* Links to note records

[dklbrooks]

How does one create a link to a Note Record (aka shared note)?

I have my own tips and tricks for Family Historian added to as I learn how to use it.
Also I have a naming scheme for individuals and source records.
I want them at my fingertips at all times without having to leave FH to Word.

It would be good to have a query that just lists these Note Records and the
query can be run with a user assigned keyboard shortcut.

[davidm_uk]

If you're prepared to use a user assigned keyboard shortcut why don't you have your notes in a text file, have it open (Notepad or whatever) and then just alt-tab to switch between it and FH. If you want to search within the text file just use Notepads find facility.

If you want to get cleverer use something like AutoHotKey to produce scripts that can do more complex things.

Saves cluttering up your gedcom file with notes that aren't about the people, sources etc.

[tatewise]

As David suggests, a drawback of Note Records is they are in the GEDCOM and must be replicated if you choose to have more than one Project, and then kept in synch in each Project.

Here are some further thoughts.

It is virtually as quick to open the Records Window and its Notes tab to list Note Records than run a Query.

If you don't like the idea of an external Notepad text file, then why not use a Plugin.
It can be run using Alt T T assuming its name starts with T for Tips as explained in my reply to Shortcut keys for queries. (13376).
A Plugin is shared by all Projects and can have a user dialogue/menu if too many Tips to show in one window.
A simple Plugin to just display some text only needs one fhMessageBox(...) command that is even easier to create than a Custom Query and a Note Record.

[dklbrooks]

Thanks very much to both of you, davidm_uk and tatewise.
I have come from FTM, and I am trying desperately hard to convert my trees AND learn FH6 at the same time.
Your suggestions should shorten my learning curve.
I had considered something like you suggested re Notepad, but using Word where my notes and tips about FH6 are currently stored.
Your recommendations make sense when I think about it.

Although I am a retired programmer, and still write the occasional VB.net program to automate Photoshop, Vegas and Metastock etc, I was reluctant to add to the growing list of "things to do" and learn LUA to write a Plugin, but I like a challenge.

By the way, Mike, my paternal ancestors come from around Tiverton.

[tatewise]

I am an Essex 'newcomer' to Devon, and my wife comes from Yorkshire, but I think some of her distant ancestors come from Devon.

A Plugin to list Tips would require very little code.

To display a popup Message Box of tips would need just the following code:

strText = [[
This is the message text.
With separate text on each line.
]]
fhMessageBox(strText)

The only slight snag is that is a modal Message Box that must be closed before you can do anything else.

A better alternative is to create a Result Set of text (similar to a Query):

tblText = {
"This is the message text.";
"With separate text on each line.";
}
fhOutputResultSetTitles("Tips")
fhOutputResultSetColumn("Tips","text",tblText,#tblText,500,"align_left")

The advantage is that Result Set remains available indefinitely if you lock it and allow multiple Query Windows in Preferences.

[dklbrooks]

I think I will leverage my experience with VB.net and avoid learning Lua, by writing ONE plugin to call my VB executables, viz:

fhShellExecute("D:\\VBprojects\\mycode.exe", the gedcom file as parameter....)

Then as you suggest, run the plugin from the Tools menu.

[dklbrooks]

I am hoping to reference some GEDCOM libraries from Visual Studio, or just parse the Gedcom manually.

It is fortunate that FH uses a GEDCOM compatible database and not something proprietary.

[tatewise]

This thread seems to have radically changed direction.
You started wanting to simply display some tips/notes via a shortcut key.

But you are now talking about editing the GEDCOM file, which unless you are extremely well versed in the FH dialect of GEDCOM syntax is extremely risky. This should be a new thread in the Plugin Discussions Forum.

I suspect there are existing Plugins to do what you want, or they can be easily adapted, which would be quicker than any other method. If necessary, I or another FHUG member, can help you with LUA, which is worth learning in the long run anyway.

Many FH users have migrated from FTM, so I suspect what you want to change is not a new requirement, and I already have a Plugin in my repertoire.

[dklbrooks]

By linking to a VB exe I can do more than just read the GEDCOM file.
Also I wanted to use the exercise to learn about the underlying structure.
If I add any more posts on this subject it will be in the plugins thread.