot tool can
transform the graph into postscript, jpeg, png, vrml, svg, and
other formats. GraphViz tools are freely available from the
GraphViz
site. Specific options for this report
include filter and number of generations considered, as well as
several GraphViz-specific options related to pagination, color,
and details of the graph.If you are not interested in GraphViz code itself
and just want to generate graphical output, &app; can do it for you
under the hood. Look for Relationship Graph
in the Graphical Reports category, Graphical Reports Graphical reports represent information in forms of charts
and graphs. Most of the options are common among graphical reports,
therefore they will be described only once, at the end of this
section. The few options which are specific to a given report will be
described directly in that report's entry.The following graphical reports are currently
available in &app;: Ancestor ChartThis report generates the chart of people who are
ancestors of the Active person. Specific options include
the number of generations considered and the format of the displayed
entries. Ancestor Chart (Wall Chart)This report is similar to the Ancestor Chart report.
It provides more options which make it useful for generating huge charts
suitable for a poster or a wall chart. These options include the ability
to compress the report (getting rid of an empty space) and the option
to fit the whole chart onto a single page. In the latter case, the
contents of the chart is scaled down appropriately. Descendant GraphThis report generates a graph of people who are
descendants of the Active person. Specific options include
the format of the displayed entries. Fan ChartThis report produces a chart resembling a fan, with
Active person in the center, parents the the semicircle next to it,
grandparents in the next semicircle, and so on, for a total of five
generations. Relationship GraphThis report creates a complex relationship graph in
GraphViz format and then converts into graphical output
running it through the the GraphViz dot tool
behind the scene. Specific options for this report
include filter, options for dates and places for the events, and
whether to include URLs and IDs for individuals and families.
There are also
several GraphViz-specific options related to pagination, color,
and details of the graph. Statistics ChartThis report can collect and display a wealth of
statistical data about your database.
Specific options include filter, sorting methods, and additional
birth- and gender-based limit for inclusion into statistics.
You can also set the minimum number of items to qualify for the
bar chart, so that the charts with fewer items will generate
a pice chart instead.
The Chart Selection tab
allows you to check which charts you want to include in your report.
Timeline GraphThis report outputs the list of people with their
lifetimes represented by intervals on a common chronological scale.
Specific options include filter, sorting method, and the title of
the report. Common options for graphical reports are the filename of the
output, the format of the output, selected style, page size and
orientation. Optionally, the reports can be immediately opened
with the default application. The options used in reports are persistent: each report
remembers its options used last time.
Text Reports Text reports represent the desired information as formatted
text. Most of the options are common among text reports,
therefore they will be described only once, at the end of this
section. The options which are specific to a given report will be
described directly in that report's entry.The following text reports are currently
available in &app;:Ahnentafel ReportThis report lists the active person and his or her
ancestors along with their vital data. The people are numbered in a
special way which is an established standard called Ahnentafel.
The active person is given number 1. His or her father and mother
have numbers 2 and 3, respectively. This rule holds for every person
while going back in generations: father's parents are numbered 4 and 5,
and mother's parents are numbered 6 and 7, fathers always numbered
with even and mothers with odd numbers. Therefore, for any person
having number N in this tree, the numbers of father and mother
are 2N and 2N+1, respectively.
Complete Individual ReportThis report provides individual summaries similar to
that of the Individual Summary report. The advantage of this report
is the specific filter option. Depending on the filter choice (active
person only, his or her descendants, his or her ancestors, or entire
database), the report may contain from one to many individual
summaries. Another option for this report is the inclusion of
source information when listing events. Comprehensive Ancestors ReportThis report produces a comprehensive description
of ancestors of the active person. The highlights of this report
include elaborate layout, images of children, present and former
spouses, and source citations. Specific options: number
of backward generations to consider, whether to cite sources,
and whether to break pages between generations. Descendant ReportThis report produces a brief description
of descendants of the active person. Specific options: number
of forward generations to consider. Detailed Ancestral ReportThis report covers in detail the ancestors of the
active person. It includes vital data (birth and death) as well as
marriages. Specific options: number of backward generations
to consider, as well as a variety of options regarding the exact
contents to include. Detailed Descendant ReportThis report covers in detail the descendants of the
active person. It includes vital (birth and death) information as well as
marriages. Specific options: number of forward generations
to consider. FTM Style Ancestral ReportThis report creates an ancestral report similar to
that produced by the Family Tree Maker (tm) program. It covers in detail the
active person and his/her ancestors It includes vital information
as well as marriages, children, and notes. Specific options: number
of backward generations to consider. FTM Style Descendant ReportThis report creates a descendant report similar to
that produced by the Family Tree Maker (tm) program. It covers in detail the
active person and his/her descendants. It includes vital information
as well as marriages, children, and notes. Specific options:
number of forward generations to consider. Family Group ReportThis creates a family group report, showing
information on a set of parents and their children. Specific
options: the spouse (available only if the active person has more
than one spouse). Individual SummaryThis report produces a detailed summary on the
active person. The report includes all the facts known to the
database about that person. Common options for text reports are the filename of the
output, the format of the output, selected style, page size and
orientation. For HTML reports, there is no page information.
