Family Historian User Group

This is definitely a newbie question - I am going through the Help, one points one bullet point at a time starting with the beginning, (now that I know a little about what I'm doing, I thought it would sink in more) and I am on The Property Box section where it talks all about it in the Property Box: Main Tab for... In this area, I cannot find the Repository Records Tab, Submitter Records Tab, Submission Record Tab, Place Records Tab, Family Records Tab or Header Record Tab. I know some of them I will not use, but the Help doesn't explain where they are! Some more pics would be nice for us new to the program.
Can anyone please enlighten me?

The property box does indeed have the Main tab as well as tabs called Facts, Notes, Media, and All by default. It also has any custom tabs you have added. In my case I have tabs called N and C+I.


The Repository Records Tab, Submitter Records Tab, Submission Record Tab, Place Records Tab, Family Records Tab and Header Record Tab are not part of the Property Box. They are on the Records Window where the Individuals, Notes, Sources, and Media tabs are.

If you do not see all of them that is because they are being hidden in the preferences. Go to Tools > Preferences > Records Window and find the Record Type Display Options. Tabs can be set to Always Hide, Always Show, or Hide If None.


This is what they will look like after being set to Show instead of Hide.


Bill

Thank you for answering this!
I knew about them showing in the Reports window. Mike showed me those earlier, but the KB specifically says that they are Property Box Tabs??
I don't want to admit how much time I spent looking for them, thinking they would appear only under certain circumstances. The KB (at least in my view) implies that they are part of the Property Box (see below). I really wish the KB would include more screenshots of what they are describing. There are numerous situations where a simple pic of the area in question would clarify things so much! I think the KB was very misleading in this case.
Sorry, I don't want this to sound like a rant, because that is not my style - and I know the folks that have written the KB need our support, not our criticism.
Thanks Bill, for showing me where these are. I thought I was going nuts. I wonder why the customization is through the Customize Property Box dialog when they are actually part of the Records window? I'm sure there is a good reason for this and I'm just glad you put the question to bed for me.
Speaking of which...

This is not saying that these tabs, for example the repository tab, are in the property box. What it is saying is that for each tab in the records window you can customize the property box Main tab to show the information you want for the records on that tab. This customization is done through the customize property box dialog.

So if you, for instance, go to the records window and select the repository tab, and then select a record on that tab and open the property box, it will show information about that particular repository in the property box on the Main tab.


Bill

Ahhhh. Now that is making a LOT more sense to me! Why couldn't they just say that?
Thank You!
Now, I can get to work getting all that working in the way that works best for me - which was the whole point of what the designers initially were going for.
Have a great night!

Chrisv wrote: ↑

05 Apr 2022 00:44

This is definitely a newbie question - I am going through the Help, one points one bullet point at a time starting with the beginning, (now that I know a little about what I'm doing, I thought it would sink in more) ...

I don't think I have ever tried to "learn" a program by reading a help file end to end - it is not really set up for that.

You may find reading the Knowledge Base a more useful exercise - and then using help as a reminder - by then you may know what you are searching for. The problem is often formulating the question!

If reading the Knowledge Base, keep the home page open, and then dip through as your curiosity takes you (start with the overview sections, then the detail sections that feel relevant to what you want to do.).

Unfortunately the Knowledge Base styles are not set to indicate which pages you have visited before - but keeps it looking "Tidy". But if you want to see which pages you have visited

Either:
you/we can hope the mods might think of adding a bit of CSS (which will effect everyone): Or:
if you are on the likes of Firefox or Opera you can install an add-in called Stylus which if you know CSS means you can change the appearance of webpages as they appear on your browser. It's fun, but if your browser starts displaying a page strangely, just switch off the specific style to see if it is your modification causing the problem. Keep it simple! (The above CSS says for all anchors that have been visited change the text color to red.) The syntax is fussy - but the editer does provide hints.

A word of warning -- the KB isn't designed to be read end to end either, and it deliberately sets out to avoid duplicating the contents of the help file. Which is part of the reason why, if you search it, many of the results you get are from the Help file.

davidf wrote: ↑

05 Apr 2022 07:04

I don't think I have ever tried to "learn" a program by reading a help file end to end - it is not really set up for that.

