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John K

Data Entry Shortcuts

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I am looking for some time-saving tips on data entry.

 

Is thre any way to copy a tag and then reuse it for another person? For example, I recently found a ship on which 3 families of ancestors sailed, and I wound up having to type the same information numerous times (for several children as well). It would have been great if I could have copied the tag (as can be done for tag types) and then simply changed the name of the principal on the copy.

 

I have previously listed the other passengers as witnesses (with a sentence that reads exactly the same as that for the principal). This has the advantage of keeping all the information together so that I remember they traveled on the same ship. However, I was concerned by comments Teresa Elliot made last May that TMG sometimes treats witnesses to events differently from the principals (e.g., they will not show up on charts).

 

 

Second (and I feel silly for asking, since I am sure I should know the answer), I really miss the auto-fill feature of Family Tree Maker (where I could type "Marl" and the program would automatically propose "Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts"). Is there any way with TMG to avoid having to fully type in three separate fields for a location that is used repeatedly (and having to remember both the name of the County and that I have previously decided to spell the city name with an "ough")?

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John, there is a Copy Tag option (on the Add Menu). This is something I use a lot, so I have added 'Copy Tag' to my custom toolbar.

 

TMG does not have auto-fill, but does have 'Repeat Keys'. For example, pressing will insert into the current field the last entry used in that field. For more information, see the 'Repeat Keys' topic in Help.

 

Hope that helps -

 

Virginia

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I have previously listed the other passengers as witnesses (with a sentence that reads exactly the same as that for the principal). This has the advantage of keeping all the information together so that I remember they traveled on the same ship. However, I was concerned by comments Teresa Elliot made last May that TMG sometimes treats witnesses to events differently from the principals (e.g., they will not show up on charts).

John, I'd advise caution about moving to independent tags for family members. Think about how you want to use the results.

 

Individual tags do allow you to put the tag in box charts, provided you make it primary (that means you can't have two tags of the same type that you want to appear in the chart). But do you really want this kind of tag in box charts? Individual tags also allow GEDCOM export.

 

On the other hand, entering family members as witnesses puts them all together in one tag on the Details view. And it allows you to mention each other easily in Narrative reports, and create links between all the family members in sites created with Second Site.

 

Second (and I feel silly for asking, since I am sure I should know the answer), I really miss the auto-fill feature of Family Tree Maker (where I could type "Marl" and the program would automatically propose "Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts"). Is there any way with TMG to avoid having to fully type in three separate fields for a location that is used repeatedly (and having to remember both the name of the County and that I have previously decided to spell the city name with an "ough")?

Virginia has already mentioned use of the F3 key, which allows you to enter recently used values. F2 allows you to enter any previously used place in all three fields at once. Details are in my Data Entry Tutorial on my website, and also on pg 41 in my book.

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I am looking for some time-saving tips on data entry.

 

....

 

Second (and I feel silly for asking, since I am sure I should know the answer), I really miss the auto-fill feature of Family Tree Maker (where I could type "Marl" and the program would automatically propose "Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts"). Is there any way with TMG to avoid having to fully type in three separate fields for a location that is used repeatedly (and having to remember both the name of the County and that I have previously decided to spell the city name with an "ough")?

 

Is this feature on the list of possible enhancements for future release?

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Second (and I feel silly for asking, since I am sure I should know the answer), I really miss the auto-fill feature of Family Tree Maker (where I could type "Marl" and the program would automatically propose "Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts").

F2 allows you to enter any previously used place in all three fields at once. Details are in my Data Entry Tutorial on my website, and also on pg 41 in my book.

John,

As Terry says, the F2 key will already do very much what you request. In your example, if you put your cursor in a blank City field, then press [F2] and then type "Marl" the program will automatically propose "Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts" just as you asked. However, as Terry also mentioned, some of the behavior of [F2] is not necessarily intuitive, so check his references for explanations of this powerful feature. You may also find helpful my Forum comment here which refers to an explanation of [F2] I posted on the TMG-L ListServ.

 

Is this feature on the list of possible enhancements for future release?
The specific feature he asked for is already in this release, via the [F2] key. :rolleyes: However, WhollyGenes is constantly adding enhancements and monitors this forum. Some users have suggested in the past enhancements and/or changes to this [F2] feature. If you have a specific wish, post a new topic with as much details as you can about what the enhancement should do and look like. Many such wishes have been implemented in the past.

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