* How Can I 'Flag' Something That I Can Easily See in Focus View?

[Sue036]

Hi,

I'm in the process of adding some of my relatives to the Lost Cousins website and finding it difficult to keep track of who I have added and who I haven't. I also need to know who I have considered adding, but cannot (often because they were not alive at the relevant date, but it might be because I haven't found them yet, or for some other reason).

I thought I'd try using record flags, however it seems that I can only see those if I scroll to the 'All' tab within 'Properties'?

I know that I could use notes, however I already use those for other things so I'd prefer not to clutter them with this extra information.

Am I missing a simple way to put this information somewhere that I can clearly see it when clicking through the families?

I hope that this query makes sense but happy to clarify if not!

Thanks for any help with this.

[tatewise]

Since you have ruled out the record Note there is nothing you can do in the Focus Window unless you add a Media image to indicate Lost Cousin and set its Preference to 1, so it is shown against the person.

Flags can appear in the Property Box Main tab, which means they appear in other windows whenever the Property Box is shown.
Use the Property Box cog Menu > Customize Data Entry and untick Show most commonly-used items only.
If you have used a Lost Cousins fact then you should find that in the list and can add it to the Selected Items.
That way you don't need a Flag at all to show they are in Lost Cousins website.
Otherwise, add a <Custom Item> to Main area for Individual.
Tick Part 1 and give it a Name & Label such as Lost Cousin.
Click << Select and choose Individual + Flags and choose your Flag name, then OK out.
You will now have labelled box that you can tick to indicate Lost Cousin.
You can perform a similar process and edit the entry to add a 2nd Flag on the same row as the first.

Alternatively, you can use the Property Box cog Menu > Options and click Captions button.
There you can add data refs to show the Flags in the top line of the Property Box.
I can help you with the appropriate expression if necessary.

[Sue036]

Thanks Mike,

You've lost me completely here but that will be entirely down to my ignorance.

I'm with you about notes and media and that they are not likely to help me.

Dunno what a Property Box 'cog' menu is but will have a look to see if I can figure it out and whether it gives me a better way of displaying flags.

I have no idea what a 'fact' is in this context either ... so ?

After that I am even more confused but I will look at all of this again tomorrow and see it I can figure it out!

Thanks again.

[Sue036]

Update! I have found the property box 'cog' menu, but still no clue yet re 'facts'. Sorry for being dense ...

[Sue036]

Further update, have now found 'untick most commonly used ..'

[Gowermick]

If you want the best Visual Clue, I’d go with MikeTate’s suggestion of adding a small image via the media tab. This is quick and easy, and no deep understanding of FH is needed.

This is the method I use for my Brickwalls. Everytime I hit a brickwall, I add a image of a brickwall to the individual concerned. When this is not the only image for the indivudual, I make sure this image is listed first, so it is the one displayed in the focus window and diagrams.

If you can find a small icon of a ‘Green Tick’ for example, it will become very obvious which indivuals you have checked as you work through your tree.

You can also use the fact that an individual has this image (or not), in queries. to list those who have and have not been checked.

Flags and specific custom facts have their uses, but are never as obvious or visible as an apropriate image.

[tatewise]

Sue, I hope you have found how to add Flags to the Main tab.
If not, then ask again and I can post screenshots.

You ask about facts. They are what are listed on the Facts tab, i.e. Events & Attributes.
Quite often when adding people to the Lost Cousins website, it is advisable to create a custom Lost Cousins fact and add that to the Indiviudal record to indicate they have been added to the website. Then you can use that fact effectively as a signal instead of a Flag. Ask again if you need more explanation.

It is often difficult to judge the expertise of people who ask questions, so the initial answer is usually a summary, but we can go into much more detail when required.

[mjashby]

Whilst I can see the benefit to a physical indicator for 'who' has been added to the Lost Cousins Website (or any other online service) that single indicator cannot tell you what has been added to the site and what still has to be added, plus it is only visible when the specific record is visible, so gives no indicator of how much work has been/still needs to be done, so needs to be backed up by custom facts/reports which can provide that fine detail.

Although I do use some visible images/flags, I'm not a great fan of having to maintain (enter/update) all that additional work when there is already a functional alternative available that a kind soul has designed specifically for the same purpose; and which also provides many additional benefits, including automated updates to records on the Lost Cousins Website and a built-in reporting structure which uses but doesn't alter the existing Family Historian Project GEDCOM file in any way.

I'm still in the process of setting this up for my own data, but would recommend looking at the possibility of using Family Tree Analyzer http://ftanalyzer.com/guides/ - and particularly this Guide on how it works directly with the Lost Cousins website: http://ftanalyzer.com/guides/Family%20T ... 0Guide.pdf

The 'free' Family Tree Anayzer' software is now available via the Microsoft Store; and also for Mac Users on on the Apple App Store)

Mervyn

[tatewise]

According to the FTA documentation http://ftanalyzer.com/The Lost Cousins Tab a Lost Cousins custom event is significant:

The Lost Cousins tab shows you people you have found on a census but have yet to enter onto Lost Cousins. Note this uses a Custom Fact called "Lost Cousins" which you will need to add to your FHP and record against those you have entered at the Lost Cousins Website.

FH allows such a Lost Cousins custom event to be easily created via Tools > Fact Types.

As I understand it, if you don't use the Lost Cousins custom event then FTA will continue to list everyone with appropriate Census events as potential "Lost Cousins". So when added to the Lost Cousins website those people should be given the Lost Cousins custom event, and that event can be used instead of a Flag withing FH.

