Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 12: Charts I

I installed FamilyTreeMaker 2008 in early July and uploaded a large database to see how it worked. I also started a new database to test other program features. Please see the list at the bottom of this post for the earlier posts.

In this post, I want to describe the Charts that can be created by the program in the first of two posts.

I'm going to use my updated Master genealogy database for this exercise, and start with Benjamin Seaver (1757-1816) because I can do ancestral and descendant charts with him easily.

When I have Benjamin Seaver as my selected person in the People icon screen, I clicked on the [Publish] icon in the top menu row. The screen below appears - there are three panels here - a list of the different charts and reports on the left panel, the choice of charts (because Charts were highlighted in the left-hand panel) in the center panel, and a description of the highlighted chart (in this case, the Pedigree Chart) in the right-hand panel.



In the left-hand panel are all of the different types of charts and reports available in the [Publish] suite, including:

* Chart Reports
* Person Reports
* Relationship Reports
* Place Reports
* Media Reports
* Source Reports
* Books

We'll deal with the charts in this post and the next. I selected the Charts item on the list.

I clicked on the Pedigree Chart icon, and the screen below opened. A four generation pedigree chart is shown in the larger panel, with Benjamin Seaver as the person in the #1 position. I reduced the image size to 74% so that the entire page is shown.


In the right-hand panel, there is information and options for the chart:

* the chart title,
* the layout (book (8.5 x 11 pages) or poster (spread over multiple pages)),
* the overlap (columns overlap, only root overlaps, no overlaps),
* the spacing (perfect, collapsed or squished),
* the align nodes (top, center, bezier or straight),
* the number of generations (total and per page, 4 is default),
* the background (choice of backgrounds, with transparency and centered, stretched, zoomed or tiled),
* the pictures (none, thumbnail or photo).

The details included in the Chart can be customized by clicking on the edit icons in the right-hand "Pedigree Chart" panel. There are buttons for

* Items to include (e.g., name, birth, marriage, death, although you can select any of the Facts on a list)

* Fonts (for any of the names, facts, chart title, etc.) - choice of font type, font size, color and alignment.

* Box, Border and Line Options - you can select for the chart, the boxes for each person, the connecting lines, etc.

* Header/Footer - add any text you want to the chart

* Page Setup - paper size, printer tray, orientation and margins

* Save settings - save the current settings

* Use saved settings - use a previously saved setting

* Save chart - save the current chart with a chart name

By clicking on the Collection tab on the chart screen, the program goes to the chart selection page (first screen above). I clicked on the Descendant Chart report, and the screen below appeared (5 generations is default):


By manipulating the Zoom menu (located at the left-hand top of the chart, under the words "Chart/Report Preview," you can select a chart size from 10% to 300% to show on the screen. You go to the previous Zoom level by using the upward arrow button, and go to 100% by using the 1:1 button. Insterad of using the Zoom list, you can change the magnification by moving the scroll wheel on your mouse. The 33% chart is shown below:

In the case above, the chart would print over three 8.5 x 11 pages. Note that it is in the "Poster" view.

I like the variety and inclusiveness of the information in the Pedigree Chart and Descendants Chart. I can't think of anything more that I want a program to do, nor does it do anything really superflous to my way of thinking.

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.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 3: The Menus. Most of the menus were itemized and described.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 4: Starting a New Tree. I started a new tree and added some people demonstrating the program options to do this.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 5: Adding a Source. I added sources to the Facts that I previously entered.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 6: Adding Children to a Family. I added children to a family.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 7: The Person Menu. I described the items in the Person menu and attached a spouse to a person.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 8: Finding a Person in the database. I described three ways to Find a person.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 9: Places I. I explored the vagaries of the Places icon.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 10: Places II. The different map types are discussed and displayed.

* Using FamilyTreeMaker 2008 - Post 11: Places III. The method to Resolve many places with standardized place names is explored.

In the next post, we'll explore the other two chart type options.

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