* Entering children of unmarried women

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peterbel
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Entering children of unmarried women

Post by peterbel »

Some guidance please.
I am adding children of two women relatives who were unmarried, who subsequently did marry and those children took on the surname of their mothers husband . I started by entering them with their mothers surname and then gave them an Alternative Name of their mothers husband.
When this is displayed in a Descendants Chart, a family tree view, the suffix aka is added to their Alternative Name. One of the Mothers concerned has objected to that and ask if they could be displayed as Firstname Husband's Surname (Firstname Mother's Surname).

Is that possible, and if so what is the best way?
If it isn't, what would be the best way to enter them?

Thanks
Tracing the Devon Bellamy family along with their partners.
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tatewise
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by tatewise »

The way you have entered them is perfectly correct, as it is the genealogy convention to enter people by their birth name.

Presumably the Mother is not a genealogist, but to satisfy her you could print a Descendant Chart adjusted just for her.
The easiest way to do that is to temporarily reverse the Primary and Alternate name of the child.
Open the child's Property Box, click more (+)... to the right of the Name box, then select the Alternate Name and click the Make Primary button lower right.
The chart will then use the Father's surname followed by aka the Mother's surname.
After printing the chart, reverse the above process to swap the names back.

If the Mother insists on the format Firstname Husband's Surname (Firstname Mother's Surname) in brackets, then the process is rather more complex, but can be done, and we will explain how if you ask.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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peterbel
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by peterbel »

Thanks Mike.
The mother concerned is in a branch of the family I have never met, in the USA, and her email to me was quite brusque. I think she is going to insist on the bracketed version!
Producing a version of the Descendant Chart just for that part of the family would be OK though.
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by tatewise »

OK, there are several alternative solutions, but most involve editing the Diagram Text Scheme.
So if you are unfamiliar with that technique, use the Help buttons on each screen where necessary.

The solution I propose is keyed to the child's Record Id, so hopefully you never renumber your Individual records.
It is a permanent solution applied to that child's box in all Diagram types that use this Diagram Text Scheme.

So open the Descendants Diagram, and choose the Diagram > Options > Text tab.
Use the Clone button to avoid upsetting the standard Text Scheme and give the copy a memorable Scheme Name.
Now use the Edit button to open the Edit Text Scheme dialogue.
We are going to Edit the Used Items on the right called Name and Name (a.k.a.).

Select the 1st Name item and click Edit below.
In the Edit Text Scheme Item dialogue replace the Template with:
=TextIf( RecordId() = 99, %INDI.NAME[2]:FULL%, %INDI.NAME:FULL% )
but change the 99 to the child's Record Id number.
This says, if the Record Id is child's, then show the Alternate Name, else show the Primary Name.
Click Test to check the Template is valid, then click OK.

(If it exists, ignore the 2nd Name item for Remarriage.)

Select the Name (a.k.a.) item and click Edit below.
In the Edit Text Scheme Item dialogue replace the Template with:
=TextIf( RecordId() = 99, Text("(" . %INDI.NAME:FULL% . ")"), Text("a.k.a. " . %INDI.NAME[2+]:FULL%) )
but change the 99 to the child's Record Id number.
This says, if the Record Id is child's, show Primary Name in brackets, else show a.k.a. with Alternate Names.
Click Test to check the Template is valid, then click OK.

Finally, click OK twice to close all dialogues.

If you use this Diagram Text Scheme by default, then it will apply to all standard Diagrams.
Alternatively, you could restrict it to one Custom Diagram Type that you only use for the child's Mother.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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LornaCraig
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by LornaCraig »

I too have sometimes needed to make "one-off" changes to the text in a diagram box and find it unnecessarily fiddly and time consuming.

There is a Wish List item which asks for improved formatting options for diagram boxes. It was prompted by the lack of ability to selectively override any Family Tree Box Text &/or Icons. One of the features requested is a Text tab in the formatting options, which would allow any family tree box text to be selectively overridden. You can vote for it here: https://www.fhug.org.uk/wishlist/wldisp ... lwlref=553
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Jane
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by Jane »

Another possible solution is to Add a custom attribute of "Name for Diagrams".

Then simply add a Line at the very top of your text scheme using that attribute and change the Name line to only show if the Name for Diagrams is blank.

This can be used easily for as many people as you want and can be customised for each person differently. You can exclude the attribute from any report easily enough and set the narrative sentence to {blank}
Jane
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LornaCraig
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by LornaCraig »

Yes, Jane's suggestion works for names. You could also do it by setting a flag on the individual and making the various name lines conditional on flags.

However I have encountered a need for variety of types of one-off change in diagram texts, sometimes involving more than just the name (for example removing some, but not all, data and adding "child given up for adoption"). I have sometimes looked at a line in a text scheme and wondered why I put it there, then realised that I needed it once about five years ago! A simple text override option as mentioned in the Wish List item would make these one-off changes much quicker.
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peterbel
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by peterbel »

Thanks one and all.
I will examine your suggestions tonight and see if I can make them work for me.

I presume that they are all display/print modifications and would not ripple down into a exported GED?
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tatewise
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by tatewise »

The Text Scheme changes only affect FH Diagram displays.

But the changes that add custom attribute Name for Diagrams or set a custom Flag do impact the GEDCOM and get exported.

They are all valid suggestions. I did say there were several alternative solutions.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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peterbel
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by peterbel »

I have tried your suggestion first Mike and it brackets the name as required.
However there is an unexpected consequence, all the other individuals have had a.k.a added to them!
I have pasted my Name a.k.a Scheme Template below for you to check:
=TextIf(RecordId() = 1302,Text("(" . %INDI.NAME:FULL% . ")"),Text("a.k.a " . %INDI.NAME[2+]:FULL%))
There is one more complication, the mother concerned, sister, also had a child before marriage so can the code include an OR for a second ID (#1304).
Is that possible?
Tracing the Devon Bellamy family along with their partners.
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tatewise
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by tatewise »

Sorry about the extra a.k.a. which are my mistake.
The Template for Name (a.k.a.) should be:
=TextIf( (RecordId() = 1302) or (RecordId() = 1300), Text( "(" . %INDI.NAME:FULL% . ")" ), CombineText( "a.k.a. ", %INDI.NAME[2+]:FULL%,,) )

Where 1302 and 1300 are the two Record Id.
The second Text(...) function should have been a CombineText(...) function that conditionally uses the prefix "a.k.a. " only if %INDI.NAME[2+]:FULL% yields anything.

=TextIf( (RecordId() = 1302) or (RecordId() = 1300), must also be prefixed to the Name item Template.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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peterbel
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Re: Entering children of unmarried women

Post by peterbel »

A quick update.
Completed the Diagram using Mike's code and sent it off to the distant cousin in the States, she was delighted!
Thanks for the help.
:D
Tracing the Devon Bellamy family along with their partners.
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