This was discussed in the Forums back in 2013/2017 but maybe things have changed:
FT Analyzer (5484)
Lost Cousins again (10924)

[Sue036]

OK, I think I should have said at the outset that at present I only store very basic information in Family Historian: Name, Sex, year of birth, year of any marriage and year of death. I have also, once or twice, stored an image.

I use the notes field to indicate where my research is on hold pending further information or to indicate that I have used secondary sources because no primary sources have been found (for example, 'DOB from MI, no baptism found'). Sometimes I use the fields intended for locations for notes like this too ... I expect that's very bad behaviour?

I keep all of my detailed records and sources elsewhere - the majority still in card indexes and A4 binders, because I started my research long before I had a computer or anyone had invented any family history software. I did once try to digitise it all but soon realised that I wouldn't live long enough! Some of my more recent research was 'born digital' so I have that data stored as computer files rather than on paper.

This may help you to see why I have the problem and also why trying to use census information in FH can't help me, because I have no census data in FH!

Also, I am a refugee from TMG and still learning how FH works.

I will now re-read everyone's advice and see if I can work out what my best option is? I'll post again when I've done that.

[tatewise]

It would have been useful to give that explanation in your original posting.
Why do you want to use FH at all?
Why not just keep a list in a computer file cross-referenced to your card index?

If you are determined to use FH then the Flags method will work with them shown on the Main tab of Property Box.
You must use Edit > Record Flags... > New... to create your new Flags before attempting the process below.

1. Use cog Menu > Customize Data Entry
2. Untick Show most commonly-used items only
3. Add a <Custom Item> to Main area for Individual
4. Tick Part 1 and give it a Name & Label such as Lost Cousin
5. Click << Select and choose Individual + Flags and choose your Flag name, then OK twice.
6. Select Lost Cousin (custom) item
7. Click Edit Custom Item... and tick and complete Part 2 similar to above, then OK all the way out
8. Your two Flags will be shown in the Main tab and can be ticked or cleared as necessary.

FlagsMainTab.png (171.89 KiB) Viewed 7483 times

[Sue036]

Hi Mike,

I'm sorry, I realised that as soon as I read all of today's replies.

I need to use FH because it is the only place where everyone is either already recorded or can be quickly and easily added.

Not everyone is in my card indexes, partly because I always have an indexing backlog as the process is onerous and partly because some families are only recorded digitally and may never be put into card indexes.

Thank you for the detailed explanation of how to use the flags. I think I will adopt this. I'll report back if I hit any snags - but if I do it will obviously be down to my incompetence!

The idea of using images also appeals as being simple to implement, but I suspect I'd end up with multiple images for some people and that might complicate reports and diagrams further down the line? I'll keep this as a back-up option though, in case I hit a snag with the flags.

I really wish I had all of my census sources in FH, but as I haven't I think that the other ideas suggested would be much more difficult to adopt.

Thank you again and thank you to everyone who has responded to my query. I've learned a lot today.

Sue

[Sue036]

Mike, sorry to trouble you again. I have got the first flag to display with no problems, however the second one recorded in 'Part 2' is not being displayed? 'Part 2' has definitely been saved so I guess there must be something amiss with either the way I have set up the flag or the data under 'Part 2'? Am attaching a screen shot.

(btw IDK how to paste screen shots into messages so pasted to an attached document)

Lost Cousins FHUG query.docx

(250.44 KiB) Downloaded 144 times

[tatewise]

It will be there but you have shrunk the width of the Property Box too much and have very long labels.
If you enlarge the Property Box it will appear, but with such long labels they upset the layout.

In this case, the Edit Custom Items in your screenshot need adjusting as follows.
Alignment Group 1: 17 XXXXXXX Min Width: 5
Alignment Group 2: 18 XXXXXXX Min Width: 5
Alignment Group 3: 19

To post screenshots save the image as a JPG or PNG file and add it as an Attachment and choose Place Inline.
See info:forums#posting_topics|> Posting Topics for details.

[Sue036]

Thank you yet again.

Aha, yes, I could see the second flag when I dragged the property box wider, but the layout was very odd.

I didn't know that the label length would be important and was just trying to make the meaning clear.

I hadn't altered - or considered - the alignment and width values but the values you suggested have worked a treat, thanks again.

I seem to have this conversation about saving screenshots as image files - which I cannot do - about once a week, and the snipping tool is also mentioned to me almost daily, so I think it might be time for me to stop what I'm doing and pay attention and figure this out?

I only worked in IT for 33 years ...

[tatewise]

As suggested in the article I referenced, if you have Windows 10, then try Snip & Sketch that replaces the Snipping Tool or you even use the good old Windows Paint tool.

[Sue036]

As suggested in the article I referenced, if you have Windows 10, then try Snip & Sketch that replaces the Snipping Tool or you even use the good old Windows Paint tool.

Thanks Mike, my PC has also told me about Snip & Sketch, which is even better! I will look out for opportunities to use it so that I become familiar with it.

[TMG_refugee]

Mike,'
I have accomplished all you have said. There were two flags set by FH being Living and Private. When I added mine they appeared on a second line. There is quite a bit of screen real estate to the right of the Living and Private flags. Can I get my flags to be on the same line as the Living and Private flags?

[tatewise]

No, the customisation only allows two items per line. i.e. Part 1 and Part 2.

[trevorrix]

I would suggest using "Has Flag" in Queries. Fast and effective to display a list of people that have been assigned a particular flag.