Introduction

As you work with Family Historian, you will come to realise exactly how customisable it is, and Facts are no exception; here are four very simple ways to make it easier to work with Facts.

Adding or Removing a Fact on the Fast-Add Menu

By default the Fast Add menu (opened using the Add Fact button ) comes with a relatively short list of Fact Types on it, but you can add other factsFacts are one of the key concepts at the heart of Family Historian; they are how you record the things that happened to, or described, each ancestor (Individual). that you use frequently or remove ones you don’t want to see there.

1. Click the Add Fact button.
2. Click More Fact Types…to open the Fact Types dialog.
3. Select the Fact Type you want to show or remove, and click the More>> button.
4. An additional set of buttons appears on the right of the Fact Types dialog.
5. Click the Edit… button to open the Fact Definition dialog.
6. Ignore most of the content of this dialog for now (until you’re ready for more ambitious customisation).
7. Towards the bottom right of the dialog is a Fast-Add Menu checkbox. Tick it to show a Fact on the Fast-Add Menu or untick it to remove it.
8. Click the OK button.
9. Click the Close button on the Fact Types dialog.

Hiding a Fact Type

You may decide you don’t want to see a fact at all. For example, we don’t recommend using the Family CensusCensus records are national collections of population statistics. They usually record details about members of a household on a particular date, and are typically collected every ten years. eventEvents are things that happened to an Individual and Attributes are things that described them. (shown as Census (Family)) in the Fact Types dialog.  To hide a fact you don’t want to use:

1. Click the Add Fact button.
2. Click More Fact Types…to open the Fact Types dialog.
3. Select the Fact Type you want to show or remove, and click the More>> button.
4. An additional set of buttons appears on the right of the Fact Types dialog.
5. Click the Edit… button to open the Fact Definition dialog.
6. Ignore most of the content of this dialog for now (until you’re ready for more ambitious customisation).
7. Towards the bottom right of the dialog is a Hidden checkbox. Tick it to hide a fact in the Fact Types dialog and untick it to show the Fact.
8. Click the OK button.
9. Click the Close button on the Fact Types dialog.

If you want to see hidden Facts, open the Fact Types dialog and click the More>> button. In the button set that appears on the right, there’s a Show Hidden checkbox which toggles the display of hidden facts.

Change the Facts Shown on the Main Tab of the Individual Property Box

Users often customise the Main Tab of the Property BoxThe Property Box is the primary window for data entry and for viewing details of stored records.  It is used with records of all types.   to display additional facts for convenience.. Adding and editing Facts is best done via the Facts Tab, but viewing additional facts on the Main Tab lets you see key details very quickly.  You may, for example, want to add Baptism in case you don’t have a Birth recorded, or Burial for instances where you haven’t recorded a Death.

To change the Facts shown on the Main Tab:

1. Click on the Menu button on the Property Box Main Toolbar (at the top of the Property Box).
2. Select Customize Data Entry…  to open the Customize Property Box dialog.
3. Check that Individual is selected as the Record Type, and Main as the Tab.
4. On the left are displayed the Available Items; these are the items available for you to display. By default, only the most-commonly used items are displayed, but there is a tick box for you to show all available items. On the right are the Selected Items, that is the items already displayed on the Main Tab.
5. Select items from the Available Items List that you want to add, and use the >   button to add them.
6. Select items from the Selected Items List that you wish to remove and click the < button to remove them.
7. You can use the up and down buttons to change the order of items in the Selected List.
8. Once you’re happy, click OK.

Importing or Removing a Fact Set

FHUGThe Family Historian User Group is a group of user with wide-ranging experience, from newcomers to very experienced users, all of whom are very willing to shared their knowledge about the programme. users have made a number of useful Fact SetsA Fact Set is a defined list of types of Facts – that is types of Events and Attributes. available at Download Type: Fact Sets.

To import a Fact Set:

1. Download the Fact Set you want to use.
2. Go to File > Import/Export > Import > Fact Set…
3. in the file selection window that appears, select the file you downloaded and click Open.
4. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to install the selected fact set.
5. You will then get a message confirming success.

Double-clicking on a Fact Set file (which have file extensions .FHF) within Windows Explorer will also install the Fact Set.

If you decide you no longer wish to use a Fact Set, you can delete it.

1. Navigate to the Facts Tab of the Property Box.
2. Click the Add Fact    button and select More Fact Types…  to open the Fact Types dialog.
3. Click the More>> button to open the additional set of buttons on the right hand side.
4. Click Fact Sets… to open the Fact Sets dialog.
5. Select the Fact Set you want to remove and click Delete.
6. Confirm you want to proceed.
7. Click Close and then Close again.

You cannot delete the Standard Fact Set.