* Abbreviated Place Names

[RJDoggett]

My forebears were mostly 19th century migrants from England, Scotland and Ireland who went to the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and NZ. As these outposts of the Empire were settled, many localities were given place names from the UK. Thus there are multiple places with names such as Hamilton, London, Liverpool, Cambridge, Oxford, Perth, Edinburgh, et al.

When producing reports and charts for these families, their global scattering and mobility means that the location of the place needs to be specific. In FH, the short form place names is not really adequate since the State/Province/County and Country names are omitted. Using the full place name results in a lot of line space being used that does not add a lot of overall value. As a former TMG user, the abbreviated place name capability was very useful since that would print the State/Province/County and Country abbreviations and provide the necessary clarity without consuming large amounts of line space. For example:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America > Cambridge, MA, US
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England > Cambridge, CAM, ENG
Cambridge, Waikato, New Zealand > Cambridge, WKT, NZ

I would like to see a similar capability in FH to be able to select the use of abbreviated place names for reports and charts on the Options pages. Within TMG, the abbreviations had to be manually entered for each place, but the TMG editing tools were such that this was not a real burden. Ideally, these would be automatically created using the ISO 3166 country codes and the national codes for states/provinces/counties. However, if this is not feasible, manually entering the information would not be too burdensome. The only other means of achieving this outcome is finding and replacing the State/Province/County and Country names in the reports and charts - likely to be a laborious and error prone task.

Implementing the place abbreviations will affect the places table in FH since there will two fields fixed for the function. There will also be an impact in the Charts and Reports functions.

Is an abbreviated place name function feasible and worth pursuing with CP?

[Mark1834]

That rang an immediate bell for me, and a quick search produced this post, from four days after I signed up to FHUG over five years ago bemoaning the lack of this feature, which FTM also supports!

The solution I adopted was to adopt full place names for detailing the actual event, but abbreviated names of the type you describe for other purposes such as source names and census transcripts. That served me well for a long time, but I have recently reworked my sources using a custom plugin to convert my UK Chapman codes back to full names, and I use FH functions to display just that part of the name that is relevant in a particular context (e.g., not displaying England for every reference to an England census source).

[Peter Collier]

Similar issue for me - Broadly speaking, half my tree is in the UK and Ireland, the other half in the USA, and I stick rigidly to a 4-part place name (settlement, county, state, country) for that reason, with the third part being empty for places on this side of the pond.

Ideally, in reports I want to see left-of-pond places abbreviated to 1,2 and right-of-pond places abbreviated to 1,3. I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet but by the same token I haven't really looked into it in any depth either.

The whole thing is further complicated by the fact that for the colonial period, what are now state names and thus in 3rd position would be province/colony names and thus in 4th position and in that case I'd want the place name abbreviated to 1,4 rather than 1,3 (modern US) or 1,2 (British Isles) . Absolutely no idea how to achieve that at the moment, other than some pretty intensive post-production editing in a word processor, which doesn't appeal.

[tatewise]

The technique mentioned in the Abbreviated place names (15391) thread would work in Diagrams and Narrative Reports.
i.e.
In each Place record Note, add a labelled note such as Abbreviation: Wolverhampton, Staffs
Then use the Expression =GetLabelledText(%FACT.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") instead of {place} in Sentence Templates and =GetLabelledText(%INDI.XXXX.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") in Diagram Text Schemes where XXXX is the fact tag and other parts of the Text Scheme item may need adjusting. I can provide more specific details if required.

There may need to be some other refinements if you are concerned about the prefix in before the place name.

Using the labelled Note technique lets you choose exactly how that Place name should be abbreviated without relying on CP or FH provided lookup tables, etc. Also, it is available NOW.

BTW: Peter, I think you have your left-of-pond and right-of-pond the wrong way round assuming you are facing North.

[Mark1834]

Still think it warrants a wish-list item though, given that at least two other competing apps support the feature.

The workarounds were a bit advanced for me at the time, just a few days into my FH learning curve, and wouldn’t work where I most wanted them - Individual Summary and Family Group Sheet reports and FH6 source titles.