I'm with Chrisv -- I always read the help file for any programme end to end to start with. I may not retain everything I read, but when I need some details subsequently, I usually have a pretty good idea of where to look. I also push all the buttons/open all the menu options etc.

I'm with Helen and read all the documentation, review Help pages, run tutorials, and experiment will all the buttons perhaps on dummy data to avoid mishaps.
I suspect the usual culprits who answer user questions would prefer users to consult the available documentation more often.

Chris, I think you are looking at the FH Help section Property Box (& Satellite Windows).
There it says: "It is used with records of all types:" and after listing them, goes on to say: "It displays different tabs depending on the record type. See the various record types for more details.
You can open the Property Box to view and edit a record by selecting the record (in whatever window you are viewing it), and clicking on the Property Box button..."
Click on any one of the listed record types in that Help page and its Property Box details are described.

Is that the area where you believe the advice could be better?

I'm not sure whther Chris is reading the FH Help files or the FHUG Knowledge Base. He started by talking about Help files but later said that the KB didn't make things clear. As Helen says, when you search the KB many of the results you see are actually from the Help files, to avoid duplication. I suspect that the authors of the KB are in the clear here Chris!

I was getting confused about when I was in the KB and when I was in the Help section, because I was searching in the KB, and It sent me to the Help files (I see this now). It was in the Help file where it seemed to me, to say that these Tabs were in the Property Box. It talked a lot about the different records - and this is where I think the confusion (mine) lays!
When the Help talks about "records", it is referring to the records in the Records section. In my head, when it talks about "records", I am thinking it means any type of record, such as death record, media record, divorce record, note record, family record, census record. You know, a record is piece of information.
I get it now. And I even knew about the Records section before this, and I knew about the capabilities of the Property Box, and I have played with all the buttons, but I was thinking that maybe there was something in the PB that I was unaware of. Maybe I had changed a setting somewhere that was keeping me from seeing these Tabs??
I wish they would have provided a picture of the Records section Tabs . It would have set me straight, and saved me all of - this.
Unfortunately, it is difficult for the writer of a manual to be able to get into the head of each of it's readers.
Sorry my head is so very different from the typical.
Now I'm going to get back to reading the Help files, and the FHUG...
I appreciate all the help!

I would like to purchase the "Getting the most from Family Historian 6/7 Printed Guide in a ring binder". I know the title says it is for version 6/7, but does anyone know if it has been updated to include all the features of version 7?

Where did you see "Getting the Most from Family Historian 6/7 Printed Guide in a ring binder".

"Getting the Most from Family Historian 7" does not exist yet.

"Getting the Most from Family Historian 6" is a book that must be purchased.

"Getting the Most from Family Historian 5" is a free PDF download that could be printed and put in a ring binder.

See FHUG KB Family Historian Documentation.

In FH and GEDCOM terminology, records are associated with each tab in the Records Window and all the subsidiary items such as Facts & Notes are called fields. It is a common confusion.
The distinction is that records exist independently and can have multiple relationships with each other.
i.e. Individual records can relate to several Family records, Source records, Media records, etc.
Whereas fields are closely associated with their parent record.
See FHUG KB Formal Database Structure.

Thanks for the information, Mike. Every little bit helps to clarify the whole!
The book I mentioned came from:
KnowledgeBase>making a contribution>Shop at My History>https://www.my-history.co.uk/acatalog/F ... orian.html

If you enlarge the book cover in the picture you can see it is actually for FH 6. I have that book, it doesn't have anything about FH 7 in it.


They are being very misleading on that website with their description of the item.

I reported this to Calico Pie in case they wanted to do something about this misleading tactic.

Bill

I'm glad I asked!
Any idea if/when Calico Pie will be issuing the version 7 book?

I believe they have said that eventually there will be one, but there is no time frame.

Bill

As I said, the Family Historian Documentation explains what is available.
It doesn't mention the My History ring folder version for £19.95 (but is being added).
It does mention the Lulu paperback version at only £14.95 so My History are charging £5 to put it in a ring folder.
It also mentions the Amazon paperback but that costs £65.58 for a used copy!

Do not buy "Where to Record It: In Family Historian 6" by William Clegg £3.95 as we have no idea who he is and it has been reported that some of its advice is unconventional.