* Adding items to new tab in property box

[BillH]

I need some help adding some items to a new tab I've created in the property box. I've read through the help, but I'm still lost.

One field I'm trying to add is the Soundex code for the individual. I select the Soundex field from the list of data references. It sets the Data Reference field to:

INDI.NAME[1]:SOUNDEX

but what ends up displaying on the tab in the property box is the person's name not their Soundex code.

The other item I'm trying to add is the record ID. I've tried to add both the 'permanent record number' data referrence and the 'automated record id' data reference, but both display as blank on the tab.

I'm missing something. Can these fields be added to a tab? What am I doing wrong?

Here are screen prints of what I've done.





Thanks!

Bill


ID:4955

[nsw]

I've not particularly spent much time customising the properties dialogue so someone else may have a solution but the help says:

Not all possible data references are permitted. You cannot use data references for composite items which have no data of their own, and hence cannot be edited.

[tatewise]

The simple answer is that you cannot add the items you want to tab fields.
It appears that none of the Qualifiers have any effect, such as :SOUNDEX, :SURNAME, :PREFERRED, or for DATE fields, :MONTH_NUMBER, :YEAR, etc.
Also there is no Data Reference for the main Record Id.

The only workaround for the Record Id is to use Tools > Work with Record Identifiers > Copy existing record ids into the Automated Record Id field then put the Miscellaneous > Automated Record Id = INDI.RIN in the tab field.

The only other option is to use the Tools > Preferences > Property Box > Captions feature, but I can see you already know that.

[nsw]

tatewise said:
It appears that none of the Qualifiers have any effect, such as :SOUNDEX, :SURNAME, :PREFERRED, or for DATE fields, :MONTH_NUMBER, :YEAR, etc.

Yes because all of these qualifiers are effectively formulas calculcated from another field and not directly editable. It is a shame that these can't be added to a tab and displayed as read-only textboxes/labels but perhaps this will happen in a future version.

[BillH]

Nick Walker said:
Not all possible data references are permitted. You cannot use data references for composite items which have no data of their own, and hence cannot be edited.

Hi Nick,  I saw this, but didn't know what it meant.  I wasn't sure if soundex code and record id fell into this category or not.

Nick Walker Said:
It is a shame that these can't be added to a tab and displayed as read-only textboxes/labels but perhaps this will happen in a future version.

Nick, I would definitely vote for an enhancement like this.

Tatewise Said:
The only other option is to use the Tools > Preferences > Property Box > Captions feature, but I can see you already know that.

Hi Tatewise,  yes I added these when I couldn't get the property tab thing to work.  It is a reasonable workaround for the most part.  I have a few names which are too long to allow the soundex code and record id to show in the caption, but it works for most individuals.

Thank you both for your replies.

[BillH]

I submitted a wish list request to allow adding fields with qualifiers to tabs as read-only text boxes/labels.

Thanks,

Bill