Timeline

[kaye 0]

Hello Guys

 

I was experimenting to find out how I could put my data in event order. ie BDM'S and buriel. I just wanted to look at timelines and I got the whole USA hisrtory in my data and cant remove it!!!

Cheers

 

 

Ok closed and reopened and it wasn't there so probem solved thanks.

Edited August 27, 2009 by kaye

[GenerationGoneBy 0]

In the future, you can just CTL backslash to get rid of them.

[Michael Hannah 0]

Kaye,

 

As you are new to Version 7, you may not realize that the internal TMG Help is much improved from Version 4, especially with its search capability. If you open TMG Help and try the term "timelines" on the Search tab, the first topic is the "Timeline Manager". Teresa's comment about the + is right there in a box on that page.

[Michael Hannah 0]

As for your desire to put "my data in event order. ie BDM'S and buriel" I am not sure what you mean. Do you have dates on these tags? Did you use the Sort Date feature which was available in TMG Version 4 which you have been using? If you have some dates but few if any sort dates, you may wish to look at John Cardinal's very useful separate "donor-ware" program called TMG Utility. It can add reasonable sort dates to every person's basic (BMDB) tags based on what few dates that person already has assigned. See his web page here. Otherwise, if you just want a report with only BMDB events, one of us users can also suggest how that can be done.

[kaye 0]

Kaye,

 

As you are new to Version 7, you may not realize that the internal TMG Help is much improved from Version 4, especially with its search capability. If you open TMG Help and try the term "timelines" on the Search tab, the first topic is the "Timeline Manager". Teresa's comment about the <Ctrl>+<Backslash> is right there in a box on that page.

 

 

Hi Michael

 

Thanks for that. Often the help fails because you dont know what you are actuallly looking for.

[kaye 0]

In the future, you can just CTL backslash to get rid of them.

 

 

Many thanks - Simple when you know.

[kaye 0]

As for your desire to put "my data in event order. ie BDM'S and buriel" I am not sure what you mean. Do you have dates on these tags? Did you use the Sort Date feature which was available in TMG Version 4 which you have been using? If you have some dates but few if any sort dates, you may wish to look at John Cardinal's very useful separate "donor-ware" program called TMG Utility. It can add reasonable sort dates to every person's basic (BMDB) tags based on what few dates that person already has assigned. See his web page here. Otherwise, if you just want a report with only BMDB events, one of us users can also suggest how that can be done.

 

 

Gulp <Did you use the Sort Date feature which was available in TMG Version 4 which you have been using?>

 

No I didnt know it was there. Yes, using sort date which I thought was automatic. If you dont have sort date then the actual date doesnt show up in the interface so you know when this happens. In old TMG journal narrative it showed buriel before death in some cases. eg " he was buried in x date in x place" as the opening sentence. I could never see what was different and why it only happened occassionally. I just went back into version 4 Gold and I cant find "Sort Date feature" Maybe a later 4 version. I had looked in manual at the time but as usual it just said someting about it but as usual no instructions which has frustrated me all along with this manual. I had intended to change this in Word as couldn't get advice at the time.?

 

Yes I only want to sort BDM's but will take a look at the software

 

many thanks for yout time. Are we still purrsing the history/whitness tag problem?

Kay

[Michael Hannah 0]

Gulp

 

No I didnt know it was there. Yes, using sort date which I thought was automatic... I just went back into version 4 Gold and I cant find "Sort Date feature"...

In Version 4 there were various options that controlled whether this field was automatically filled so it may not have been set depending on your options. In TMG Version 7 the Sort Date feature is only visible in Advanced data input mode. In Version 7 see File / Preferences / Program Options / Data Entry and select the "Advanced" Data Entry Mode. You don't really have to be "Advanced" to use this mode but it makes visible many more useful features of TMG, especially Sort Date. For more details, see the TMG Help under the topic "Data Entry: Dates". Some users choose not to set this mode, others leave it on all the time, and others toggle back and forth depending upon what they are doing. It is a matter of choice.

