Family Historian User Group

I'm wondering how specific the Cause field is. In a query it exists for all facts (as opposed to the Value field, I don't see it) but apart from the Death fact it seems unusable (and inaccessible) for all other facts?

Is it a special case or am I missing something?

A Cause can be added to most (all?) facts via the All tab of the Property Box. I think this is to maintain Gedcom compliance, but no doubt someone will tell us if that's not the case. Presumably Calico Pie have only made it readily accessible for the death fact because it doesn't seem relevant for most facts.

The GEDCOM 5.5 Standard definition:

CAUSE_OF_EVENT: = {Size=1:90}
Used in special cases to record the reasons which precipitated an event. Normally this will be used subordinate to a death event to show cause of death, such as might be listed on a death certificate.

It is valid for any Event, but not for any Attribute.

@Lorna: Yes, I know about the All tab, but I would like it to be available in the facts tab to be used as a field for other events as well. And, I can't see how.

@Peter: Thanks for the GEDCOM check. It supports (I think) my point that it should be available to all event facts to be used in sentence definitions.

I have been known to use CAUSE for why someone was attending school, or why they were Registered (usually to distinguish the US Military Draft registrations from anything else). But it's one of those things that has to be added via the ALL tab, as Lorna says, which means I tend to forget it's there - unless I stick an Auto-Create-Note in for that fact type containing an instruction to me. Which is a useful trick, I find.

Yes Adrian, good examples of good use of the field and indeed using the All tab is not meant to enter data on a regularly basis (one forgets and it's error prone).

Well. maybe someday...

The Cause field is valid for EVERY type of fact (Events & Attributes) including custom facts.
The GEDCOM specification is misleading because the INDIVIDUAL_ATTRIBUTE_STRUCTURE Page 30 defines every Attribute as having EVENT_DETAIL Page 29 which includes CAUS <CAUSE_OF_EVENT> but it means Attribute too.
Unfortunately, the GEDCOM specification is riddled with such misnomers.

The FH Tools > Fact Types definitions allow several fields to be enabled/disabled but not the Cause fields.
So the only way to add it to a fact other than Death is via the All tab.

Any Sentence Template can use the {cause} code.

BTW: Only Attribute facts have a Value and support the {value} code. The value is what appears against the fact label on the Facts tab, e.g. Occupation: Agricultural labourer is the value.

Mike, referring to your BTW:

What would be the data reference to replace FactValue(%FACT%) in a sentence like:

{date} {place} {=Section(FactValue(%FACT%),1,"|")} {individual} {=Section(FactValue(%FACT%),2,"|")}

It's a pity that FH only have used Cause in the Death fact, but who know, maybe some day...

Does the same (of a sort) apply to the Value field? Is it only valid with Attributes? Could I, for example create a custom Birth attribute and then have acces to the Value field while still have it function as a birth event in all respect?

The data reference for the Cause field would be %FACT.CAUS%

Cause can be added to any fact but must be done via the All tab.

Value ONLY applies to Attributes. It is the only thing that differentiates an Event from an Attribute.

A custom attribute with the name Birth is just that and is no different than one with the name Fred.
Only you and I recognise the name Birth happens to be the same as the Birth Event; FH does not.
Under the hood that custom attribute has a completely different structure to the BIRT tag of the Birth event.

The standard Birth Event is a predefined GEDCOM field with special features, as are the other key Events such as Baptism, Christening, Marriage, Death, Burial & Cremation.

Got it. Thanks for the explanation and all the help!