Some of that is fixed in FH7, but it’s still a rather inelegant workaround (IMHO, of course!).

[tatewise]

I agree a New Wish List Request is reasonable (not a report to CP as FH is working as designed).

However, I like to offer a solution that works now even if only in some cases and however inelegant.

[Peter Collier]

BTW: Peter, I think you have your left-of-pond and right-of-pond the wrong way round assuming you are facing North.

It's grim up north, why would I ever want to face that way?

No, you're right, of course. I must have been having a senior moment. I don't know where I am...

[Mark1834]

There are many systems for devising and using suitable place names, so I’m wary of adding additional complexity.

Would the simplest option be a single new text field for Place Records, “Abbreviated Name” or something similar. This is free text for the user to define how they see fit. Reports and Diagrams would have a simple “Use abbreviated place name” tick-box. If selected, abbreviated place names would be used throughout the report or diagram instead of the detailed schemes defined for individual fields.

[jimlad68]

In the topic that Mark mentions there is also my idea viewtopic.php?t=15391#p81399
I repeat here with attached an updated Diagram text scheme, and Plugin to automate it:

Although it is important to detail as much evidence as possible, I agree that in reports and diagrams it is easy to 'not see the wood for the trees'. My solution with diagrams/trees is:

- use PLACe for the full address (comma separated parts)
- create a short version of the address and put it in the ADDRess field
- I use PLACe in most reports
- I use (via text scheme e.g. attached) ADDRess and NOT PLACe for the address in Diagrams (If there is no ADDRess it then uses PLACe).

This extra action is not required but to save on manual updates and to keep some conformity I regularly:
== Delete all existing ADDResses (simple query, select and delete the ADDR column in a Fact query-see below)
- or just leave the plugin to do it.
== Manually update then run the attached Plugin which copies PLACes to 'reduced' ADDResses.
- You will need a text editor to update the plugin, just follow the examples, And of course test on a copied project first.
- To make it easier to follow, I run a Fact query showing All %FACT.PLAC% and %FACT.ADDR% and leave it in the background.
- the first step deletes all the existing ADDResses which is required for the plugin to work.

When I export the data in say a Gedcom, I usually delete the ADDResses along with other extranious detail like named lists.

It might be possible to create a similar result in reports with fact sentences.

[tatewise]

Mark, I think that discussion belongs in the New Wish List Request and is a little more complex than you suggest.

In various templates the Place name can be referenced using codes, data refs & functions {place}, {_place}, {%FACT.PLAC%), =TextPart(%FACT.PLAC%,1,2,TIDY), =FactText(%INDI.BIRT%,"CT","E_Born: _ in _"), etc.
Then there are options to use Short, Medium, Tidy or Full Place names in Diagrams and some Reports.

So how a Place record Abbreviation field fits into those features needs some consideration.
It is not necessarily simply a matter of substituting the %_PLAC.TEXT% field with the %_PLAC.ABBR% field.
e.g. If the Abbreviation field has more or fewer comma-separated parts, some features may behave unexpectedly.

There are many internationally agreed short-codes for Countries, Counties, etc.
FH could provide a feature for auto-populating the Abbreviation field with short-codes that match the main Place name.

[Mark1834]

Can this thread be moved to New Wish List Requests en-masse? We've already started discussing it, and it feels a bit artificial to split it now.

I was trying to keep it simple, but clearly that can be a difficult thing to do here . Agree that there are multiple ways of defining how places are displayed, but the suggestion on the table is that if this new option is selected, and there is an abbreviation defined for that particular place, the abbreviation overrides the definition for how that field is normally displayed. That simple model works in FTM, so do we really need to overcomplicate it?

Is that what we want, or is it too simplistic or confusing? I think I still favour simple free text. You don't have to use it if you want to keep your places strict and thorough, and one person's abbreviation might not suit another user (country name in or out, contemporary name or current name, etc, etc...).

As ever, I'm open to constructive suggestions for improving it and real examples of where it wouldn't work in practice...

[tatewise]

I've moved it en-masse but left a copy behind for the time being.

