Entering Dates

  • Skill Level: Advanced, Intermediate, and New User
  • FH versions: V4, V5, V6, and V7
  • In Topics: Facts 

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

Date Entry Assistant

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 place over the whole period. For example, you might record that Colin Entwhistle’s Occupation was a Carpenter frm July 1917 to May 1923.
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