Instead, HTML options include the choice of the HTML template,
either available in &app; or a custom template defined by you.
Optionally, the reports can be immediately opened
with the default application. The options used in reports are persistent: each report
remembers its options used last time.
View Reports View reports represent overall summaries of the database
information available immediately for on-screen viewing.
The following view reports are currently available in &app;:Number of ancestorsThis report displays the number of ancestors of the
active person. Summary of the databaseThis report displays the overall statistics concerning
number of individuals of each gender, various incomplete entries
statistics, as well as family and media statistics. Web PageThis category includes reports producing web sites
based on your data.Generate Web Site This report generates web pages, either for a selected
individual (active person) or a set of individuals. The options
for this report are broken down into contents, privacy, and advanced
options. The contents options include the filter (determine the
scope of the database to consider),
destination directory for the images, an optional short ancestor tree,
and a link to the index page.
Privacy options allow you to omit private records, restrict
information on living people, skip images (either all or only
those of living people), and omit comments and text in source
information. Finally, the advanced options allow you to include
the optional &app; ID, create a GENDEX index, and specify the
extension of the resulting files. Narrative Web SiteThis report is an alternative web site generator,
producing the narrative set of web pages. It is still in development,
with the goal of producing a more complete, better looking, and easily
adjustable web site.Running Tools &app; tools allow you to perform various types of analyses
of your genealogical data. Typically, the tools do not produce
output in form of printouts or files. Instead, they produce screen
output immediately available for the researcher. However, when
appropriate, you can save the results of running a tool into a file.
Tools present one of the major strengths of &app; compared to the most
genealogical software. The tools can be accessed through the menu by choosing
ToolsTool SectionParticular
Tool. Alternatively,
you can browse the complete selection of available tools along
with their brief descriptions in a Tool
Selection dialog evoked by clicking the
Tools icon on the toolbar. Analysis and Exploration This section contains tools which analyze and explore the
database, but do not alter it. The following analysis and exploration
tools are currently available in &app;: Compare individual eventsThis tool compares events across the selected group of
people. The people for this comparison are chosen with the use of
custom filters. The custom filters can be created in the Custom Filter
Editor (see ) that can be evoked by clicking
the Custom Filter Editor button. The resulting
table produced by this tool can be saved as a spreadsheet.
Interactive descendant browserThis tool builds a tree with the active person being
the root. Children branch from their parents in the usual manner.
Use this tool for a quick glance of a person's descendants.
Double-clicking on tree node will bring up the Edit
Person dialog allowing to view or modify the personal data.
Database Processing This section contains tools which may modify your database.
The tools from this section are used mostly for finding and correcting
errors in the data. The following database processing tools are
currently available in &app;:
The modifications will only be performed upon your explicit consent,
except for the automatic fixes performed by Check and repair
database tool. Check and repair databaseThis tool checks the database for integrity problems,
fixing the problems it can. Specifically, the tool is checking for:Broken family links. These are the cases when
a person's record refers to a family while the family's record
does not refer to that person, and vice versa.
Missing media objects. The missing media
object is the object whose file is referenced in the database
but does not exist. This can happen when the file is
accidentally deleted, renamed, or moved to another location.
Empty families. These are the family entries
which have no reference to any person as their member.
Parent relationship. This checks all families
to ensure that father and mother are not mixed up. The check
is also made that parents have different gender. If they have
common gender then their relationship is renamed to "Partners".
Extract information from namesThis tool searches the entire database and attempts
to extract titles and nicknames that may be embedded in a person's
Given name field. If any information could be
extracted, the candidates for fixing will be presented in the table.
You may then decide which to repair as suggested and which not to.
Find possible duplicate peopleThis tool searches the entire database, looking
for the entries that may represent the same person.
Fix capitalization of family namesThis tool searches the entire database and attempts
to fix the capitalization of family names. The aim is to have
conventional capitalization: capital first letter and lower case
for the rest of the family name. If deviations from this rule
are detected, the candidates for fixing will be presented in the table.
You may then decide which to repair as suggested and which not to.
Rename personal event typesThis tool allows all the events of a certain name
to be renamed to a new name.
Reorder &app; IDsThis tool reorders the &app; IDs according to the
defaults of &app;.
