* Fan Principle - Software Tool

[David Potter]

Hi Forum

Having recently read the Fan Principle materials available, kindly pointed out by you folks - I was wondering if there is a software solution that supports such a methodology? I have Mind Map software (MindJet) that could be used to diagrammatically draw up the analysis concepts, but it would be nice if there was something by way of software written specifically to address this.

Anyone aware of any solutions to this?

Thanks

[jmurphy]

I don't know of any software tools which are specifically set up to do FAN research. Some of the software I use and what I use it for:

• linking individuals in Family Historian using the Association Persons feature
• Notes in Family Historian to keep track of which individuals are listed together in sources
• spreadsheets (I use LibreOffice) -- others might make tables in a word-processing document
• creating maps showing addresses of associated individuals with Google using Your Places/My Maps
• using Scapple for making diagrams
• keeping a research journal using Scrivener (which can link to a wide variety of files, including Scapple drawings and the images of original sources)

One of the features of Scrivener which is especially useful to me is the Corkboard view which looks like index cards.

If you are doing FAN research, I strongly encourage you to keep a research journal and to log your discoveries. Some professional genealogists don't use 'genealogy' software, but do everything in their word-processing software. Hobbyist genealogists may not want to write up formal research reports, the way the pros do with a client, but it is extremely useful to make some sort of record that you can go back to later.

[tatewise]

I suspect the FAN research strategies are too diverse and the user market too small for any specifically dedicated software products.

Even the standard genealogy family history products of which FH is an example, can struggle to maintain their market place.

I have Google searched for Friends Associates and Neighbors genealogy research and there are plenty of discussions and examples but none mention any dedicated software.

[David Potter]

Thank you Both

Sorry for the late reply - I thought I had ticked the email notification box.

Thank you the replies I'll check out those tools mentioned - I could do with a replacement for MindMap as it is so expensive.

BR

David

[Jane]

One other option for drawing mind maps is Family Historian itself using the "Blank" diagram option. Although not as powerful as a dedicated graphics package it has the advantage of being able to have "live" text boxes which draw data direct from the main database.

[tatewise]

Yes, see how_to:report_content_multimedia_format_layout#book_free_page_content|> Book Free Page Content for general features.

Jane is referring to the Insert into Diagram > Text Box feature that allows the details of Individual records &/or plain text to be combined and linked to another Text Box using lines, and arrows, etc.

[David Potter]

Thanks Jane and Mike

I'll give that suggestion a go...

David

[jmurphy]

When I posted my earlier reply, I forgot all about Clooz. https://clooz.com/

The Composite View is an alternate display format to the standard table-like grid. It presents documents and people in a tree-like structure allowing the researcher to examine possible relationships between the people in a document. But this doesn’t stop with just one document, but includes all of the documents for a given person. Then, the Composite View goes on to show all the people in in each of those documents, and so forth, up to 5 layers deep. This results in the display of a network of people connected through documents. It’s an excellent way to begin to identify friends, acquaintances, and neighbors, a good starting point for identifying further family relationships.

Clooz has been sitting on my computer for a while, waiting for me to use it. One of the stumbling blocks is that I couldn't decide how I was going to enter my sources in it -- the usual lumper/splitter problem that often comes up with genealogy software.

Since it has been a while since I watched the training videos, I had forgotten about Clooz's Composite View, and the way it displays the names of all the people in documents -- which is exactly what you need for doing FAN research.

The playlist with the Clooz 3 training videos is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... JtIkBaiNbl

More recently Clooz has been refined to work directly with Family Historian. See these blog posts. https://clooz.com/?s=family+historian

[David Potter]

Thank you jmurphy - I have downloaded Clooz and will work throught the online Tutorials.

Thanks very much for remembering this solution and attaching it to the thread. Much appreciated

David

[jmurphy]

You're welcome! I'd love to hear what you think of it.

[ColeValleyGirl]

I'm finding Scapple useful -- I've had it in my writing toolbox for a while, but hadn't thought about applying it to FAN researh. It works well.

[David Potter]

Yes - me too. I used it only yesterday to describe that TMG ID issue you helped me with - so easy to use. And very good value for money.

