Introduction
When you enter a Fact, you’ll almost always have the option to enter a Date for the Fact.
This article explains how to do this, and answers some commonly asked questions.
Dates
The date for an event / fact does not need to be exact; it can be entered as any one of the options below. The Date Entry Assistant in Family Historian (ƒh) can be invoked by clicking at the end of a date input box. This is the Date Entry Assistant window.
Date Formats
Type | Format | Use |
---|---|---|
Date | 18 Jan 1891 | normal date format |
Period | frm 18 Jan 1891 to 30 Mar 1894 | A specific period, which is inclusive, e.g., the fact to which it is attached took |
Date Phrase | <anything> | Any text not recognised as a valid date is classed as a date phrase. Where possible these should be avoided as date comparisons and computations cannot be done on date phrases. |
Range Between | btw 18 Jan 1891 and 30 Mar 1894 | Signifies an event that took place some time in the given range. For example, you might record that Colin Entwhitle was born btw 1897 and 1901. |
Range Before | before 1 January 1891 | Signifies an event before the given date |
Range After | after 1 January 1891 | Signifies an event took place after the given date |
Quarter Date | Q1 Jan 1891 | Shows a date covering a three-month period. See Historical Date Formats for a detailed explanation |
Date Qualifiers
Qualifier | Title | Use |
---|---|---|
(app) | Approximate | The date is not exact. (From V6 you can configure ƒh to use circa instead, using Tools > Preferences and selecting the option To use ‘circa’ for approximate dates on the General tab.) |
(calculated) | Calculated | The date has been calculated from another event, often an age on a census or gravestone |
(estimated) | Estimated | Based on an algorithm. |
Last update: 31 Jan 2021