* Colour coded pedigree chart

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Simonides
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Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

Inspired by a recent course that mentioned Mary Hill's Family Roots Organizer Color-coding (sic) system, (and see also - http://www.mygenshare.com I wondered how to create a simple colour coded five generation pedigree chart in Family Historian.

The idea is to colour code ancestors of your:
  • father’s father in blue.

    father’s mother in green.

    mother’s father in red.

    mother’s mother in yellow
Here's an example created in another program that I'd like to replicate in Family Historian. Can anyone clarify how to do this?

Thanks
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Nigel Munro 5 generation pedigree chart.pdf
(8.51 KiB) Downloaded 246 times
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tatewise
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by tatewise »

Yes, you need to use the Diagram > Options > Boxes tab << Add Condition > Expression feature.
You will need one Condition Expression for each ancestral colour.
e.g.
1st =IsTrue(IsAncestorOf(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>~MOTH>%) or IsSameItem(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>~MOTH>%))

2nd =IsTrue(IsAncestorOf(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~FATH>~MOTH>%) or IsSameItem(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~FATH>~MOTH>%))

3rd =IsTrue(IsAncestorOf(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>%) or IsSameItem(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>%))

4th =IsTrue(IsAncestorOf(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT%) or IsSameItem(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT%))

Set the Text Colour Feature of each one as required, and ensure they are in appropriate Priority order as above.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Simonides
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

thanks, Mike - not as straightforward as I'd hoped but I'll work through it asap!
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tatewise
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by tatewise »

An alternative method would involve selecting the boxes you wish to colour code, right-click them and choose Format, where you can set the Text Colour, and repeat that for each colour. Then use Diagram > Save Diagram As > Family Historian Chart and give it a Chart Name that can be displayed via View > Saved Charts. That will adapt as new details or ancestors are added to your family tree, but the Diagram Root person cannot be changed. If you wanted pedigree charts for more distant ancestor generations, then another Family Historian Chart would have to be created for each one.

The Boxes tab Conditions only need be created once, and then Diagram > Save Diagram As > Custom Diagram Type will allow them to be applied to ALL future pedigree charts via View > Custom Diagram Type with any Diagram Root you like.

Having seen your Mary E. V. Hill's FamilyRoots Organizer Color-coding filing system (16258) thread, and checked the link in your posting here, it seems you want the colour coding to apply to ALL ancestors of each grandparent to match your filing system.

The Condition Expressions posted earlier apply to the Current Tree Root (CUR_TREE_ROOT) of the Diagram.
So if you choose a different root person than yourself, the colours would be set with respect to that persons grandparents.
I suspect that is NOT what you want.

There are other options:
Current Diagram Root (CUR_DGM_ROOT) applies to the root person of the current Diagram similar to above.
Current File Root (CUR_FILE_ROOT) applies to the File Root person that presumably would usually be you.
Current File Owner (CUR_FILE_OWNER) applies to the person named in the first Submitter record.
Current File Header (CUR_FILE_HEADER) applies to the person named in the Header record.
Those last three would fit your filing system colour coding scheme, assuming you were the person named.
The colour chosen is based on the relationship to a nominated person, rather than whoever happens to be the Diagram root.
Thus if you produce a pedigree chart with your great-great-grandfather as the root, all the boxes would be coloured blue.
In the Boxes tab Conditions simply replace CUR_TREE_ROOT with whichever of the above you prefer.

If anything is not clear then please ask.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Simonides
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

tatewise wrote:Yes, you need to use the Diagram > Options > Boxes tab << Add Condition > Expression feature.
You will need one Condition Expression for each ancestral colour.
e.g.
1st =IsTrue(IsAncestorOf(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>~MOTH>%) or IsSameItem(%INDI%,%CUR_TREE_ROOT.~MOTH>~MOTH>%))


......etc.

