User Question: Merge Two Facts

I saw this question on a Facebook Group, not a Family Tree Maker group, but thought I would address it here. The user, had moved the database from one Genealogy Program to another. The question was:

Is it possible to merge 2 fact types 

[ say Address to Residence]

In FTM2017, you can right click  on any Fact, and there is a "Merge Duplicate Facts" option. That option would not work here. The Data from the Address Fact, would have to be Copied and Pasted into the Residence Fact. I am sure you all know that. 

The Reason I want to post about those two items is this:

The Residence Fact, should be used for ANY Record that claims the Location of where the Profile Resided, by Location. City, County, State, County. It's important for me, so that Place name, puts that Profile on the Map.

The Address Fact. takes that Residence Fact to the next Level. I say that, because, by Default, I have the Address Fact marked as Private. Yes, it's still on the Map, but the use of the Historical Place Name feature, resolves that Place Name, which is also important.  I have chosen, not to include any Address Fact, in the Ancestry Member Tree, since I mark that Fact as Private.

Clearly this is a user's choice. For me, I want the Address, every time I can find one, on the many records that provide it. I do NOT put that Address in the Description field, but the Place Name field and use the Historical Place Name feature.

What I have been known to do, IF that Address is in driving distance, I may go take a ride and take a picture of it. I have one photo, of where my grandmother lived in the last 1800's, in Waltham, Massachusetts. I later took my parents to that same place, so show my mother where she lived, but the house was gone. I only had the photograph to share with my mother. That photo, would be linked to a Citation, and the Citation linked to that Address Fact, marked Private.

On final thought about the Residence Fact. I have seen many users use a Census Fact. My question is always, is a Census a FACT or a RECORD ? I'll leave that answer to you.


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Copyright © 2019 by Cousin Russ

Knowledge Base - People Workspace (updated)

The People Workspace

• Blended Families Setting in FTM 2017 for Windows and Mac (31 Aug 2017)
• Using Color Coding in FTM 2017 for Windows (31 Aug 2017)
• Adding an Unrelated Individual in FTM 2017 for Windows (01 Sep 2017)
• Assigning a Portrait to an Individual in FTM 2017 for Windows (01 Sep 2017)
• Fixing Relationship Mistakes in FTM 2017 for Windows (01 Sep 2017)
• Making Facts Private in FTM 2017 for Windows (01 Sep 2017)
• Merging Duplicate Facts in FTM 2017 for Windows (01 Sep 2017)
• Entering Name Suffixes in FTM 2017 for Windows (12 Sep 2017)
• Merging Duplicate Individuals in FTM 2008-2017 for Windows (14 Jun 2018)

From my blog 

• People Workspace
• Color Coding
• Unrelated Person

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Copyright © 2019 by Cousin Russ

Media File Names and a Photo Journal Citation

Continuing the thought process about Filenames, within Family Tree Maker, I wanted to re-look at how I handled my  own Media Files. In this specific case, photographs.

My goal here, is to have Citations on ALL, well almost all, Media files. My exception to that goal is Family Tree Maker Charts, Reports, and other Media files. This is my continued drive to have Citations linked to Facts. Where appropriate, those Citations have the Media Files. I want to be able to answer the question, Where did THAT photograph come from?

Media File ==> Citation ==> Fact

What I created was a "Photo Journal" Citation. There is a Diary or Journal Source Template that works very well (I think). The fields for this template are:

• Source template: Diary or Journal
• Author surname:  [ my name ]
• Author forename(s):  [ my name ]
• Manuscript title: Photo Journal
• Record type: Photo
• Place created: [ blank ]
• Record dates:[ blank ]
• Owner: [ my name ]
• Owner address: [ my address ] *
• Owner location; [ my city, state, zip ]
• Year owned: [ blank ]
• Comments:

I have several Media Categories that my photographs will fall into.

• Headstones from Cemetery Visits
• Photographs of houses
• Photographs of buildings

They are already time stamped, or I know when I visited a place and took pictures.

What I have done, with the Filenaming, is in line with what I have already blogged about, but I stated with a common first element of the file name of House-. I wanted these photos to be together when looking at File Explorer, outside of Family Tree Maker, so that at a glance, I know they are not people, based on the filename.

House-State_City-Address

As before, if the City was "West Chester", the filename would have West_Chester where "City" is. The Street name would be spelled out with the "underscore" separating the words, replacing the space key.

The citation would look like this:

Russ Worthington, "Photo Journal"; Photo (Hackettstown; privately held by Russ Worthington, Hackettstown, New Jersey, 07840).  Pennsylvania, Exton, 129 Worthington Road. Date of Visit: 04 April 2010.

The Citation screen looks like this:

To keep the Places together, in the Sources Workspace, The Citation detail is State, City, then the address. In this case, I chose to use the Citation text field, for the "Date of Visit" entry. There is a check mark in the "Include in ref. note" but doesn't show up well in the screen capture above.

No, here is the beauty, for me at least, for doing it this way. I can now go to the  Places Workspace, where I can see everyone who has an Address Fact, at this address.

This example is a different address:

Selecting that first Address Fact, clicking to Go To, takes me right to the Fact that I now want to Add and Existing Citation. The Citation with the image of the house at that address.

When I go to Anna Bennett's People Workspace, Person View, I see this, for the Address Fact:

What that tells me is that I have a 1930 Census Record that places her at that address, and that there is a photograph of that address.

Going back to the Sources Workspace, I can see how many Address Facts were cited, with that photo journal citation.

