* Picture Captions For Group Photos

[edmacke]

Apologies if this is a repeat question - I tried searching the forum and couldn't find anything but I have to think this is a common thing...

I have a group photo, I'd like to caption it so that each person is identified - for example, "Cecilia, Marie, and Christina (L to R)".

What I'd LIKE to do is to be able to type that in once, and attach it to the image, something like this which I've done in the Media edit window:

2019-02-07_11-39-32.png (182.48 KiB) Viewed 8148 times

But as far as I can tell, there's no way to get that media Note/caption to appear in reports. The only way that seems to work is to put the caption in the "Link to Person" screen in the unlabeled note field and then check the Use Note as Caption, like so:

2019-02-07_11-40-07.png (107.16 KiB) Viewed 8148 times

If that's true, and I link the image to the 3 people in the picture (Cecilia, Marie, and Christina), that means I'd have to enter the caption information 3 times - once for each person.

That's a little bit of a pain, but it's not horrible. But it becomes much more daunting with a picture like:

2019-02-07_12-04-37.jpg (15.6 KiB) Viewed 8148 times

Suggestions??

[LornaCraig]

As you have found, the note field at the bottom is the one referred to by Use Note as Caption, and that note relates to one specific link, so needs to be entered against each link. The reason is that you might want to have a different note/caption for each person's link. This is most likely to arise if you are using the Link to Face option, where you can frame one person's face and then enter a note relating to just that person.

If you want the same caption to appear for every link, the simplest way is to change the Title of the media record. So instead of "MACKE, Cecilia Marie & Christina" change the title to "Cecilia, Marie, and Christina (L to R)". Don't use the note as the caption at all, then the default caption will use the title. (Changing the title of the Media Record in FH will not affect the name of the image file itself.)

[edmacke]

Hmm, interesting.

OK, so I changed the title to be "Cecilia Marie & Christina (L to R)". No note. No date.

Then, in the media window for the person/link, the "Link to Person" section is empty. No note. None of the checkboxes are checked.

But when I generate an Individual Narrative, the caption is generated as the person's name + the image title. I would like it to be just the Title.

Here's a screenshot with the report, the caption, and the Pictures settings.

2019-02-07_13-19-50.jpg (112.05 KiB) Viewed 8134 times

[LornaCraig]

Yes, sorry I forgot that it's not possible to display only the title. That is probably an option which ought to be suggested to Calico Pie. I think their rationale is that group photos are more likely to be attached to a Family record in their complete form, while links to individuals will usually be 'frame' links.

If you need to enter the same note for a large number of links, the quickest way is probably to view the Media image in the full Media Window (go to the Records Window, Media tab, select the Media Record and click Media>View Media for selected Record.) Double click the thumbnail image to open it in full, then on the Links tab click on each link in turn and copy/paste the note into the Link Note field, ticking Use Note as Caption each time.

[tatewise]

BTW: If you put your text in the Picture Note then it is easy to copy & paste into the caption Note box, although a bit tedious when there are a lot of copies.

I reported to Calico Pie Inconsistent Multimedia Captions ticket #633520 on 03/02/2014:

This applies to captions below thumbnails in Multimedia tabs of Property Boxes and captions below images in Reports.

The first inconsistency is that the captions below thumbnails in Multimedia tabs are sometimes dependent on the media type (JPG, PDF, DOC, etc).
e.g. In an Individual Property Box the caption ALWAYS includes the Note Caption text if the media type is an image such as JPG, PNG, TIF, but NEVER if it is any other type such as PDF, DOC, WAV, etc.
The captions should always obey the same rules regardless of media type.

The second inconsistency is that the captions below thumbnails in Multimedia tabs are often different from the default captions below images in Reports.
I suggest that perhaps they should be more closely aligned with the Report default captions.
(I realise Report Options can change the defaults, but at least this offers a consistent basis.)
In Individual Property Box the Multimedia caption should default to Date Year and age.
In Family Property Box the Multimedia caption should default to Date Year and Title.
In Source Property Box the Multimedia caption should default to just the Title.
BUT, if Use Note as Caption is ticked then the Note Caption text should replace the above captions.

Finally, the Help page for the Multimedia Window says that in the Linked Records List the Flag meaning for Cap is “Do not let Family Historian generate a caption automatically for this picture (or other media) when it is displayed in a report or web-page...”
Presumably the phrase “(or other media)” is a mistake because only pictures appear in reports/web-pages.
In the Help page for Property Box: Multimedia Tab it simply says “Use the associated note (if any) as the caption for this picture.”

See FHUG > Forums > General Usage > Multimedia Captions (11041)

Simon replied:

Thanks Mike. I'll have a look at that and get back to you. Simon

But of course I've heard nothing and nothing has changed.

[edmacke]

I think their rationale is that group photos are more likely to be attached to a Family record in their complete form, while links to individuals will usually be 'frame' links.

OK, Stupid Question 1: Do I get to the Family record by going to the "All" tab and selecting the "Parents family" or "Spouse family" links... or is there an easier way?

Stupid Question 2: If I attach a media file to the Family record, how do I get it to show in the narrative reports?

[edmacke]

But of course I've heard nothing and nothing has changed.

Hey, it's only been 5 years... be patient

[LornaCraig]

Do I get to the Family record by going to the "All" tab and selecting the "Parents family" or "Spouse family" links... or is there an easier way?

An alternative way is to go to the Records Window, Families tab and select the family record there.

If I attach a media file to the Family record, how do I get it to show in the narrative reports?

That's another catch: the Family Group Sheet, which is not a narrative report, is the only one which gives the option of including 'family' photos. But what you can do is add such pictures to a Blank Page which can be incorporated into a book alongside one or more narrative reports. Then the group pictures appear just once, instead of being repeated in each individual narrative report. See Adding Picture to Book (12472)

[edmacke]

An alternative way is to go to the Records Window, Families tab and select the family record there.

Huh. Who knew there was a Families tab on the Records window? I didn't, until now!

Not sure why/how, but I didn't have a Families tab, so after you mentioned it I poked around, and went to View > Record Lists > Familes and now I do!

Thanks, Lorna and Mike, I think I understand how this stuff works and have a good approach (I like the idea of putting the note in the media record and copy/paste to each link).

[davidm_uk]

Or use a photo editing program and add a caption to the image itself. At least then if you use that image anywhere else (outside of FH) you have caption explaining what it's about.

[Jane]

Just to add to Lorna's suggestion, don't forget the Media Report, is a great addition I use it all the time to print a record of everyone in a photo to store with the original images if I have them. It can also be added to Books especially useful where you link headshots to individuals and then want to include the whole photo with details of everyone in the photo later.

[Valkrider]

There is also Tony Protors programme for adding data to photos that may be worth exploring. See http://parallax-viewpoint.blogspot.com/ ... urces.html

[tatewise]

I advise you use Tools > Preferences > Records Window and under the Record Type Display Options set all the options to Always show as also advised in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers under Records & Fields & Multimedia.

Another quick way to reach the Family record Property Box is on the Focus Window.
With the Spouses in Focus click on the blue Marriage status bar that runs across under their boxes.