This thread exists to discuss the pros & cons of the various style options for reporting people & families, and hopefully a way forward to satisfy most users.
The 'out-of-the-box' reports each have different characteristics that I've tried to summarise below.
- Individual Summary Report (ISR)
Label List style, without Timeline & Witness facts, but All other facts by default.
Relationships listed by Father, Mother, Spouse & Children and in Select Records use of Add Relatives. - Family Group Sheet (FGS)
Label List style, without Timeline & Witness facts, but All other facts by default.
Relationships similar to ISR above, but with parents & children grouped in one report. - Outline Reports (OR)
Comma List style, without Timeline & Witness facts, but All other facts possible.
Usually needs Report Options > Main tab All and on separate lines set for Events & Attributes.
Relationships for unlimited generations in one report indicated by indentations & numbers. - Narrative Reports (NR)
Narrative style, without Timeline facts, but with Witness facts, and All other facts by default.
Relationships for unlimited generations in one report indicated by clear headings and references to parents & children.
A drawback of all three current List style reports is none include the Witness facts.
To customise NR into a List style is quite tricky, and needs each fact definition Sentence Template to be edited.
Even simply adding <br> or <para> to the start or end of each template has unwanted side effects.
- If added to the start, then the leading fact is separated from its heading number, and the trailing fact often has the "<she> and <he> had the following children:" sentence tacked on the end.
- If added to the end, then the Inc. Event/Attr Addresses/Notes options often upset the layout.
It would help to know what styles are important to users, with examples of reports from other products that illustrate both the way facts are shown and the way relationships are shown.