[David Potter]

Hi jmurphy

I installed the trial version of Clooz and imported my FH database. But I'm struggling with the idea that it shows all linked people to say a Source record. I don't see the + Expansion Button which is supposed to show the related people to that source for instance? Or at least that is what the YouTube videos describe should happen.

Thanks

David

[jmurphy]

Ah -- you've run into the same problem I did.

I'm just a customer, not the developer, so keep that in mind as you read this.

I suspect that the function to import your data into Clooz is intended just to pre-fill Clooz with the people in your database --- and perhaps just the top-level data of the sources you've already found. The import function may not be smart enough to re-assemble the list of people in each source (assuming that the data is in your Family Historian database). When the developers created the import function, they may have intended that we use that list of sources as a starting point, after which we could edit and add the data about who is mentioned in the source.

It seems likely that the intended workflow is to start with data entry in Clooz and then to send that to your genealogy program. They started out with Clooz --> Legacy Family Tree; Clooz -- Family Historian was added recently.

I should also post a caution that one of the owners of Clooz retired recently and handed over things to the developer. I've seen complaints in Facebook groups that the program is not being updated as often as the complainers would like. The social media presence for Clooz is not what it used to be -- hardly surprising when the person who used to do that is no longer associated with the program. I can't blame the developer for not talking as much as his former partner -- if he were to hang out on social media and talk all the time, he wouldn't have any time to code.

[jmurphy]

Ah -- I found the explanation

From the Frequently Asked Questions:
http://clooz.com/support/frequently-asked-questions/

I imported people and sources into Clooz. Why are they not connected?

When you import people and/or sources into Clooz using the Data Transfer Manager, you are simply importing the individual people (which Clooz then remembers who they are in the other program), or in the source case, the individual source. No events are imported, since Clooz is entirely document-based. It is the events (or characteristics) in your family tree program that link a person to a source. Thus, there is no real way to reproduce that link in Clooz.

However, when you export a document from Clooz back to the family tree program, Clooz will exact information from the document and produce a list of events. These will be automatically linked to the source of the document in order to have the event in the family tree program proper cite the source.

Think of it this way… You can create a birth event based on information in a birth certificate, however, you cannot create a birth certificate based on a birth event. Clooz is dealing with the documents, which becomes evidence of events occurring. It is not a substitute for your family tree program.

[jmurphy]

Also from the FAQ: http://clooz.com/support/frequently-asked-questions/

Will I be able to export data to my family tree program?

Yes, Clooz supports the export of people, their events, the source, associated media files, and source citations as related to a single Clooz document in various ways:

Direct read/write with Family Historian files

and

How does the import/export capabilities of Clooz vary depending on which external program I use?

The two programs which Clooz has direct read and write capability to interface with are Legacy Family Tree and Family Historian. Family Historian maintains data in memory until you save the file, so Clooz does put up a reminder to save the Family Historian file before proceeding with imports or exports. So there is one small manual step there, but Clooz steps you through it.

The rest of the answer talks about the steps you need to go through to export to RootsMagic and FTM.

They also say: "Additional interface improvements are planned for the future."

[jmurphy]

Mike Tate's post here may also be of interest: Associated Person feature.

Jim, regarding your comment about connecting Individuals by Sources are you aware of the View > Record Links command?
Just select the connecting Source record and use the command to list all associated records.

For more detailed and flexible connections use the Where Used Record Links Plugin.
This allows multiple Source records (or other type of record) to be chosen and produces a detailed Result Set of all usage.
That allows inspection of the associated Individuals, or Facts, or whatever links to the original chosen records.

Using these techniques would allow you to work entirely within Family Historian without messing around with Clooz.

The entire thread Associated Person feature (15065) is worth looking at. I use the Associated Person a lot of the time to link individuals where the relationship is not precisely known (e.g. grandparents/grandchildren, aunt or uncle/niblings, etc.). Note that the feature is one-directional, and if you want it to be bi-directional, you have to create the link both ways.

[David Potter]

Hi Jim

Thanks for all your efforts explaining how this works. I'll step away from using it I think. As Mike has shown FH has similar built in features to handle this. I was kind of hoping for something more automatic and graphical I guess.

Thanks for your time and contribution Jim. Much appreciated.

Kind regards

David

[jmurphy]

David --

As you use different techniques within FH, I'd love to hear how everything works for you, since I'm still working on my own workflow.

Cheers,

Jan