* Help - direct line indication in Record view

[tatewise]

If it is of any interest, I use the Child Relationship field to indicate direct line of ancestry.
It only works for one chosen descendant, but is better than nothing, and does not upset Reports and Diagrams, etc.

I set the Child Relationship (Rel.) field to b=birth for my direct ancestors.
Then in the Focus Pane, the Main tab of the Property Box, or even a Column of the Records Window, the b in the child's Rel. column indicates a direct ancestor.

Since direct ancestor families are 'always' a b=birth relationship, then that value is pretty much redundant, so I use it as a kind of flag.

If you really wanted to, then a Plugin could probably be used to alter those b=birth relationships for different root individuals.

Alternatively, you could use d=de facto which has the minor benefit of displaying d for direct line!

[DavidNewton]

Absolutely correct about the changing of last updated. I make no use of it because I made the choice to recalculate Custom ids when I add a dozen or so new individuals, but I can see how it could be useful.

I will also add that my plugin only alters the value of various standard fields and I have never tried to set a flag using a plugin. It seems to be somewhat obtuse or I'm being thick. If anyone would care to explain I would like to hear about it. I note that ancestral sources will set flags so it can be done programmatically.

David

[tatewise]

This fragment of code should include enough clues if read in conjunction with the How to Write Plugins Help.

Code: Select all

local ptrRec = fhNewItemPtr()								-- Record pointer
ptrRec:MoveToFirstRecord("INDI")
while ptrRec:IsNotNull() do									-- Loop through each Individual Record
	local ptrPedi = fhGetItemPtr(ptrRec,"~.FAMC.PEDI")
	local strPedi = fhGetValueAsText(ptrPedi)				-- Child Relationship Pedigree
	if strPedi == "Birth" then
		fhSetValueAsText(ptrPedi,"De Facto") 				-- "Birth" or "De Facto" or "Adopted" etc
	end
	local ptrFlgs = fhGetItemPtr(ptrRec,"~._FLGS")		-- Individual Flags tag
	if ptrFlgs:IsNull() then
		ptrFlgs = fhCreateItem("_FLGS",ptrRec)				-- Create Flags tag
	end
	if ptrFlgs:IsNotNull() then								-- Change "Living" to "Private" flag
		local strLiving, strError = fhGetFlagTag("Living",true)
		local ptrLiving = fhGetItemPtr(ptrFlgs,"~."..strLiving)
		if ptrLiving:IsNotNull() then
			local strPrivate, strError = fhGetFlagTag("Private",true)
			local ptrPrivate = fhCreateItem(strPrivate,ptrFlgs)
			local isOK = fhDeleteItem(ptrLiving)
		end
	end
	ptrRec:MoveNext()
end

[DavidNewton]

Mike

Thanks for that. I console myself with the thought that I was close - but not close enough for it to work. Any way it is now working.

David

[LornaCraig]

.... It is on the focus window that us old Generations users would really like to have this feature. I do 95% of my data entry from the focus window and still find it very difficult to determine which child is in my direct line.

I have never used Generations but I am guessing that perhaps the main (or only?) way of entering data was via something akin to the FH Focus window.

Having used FH since V2, long before the Focus window was introduced, I very rarely do any data entry from the Focus window. I find the dynamic diagrams in FH very intuitive and always work by ‘drawing’ a tree as I add new people, or by viewing a relevant section of a tree when adding data to existing people, clicking on each person in turn to switch to their Property Box. By setting direct Ancestor boxes to be bright yellow, it is very easy to see at a glance which member of a family group was a direct ancestor of the diagram root.

One of the great strengths of FH is that there are so many different ways of working.

[BillH]

Thanks for all the ideas, but for now I think I'll stick to using the property box caption to indicate the relationship. This works for me and doesn't result in the last updated date being changed (which I do use) or the child relationship field being set (which I do use for many people other than direct line as well).

Maybe someday Calico Pie will add the ability to put icons on the focus window which would be an ideal solution.

Thanks,

Bill

[anothergenie]

I am new to Family Historian can some please tell me how to access the Rel colum in the childrens box

[DavidNewton]

Hi

In the focus window: Select a parent and show their property box (if it is not showing click the icon in the toolbar that looks like a hand holding a sheet). On the Main tab of the property box you should either see a list of children at the bottom or a pair of down arrows surrounding the word more. Click the more and if necessary float the box. This will reveal a list of children with the Rel field as the 4th column. Click the Rel of the child and you will get a drop-down list of possibilities. Select one and that will apply to both parents. If you wish to specify separately then click more options at the bottom of the list of possibilities.

David

[tatewise]

Alternatively, in the Focus Window pane, where the Children are listed in blue with the Rel. column on the right, right-click any Child row, and in the popup menu choose Relationship to Parent and the desired option, where More Options offers different relationships to mother & father.

Another way is in the Property Box for any Child select the All tab. Right-click the Parents family item, and choose Add Relationship, which can be repeated for different mother & father options. Then in the Relationship boxes choose an option from the drop-down list.

If you are interested in this purely to show direct line relations, then wait until 6th December before investing too much time.

[anothergenie]

Thank you for your help I am interested in this to show direct lines to make it easier when there are numerous children as I was used to in Generations do I presume from your reply that an upgrade will become available on Dec 6th to show this

[LornaCraig]

The planned release date for FH version 6 is actually December 9th. See Family Historian 6 - 9th December (11789)