Introduction
This technique creates a Custom AttributeUsers of Family Historian can customize fact definitions, or create their own fact definitions to more closely match they way they want to work. in which the Note field holds labelled details of Work In Progress or Research To Do for the associated Individual; and a dedicated custom 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. Tab provides a convenient shortcut to create, access, and update these details.
Be aware: Most aspects of this design support only one To Do Attribute per Individual.
A summary of these details for all Individuals can be created using Custom Queries or by Customise or Print Records Window Columns.
The Download To Do Lists provides the predefined queries, reports, custom attribute and property box tab that you need to implement this approach, and can also form a starting point for your own customisations. What follows are some hints and tips for further customisation, and for following the approach.
The Custom To-Do Attribute
In ƒh V4 or earlier, whenever creating a To Do Attribute, enter the DateWhen an Event happened, or an Attrribute was true. as 0001 and it will appear at the head of the FactsFacts are one of the key concepts at the heart of Family Historian; they are how you record the things that happened to, or described, each ancestor (Individual). tab. Conversely, enter 9999 and it will appear at the bottom of the Facts tab.
It is intended that To Do tasks are added to the Note field, one paragraph per task, with a unique Label at the beginning of each paragraph, such as Birth: or Baptism: or CensusCensus records are national collections of population statistics. They usually record details about members of a household on a particular date, and are typically collected every ten years.:. The benefit of these Labels will become clear later under The Custom Queries and Create Custom Column.
To exclude this Attribute from Reports see Housekeeping below.
The Custom Tab
This provides a quick way to create and change the To Do Attribute.
The Custom Queries
The Result Set of either of these Queries may be Printed or Saved to produce a To Do Report.
To Do List
This Query will produce a list of every Individual with a To Do entry, tabulated with a Column for each task Label.
To Do Tasks
This Query will produce a list of every Individual with any one chosen To Do task Label. To allow the list to be sorted in Surname order see how to Sort Fact Query on Owner Surname.
How to Create A Custom Column
This technique adds one or more Columns to the Individual RecordsEvery person in your tree will have a single Individual Record, which holds all the information about that individual that you have entered. You can view and edit Individual records in the Property Box Dialogue. Window to identify To Do entries.
Open the Individual Records WindowThe Records Window provides a comprehensive view of all the information stored within a Family Historian project. (View > Records Lists > Individuals, then select Lists > Configure Record Window Columns).
Scroll down the bottom of the left hand pane, select <Other…> and click the > button in the centre.
Set the ‘Add Column’ fields as follows:
| Heading | To Do |
| ExpressionExpressions are composed from two technical features: Data References and Functions; they also often involve Operators to compare values. | =TextIf(GetLabelledText( %INDI._ATTR-TO_DO.NOTE2%, "Birth:" )="", "", "Birth:" ) |
| Default Sort Direction | Descending |
| Click the OK button | |
Now all Individuals with a To Do entry labelled Birth: are at the top of the Record Window.
To extend this idea for To Do entries with other Labels you could add a separate Column for each Label. However, the following Expression combines them all into one Column but must be entered all on one line:
=Text(
TextIf( GetLabelledText( %INDI._ATTR-TO_DO.NOTE2%, "Birth:" ) = "", "", "Birth: " ) .
TextIf( GetLabelledText( %INDI._ATTR-TO_DO.NOTE2%, "Baptism:" ) = "", "", "Baptism: " ) .
TextIf( GetLabelledText( %INDI._ATTR-TO_DO.NOTE2%, "Census:" ) = "", "", "Census: " )
)
Just keep adding similar
.TextIf( GetLabelledText( %INDI._ATTR-TO_DO.NOTE2%, "Label:" ) = "", "", "Label: " )
expressions for each To Do Label:.
The Custom To Do Report
This report shows the To Do List for each individual you select.
Housekeeping
Remember that you may want to customise any Report that you use regularly to exclude the To Do AttributesEvents are things that happened to an Individual and Attributes are things that described them. from the Reports.
To exclude the To Do Attribute, open the Report Options > Contents tab and under Individual Events/Attributes select Exclude List.
Click the Edit List button, and add the Attribute named To Do to the list by using the > 
button.
Click the OK button once to exit List Editor and again to exit the Options > Content tab.