{"id":9471,"date":"2020-06-05T14:14:30","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T14:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&p=9471"},"modified":"2024-03-28T12:26:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T12:26:15","slug":"getting-started","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are coming to Family Historian from another genealogy computer program you may want to start by reviewing Key Features for Newcomers <\/a>\u00a0and then the specific advice for migrating from your old program.<\/p>\n

If you are new to Genealogy software welcome to a new fascinating aspect of your hobby – but it can also be frustrating. This article seeks to reduce the frustration and may also be useful for those who are so frustrated that they have decided to “start over” from scratch.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The process below is two stage:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Quick Start<\/strong>. It invites you to enter some data – no more than say 20 people and preferably reaching back to the beginning of the 20th century – which for many countries means at least one set of census record is available to genealogists.<\/li>\n
  2. Review.<\/strong> It then invites you to consider a number of issues about usage of \u0192h<\/span><\/span> before you have got too deeply stuck in. With only 20 people entered it is not the end of the world if you delete everything and start again.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Quick Start<\/h2>\n

    \"\"Calico Pie have produced a Quick Start Guide<\/a> on their website which gives a good overview of the basics.<\/p>\n

    Initially you can follow this looking at the Family Historian Example Project<\/strong> that is installed with the Program (do not worry about “damaging it” – it is easily restorable Main Menu > File > Project Window <\/a>, then More Tasks > Samples > Reset Sample Project<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    Then you can follow the guide to enter a few people in your own project. Ideally start from something you know (like yourself) and move back through the generations entering parents, known grandparents, etc..<\/p>\n

    To create your own project start from the Project Window (Page 4 in the Quick Start Guide).<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Click on the New Project<\/em> Button and then select “Start a new project (no import)” and click Next.<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. Follow the prompts on the “Enter details for the Starting Person” dialogue; if in doubt put yourself as the starting person.<\/li>\n
    3. Give the project a name in the “Enter Name for New Project” dialogue and click Finish<\/em> which will take you to a (rather sparse) “Focus Window” in your project.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"\"You can then add other details of the “starting person”:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Type any basic details in the property box on the right of the Focus Window (Quick Start Guide page 9: Enter Details in the Property Box). If you want to add facts beyond the basics on the Main Tab, go to the Facts tab and click on \"\" and complete the details that you have.<\/li>\n
      2. To add close relatives to someone, start at the Main tab of their property box and:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n