{"id":13226,"date":"2026-09-22T17:01:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&p=13226"},"modified":"2026-10-05T08:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T08:32:05","slug":"working-with-places-and-addresses-in-version-8","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/working-with-places-and-addresses-in-version-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Working with Places and Addresses in Version 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Places and Addresses identify where a Fact happened. This article is for \u0192h<\/span><\/span> Version 8, which introduced Address records and changed the way the two fit together. If you use Version 7 or earlier, see Working with Places and Addresses in Version 7 and below<\/a>, where the choices are rather different.<\/p>\n

Places and Addresses in Version 8<\/h2>\n

A Place is the jurisdictional location: town or city, county, country. An Address is whatever adds precision within that place: a house number and street, a church, a hospital, a cemetery and plot. Despite the name, an Address does not have to be a postal address.<\/p>\n

Both are records. Place records have been around since Version 6; Version 8 adds Address records<\/a>, which behave in the same way. Typing a value into a Place or Address field creates the record if it does not already exist, and \u0192h<\/span><\/span> offers to autocomplete from existing values as you type. You can see them at View > Other Record Lists > Places<\/a> and View > Other Record Lists > Addresses<\/a>, or via Tools > Work with Data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each Address record is linked to one Place record, and an address is unique within its place. So “St Mary’s” under Newtown, Kent and “St Mary’s” under Oldtown, Kent are two separate Address records, each with its own notes, media and location.<\/p>\n

Because an address belongs to its place, \u0192h<\/span><\/span> keeps the two in step. If you change the Place of a fact that has an Address, the Address moves to the new Place (creating a new Address record if need be). You cannot attach an Address from one Place to a fact in another.<\/p>\n

Sorting Addresses<\/h3>\n

The Addresses tab of the Records Window sorts addresses the way people read them, not strictly alphabetically. A plain alphabetical sort puts “12 Main Street” before “2 Main Street” and scatters the houses in one street among the others. \u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 sorts on the street first and then by house number within it, so 2 Main Street comes before 12 Main Street and an unnumbered “Main Street” sits with them. The place plays no part in the sort. Clicking the heading again reverses the order, which can make the list look random until you notice. Addresses with the number after the street name, as is usual in much of continental Europe, sort alphabetically, number and all.<\/p>\nTools > Work with Data > Addresses<\/a> still sorts alphabetically, as before.<\/p>\n

Tip: To get the plain alphabetical order in the Records Window as well, add a second column. Right-click in the Addresses tab and choose Configure Columns<\/a>. Add <Other…><\/strong> with the expression %_ADDR.TEXT%<\/code>, then click Edit<\/a> and set the sort to ascending. You can then switch between the two orders by clicking one heading or the other. To see the place alongside the address, use =AddressAndPlace(%_ADDR%)<\/code> instead.<\/p>\n

What an Address record holds<\/h3>\n
\"Property<\/a>
Property Box for an Address record<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n