Debug This section contains debugging tools that are not of general
interest for many of the users of &app;. If you're not interested in
debugging or developing &app; you may safely skip this section.Python evaluation windowEnter expression into the Evaluation
Window, get the output in Output Window.
Any errors should end up in the Error Window.
Reload pluginsMakes an attempt to reload all plugins.
This tool is itself a plugin, but it will not reload itself!
Show uncollected objectsProvides the window listing all uncollected objects.
Depending on the system settings, recently abandoned GUI objects
may still be uncollected.
Utilities This section contains tools allowing you to perform a simple
operation on a portion of data. The results can be saved in your
database, but they will not modify your existing data.
The following utilities are currently available in &app;:Custom Filter EditorThe Custom Filter Editor builds custom filters
that can be used to select people included in reports, exports,
and other tools and utilities. This is in fact a very powerful tool
in genealogical analysis.When you launch it, the User defined filters
dialog appears that lists all the filters (if any) previously defined
by you. Click the Add... button to define a new filter.
Once you have designed your filters, you can edit, test, and delete
selected filters using the Edit...,
Test..., and Delete
buttons, respectively. All the filters displayed in the list will be
automatically saved along with your database and will be available
with subsequent sessions of &app;. The changes made to the filters only take effect when you
click the Apply and close button.
Clicking the Add... button invokes the
following Define filter dialog: Type the name for your new filter into the
Name field. Enter any comment that would help you
identify this filter in the future into the Comment
field. Add as many rules to the Rule list as you
would like to your filter using Add... button.
If the filter has more than one rule,
select one of the Rule operations. This allows you
to choose whether all rules must apply, only one (either) rule must
apply, or exactly one (either) rule must apply, in order for the filter
to generate a match. If your filter has only one rule, this selection
has no effect.
Check Return values that do not match the filter
rules to invert the filter rule. For example, inverting
"has a common ancestor with I1" rule will match everyone who does not
have a common ancestor with that person).
Clicking the Add... button invokes the
following Add Rule dialog:The pane on the left-hand side displays available filter rules
arranged by their categories in an expandable tree. For detailed filter
rule reference, see . Click on the
arrows to fold/unfold the appropriate category. Select the rule
from the tree by clicking on its name. The right-hand side displays
the name, the description, and the values for the currently selected
rule. Once you are satisfied with your rule selection and its values,
click OK to add this rule to the rule list
of the currently edited filter. Clicking Cancel
will abort adding the rule to the filter. A filter you have already designed may be used as a rule
for another filter. This gives you nearly infinite flexibility in
custom-tailoring your selection criteria that can be later used in
most of the exports, reports, and some of the tools (such as comparing
individual events). Scratch PadThis tool provides a temporary note pad to store
database records for easy reuse. In short, this is a sort of the
copy-and-paste functionality extended from textual objects to
other types of records used in &app;.
Scratch Pad makes extensive use of drag-and-drop technique.
To invoke Scratch Pad, either choose ToolsUtilitiesScratch
Pad or click the Paste
button on the toolbar. The following window will appear:
Scratch pad supports addresses, attributes (both personal and
family), events (both personal and family), names, media objects
references, source references, URLs, and of course textual information
of notes and comments. To store any type of these records, simply drag
the existing record onto the Scratch pad from the corresponding
editor dialog. To reuse the record, drag it from the Scratch Pad
onlto the corresponding place in the editor, e.g. Address tab,
Attribute tab, etc.
Some objects are showing the link icon on the left. This
indicates that dragging such selection will produce a reference
to an existing object, not copy the object itself. For example, the media object file will not be duplicated.
Instead, the reference will be made to an existing media object,
which will result in the local gallery entry.
Scratch Pad storage is persistent within a single &app;
session. Closing the window will not lose the stored records. However,
exiting &app; will.
Other toolsGenerate SoundEx codesThis utility generates SoundEx codes for the names of
people in the database. Please visit the NARA Soundex Indexing page to learn more about
Soudex Indexing System.
Relationship calculatorThis utility calculates and displays the relationship
of any person to the active person.
Verify the databaseThis utility allows you to verify the database based
on the set of criteria specified by you. Difference between Verify tool and previously described
Check tool The Check tool
detects inconsistencies in the database structure. The Verify tool,
however, is detecting the records that do not satisfy your particular
criteria. For example, you may want to make sure that nobody in your
database had children at the age of 98. Based on common sense, such
a record would indicate an error. However, it is not a consistency
error in the database. Besides, someone might have a child at the of
98 (although this rarely happens). The Verify tool will display
everything that violates your criteria so that you can check whether
the record is erroneous or not. The ultimate decision is yours.