* Assigning Shortcut Keys

[babayaga321]

Hello all.... happy new year!!

I was wondering if there was a way to add a specific shortcut / function key to assist in opening windows - for example, I'd like to add one to open the Edit > Record Flags window while working with individuals in the Records window. At the minute I add flags to the person involved, save the record once selected, go to the next individual and then have to go to the top ribbon menu > Edit > Record Flags window again to add the next flags to the new person.

If this is not possible at the moment, I wonder could it be considered for a future release?

Cheers - Graham.

[trevorrix]

What I do is to work from a diagram. Double click the first person's box which launches the Property Box, click the All tab, right click the person's name at the top of the All list, point to Set Flag, click the appropiate flag. For the next person click their box in the diagram once which changes the All tab to that person, right click the person's name at the top of the All list, point to Set Flag, click the appropiate flag. Repeat as necessary.

The same technique works when working from the Records window.

Possibly no better than what you are already doing, but it is an alternative. It may be quicker to locate the next person in a diagram than in the Property window .

There is no shortcut listed in the Edit menu to access flags. Add a request to the wishlist for such a shortcut in a future version.

[LornaCraig]

Are you aware that you can set a flag on several individuals simultaneously? Just select them all in the Records window then use Edit>Record Flags. Alternatively add them to a Named List then use Tools>Named Lists and Flags to set the flag on all members of your chosen list.

[E Wilcock]

Lorna -

I was slow to discover the Edit button, but now do use it for adding multiple people to both Flags and Named Lists.
Initially I thought one had to go via Tools.

Is there any reason why there are are two routes in FH to doing this same thing, and any particular advantage of one over the other?

I can see that to look at the lists themselves, one would take the Tools route, but I discovered yesterday that one doesnt have to have a List set up via Tools - One can create a new named list via the Edit screen.

The many alternative ways of achieving something in FH seem to me quite problematic for those of us that dont know the program. It means there is a vast amount of information on the Help screens we have to read through. And taking a variety of different (tho valid) routes to achieve something may make it harder for us to remember what we did.

[davidm_uk]

Are you aware that you can set a flag on several individuals simultaneously? Just select them all in the Records window then use Edit>Record Flags. Alternatively add them to a Named List then use Tools>Named Lists and Flags to set the flag on all members of your chosen list.

My main use of the Edit>Record Flags option is when I'm in a diagram. I can select one, or as many individuals as I want, on the diagram then use Edit>Record Flags to set or reset flags for all of them (including leaving other flags unchanged).

[mjashby]

@ E Wilcock

Multiple ways of doing the same thing are a general feature of most Windows software and not a peculiarity of Family Historian. For example, Microsoft Word (and other Word Processing programs) have numerous ways of achieving the same end result and there's an often quoted saying that "90% of Microsoft Word Users only use 10% of the software's capabilities" - This is probably true, but it's also true that the 90% don't all use the same 10% of those capabilities! As for other genealogy software, there are multiple ways of doing the same thing in almost every program I've had some experience of through working with other researchers, including Family Tree Maker, Legacy, RootsMagic, TMG and several others, but many users simply learn or choose over time to use only the one method that suits them and 'forget' about the alternatives.

In my experience, software without sufficient flexibility/options soon gets discarded by most serious users, who tend to want to choose their own ways of working rather than being limited by the software providing few options; but those that have to switch programs because their previous software is no longer supported, or they have outgrown its capabilities, mostly seem to wish they could still do things in exactly the same way that they did with their previous software.

Don't let it worry you - Familiarity with the known is a comfort blanket that often trumps the challenge and frustration of the unknown.

[tatewise]

There is a related discussion in Function keys capability - to Record Window (13858).

As has been said, you don't need to use Edit > Record Flags, just right-click the Individual Records name in the Records Window, select Set Flag, and choose the Flag you want to add. That is only three clicks, and the same as could be achieved with a shortcut key.
To change the Flags on multiple records, select the Individuals first, and then use Edit > Record Flags, which is even quicker than a shortcut.

Also, do you really need so many Flags? See how_to:using_flags_and_icons_and_expressions|> Using Flags and Icons and Expressions.

@ E Wilcock
The Edit > Record Flags options work with any selected Individual Records in Records Window, Diagrams, etc.
The Tools > Named Lists and Flags options only work with Named Lists.
BTW: See glossary:named_lists|> Named Lists for ways of managing Named Lists.

The book Getting the Most From FH in the chapter Named Lists and Record Flags explains they are very interchangeable, and that is primarily what the Tools options support.
That book chapter also explains all the Flag editing methods mentioned above.