Mark, in a Diagram Text Scheme the FH V7 item for a Birth is typically =FactText(%INDI.BIRT%,"CT","E_Born: _ in _")
where the T in CT means Tidy the Place value.
Alternatively, it could be CS where the S means Short to show just the first comma-separated part of the Place value.

If the Abbreviated option is selected what does =FactText(%INDI.BIRT%,"CS","E_Born: _ in _") display?
If the Abbreviated name is simply substituted for the standard Place name then will just its first part be displayed?

That is just one of the features that need to be considered in this context.

[Mark1834]

Thanks Mike, good challenge. My concept is that the Abbreviated name is used in its entirety everywhere that a place is mentioned, in order to keep it simple.

Having said that, my initial comments were really just based on interest in seeing an almost identical post to what I posted as an FH newbie over 5 years ago. I don't feel any particular ownership of the issue, and probably wouldn't use the option now that I understand in more detail how to optimise usage.

I think it would be a useful option for new users in particular, but is there anybody out there who feels sufficiently strongly to take it through to completion? If not, then it dies for lack of support.

[tatewise]

My concept is that the Abbreviated name is used in its entirety everywhere that a place is mentioned, in order to keep it simple.

IMO that is too simplistic.

So a Text Scheme =FactText(%INDI.BIRT%,"CS","E_Born: _ in _") would display the Abbreviation name in full regardless of whether the code was CT, CM, or CS?
Similarly, each Text Scheme has a Place Format option to specify Short, Medium, Tidy, etc, that overrides most =FactText(...) codes. So would they be ignored too when Abbreviation is chosen?

If a template had =TextPart(%FACT.PLAC%,1) =TextPart(%FACT.PLAC%,3) to display the 1st and 3rd parts of a Place name, would the Abbreviation name be displayed twice in full, since the Place record is mentioned twice?

[themoudie]

In the initial thread post, I noted this paragraph:

When producing reports and charts for these families, their global scattering and mobility means that the location of the place needs to be specific. In FH, the short form place names is not really adequate since the State/Province/County and Country names are omitted. Using the full place name results in a lot of line space being used that does not add a lot of overall value.

Would the use of 'Record Flags'/'Symbols' in the 'Diagrams' menu, applied by the use of queries, as described by Jackson Eagleson (Vyger), a convert to FH v7 from RootsMagic and described in his video (link below) be of use?

Family Historian 7 - Genealogy Charting, Dynamic icon highlights and Color coding

If not, I apologise for crashing this thread.

Good health, Bill

[RJDoggett]

Thank you all for your support of the idea and the alternate options provided.

From a conceptual point of view, IMO, the solution must be user centric i.e. developed with the focus being easy for a basic user to use. I appreciate the alternate solutions provided; they will be OK for short term use when users have a specific application or need. As a long term solution, I see them as being quite a bit of work to prepare and prone to errors. Thus not a solution that run of the mill users are likely to use.

I can't say that I entirely support the idea of using a place name to determine the form of the abbreviation to be used, but I understand where the idea comes from. For the 'down under' users, within a generation or two, we had families 'shot-gunned' all over world and then moving within those regions. For one family of my forebears, they went from Scotland to New York and then to Ontario. From Ontario, a couple of brothers went to Kansas and Missouri while another brother and his sisters followed the US-Canadian border west to North Dakota. The remaining brother came to NZ. A generation or two later and the family is well dispersed over the world!

The TMG solution worked well since the user populated the State/Province/County and Country fields. Having a labour saving automatically generated abbreviation that the user can override would be a good solution.

For CPs benefit, what the users are asking for needs to be clearly defined and not too elaborate i.e. the KISS principle to the fore. Remember the old drawing of the swing of what the child wanted versus what 'the committee' built? With a bit of luck, CP may see it as nothing too dramatic and do it tomorrow!

The software requirements that I suggest as the baseline for CP would be on the lines of:

1. For each chart and published document, add an 'Abbreviated Place Name' check box to the Options > Main page for all charts and reports. The current 'Short form Place' check box, when present, is retained but only one of the 'Short form Place' or "Abbreviated Place Name' boxes may be checked at the same time.

