Individual Records Window

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 12 Oct 2012 14:01

I use flags in the Individual Records Window to show which records I have identified in BMD. In Diagrams i use Icons to show the same and in a previously posted question the icon automatically appears when I add the Citation to the Source. The flag I have to add manually.
If I use AS for Census entries both the flag and icon appear automatically.
Is there any way that I can get the flag to add automatically in the Individual Records Window?
Robert

ID:6523

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 12 Oct 2012 14:44

Rather than using a Flag you could use an expression to check for the existence of the source, the same one you use in the Box settings on the Diagram

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 12 Oct 2012 15:51

Thank you for your reply but I am not sure I understand. Where would the expression go to make the 'Y' flag appear?
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 12 Oct 2012 16:14

Have a look at Using Flags and Icons.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 12 Oct 2012 17:23

Thanks Mike and Jane. I have however slightly misled you. I already have the expression in the columns in the Individual records Window. What I want to achieve is when I add a citation to a source record I want an appropriate 'Flag' to appear under the 'All' tab of the Property Box under 'Flags'.
is that possible?
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 12 Oct 2012 19:06

You could write a Query with a Row tab filter similar to your Individual Column Expression, and then use its Result Set menu option Set Flag on Row Records.

But I am fascinated as to why you feel the need to set the Flags at all, since Expressions can usually do the job better.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 12 Oct 2012 19:31

I have 'Expressions' set for Icons at Boxes level on Diagrams.
As and when I add a Citation to a Source and make that the 1st or primary Citation I automatically get the Icon in the Diagram and the 'Y' Flag in the Individual records Column list.
What I don't get is the FLag set under the 'All' tab of the Property Box which I do get with AS for Census entries.
Perhaps it's just a little OCD on my part but I would just like it to work the same for completeness. I know it may not be necessary but I would like all my records to be uniform.
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 12 Oct 2012 19:59

OK, I can understand that desire for consistency.
So go the opposite direction, and create Expressions for each Census Year as illustrated in Using Flags and Icons based on the %INDI.CENS[year=1901]% style of data reference.

For complete consistency, you will need to add Individual Column Expressions, just like the BMD ones, to get the Y flagged in the columns for Census Source Citations.

These will behave just like your BMD Expressions, and all your Census Flags will be redundant and can be deleted.

You must then also Remove all the Ancestral Sources > Census Flag Settings to prevent further Census Flags being set.

An advantage of this approach is that it does not matter whether AS, or you, add the Census Sources, the Census Expressions will cope.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 12 Oct 2012 20:27

Mike
Yes I can follow that and could do that but my BMD expressions do not add the Flag under the ALL tab at Property Level (to say say Flag:Birth, Marriage, Death etc) although they do add the 'Y' at the Individual records window.
AS adds the Flag at 'All' tab level (say Flag:1911 Census) and the 'Y' at Individual records Window.
If as you suggest add Expressions for the Censuses how will that add the Flag under the 'All' tab.
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 13 Oct 2012 09:33

AS won't add any Flags at all, because that is what you are trying to achieve, i.e. consistency with BMD - NO Flags at all.

In other words, reverse your mind set to NO Flags on the All tab for both BMD and Census.

Note: The BMD 'Y' in an Individual Record Column does NOT signify a Flag, but that the Expression evaluates to True, and the same will apply to the Census 'Y' for its Expression.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 13 Oct 2012 19:14

Mike
OK noted. From what you say I assume that I cannot get BMD to act like As then and automatically add the Flag entry to the property 'All' Tab.

Also if I go your route will I or do I need to remove all the Flags that I have set on the 'All' tab or simply go the new way and not add any more?

Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 13 Oct 2012 19:42

There is no 'automatic' way to get BMD sources/expressions to add BMD Flags.
You would have to write a Query or a Plugin to do the job, and remember to run it whenever you wanted to update the BMD Flags.

Once you have replaced the Diagram > Options > Boxes tab Record Flag Conditions with the Expression Conditions for each Census Year, then the Census Flags are superfluous.

To be consistent with the BMD scenario you would want to remove all those superfluous Census Flags.
Use Tools > Work with Named Lists and Flags and select each Census Flag in turn.
Click Flag Status and untick Always include this record flag in flag lists and click OK.
Select option 3. Clear the flag on all Individual records and click Perform Action.

Remember to Remove the Flag Settings from AS.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 15 Oct 2012 20:52

Mike
Thank you - I think I now understand the issue.
If however I wish to stay as I am is there a wish list for Plugins to be written as I am not familiar with Lua and not sure I would know where to start.
I could mess around with queries but perhaps other members who may work like me might like the option of a plugin?
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 16 Oct 2012 00:00

My advice is to forget about Flags for cases that can be specified with Expressions.

It is not good practice to have duplicated database entries, and since such Flags effectively duplicate the Expressions I would advise against them.
Especially since the BMD Flags would always rely on manually running a Query or Plugin and therefore may get overlooked.

Since no other members have joined this thread, it is unlikely you will find any collaborators who work like you.
However, the final choice of what approach to adopt is yours.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 00:58

Mike
OK I will follow your advice and suggestion but have been trying all day and am not getting far.

If we start with the Individual Records window for the 'Y' to appear I currently have the Expression =HasFlag[,'Birth']and similar expressions for Marriage, Death and all the Scottish & England Census eg =HasFlag[,'1841 UK Census']. It seems to me that cannot be right as it is presumably looking at the All tab for any Flags that have been set.
To adopt your approach is that the right expression or should it begin %INDI.BIRT or something similar.

Next under Diagram Options>Boxes>Conditions I originally created 9 Birth Expressions (England, NZ, Scotland, Australia, Canada & 4 GRO Army etc Sources.I have 6 marriage Expressions and 6 Death Expressions.

