* Hourglass Diagram

[GenealogyPrinters]

Trying to create an hourglass with a couple in the center and both lots of ancestors going out left and right.

I create the ancestor chart for the male and then add into the diagram another ancestor tree for the female, when I try to align them they are offset, please see attached screen shot.

Is there any way to make them level.

Thanks
Ron

[tatewise]

Yes, use the Diagram > + Enable Moving/Resizing command to open the Movement Control Box.
You can also use the + Move icon that is near the right of the toolbar.

Select the Box & Bar option and the vertical bars that can be adjusted turn green (in FH v7).
You can then move them up and down to achieve the desired realignment.

Unfortunately, it will probably move the root spouse box up or down but don't worry.
When finished with Box & Bar, select the Tree option to drag the spouse box back in line while retaining the tree arrangement.

[Gowermick]

I think the programme is making adjustments, because the sides are uneven.
The Left hand side has a person with no parents towards the top, and the right hand side has a similar individual near the bottom, so is making adjustements to compensate.

Unless both sides are exactly the same and balanced, I think this will always happen, hence Miketates suggestions

[GenealogyPrinters]

Thanks both.

I have been playing with the "box bar" option but I'm not having any luck.

Ron

[tatewise]

The simplest move is to adjust the bar closest to each root spouse. Move one up and the other down.
However, that will misalign their parents.
So try the bars associated with their parents and then work back through the ancestral bars moving each a little.

If necessary post a screenshot with the Box & Bar enabled and tell us what bars you are moving and the effect.

[LornaCraig]

You need to concentrate on moving boxes further apart, rather than moving bars. Moving the bars alone just moves them up and down without lengthening them.

You need to space out the left hand side so that the boxes align with their counterparts on the right. This will mean leaving some gaps in some places. When you spread out the boxes the bars joining them will automatically stretch.

Start with the columns nearest the centre. Select a box which is in the right place, then use the Fixed Point move and click Set. You can now drag the other box in the pair up (or down, if in the bottom half of the diagram) to align it with its counterpart on the right hand side. Repeat for all other misaligned pairs. Always start by selecting a box which is in the right place and make it the fixed point.

[tatewise]

Yes, if you want each box for the same ancestral member to align with its partner for the other spouse, then Fixed Point is the answer. Then, for example, the paternal grandfather on each side will align on the same level, and so on for each ancestor.

I thought that all you required was to align to the top and bottom boxes of the oldest ancestral generation.
So the oldest generation on the left needed moving up a bit and the one on the right moved down a bit.

Further tidying/alignment you could do is to make all the boxes the same size.
Use the Ctrl+A keys to select all the boxes.
Then use Diagram > Layout & Scaling and Make Selected Boxes the Same Height (max)
and then repeat with Make Selected Boxes the Same Width (max)

When everything is aligned as required then use Diagram > Save Diagram to save it as a Family Historian Chart, which will preserve the carefully crafted positioning and sizing. If you don't, then closing the Diagram will lose everything.
You can re-open the Family Historian Chart and tweak it a bit more as often as required.
Alternatively, you must use Diagram > Save Diagram As > PDF File or one of the other image formats.