Date Generated for Diagrams

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 14 Jan 2008 04:03

Is there a way to automatically add a note in one of the corners of a diagram the date that the family tree diagram was generated?

Of does it have to be added manually?

Would be neat to have the option to add a label to it, that would have information such as the source file, date generated, type of diagram that it is etc.

ID:2701

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 14 Jan 2008 08:37

On V3.1 you can use and data references and functions in a text box.
So you can use

=today()

in a text box on a diagram, to add a Printed Date to a diagram.

So for example

Ancestors of %INDI.NAME[]%

From %HEAD.NOTE2%

Printed =today()

becomes

Ancestors of Rosemary Jane Taubman

From Family Histories of Jane & Stephen (Mullins.ged)

Printed 18 Jan 2008

DrDBW · Post by **DrDBW** » 15 Jan 2008 00:48

Thank you [llama-banana]

davidb · Post by **davidb** » 16 Jan 2008 10:29

This is a useful little facility but so far I have failed to find where it picks up the HEAD.NOTE2 text from. Without my entering that text somewhere, all I get in the text box in the diagram is 'From HEAD.NOTE2' (i.e. just the percent symbols are missing). I have found the file's header record (about which, incidentally, there is no information within FH's Help or manual, nor is there within FHUG) but it is not possible to enter numbered notes there. Can someone point me in the right direction, please?

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 16 Jan 2008 10:56

The note comes from the header record.

The HEAD.NOTE2 is the file description Field.

If you use the data reference insert dialogue on the text box you can select information from the header reference on it.

Information on the Header record is in the help under Property Dialogue.

davidb · Post by **davidb** » 17 Jan 2008 23:04

Thanks very much Jane. Where would we all be without you?!

One further query, if I may: in the example you gave in your previous post you separated the three items with a line space, which you then show as converting in the diagram to plain text, again with a line space between the three items. When I try it, though, it doesn't matter how many line spaces I separate the three items with in the Text Format field, they show as closed up (i.e. no line spaces at all) in the diagram. Is there a special formatting convention for a line space instruction within such a coded list?

JonAxtell · Post by **JonAxtell** » 18 Jan 2008 11:31

Jane managed to get a line space between the lines because she posted the example as text in her message and not as a screen grab from FH itself.

You can enter blank lines, but you have to know your C programming. [eek] You need to use 'n' (without the quotes) for each blank line you need. For instance nnn will insert three blank lines. Note that if you put the n on a line by itself, an extra blank line will be generated due to the line (from FH's viewpoint) not being blank! [oops] Also, if you have a n between text such as blahnblah you'll need at least three to get a single blank line, eg. blahnnnblah. [eek][eek]

See screen grab.

Put it down to some weird and stupid programming in my personal opinion. FH is actively removing any blank lines thinking it knows better than the user who has deliberately inserted them in the first place (which is very bad UI programming practise by the way), and then goes and allows blank lines by using an undocumented C programming feature for new lines (probably down to lazy programming).

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 18 Jan 2008 15:43

What I actually do is to use several text boxes layered over each other, so I can use different fonts and layouts.

For example the box below is actually 3 boxes. One for the Name one for the words and one for the date, the two minor boxes have their lines turned off on the Lines tab.

The n is documented as part of the supported options for lines in diagram text schemes, it needs adding to the help for the text boxes.

JonAxtell · Post by **JonAxtell** » 18 Jan 2008 23:07

The n is documented as part of the supported options for lines in diagram text schemes, it needs adding to the help for the text boxes.

Sorry Jane, you're being terse again. Where exactly? I've spent about half an hour trying to find any reference to n in the help for digrams and can't find anything. I must be skipping it.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 19 Jan 2008 10:42

Fair enough, it's used in some schemes, and I was sure I had seen it. I did pass it over as a reminder to Simon to add to the docs for the next version.

I think saying you need to know C is a little extreme though as n is used in many contexts in programming and layout. I agree it needs to be documented.

Actually if you put fixed text paragraphs (no data references) in the spacing is retained, so I would guess its to do with some logic for cleaning up blank lines where there are empty data references, that the beta testers missed on V3.1

davidb · Post by **davidb** » 19 Jan 2008 22:44

Many thanks to Jane and Jon. I didn't want to start an argument but it does go to show how valuable FHUG is to we mere mortals. Long may it continue.

For those who may use this facility, be aware that the maximum number of characters that the HEAD.NOTE2 data reference will display on the diagram itself is 250 (or thereabouts), at which point the text that it picks up from the File Description in the Header Record is truncated and followed immediately by an ellipsis - which at least does indicate that there is more than is shown.

(I tried to upload a screenshot at this point - a 300KB QuickTime jpeg - but the message came back 'Upload failed; am I doing something wrong (again!!)?)

Is there any reason why this limit is imposed here? It seems to me that the file description could easily exceed 250 characters.

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 19 Jan 2008 23:41

300Kb is too big for the upload, a small screen shot should be no more that 30-40Kb

I don't know on the limit sorry.

JonAxtell · Post by **JonAxtell** » 20 Jan 2008 00:03

255 is the maximum length of a Gedcom line. It seems that FH is using this artificial limit when displaying the text.

Funnily 255 characters of note characters are actually spread across two Gedcom lines due to the line level and tag which take up 7 character each.

To get round this artificial restriction you need to insert the actual text from the header note into the text box directly.

Basically it seems that using data references in the text box in a diagram is prone to problems.

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