* Date phrases

[jsphillips]

I see that when I use a date phrase for example on a birth
so Instead birth Bet Oct-Dec 1843 (instead Q4 1843) the report like Individual Summary etc does not correctly report this
WHY can that not be used for BDMS and reports
I like to see all Bdms say birth bet Oct-Dec 1843 marriage bet July-Sept 1861 death bet Jan-March 1910 and all reports to show this accurately (like FTM who offer choices. ?
Otherwise the Qtrs just show as 1843 which is not the same.
Any help appreciated.

[LornaCraig]

If you enter the text specifically as a date phrase, using the Date Phrase tab of the Date Entry Assistant, it will be preserved as a date phrase (as long as you don't enter anything in the ...interpreted as field). However date phrases in reports always appear within quotation marks, which will look odd. For narrative reports you can edit the sentence directly to say whatever you want, but you will be stuck with the quotation marks in other report types.

If you use the Q4 1843 format it will be shown as such in reports. Where are you seeing just 1943 without the Q4?

Personally I think the Q format is useful because it indicates that it is a registration date, which may not be the period during which the BMD event actually happened.

[tatewise]

If you want Dates that are usually shown as Qn yyyy to be shown as btw mmm yyyy and mmm yyyy instead, then change the Tools > Preferences > General tab setting for Use quarter date display format.

The format you were using, i.e. Bet Oct-Dec 1843 is not a valid GEDCOM Date format. So FH forces it to be a Date Phrase.
See the Date Entry Assistant (click [...] on right of Date box) and its date Range tab.
The nearest valid date Range is Between Oct 1843 and Dec 1843 and is equivalent to Q4 1843.
Q4 1843 is also not a valid GEDCOM Date format but simply a display mode within FH.
When exported/save to GEDCOM, FH always uses the Between ... and ... format.

[Gowermick]

I have learnt the hard way, that date ranges in a from-to scenario, requires that both the from date and to date are proper dates, and can be intrepreted correctly.
So in the case of ‘April - June 1843’ ( i.e Q2) would fail because the ‘from’ date is simply April, not a real date! So the correct format is ‘April 1843 - June 1843’
Likewise ‘1 - 5 May 1843’ would fail, as ‘1’ is not a correct date, the correct format would be ‘1 May 1843 - 5 May 1843’, simple when you know

[LornaCraig]

The format you were using, i.e. Bet Oct-Dec 1843 is not a valid GEDCOM Date format. So FH forces it to be a Date Phrase.

Mike, FH7 is cleverer than you think it is. If you type Bet Oct-Dec 1843 into a date field FH changes it to btw Oct 1843 and Dec 1843 or Q4 1843 (depending on you settings in Preferences) as soon as you tab out of the box! Similarly From Oct-Dec 1843 is changed automatically to frm Oct 1843 to Dec 1843.

The only way to force it to be a date phrase is to enter the text in the date phrase tab of the Date Entry Assistant.

[tatewise]

Yes Lorna, but the OP jsphillips says he is using FH V6.2 and I'm not sure it was so clever as FH V7.

[LornaCraig]

I think V6 was the same but I might be imagining it. Anyway the Help file for How to Enter Dates doesn't seem to have changed between V6 and V7.

I think the cause of the OP's problem is that he thought he was entering a date phrase by entering Bet Oct-Dec 1843 but in fact FH was too clever. However, as you have said, he can change the option in Tools>Preferences>General tab so that FH does not use quarter date display format. It still won't say Bet Oct-Dec 1843 but it will say btw Oct 1843 and Dec 1843 which might be close enough to what he wants.

[jsphillips]

Wow
Grateful for all your replies I must read and fully digest. THANK YOU ALL
I do realise that many of the dates reflect a registration period. But in many cases I have managed to tie it down a bit!

For example Joe Bloggs birth reg as Bet Jan-March 1843 i Know that it was not January so to tighten it I have entered Bet Feb- March 1843

If I change from say Q1 1843 to Bet Jan-March 1843 it shows in reports as 1843 and that not good enough!
I wanted to enter say, either Jan-March 1843 or Feb-March 1843 and that to reflect in in the Reports.(as entered)
I have been doing research since the 1970's and was brought up on Brothers Keeper then FTM from early days to 2014.
Some years ago to get the extra benefits, expertise and queries etc I also invested in Family Historian 5 and thence to 6.
I also Invested in Roots Magic. I understand all about GED 5.51 but that surely is no benefit to anyone unless they wish to send a GED file to others who may not have a similar layout.
Surely if one desires to reflect ones wishes to dates (like FTM), then it should be possible to reflect it it on a "this basis or that basis"...choice.
When I enter data I enter the same data into 3 different programs FHistorian, FTM2014 (not McKiev) ,& Roots Magic.
I get the benefit of different reports and diagrams . I am not a great believer in color presentation but ease of entry and correct reproduction of the facts.
I am a member and Group leader of U3A the group being "How to research your family and record it in Chart and report form

[tatewise]

I guess that whenever you say Bet Jan-March 1843 you actually enter btw Jan 1843 and Mar 1843.

Depending on the Tools > Preferences > General tab Use quarter date display format setting, such Dates will normally display in Reports as either Q1 1843 or btw Jan 1843 and Mar 1843.
However, that depends on the Report > Options > Format tab setting for Format for Dates that defaults to Compact.
If changed to Long then btw becomes between and the months are displayed in full.
On the other hand, if changed to Abbreviated then only the year 1843 is displayed which is the symptom you describe.
What is your setting for that Option?

FH V7 offers much more than GEDCOM 5.5.1 compatibility. Check out https://www.family-historian.co.uk/whats-new-in-7. However, that is best discussed in another thread.

It sounds like hard work to keep database trees in three products in sync. I suggest you make FH your master database tree and use the Export Gedcom File plugin to transfer your project to the other products when required for particular reports and diagrams. Whether those products use GEDCOM 5.5 or 5.5.1 is handled by the plugin. This is a topic for yet another thread.

[jsphillips]

Thanks Mike
Having Difficulty finding which menu display is the options for format etc

[LornaCraig]

It's on the Format tab of Report Options, as shown here (for an Individual summary Report).
But if you are using a laptop with a 125% scale screen display the word 'Dates' might be missing, which admittedly doesn't help you find it!

Format tab.JPG (86.54 KiB) Viewed 1118 times

[tatewise]

Just to be clear, the options are only available when a Report is displayed.
Then the menu item is Report > Report Options... where you then open the Format tab as shown by Lorna.
Alternatively, click the Options... button on the right and then the Format tab.
In FH V6.2 the Format for Dates setting is further left.

[LornaCraig]

I wanted to enter say, either Jan-March 1843 or Feb-March 1843 and that to reflect in in the Reports.(as entered)

If you want to get the text displayed in reports exactly as entered, then as I said in my very first reply you need to enter the text like that in the Date Phrase tab of the Date Entry Assistant. But you will be stuck with quotation marks round the phrase in reports. (There is a long-standing Wish List request to have the option to remove these quotation marks, so vote for it if you agree. See https://www.fhug.org.uk/wishlist/wldisp ... wlwlref=28)

Otherwise FH will 'cleverly' display it as either Q1 1843 or btw Jan 1843 and Mar 1843, depending on your settings in Tools> Preferences>General tab. Similarly Feb-March 1843 will be displayed as btw Feb 1843 and Mar 1843 (but with no alternative, as it's not a full quarter).