2. For each place name (row in the place table), add a corresponding 'Abbreviated Place Name' field for State/Province/County (SPC) and another for the Country.

3. When the 'Abbreviated Place Name' box is checked on the Options > Main page, the applicable chart/report prints the content of the abbreviated SPC and Country fields in lieu of the full SPC and Country names. Comment: This will probably require a column in the place table to be designated as the SPC and another as the Country. By default the last two columns (Parts) could be set as the SPC and Country, but user changeable if desired.

4. When the (full name) SPC and Country fields in the table have been completed, insert the ISO 3199 country abbreviation in the Abbreviated Country Name field and the National SPC abbreviation code into the Abbreviated SPC field from the relevant National look-up tables. The abbreviation fields will usually be in UPPER CASE.

5. If a user overwrites either of the abbreviated SPC or Country fields, the user entry is retained until otherwise edited.

From the above, the software developers should be able to build software that meets the user needs and is easy to use.

Comments?

[jimlad68]

That sounds good to me, I suppose a simpler to use version of my use of ADDRess and Mike's use of GetLabelledText. I suspect it is "internationally" automated, but not "per user" automated.

My plugin does offer a large degree of "user desired" automation, but I would imagine a new system as you describe should also be able to be "user desired" automated with a plugin, it could even be built into an official version such that say for a Lancashire England centric database Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, UK was always abbreviated to just Wigan. Even different sets of Abbreviations for different circumstances; different diagrams, different reports.

As ever, who is the audience. E.g. the USA states 2 digit abbreviations are not helpful to many viewers outside the USA, but versions like Calif are. Hence my desire for user/database centric abbreviations. Although at present I only use 1 version of my Plugin, I could use different versions/sets for different circumstances.

[Peter Collier]

In each Place record Note, add a labelled note such as Abbreviation: Wolverhampton, Staffs
Then use the Expression =GetLabelledText(%FACT.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") instead of {place} in Sentence Templates and =GetLabelledText(%INDI.XXXX.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") in Diagram Text Schemes where XXXX is the fact tag and other parts of the Text Scheme item may need adjusting. I can provide more specific details if required.

There may need to be some other refinements if you are concerned about the prefix in before the place name.

I'm just starting to look at this now, Mike. It works as expected, but I would like to refine it a little further:

• Get "in" to appear before the abbreviated name from the place record note, so it essentially behaves like {place} would.

• Where there is an address recorded, have that displayed before the abbreviated place name, prefixed by "at"

Looking a little further ahead, I have a few individuals for whom a place is not identifiable beyond "United States". I think the easiest way to handle that might to be abbreviate to "the United States" so that the sentences parse correctly, otherwise there would have to be some pretty heavy-duty conditional expressions to cope? That might look a bit naff in diagrams though. Perhaps a second labelled note, so that there was one abbreviation for narrative reports ("the United States") and one for diagrams ("United States")?

[tatewise]

Peter, I guess you have already discovered that the function must be enclosed in curly brackets in the Sentence Template:
{=GetLabelledText(%FACT.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:")}

How to add a conditional prefix is documented in the FH Help page opened via the Sentence Template <<Insert Code button link to How to use advanced features. See under How to Add a Prefix or Suffix to Any Sentence Template Code.
See Help page Sentence Template Codes.
That gives exactly what you requested for the Address.
Just substitute the {address} code with the function above for the abbreviated place.

The expression to prefix United States with the is not too complex:
{=TextIf( GetLabelledText(%FACT.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") = "United States", "the United States", GetLabelledText(%FACT.PLAC>NOTE2%,"Abbreviation:") )}
So use that instead of the simpler function above.

[Peter Collier]

That works well, thank you.

Some of my addresses have comma-separated parts. Is it possible to limit address to only the 1st part, as you can with addressesplaces --something to do with "text parts", although I don't remember the precise syntax?

[tatewise]

Yes, use the {=TextPart( %FACT.ADDR%, 1 )} function instead of the {address} code.