Introduction

Record Flags are simple markers that you can attach to an Individual Record to indicate something about that individual that is useful for you to know when you are researching, or displaying the results of your research.

Simon Orde of Calico Pie envisaged these as ‘B&B-Style’ symbols – the analogy being to ‘catalogs which tell you whether the room has a TV, or en-suite shower, etc’. Some have used Record Flags to show that there is a Census entry, and Ancestral Sources recognises this. Others use them to show that a person is Living and should be treated as such — the usage is endless.

Named Lists provide another means of marking or grouping records, which may be more suitable for your purposes, but they are not appropriate for every need.

How Do I Create, Add or Remove a Record Flag

Two default Record FlagsRecord Flags are a way of marking an Individual record. are included with the program, namely Living and Private. These are intended be used in privacy filters when generating reports, books, websites etc. to ensure that inappropriate where information is not shared.

However, you can create as many additional flags as are meaningful to you.

To add or remove a Record Flag for an Individual, the easiest way is:

• Select the Individual (in the Focus Window or the Records WindowThe Records Window provides a comprehensive view of all the information stored within a Family Historian project. and then use Edit > Record Flags….
• You’ll be presented with a check list of flags for that individual, where you can tick or untick the flags you want to associate with them.
• There’s also a New… button which allows you to type in a new flag name, made up of letters numbers and spaces. Once you’ve done this, the new flag appears in the checklist.
• Click OK when you’re happy with your changes, and Cancel to abandon them.

Flags can also be added, removed or created by right-clicking the Individual name in the Records Window or the All Tab of the and using the Set Flag option.

Deleting a Record Flag

This isn’t so simple as adding a flag. You have to ensure the flag you’re going to delete isn’t in use anywhere, and then remove it from the Record Flag Lists. See How to Delete a Record Flag for exact details.

What Can I Do with Record Flags

Using Record Flags in the Individual Records Window

If you want to see in the Individual RecordsEvery person in your tree will have a single Individual Record, which holds all the information about that individual that you have entered.  You can view and edit Individual records in the Property Box Dialogue. Window who has a particular Record Flag, you can add a column:

1. Right-click on the column headers, and choose Configure Columns…
2. Scroll down the list of items in the left hand pane until you come to the items of type ‘Flag’.
3. Select the Flag you want to show, and use the > button to add it to the list of displayed columns.
4. Use the move up and down  buttons to placeAccording to GEDCOM, a Place should hold “The jurisdictional name of the place where the event took place…”   it where you want within the columns list.

Using Record Flags in Queries