Introduction

These specify the wording for facts in Narrative Reports and elsewhere. They are defined in the Tools > Fact Types dialogues, as documented at Fact Definition Dialog. They can also be defined for specific Facts in the Property BoxThe Property Box is the primary window for data entry and for viewing details of stored records.  It is used with records of all types.   Dialogue Facts tab by editing the Sentence field. This article gives an overview of how and where to view and edit them, and includes some examples of what can be done.

Finding Sentence Templates

Sentence Templates can be found in various dialogues to define either default fact sentences or specific fact sentences.

Default Fact Definitions

These Sentence Templates definitions are applied by default to all Facts of the same type.

To view or modify them:

• Use Tools > Fact Types to access the Fact Type dialogue.
• Click the Edit… button to open the Fact Definition dialog.
• The Help button offers advice about the mandatory Sentence Template field.

To view or modify Witness Sentence Templates ([fH6 and above):

• In the Fact Definition dialogue, click the Witness Roles button
• Select a Role and use the Edit or Add button, to open the Edit/New Role dialogue.
• The Help button in that dialog has advice about the Witness Sentence Template field.

In any of those dialogues, click the Advanced button to reveal Override Templates for the Property Box Dialogue Facts tab and the Records WindowThe Records Window provides a comprehensive view of all the information stored within a Family Historian project.. (An Override Template, if it exists, replaces the the default template in the chosen location).

The <<Insert Code button offers the same features in all the above dialogues, as explained later.

Use the Installation Settings button or Old Versions button to restore earlier templates.

See the Alternative Sentence Templates below for examples of various sentence styles.

Tip: Such fact definition scenarios could include creating a fact list style or a foreign language style as alternatives to the default style. If you intend to extensively modify the default Sentence Templates definitions for many Facts, it is advisable to use the Fact SetsA Fact Set is a defined list of types of Facts - that is types of Events and Attributes. button and Clone the chosen fact set, especially the Standard set. That allows any alternative definition styles to be easily swapped via the Fact Set priority order. Only the highest priority Fact Set will list its definitions, and its clones will appear to have no Facts unless Show Hidden is ticked to reveal their eclipsed/disabled definitions.

Specific Fact Sentences

These Sentence Templates definitions apply to just one specific Fact sentence, to override the default.

In the Property Box Dialogue Facts tab, select a Fact to display its Sentence template field.

Since ƒh V6, in the Facts tab, right-click a Fact and choose WitnessesA Witness is somebody who played an important role in an event (or rarely, attribute) but were not a Principal, e.g. they could have been a bridesmaid at a wedding, rather than one of the individuals getting married.. Select a Witness to display that Witness Sentence template field, and click Helpfor advice.

If the field background is beige, then the default template applies. Click on the field to edit the template for that specific instance, and the background changes to white. Unfortunately, there is no <<Insert Code button to help compose the template. To restore the default template, delete the entire contents of the field.

Standard Template Codes

Most of the Standard Codes are simple names enclosed in curly brackets, such as {individual} or {date} that represent the Name of Individual or the DateWhen an Event happened, or an Attrribute was true. field respectively. They can be inserted from the <<Insert Code button, and for full details choose the How to Use Advanced Features option and scroll up the Help page. If the Fact field associated with a Code is empty, then nothing appears in the Sentence.

ƒh V6 added new codes for witnesses and formatting. The Witness Role Codes apply to witnesses associated with a fact, the Formatting Codes of <br>and <para> force a New Line or New Paragraph, and the special {blank} code inhibits the sentence completely. See the Alternative Sentence Templates below for examples of their use.

Advanced Template Codes

Most of the Advanced Codes are not available from the <<Insert Code button, so for full details choose the How to Use Advanced Features option and scroll down the Help page. Such Codes must be edited manually into the Sentence Template taking care to avoid syntax errors (which are evident because the Code appears in the Sentence instead of the desired text).

The {date} code automatically adds prefixes and other elements to make the Date fit into the Sentence, and is unique in allowing Date Qualifiers such as {date:YEAR} but they inhibit the automatic prefixes, etc.

It is often useful to add a prefix/suffix to a Code such as at {address}, but if the Fact field is empty the prefix/suffix still appears, unless it is made conditional by enclosing the structure in angle brackets such as <at {address}, > . This is similar to the {=CombineText("at ",%FACT.ADDR%,", ",,)} function. See the Alternative Sentence Templates below for examples of this.

Data References and Functions

Since ƒh V6 both Data References and Functions can be inserted into Sentence Templates within curly brackets such as {%FACT.PLAC>LATLONG%} or {=TextPart(%FACT.PLAC%,1,2,TIDY)}.

Use the << Insert Code> Data Reference option to open the Data Reference Assistant dialogue that helps compose the Codes. There are special Contextual Data References that provide links to the Individuals and Witnesses associated with a Fact.

Functions must be edited manually into the Sentence Template taking care to avoid syntax errors, which are evident because the Function Code appears in the Sentence instead of the desired text.

Unfortunately, Standard Template Codes are not recognised within Functions so {=TextIf(Exists({date}),{date}," at unknown date")} is not possible as explained in Wish List Ref 546 Enhanced use of Narrative Template Codes. However, it may be possible to substitute a Data Reference such as %FACT.NOTE2% instead of {note}.

Custom Fact Fields

Custom fields cannot be added to Facts, and even if they could, when exported in GEDCOMGEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication, is a specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. It is a file format that most genealogical programs and online trees recognise. files they would not be recognised by other genealogy products.

There are techniques for Entering Standard and Custom Fields for Facts that cater for any extra fields that may be required.

Alternative Sentence Templates

The default Sentence Templates are often repetitive and in a single paragraph. The following alternatives offer other sentence styles, typically using a new line <br> or paragraph <para> code. Each Template can be pasted into the Sentence Template field of any appropriate fact to yield a Sentence similar to the examples shown below.