* tree diagram

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JohnMR
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tree diagram

Post by JohnMR »

My tree diagram has developed duplicate boxes joined by dotted lines. How do I remove the lines and the duplicates.
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LornaCraig
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Re: tree diagram

Post by LornaCraig »

If they are joined by dotted lines (as opposed to coloured ribbons) they are probably what are known as 'Proxy' boxes.

These boxes only appear in an All Relatives diagram, and only then if certain conditions apply. To understand their purpose, use Diagram>Options>Proxies tab and click the Help button at the bottom of that tab. The Help file explains the purpose of the boxes and the options you can select from. If you don't want the duplicate boxes you can select Never show proxy boxes. However when an ancestor has siblings you will see that in an All Relatives diagram there will still be a dotted line leading from the ancestor's box back to the position where the ancestor fits beside his/her siblings.
Lorna
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tatewise
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Re: tree diagram

Post by tatewise »

Welcome to the FHUG John.

Those boxes are perfectly normal.
The challenge is how to show a person in their parent family among their siblings AND with their spouse family & children.
The solution uses what are known as Proxy boxes that are transparent with a dotted border and a person's Name only.
They appear in the parent family with a dotted line to the fully-featured box in the spouse family.

You can hide or adjust all Proxy boxes if you wish via the Diagram > Options > Proxies tab.
Or you can hide them selectively with right-click and tick Hide.

Lorna just beat me to it!
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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JohnMR
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Re: tree diagram

Post by JohnMR »

Thanks for your suggestions about proxies. Tried it, removed the boxes but the dotted lines remained!?
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LornaCraig
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Re: tree diagram

Post by LornaCraig »

Yes, as I said in my previous reply in an All Relatives diagram there will still be a dotted line leading from the ancestor's box back to the position where the ancestor fits beside his/her siblings.

You will notice that it is only the horizontal section of the line that is dotted. The vertical section, immediately below the individual's parents, is solid. I think the reason why the horizontal lines are dotted, rather than solid, is to distinguish them from other solid horizontal lines which run above rows of siblings. The dotted lines often have to cross over several vertical lines and if all the lines were solid it would not be obvious that they are just crossing over, rather than making actual intersections with the vertical lines.

However, if you really want the crossing lines to be solid you can use Diagram Options > Lines tab and set Crossing Lines to be solid.
Lorna
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JohnMR
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Re: tree diagram

Post by JohnMR »

Hello again after a bit of a delay and thank you for your replies.
Looking again at my tree diagram, I realise that what I want is for an individual's box to sit where the proxy box is and not to be separated from its chronological position by the dotted line. I remain puzzled about the need for a proxy box and think I would be happy without them. I don't remember selecting them as an option.
John
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tatewise
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Re: tree diagram

Post by tatewise »

They are not an option. They are an inherent feature of Diagrams that you cannot control.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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LornaCraig
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Re: tree diagram

Post by LornaCraig »

tatewise wrote: 15 May 2021 19:46 They are not an option. They are an inherent feature of Diagrams that you cannot control.
Mike, sorry to disagree but as I explained in the very first reply to this topic there are options to Never show proxy boxes or to control the conditions under which they appear. You said the same in your own subsequent post. John said he removed the boxes but his next problem was that he didn't like the dotted lines.
I don't remember selecting them as an option.
I think they are shown by default, so you would not have selected them. You have to choose NOT to show them.
Looking again at my tree diagram, I realise that what I want is for an individual's box to sit where the proxy box is and not to be separated from its chronological position by the dotted line. I remain puzzled about the need for a proxy box and think I would be happy without them.
If the individual's box sat in its chronological position among its siblings there would still be a (potentially very long) line from that box to the point where the individual 'meets' a line from their spouse's box. It's important to understand that proxy boxes only arise in All Relatives diagrams. In these diagrams each member of an ancestral couple has ancestors/siblings/cousins/nephews etc, displayed in the diagram. So the boxes of the couple themselves can be a very long way apart. The point is that it is useful to have a box at both ends of the line to make it easier to see who the line belongs to.

Perhaps you are looking at a particular case where one individual in an ancestral couple doesn't have any ancestors/siblings/cousins recorded. In that case the layout of the All Relatives diagram may look a bit odd. You may get a better result by using a different type of diagram, such as a Descendants diagram where the diagram root is the earliest known ancestor in one particular branch. A Descendants diagram will never have proxy boxes. But by its very nature it will not include all the relatives of the younger generations because it displays only one branch.
Lorna
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tatewise
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Re: tree diagram

Post by tatewise »

What I meant by "They are not an option" is that the proxy box and the line connecting to a distant main box are not an option.
Yes, you can 'Hide' the Proxy box but if you use Diagram > Hide/Show Boxes > Show Hidden Boxes it still exists.
You can change the dotted line to a solid line.
You might even be able to move the main box nearer the proxy box but it cannot be eliminated entirely.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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JohnMR
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Re: tree diagram

Post by JohnMR »

Thank you Lorna and Mike for your detailed replies.
I think I get the picture now and you have certainly reassured me that it is not something I selected in error and because of which I had rather given up on developing my tree.
So it's back to work and learning to live with proxy boxes.

Kind regards, John
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