I will probably to another blog post on this topic, where I address my Cemetery and Headstone Media Files.  The same concept is used for those pictures.

The advantage is that I can make public my pictures, each with a citation, including the Date that the picture was taken. This way, if I find a picture of an address or building, that I did NOT take, they are in a Media Category that are ALL marked Private, and another Media Category that has my photographs ALL without the "private" setting.

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Copyright © 2018 by Cousin Russ

Managing the Data Error Report - Part 1

Will demonstrate how I now manage the Data Error Report, Part 1

I have figured out a way to Manage the Date Error Report. First, to identify the Potential Errors, Secondly, Give me the ability to SEE that the profile has an Error, Thirdly to Have a ToDo List to work from, by a specific Error Message Group.

I had not been dong a good job of managing these errors at all, until I used the Data Error Report when helping others. (read smaller FILES).

After spending a couple of days, I have 823 Tasks / ToDo Items to work from. 

Part 2 will be, so now what. I identified the Errors, found the reason for the Potential Error, Resolve that error in the database, the make sure the Potential Error has been resolved.

I will add a few people to this database, as see if There are NEW Errors. I will also then, clear some of the ones I have identified.


Comments in my Google+ Community

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/104046972028906209620/+FtmuserBlogspot/posts/dHFHseKFaoX

or on the Blog

http://ftmuser.blogspot.com/2018/07/managing-data-error-report-part-1.html


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Copyright © 2018 by H R Worthington

User Question: What Name to Use

Answering another Reader Question:

What would be the proper procedure to: If a male changes his surname name legally is his birth surname still the name the one used ? Ie: born Gingles Adopted and name changed to Yaworski Legally changes surname to Sundberg What name do I use for my genealogy records? or do I use notes to show the history?

I'll expand on that to "Any Name Changes", including names that the Family knows.

The simple answer is, Record the NAME as claimed by the record? With the appropriate Citation.

Here is an example from my own database:

The "Also Known As" or A.K.A. is what he was called by many, others by the Preferred AKA Fact.

The highest number of Citations, also does not Drive the Preferred Name Fact. In this case, there are 7 records that has his name with "Sr" at the end. I have blogged about that as well. As with females, I make the Preferred Name as the Birth Surname. He wasn't born with "Sr" as part of his name. Later records may reflect "Sr", but I do not use that as the Preferred name.

The control over the Preferred Name comes from User Evaluation of the records.

The Reader's question gets to the next level, where the Surname Changes. My preference, in general, is Birth Surname. The Exception, and I have them, gets down to the reader or audience of your database. My cousin was adopted by her step-father. I made her Preferred Name to be her adoptive surname. So family may drive the name preference. So, the person asking the question might choose to use the most recent surname.

User's choice.

Now, the AKA issue. Not specifically asked, but in Reports and Charts, that AKA field is Optional.

In the Publish Workspace, Chart Collection, Pedigree Chart (and most others) you have this option under Items to Include

In a Descendants Report, with AKA selected, it would look like

Which option to use ? It's up to you. As mentioned, my preference is Birth Names, Family or Given Names and Surnames, but there are times, when it is appropriate to make another Name entry as Preferred. In my example: I have 10 different Name Facts, with 42 Citations for all of the Name facts. In this specific example, the Name Fact with 24 was my choice, as my current thinking it is the most accurate, but I have another example of 8 different Name Facts, 39 Citations, but the Preferred Name Fact only has 4 Citations. 

Or, as I have seen and heard "It Depends"


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Copyright © 2018 by H R Worthington

People Workspace, Customize View FACTS from Person View

I saw a comment today about a feature that I tried a very long time ago, and was reminded as to why I don't use it. But, since I haven't blogged about this feature before, I thought I would do a blog post about it just to show that it is available.

In the People Workspace, Tree View, information about the high lighted person are in the Right Hand Panel and will display the Facts that you want to see in the Tree View.

Your screen may not have these facts, but I link to have the Burial Fact in the Right Hand Panel in the Tree View.

I added it by selecting the Custom View button, lower right corner of the Right Hand Panel.

A Menu will appear:

I selected Burial from the Left Panel, clicked on the Right pointing Arrow, to ADD the Burial Fact to the Right Hand Panel, and clicked OK. The result is:

I change the Facts in the Tree View based on the work that I am doing at the time. I do 99.9% of my data entry from the People Workspace, Person View.

I know that when I want to Add a new Fact, for a profile, I click on the Green Plus at the top  right of the Center Panel of the Person View, where the list of FACT will appear for me to choose from.

Works for me and I know that I can start typing the Fact I want to select, while that window is open. One letter, slowly, at a time. Works for me.

These are my normal features that I use all of the time. But, to the right of that green plus sign is a pull down menu. The FACTS that are in that Pull Down Window are the FACTS that have been selected for the Right Panel of the Tree View.

So, you don't have to start typing, just use that pull down menu. When you click the "More" button (high lighted item in the above screen capture) the menu from the Green Plus will appear.

My experience with this feature is that I don't always get that pull down menu (my fault) and found in easier just to start typing the Fact name. But, it would help remind me as to what Facts are displayed in the Tree View.

So, to add a new Fact, to that pull down menu, you need to go back to the Tree View and use the Customize View to add a Fact to that menu.

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Copyright © 2018 by H R Worthington

Use for Burial Fact Notes

How I am using the Burial Fact Notes

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Copyright © 2017 by H R Worthington