* Change Focus window to that shown in property box

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SpencerDudeUK
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Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by SpencerDudeUK »

I think I must be missing a trick here, but when you search back and forward using the white arrows above the property box, the only choice you have to set the main focus window to that record is to select 'Go To Record' which takes you to the Individuals list with that person highlighted. From there you can select 'Focus' and open the main window at the right person.

Surely there is a way to bring up the main window associated with the properties box in an easier way? (Please excuse my ignorance if it's glaringly obvious, but I just can't see it).

On the same subject, I would have thought if you choose any of the people in the 'Recent' list in the gearwheel menu, that should synchronise the main screen to the property box that is selected? I'm not grasping the point of only changing the properties box, leaving the main screen on a completely different person...
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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Have you tried the Display In Focus Window icon (magnifying glass) at the top of the Property box?

Re synchronisation, I often want to see an individual's details in the Property Box and some context in the Focus Window, not the same information in two places.
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tatewise
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by tatewise »

In the Property Box try clicking on the magnifying glass focus icon next to the white & blue arrows with the cunning tooltip Display in Focus Window :)

There are various other magnifying glass focus icons that operate similarly depending on context.
e.g. In the Records Window or a Diagram, select one Individual and use main toolbar magnifying glass Focus icon.

The Go Back and Go Forward and cog Recent list can involve ANY type of record, not just Individual records, so in the general case such records cannot be shown in the Focus Window.

Like Helen, I would not want the Focus Window to follow every Property Box that I happened to view.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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SpencerDudeUK
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by SpencerDudeUK »

I knew there would be an easy answer - and I apologise for the glaringly obvious miss!
Thanks, all, once again for your excellent responses :D
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E Wilcock
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by E Wilcock »

I have always disagreed about this. The back and forth arrows are useful and I made errors because I assumed that the focus person would change in the property box as well. One has to picture the situations where users might be using these arrows. I was entering German census returns where households often had several additional people present (relationship not stated or as yet unconfirmed) and I like to list these unknown extra people in the note field - plus paste in the census event to each of them.
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by BobWard »

I agree with Evelyn on this one. I always keep the Focus window and Property box in-sync for the same person. Otherwise, there is too much of a risk of inadvertently entering data in the Property box for the wrong person. I think I got caught in that trap early on in my FH experience.
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DavidNewton
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by DavidNewton »

Tatewise's comment
The Go Back and Go Forward and cog Recent list can involve ANY type of record, not just Individual records, so in the general case such records cannot be shown in the Focus Window.
to my mind indicates why linking the property box to the focus window is not possible. I take the point of inadvertant data entry but to avoid this you have to ignore the focus window and concentrate on the property box caption when entering data.

David
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Gowermick
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by Gowermick »

David,
Whilst I understand that different types of records are shown in property box, I can’t see why individuals can’t be synched to focus window! The software is fully aware which type of record is showing in property box, so can easily adjust its behaviour accordingly, so that whilst showing an Individual, it could synch them with the focus window!
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DavidNewton
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by DavidNewton »

Mike
I am sure that is correct, FH could sync, bringing the property box individual into focus, but this would remove the distinction in the focus window between selecting an individual and bringing that individual into focus. I frequently select one of the children in a family for a quick look at their property box but I would not want that selecting to bring them into focus.

But this is personal preference, or maybe it is learned behaviour since this is how FH currently works, who knows?
David
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by jbtapscott »

I'm with David on this one - I too frequently go to the Property Box of a child, etc., and would not want to see the Focus Window change. As he says, personal preference / way of working!
Brent Tapscott ~ researching the Tapscott and Wallace family history
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Gowermick
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by Gowermick »

The problem is compounded by the fact that the individual is highlighted in the focus window, leaving one to mistakenly think that the individual is also the focus of the property box. This is evidenced by the number of people commenting that they have mistakenly added facts to the wrong person!
Something must be amiss for this to happen so often!
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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

To be fair, the number of people commenting that they have mis-entered data isn't a good indication of whether it's a problem -- how many people have never mentioned it because they've never made that mistake? We can't know.

I'd positively dislike the behaviour being described, as I've previously said -- and yes, it could be made an option but there's such a thing as too many options.

