* Move data from one field to another in same fact

[BakerJL75]

Is there a plugin or query that will let me move the data in one field to a different one within the same fact? I have an Alternate birth fact:
{individual} may also have been born {value}< {date}>< {place}. Sometimes I want an actual date, but sometimes I want a phrase such as 'in 1950, 1951 or 1953'. However, I do not like the quotations around the date phrase format so I would prefer to put the date information in the attribute value field instead of the date field. And use a sort field for sorting. If the method copies the date information to the value field without erasing the date field, that would be ok. I can just take {date} out of my fact sentence. Just to clarify, I want the sentence to read
Jane Doe may also have been born in 1950, 1951 or 1953. as opposed to Jane Doe may also have been born "in 1950, 1951 or 1953".

Thanks,
Jackie

[tatewise]

Is your custom Alternate Birth fact an Event or an Attribute?
If it is an Event then it cannot have an Attribute Value.

In that case, you have a few alternatives.

1. On the All tab, add a Cause field saying in 1950, 1951 or 1953 and in Sentence Template use {cause} instead of {value}
2. Add a labelled Note such as [[ Born: in 1950, 1951 or 1953 ]] and in Sentence Template use {GetLabelledText(%FACT.NOTE2%,"Born: ")} instead of {value}
3. In Sentence Template use {=TextIf(%FACT.DATE:XDATETYPE%="Phrase",MidText(%FACT.DATE%,2,TextLen(%FACT.DATE%)-2),%FACT.DATE%)} instead of {value}< {date}>
   That is an advanced expression that checks if Date field is a Phrase or not.
   If a Phrase then extracts MidText that excludes the leading and trailing " quotes.

[mjashby]

Hate to be so simplistic but, out of curiosity, why not use the standard 'btw 1950 and 1953' which isn't a date phrase so produces 'was born between 1950 and 1953'

Mervyn

[tatewise]

Yes, that would probably be acceptable in this example Mervyn, but I suspect there are other phrases that don't map onto a standard Date.

In the past several users have requested to have Date Phrases in Narrative Reports without the surrounding string quotes, and in FH V7 the new functions offer a solution that may be workable.

[AdrianBruce]

... several users have requested to have Date Phrases in Narrative Reports without the surrounding string quotes, and in FH V7 the new functions offer a solution that may be workable.

Oh that's useful, so thanks for making it explicit - I'd missed it the first time I read this thread. Another item on my list...

[mjashby]

Yes, thanks Mike. There's still a lot of 'new' in V7 that going to take a lot of time to get round to appreciating more fully, as you've already noted many times. At times it appears like a completely new system grafted on to a familiar core interface. Not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes disturbing if you don't see what you expect.

I just need to decide what to do about the volume of 'historic' (already documented) source info. if I now choose to adopt 'new' methods/approaches. Something, in my opinion, that CP could/should really have predicted and might have designed more explicit 'conversion' advice/guidance/help processes for existing users with established FH Projects (as well as new users who will be importing data from other software).

[tatewise]

Mervyn, please keep to the Subject and do not digress into a whole new topic, but start a new posting instead.

[BakerJL75]

Hate to be so simplistic but, out of curiosity, why not use the standard 'btw 1950 and 1953' which isn't a date phrase so produces 'was born between 1950 and 1953' Mervyn

I select the birth date I think is best for the birth fact. I have some where the possible alternate births might be 1950, 1953, 1959, 1961, with a lot of variety. I was putting a single alternate birth fact with source for each date but it gets quite wordy. And I don't want to lose the exact dates. I add multiple sources so I can later re-evaluate if needed.

[BakerJL75]

Is your custom Alternate Birth fact an Event or an Attribute?

It is an attribute, but the data from my import put the various dates in the date field. As it turns out, I only had a few of them done, so I put them back as separate alternate birth facts for now for consistency. I have a lot of other work to do. But later I may revisit this. I'll keep your suggestions.

Jackie