Monday, July 14, 2008

Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 3: The Menus

I installed FamilyTreeMaker 2008 last week and uploaded a large database, as described in Post 1. I went exploring in FTM 2008 after uploading the database in Post 2.

In this post, I want to itemize what is in the different Menu items (on the second line of the program screen). There are six menu items - [File,] [Edit,] [View,] [detail], [Tools] and [Help.] The [detail] item can be [People,] [Places,] [Media,] [Sources,] [Publish,] and [Web Search,] depending on the top menu icon that is selected. If you are in the [People] icon view, then [People] shows up in the Menu line.

1) In the [File] menu, there are tools and functions for working with Family Tree Maker tree files. The options include::

* Open -- Opens a tree file on your computer, a network, or a removable drive.
* Import as New Tree -- Imports a tree from an earlier version of Family Tree Maker, a GEDCOM
, or a file saved by a different family history program.
* Merge -- Merges a tree file with the currently open tree file.

* Close -- Closes the currently open tree file.
* Export -- Saves the currently open tree file to a different file
format One of Family Tree Maker's options for developing the style and look of reports and trees.
* Backup -- Makes a backup copy of the current tree file to save to either your computer or a removable drive or to burn to a CD or DVD.

* Restore -- Opens a backup file as the working tree.
* Privatize File -- Blocks the name and dates of all people who are still living and prevents modifications to the file until Privatization is turned off.
* Go Offline -- Disconnects Family Tree Maker from Internet, disabling online searches.
* Exit -- Closes Family Tree Maker.


2) In the [Edit] menu, there are tools and functions to help you edit and manage the content of the tree file. The options include:

* Undo -- Cancels the last action and restores the information to its previous state. Not all functions and changes in Family Tree Maker can be undone. Undo is enabled for those actions that can be undone.
* Redo -- Cancels the last undo and restores the action that was undone.
* Cut -- Copies the selected text to the clipboard.
A memory feature of the Windows environment that allows a person to copy or cut text or graphics from one document and paste them into another.
and deletes the text.
* Copy -- Copies the selected text without deleting it.
* Paste -- Copies the text in the clipboard to the selected field.
* Delete -- Deletes the selected text or object.
* Select All -- Selects all of the current text.
* Manage Facts -- Opens the Facts dialog box
so you can create, edit, and delete the fact types.
* Manage Sources -- Opens the Sources dialog box so you can create, edit, and delete sources.
* Manage Repositories -- Opens the Repositories dialog box so you can create, edit, and delete source repositories.

3) In the [View] menu, you can move from one workspace to another. The options include:

* Back -- Takes you to the previous workspace and tab that you had open.
* Forward -- Takes you to the workspace you had open before using the Back button.
* Plan -- Opens the Plan Workspace.
* People -- Opens the People Workspace.
* Places -- Opens the Places Workspace.
* Media -- Opens the Media Workspace.
* Sources -- Opens the Sources Workspace.
* Publish -- Opens the Publish Workspace.
* Web Search -- Opens the Web Search Workspace.


4) I'm going to skip the [People,] [Places], [Media], [Sources], [Publish] and {Web Search] menus for now.

5) In the [Tools] menu, you can use the calculators, functions, and settings that help you work with the data in the tree. The options include:

* Date Calculator -- Helps you calculate the date of an event, the amount of time between events, or the age of a person.
* Relationship Calculator -- Shows how two people from the tree file are related.
* Soundex Calculator -- Displays the Soundex code for a name.
* Resolve All Place Names -- Helps you find the correct spelling for a place in your tree file.
* Compact File -- Reduces the memory size of the tree file while fixing possible database errors.
* Convert Names -- Changes the surnames in the tree file to either mixed case (capitalize the first letter of the name) or upper case.

* User Information -- Lets you enter your personal information so it can be included on charts and reports that Family Tree Maker can create.
* Plugins -- Lists the applications that work with Family Tree maker to extend its functionality.

* Options -- Opens Family Tree Maker's system settings.

6) The [Help] Menu gives you access to sources that provide information about using Family Tree Maker. The options include:

* Help for Family Tree Maker -- Opens the Family Tree Maker Help File. The Help File lets you look up help in a number of ways:
*** Contents: Presents topical help in categories. You can browse the categories by double-clicking a book to see its contents, and clicking a page to view a topic.
*** Index: Lets you search the index of the Help File by keyword.
*** Search: Lets you search the text of the Help File.
*** Glossary: Lets you look up definitions of terms used in the Help File.
* About Family Tree Maker -- Lists information about this version of Family Tree Maker.
* Register Family Tree Maker -- Registering Family Tree Maker provides benefits for you:
*** Registration to Ancestry.com so you can post member trees and search free databases. Note: some copies of Family Tree Maker include a subscription to Ancestry.com so you can take advantage of searching millions of records..
*** Access to the Web Search workspace.
*** Notification of updates to the program.
* Check for Update -- There will be occasional free updates to Family Tree Maker to improve performance and add features. Check for Update checks the Family Tree Maker server for any updates you have not yet received and begins the process of installing the update.


The [File,] [Edit,] [View,] [Tools] and [Help] menus are the same in any of the Top Row icon screens.

The information in this post came from, in the main, from the [Help] menu articles. It is always a good idea to use the [Help] menu in any software program!

I know that I didn't put any pictures in this post, but it's useful to understand what the menus provide. These menus are considerably streamlined compared to FTM 16 and earlier. Does this mean that there is less capability in this program? I can't tell yet! IMHO, the [View] menu is pretty superfluous - it provides links to the Top Row menu icon items, plus Back and Forward which are in symbolic form on the next row down.

In the next post, I'll start a New family tree and use some of the input options in the [People] menu.

Previous posts in this series:

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 1: Loading. Installing the program and uploading an existing database file.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 2: Exploring. Looking around the uploaded database file to see what the different views look like.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I want to privatize a 47 page descendant report. Do I have to privatize my entire file of 20,000 to do this? tombstonechaser@yahoo.com