{"id":9792,"date":"2020-06-14T15:03:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T15:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&p=9792"},"modified":"2024-02-23T14:25:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:25:39","slug":"working-with-facts","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/working-with-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Working with Facts for New Users"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Facts 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).<\/p>\n

Understanding how to work with Facts within \u0192h<\/span><\/span> is fundamental to recording your Family History effectively. If you’re new to \u0192h<\/span><\/span> and\/or Genealogy, you may wish to work through our Getting Starting<\/a> guide first. And you should also review the \u0192h<\/span><\/span> Help file sections on Property Box: Facts Tab<\/a> and Facts (Events and Attributes)<\/a>. And then take time to read this article end to end, to get a good foundation on working with facts.<\/p>\n

There are various types of Facts: Individual, Family, Timeline, and Witness Facts. We’ll start by discussing some general matters, move on to the simplest Fact types (Family and Individual) which exist in all versions of \u0192h<\/span><\/span>, and then move on to Timeline Facts, which were introduced in Version 6. Witness Facts<\/a> (also introduced in Version 6) are covered in another article.<\/p>\n

Where Do You Work with Facts?<\/h2>\n
\"The
The Facts Tab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you’re working with facts, you’ll be working in the Property Box<\/em> for an Individual.<\/p>\n

To get there:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Select an Individual (in the Focus Window<\/em>, in the\u00a0Records Window<\/em> or in a\u00a0Diagram Window<\/em>).<\/li>\n
    2. Right-click and choose Properties\"\".<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      You can configure \u0192h<\/span><\/span> to also open the Property Box<\/em> when you double-click on a selected Individual: Go to Tools > Preferences…<\/a> and check what the settings are for Double Click Action<\/em> for the Focus Window<\/em> , and also Double Click on record in Record List <\/em>for the\u00a0Records Window<\/em>.<\/p>\n

      Facts are entered and edited either on the Main Tab<\/em> or the Facts Tab.<\/em><\/p>\n

      We recommend using the Facts Tab<\/em>; there are more and better facilities than on the Main Tab.<\/em>There are important details you cannot add on the Main Tab<\/em>, and you cannot see all a Individual’s Facts in relationship to each other.<\/p>\n

      The Main Tab<\/em> does allow you to quickly and simply view and record Birth, Death, Marriage, with dates and places; it can also be customised<\/a> to show other Facts.<\/p>\n

      <\/a>What are Events and Attributes?<\/h2>\n

      “Facts” is a shorthand for two things called Events and Attributes.<\/p>\n

      Broadly speaking, Events are things that happened to an Individual, such as:<\/p>\n