Set the Text Colour Feature of each one as required, and ensure they are in appropriate Priority order as above.
Hmm, I learned a lot by trying this, Mike, and found parts of FH that I'd need come across before but with only partial success! I was able to change the names of every person in my Pedigree chart to display in the same colour, eg. Blue, but I was unable to change them to be in different colours. They are now all blue.

I've attached a screenshot of my diagram options, in case you can suggest what I might be doing wrong. When I have this working, I'll try your other suggestions.
Snap1.jpg
Snap1.jpg (26.19 KiB) Viewed 7306 times
One thought at this point is that certain other programs eg. Ancestral Quest, Legacy and RootsMagic support setting up and printing colour coded pedigree charts with a couple of clicks on option boxes, so FH seems comparatively complex.

Mike, once again, I'm very grateful to you for your kind, expert and unstinting support.

S
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tatewise
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by tatewise »

I suspect you have the Conditions in reverse Priority order, but can't be sure as your screenshot does not reveal any in full.

I think your Highest refers to the Root without any ~FATH> or ~MOTH> shortcuts, as its colour is blue, whereas it should be 4th, otherwise it overrules all the others and thus makes all boxes blue.

Se my earlier posting about Priority order.

Yes, other products often have a few predetermined useful options, whereas FH allows much more to be customised, but needs more expertise to do so.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Simonides
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

tatewise wrote:I suspect you have the Conditions in reverse Priority order
Yes Mike - I corrected the order and it looks good. To print it I selected File Save As. I could save it as a .tif or a .jpg but when trying to save as a .pdf FH just consistently crashed. Any thoughts on why that might have happened, or how to prevent it crashing? Also, the .tif and .jpgs seemed to have a yellow background which would use lots of ink - is there a way to print coloured text with a white background?
tatewise wrote: other products often have a few predetermined useful options, whereas FH allows much more to be customised, but needs more expertise to do so.
No arguments there!
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by tatewise »

Sorry, but you will have to get into habit of giving more details.

How have you customised Diagram > Options > General > Background?
Presumably, One colour and used the Options... to choose pure White?

How are you viewing the .jpg or .tif file?
If such as Windows Live Photo Gallery that always gives a straw-yellow tinge to everything!
Open them in a proper image editor and the colours will be correct.

Have you ever used Diagram > Save Diagram As > PDF File (.pdf) successfully?
Does it work with a standard Diagram with Installation Settings?
BTW: Do NOT click the small central Family Historian popup window.
Instead, click OK in the larger Family Historian PDF - Save PDF File As window top left.

If still cannot get PDF working look at how_to:family_historian_installation_problems#save_as_pdf_file_output_is_not_enabled|> Save As PDF File Output is Not Enabled.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Simonides
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

tatewise wrote:Sorry, but you will have to get into habit of giving more details.
OK - I'll try! :D
tatewise wrote:How have you customised Diagram > Options > General > Background?
Presumably, One colour and used the Options... to choose pure White?
I'd not customised it before, but when I did, I was able to see the Pedigree Chart with colour coded text and a white background - thanks!
tatewise wrote:If still cannot get PDF working look at how_to:family_historian_installation_problems#save_as_pdf_file_output_is_not_enabled|> Save As PDF File Output is Not Enabled.
That's the one - I reinstalled Novapdf and I can now save the pdf. Strangely, the text in the pdf has lost its colour coding and shows as black. Do you know if there's a way to keep the text colour in the pdf? If not, I'll just save the pedigree chart as a .jpg as that gives me what I was looking for.

thanks again!
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tatewise
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by tatewise »

PDF should faithfully reproduce what is shown on screen, unless you have set Diagram > Options > Print tab with Print text, lines and boxes in black-and-white only ticked?

BUT that would also affect printout to .jpg or .tif files.

OR maybe you have accidentally changed the PDF default options?

BTW: There is a Print background option there, which if unticked will give white background in any printouts.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Simonides
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Re: Colour coded pedigree chart

Post by Simonides »

I have it all working now, Mike - thanks so much for your help.
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