FAMILY TREE DATABASE (FDB) VERSION 2.3 - (4/8/94) ************************************************** The contents of this file are basically just a distillation of the on-line help in case you either can't get the on-line help to work or you want a hard copy. INTRODUCTION ************ This is the FDB family tree database program. It was designed (well, all right...evolved really) to allow for the easy creation and editing of information regarding family ties. It's an aid to genealogical research (I hope!). Information regarding relations can be entered and edited using the graphical user interface elements and then output produced, both graphical and textual, in LaTeX and PostScript (for those who can afford the printers!). On running the program the main information entry/display window appears. The information regarding the current person is shown here. The database may be traversed from person to person following relationships by clicking on the name of the person whose information you wish to view. Click on the mother or father buttons to make the current persons mother or father the new current person, for example. N.B. One of the most important distinctions to bear in mind when using this program is that between adding an entry and selecting an entry. Adding an entry involves the creation of a new database record whereas selection involves picking an entry which is already in the database. Thus if, for example, you add a mother entry for someone, a new database record is created with empty fields (apart from the fact that one of her children is the current person) whereas if you select a mother a list of eligible females already in the database is presented for one to be chosen. MENUS ***** The row of menu buttons at the top of the data entry window allow for various database activities such as selection/deselection of relationships, addition/deletion of database entries, loading/saving of database files. Also, the graphical viewers and hardcopy options are controlled from here. The menus and their options are as follows: "File" Menu ----------- This menu controls general file access and has the following options: "Load" - Displays a list of database files for possible use. Selecting a file causes it to be loaded, overwriting the currently loaded database N.B. when a new directory is entered all files in the directory are checked to see if they are either directories themselves or possible database files. This can take a little while if there are a lot of files in the directory. "Save" - Save the information in the current database to the current database file (displayed at the bottom left of the main window). "Save as..." - Displays a list of database files in the current directory to which the current database may be written Alternatively, a new name may be entered. N.B. when a new directory is entered all files in the directory are checked to see if they are either directories themselves or possible database files. This can take a little while if there are a lot of files in the directory. "Properties" - Displays a window allowing the defininition of various settings relating to display and output. "Exit" - Exit from the program. The user is asked to confirm this action. "Add/Delete" Menu ----------------- This menu controls the addition of new entries to the database and the deletion of existing entries. The options are: "Add Mother Entry" - Add a new entry as the mother of the current person. The mother becomes the new current person. If the current person already had a mother, this relationship is removed. "Add Father Entry" - Add a new entry as the father of the current person. The father becomes the new current person. If the current person already had a father, this relationship is removed. "Add Spouse Entry" - Add a new entry as a spouse of the current person. The new spouse becomes the current person. "Add Child Entry" - Add a new entry as a child of the current person. The new child becomes the current person. "Add New Entry" - Add a new entry unrelated to anyone currently in the database. The new person becomes the current person. "Delete Current Entry" - Delete the entry for the current person from the database. Any relationships to the deleted entry are also removed. This is the only option which actually deletes an entry from the database. Thus, for example, to delete a spouse of someone, make that spouse the current person and then select this option. Note that if, for example, you wish to add a mother for the current person and an entry for the person who is to be the mother already exists in the database, use the "Select" menu instead. "Select" Menu ------------- This menu controls the creation of links (relationships e.g. mother of, child of etc.) between entries already in the database. The options are: "Select New Current Entry" - This option doesn't actually create any relationships. A list of all entries in the database (that are not accessible directly from the current entry) is presented, the selected person becomes the new current person. This is simply a database traversal function. "Select Mother Entry" - A list of all females who are not already related to the current person is presented, the selected person is linked to the current person as their mother. If the current person already has a mother, this relationship is removed. "Select Father Entry" - A list of all males who are not already related to the current person is presented, the selected person is linked to the current person as their father. If the current person already has a father, this relationship is removed. "Select Spouse Entry" - A list of all members of the opposite sex who are not already related to the current person is presented, the selected person is added to the list of spouses of the current person. "Select Child Entry" - A list of all members of the database who are not already related to the current person is presented, the selected person is added to the list of children of the current person. Note that these options do not add entries to the database, they make links (relationships) between already existing members. If you wish to add a new person use the "Add/Delete" menu. "Deselect" Menu --------------- This menu controls the removal of relationships between entries in the database. The options are: "Deselect Mother Entry" - Deselect the mother of the current person. "Deselect Father Entry" - Deselect the father of the current person. "Deselect Spouse Entry" - Displays a list of the spouses of the current person. The selected spouse is removed from the list of spouses of the current person. "Deselect Child Entry" - Displays a list of the children of the current person. The selected child is removed from the list of children of the current person. Note that these options do not delete entries from the database, they merely remove relationships between them. To delete an entry from the database, select that entry as the current person and use the "Delete Current Entry" option of the "Add/Delete" Menu. "Output Menu" ------------- This menu controls the hard copy output. The options are: "Output Current Person" - Create a file containing the information relating to the current person. The file is titled using the current persons initials and surname with either .ps or .tex as the extension depending on the currently selected output format. A unique integer is inserted before the extension if necessary to avoid overwriting existing files "Output Entire Database" - Create a file containing all information in the database. The file is titled using the name of the current database file with either .ps or .tex as the extension depending on the currently selected output format. A unique integer is inserted before the extension if necessary to avoid overwriting existing files "Output Current Descent Line" - Create an A4 plot in PostScript of the current descent line. The file is titled name_lineN.ps where name is the person whose descent is being plotted and N is a unique integer used if necessary to avoid overwriting existing files "Output Current Descendants Tree" - Create an A4 plot in PostScript of the current descendants tree line. The file is titled name_treeN.ps where name is the name of the person whose descendants are being plotted and N is a unique integer used if necessary to avoid overwriting existing files Note that before calling either of the last two options the appropriate plot should have been created using the "View" menu. Note also that no un-matched parentheses should be used in any text entry which is going to be written to PostScript, nor should any LaTeX special character (e.g. %) be used in any text entry which is going to be written out in LaTeX format. I hope to fix these limitations in a later release (heard that one before!) but for now... "View" Menu ----------- This menu controls the generation of on-screen graphical displays. The options are: "View Male Descent Line" - creates a display of the male descent of the current person, up to the number of generations specified by the current setting of "Max. Generations in Descent Line" (select "Properties..." in the "File" menu). "View Female Descent Line" - creates a display of the female descent of the current person, up to the number of generations specified by the current setting of "Max. Generations in Descent Line" (select "Properties..." in the "File" menu). "View Descendants Tree" - creates a display of the descendants of the current person, down to the number of generations specified by the current setting of "Max. Generations in Descendants Tree" (select "Properties..." in the "File" menu). Due to the recursive nature of the tree generation situations can occur where information occasionally overlaps for people with only one child. For this reason and also to allow extra flexibility the horizontal separation of the entries in the descendants tree can be controlled using the "Descendants Tree Horizontal Spacing" slider (select "Properties..." in the "File" menu). Note that clicking on a person (not a spouse) in either the descent line or descendant tree display causes them to become the current person.