Can all of those be catered for under the single expression to be used in the Individual Records window or does there have to be some form of 'nesting' of title? or do I have to have a single Birth, Marriage & Death Expression to cover all Countries/ Sources.

I'm sorry if I am being slow in getting to grips with this but I want to get it right as it will be a fundamental change in the way I work going forward.

I appreciate your help and advice to date.
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 17 Oct 2012 10:14

Forgive me, I assumed from your earlier postings that you had sorted all that out for BMD Events not only in Diagrams but also for Record Window Columns, and only needed to make Census Events follows suit.

Clearly the =HasFlag(...) functions will not work since there will be no Flags.
Note that round ( ) brackets are used here, not square [ ] brackets.

Have a look at Using Flags and Icons, especially the Worked Examples that show how Diagram Box Condition Expressions are related to Record Window Column Expressions.
Basically it uses the =Exists(%...%) function to encapsulate the Box Condition Expression.

The easiest and most consistent approach is one Record Window Column for each Diagram Box Condition/Icon.

Having got that working OK, the Columns can be combined using the =IsTrue() function:
=IsTrue( Exists(%...%) or Exists(%...%) or Exists(%...%) )

But beware that there is a limit as to how long such combined expressions can become.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 20:51

Mike

Just as an update I would advise that under Diagrams>Boxes all my expressions are set up as follows: -

=ContainsText(%INDI.BIRT.SOUR>ABBR%,'Birth - England',STD)

with the part within the quote marks differing depending on the Source Citation. Having entered the following expression in the respective columns for B, M & D

=Exists(%INDI.BIRT.SOUR>%)

all the 'Y' flags appear so thank you very much. It looks as though I won't have to 'nest' the different expressions.

I will now embark on inputting the expressions for the Censuses with hopefully the correct expression in the Individual records window. Assuming that all goes well I hope not to bother you further so at this stage thank you very much for your assistance and patience3.
Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 17 Oct 2012 21:10

There is a potential snag with =Exists(%INDI.BIRT.SOUR>%).

It will be true and display 'Y' regardless of the Short Title of the Source Record.
For example, where a Birth cited a Census Source Record, as might occur with AS.

I suggest your column expression should be =ContainsText(%INDI.BIRT.SOUR>ABBR%,'Birth',STD).
Since =ContainsText(...) returns true/false, the =Exists(...) container is not required.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 21:32

Mike
Thanks for that and I have managed to change Birth & Death but the following expression for Marriage is not working. Can you see what I have done wrong please?

=ContainsText(%FAMS.MARR.SOUR>ABBR%,'Marriage',STD)

Robert

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 21:36

Mike
Thanks for that and I have managed to change Birth & Death but the following expression for Marriage is not working. Can you see what I have done wrong please?

=ContainsText(%FAMS.MARR.SOUR>ABBR%,'Marriage',STD)

Robert

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 21:40

Mike

Sorted. Should be FAM not FAMS. Doh
Robert

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 22:02

Mike

Sorry me again and hopefully for the last time. I have expressions for every single English and Scottish census and all of those expressions have been accepted.
To get the 'Y' flag I put the following expresion, suitably amended, for each column but no 'Y's' are appearing.

=ContainsText(%INDI.CENS.SOUR>ABBR%,'1841 English Census',STD)

Can you advise please where I have gone wrong. Hopefully it's a simple one.

Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 17 Oct 2012 22:23

I am not sure %FAM.MARR.SOUR>... will work correctly.
I think %INDI.FAMS>MARR.SOUR>... would be better.

Have a look at Using Flags and Icons, especially the Worked Examples.
Remember that all the expressions so far have effectively been referring by default to the 1st [1] instance of a Birth or Marriage or Death Event.
That is OK for Birth and Death, but for Marriage you should consider %INDI.FAMS[2]>MARR.SOUR>... and %INDI.FAMS[3]>MARR.SOUR>... for the 2nd and 3rd Marriage Event of Individuals.

Likewise, %INDI.CENS.SOUR>ABBR% refers only to the 1st Census Event, i.e. %INDI.CENS[1].SOUR>ABBR%.
So you need to use the special year index, i.e. %INDI.CENS[year=1841].SOUR>ABBR%.

Robert129 · Post by **Robert129** » 17 Oct 2012 23:08

Mike
Once again indebted for your help and all columns working. As you suggest there may be several Marriages so am I correct in linking them as follows

=ContainsText((%INDI.FAMS>MARR.SOUR>ABBR%,'Marriage',STD)or
=ContainsText(%INDI.FAMS[2]>MARR.SOUR>ABBR%,'Marriage',STD)or
=ContainsText(%INDI.FAMS[3]>MARR.SOUR>ABBR%,'Marriage',STD))

I have added a '(' at front and a ')' at end and linked each expression with'or'.

I have looked at the worked examples and can see the differences however the 'ContainsTwxt' is not in there as a worked example.

Given the opportunity I would love to go on a course about this if it was near London.

Robert

Post by **tatewise** » 18 Oct 2012 10:11

When I tried it, your example produced Expression is not valid.

So, similar to my earlier example using the =IsTrue() function:
=IsTrue( Exists(%...%) or Exists(%...%) or Exists(%...%) )

You need to use:
=IsTrue( ContainsText(...) or ContainsText(...) or ContainsText(...) )

When I have a moment I will update the Flags & Icons Worked Examples with examples involving =ContainsText() and =IsTrue().

Jane and others do run FH courses from time to time, but they usually cover a wider set of features than just Expressions, Data References, and Functions.

In the meantime, have a look at Understanding Data References and Understanding Functions.

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