* 'Partners' + NOT 'spouses'

[bodger99]

When you're showing a particular relationship on a diagram, it seems unfortunate that if there are children, in this day and age, it has to be described as a 'marriage' when often the parents are partners only.

Is there a way of showing this or is this one for the wish list?

Mike

ID:371

[Jane]

You can set the Never Married field to show the spouses never married.

Using the Status field on the properties dialog.

[bodger99]

I'd forgotten I'd already done that, (ie setting 'status' box), because it was a while ago! However, when I set up a diagram, it shows ''x' [date]  m.'y' ', ie. the partners as being married.

Have I omitted to do something as regards the diagram?

Mike

[Jane]

I will only do this if you put a date in the marriage field.

I suggest deleting the marriage event and creating a custom event for partnership started, or similar.

[PeterHFairholm]

In these cases, I enter the name of the mother's partner as if he were a spouse. Where the spouse's name is not known, I use a series X1, X2, X3 etc., for the forename, in order to differentiate between similar entries. So far, I am up to X45 ! For the surname, I add 'Unknown', which keeps them together in the database, for easier checking.
In the marriage date box, I add a year date(only),calculated nine months from the child's actual birth. The couple may have been partners for several years or just a few hours, but in the absence of any official record, it represents the minimum possible. Lastly, I insert 'Partner' in the marriage place box, and Partner A, Partner B, etc., where there is more than one. In this way, I feel the circumstances are adequately covered without having to introduce any special feature, and it also complies with the chart formats.
You may feel that this is an acceptable solution.