If it's a real problem for people, one possibility is to use the existing option to change the focus person when you click on a person in the focus window (or click on the focus icon for an individual in the focus window) and rely on the focus window for navigation around individuals rather than the property box, as the property box automatically synchs to the focus window.
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BillH
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by BillH »

I also would not like the behavior being described for the same reasons as listed by others. I like the way it currently behaves.
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AnneEast
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by AnneEast »

I don't use the Focus Window at all. Just couldn't get on with it when it was introduced so always turn it off if it inadvertently puts in an appearance (which is not often!)
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DavidNewton
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by DavidNewton »

Gowermick wrote:The problem is compounded by the fact that the individual is highlighted in the focus window, leaving one to mistakenly think that the individual is also the focus of the property box. This is evidenced by the number of people commenting that they have mistakenly added facts to the wrong person!
Something must be amiss for this to happen so often!
I don't think this is totally accurate. The individual is highlighted if they are selected and that will usually bring up their property box, if you then change the property box to another individual by any means other than selecting in the Focus window then the highlighting disappears in the Focus window.
David
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by Valkrider »

David

Sorry you are incorrect see the attached screenshot.
focus.JPG
focus.JPG (105.8 KiB) Viewed 13820 times
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DavidNewton
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by DavidNewton »

I stand corrected. I read highlighted to mean the background colour change (i.e. selection) and frankly I had not noticed the box boundary being highlighted.

David
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LornaCraig
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by LornaCraig »

There is a need for consistency here. I work from diagrams. The interaction between diagrams and the Property Box works in the same way as that between the Focus Window and the Property Box. If you change the individual in the Property Box by any means other than selecting them in the diagram, the individual selected in the diagram is not the same as the one in the Property Box. (Admittedly sometimes they could only be the same if FH opened a new diagram!) However I have been using FH for 14 years and never found this a problem.

The current behaviour is also consistent in the Records window. The Property Box can be changed to a different record of the same type (using the back and forward arrows, or in the case of individuals switching to a parent or child ) or to a record of a different type (e.g. by switching to a linked Source record or Media record). Changing the Property Box in this way does not switch the focus away from the record originally selected in the records list.
AnneEast wrote:I don't use the Focus Window at all. Just couldn't get on with it when it was introduced so always turn it off if it inadvertently puts in an appearance (which is not often!)
Like Anne, I don't use the Focus window and have FH set to open on the Records window. But I would not want the Focus window to be an exception to the general rule, even though I don't use it. (I only look at the Focus window when answering questions about it on FHUG!)
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by Gowermick »

Valkrider,
Exactly what I meant! It is too easy to think John(Jan) is the focus (because he’s highlighted), when Pieter is actually the one shown in property box (and is also highlighted!).
With the property box set to facts tab, you may not realise you are dealing with Pieter, and then add a fact meant for John to Pieter instead, and this happens all too often for my liking.
To my mind, it is wrong to be able to have two people highlighted at the same time. The only highlighted individual should be the one in focus, and with their property box open!
Mike Loney

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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

I don't use highlighting in the Focus window at all... I find it distracting, and it doesn't tell me anything useful, especially as I rarely use the focus window to do data entry, just to provide family context on an individual.

Which is nothing more than another piece of anecdata demonstrating that we all use the product differently.
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by E Wilcock »

One important point to make here is that the Focus screen setting out a family in three generations is similar to the main screen in other genealogy software. I assume that the original fh worked from a diagram directly to the Property Box and, though imaginative in computer terms, it was a disincentive to researchers like myself who were used to more standard software.

I still use the focus screen to add spouses, parents and children which again is similar to the programs I am used to.
I tend not to use arrows to navigate through people related to each other as one can click a diagram or use Mike's Plug in Quick Family Facts. It is miscellaneous unrelated people that can be hard to find again, tho I also use the date updated column in the index of individuals.
Until typing this today, I did not realise that one could add children on the Property Box and I still dont see that one can add parents.

My most common error is to slip up over the generations. Quite often I want to add a person's mother and she accidentally appears as their wife.
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Evelyn,

The earlier versions of FH worked either form the records list or a diagram to the Property Box.

To add a parent for somebody who doesn't already have one, clicking on the Blue up arrow in the Property Box gives you the option to add a parent; if you want to add an additional (set) of parents, the cog wheel icon allows you to 'open the Parent window' to do so.
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trevorrix
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by trevorrix »

The Focus window was introduced to emulate the main display of Generations which was a popular software at the time. I suggested it :).
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Re: Change Focus window to that shown in property box

Post by E Wilcock »

Thank you for that info Cole Valley Girl - tho I may find it hard to change my habits.
Trevor Rix is correct - I used Generations probably under his guidance.
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