 

Sort Dates never print but allow you to force a chronological order on tags when the tag date is either missing or inadequate to put the event in an appropriate order. For example, you may not know a Burial date so would leave that tag's date empty, but you can put a Sort Date on the Burial tag of one day after Death to force a logical order. Once in Advanced Data Entry Mode, to access the Sort Date field you will also need to select the option "Access sort date field" which is set in File / Preferences / Program Options / Prompts. You will also want to consider whether you want the option to "Prompt to update sort date" on that same options screen. For more details about these prompts see the TMG Help topic "Program Options: Prompts".

 

Have no fear. This is not really complicated. You just set these options once and then the display shows these features which is an automatic reminder that you now have control over the tag order.

 

Since you are new to TMG Version 7, you might want to review some of the excellent tips that Terry Reigel has posted on his web pages. For example, he discusses Data Entry and the Advanced mode in his Data Entry Tutorial here. And since you had issues with the Version 4 manual, you may wish to consider purchasing Terry's A Primer for The Master Genealogist which is described here. Many of us users have this book and find it valuable.

 

Hope this gives you ideas,

[kaye 0]

High Michael. I hd been battling with this sorting from help. Also I have the primary tags as missing after import. I only want to sort BDM's and burials. I have just started reading the link of Terry Reigel . Ah my favourite - screen shots. Only way to go. I realised I hadn't been putting sort dates into some burials that I didn't have dates on as sometimes too long and got cut off. Many thanks to Terry and yourself.

Cheers

Kaye

[Michael Hannah 0]

High Michael. I had been battling with this sorting from help. Also I have the primary tags as missing after import.

Hello again, Kaye,

 

There are two possible meanings for your term "primary" so I am confused as to what is missing. Can't offer suggestions without knowing which.

• Are you missing some of the actual primary event tags (BMDB) that you believed you had in Version 4 but are not showing after import?
  
• Are you missing the TMG designation of "Primary" on some of your event tags? This designation selects one among many, i.e. which of multiple birth tags for the same person but with possibly different dates is the one tag that you primarily believe is true.
  

I only want to sort BDM's and burials. I have just started reading the link of Terry Reigel . Ah my favourite - screen shots. Only way to go.

Then I think you will really like his Primer mentioned above. It has lots of screen shots.

 

As for sorting the BMDB events, maybe you don't want or need to use Sort Dates. Perhaps what you really want is already available from options on many of the standard reports? Perhaps you mean you want a report that only has BMDB events? That is easy to do by selecting only those tag types. Perhaps you mean that you want the BMDB events to be reported first in a separate paragraph before the other events in the person's life? That is also easy in some reports, such as a custom style Journal report. See that report's Options, Miscellaneous tab, last option under Format which says "BMDB in a separate paragraph".

 

I realised I hadn't been putting sort dates into some burials that I didn't have dates on as sometimes too long and got cut off. Many thanks to Terry and yourself.

Cheers

Kaye

Not sure what you mean by "too long and got cut off", but happy we could help you begin to understand how you can tell the program to do what you want. TMG is a very powerful program that can do almost anything you want, but it can't (yet? ) read your mind You still have to learn how to tell it what you want. And Terry's tutorials are great in getting you started.

[kaye 0]

Hello Michael

First of all please don't apologise for the delay. There is no delay as we are in different time zones, but even so I am just glad of the help. After all you have a life.

 

However you have given me a lot to look at and think about and of course experiment with. I have a busy week coming up but will be working on it every moment I have. Unlike you retirement has made me busier than ever! Don't expect to see me back until the end of the week - 5 days from now.

 

One thing that stands out at the end so I will answer now is that I don't want to go over one line in my descendancy charts. QUOTE<I realised I hadn't been putting sort dates into some burials that I didn't have dates on as sometimes too long and got cut

off>

Also 98.8% (im a great guesser) of my families live in my state and buriels easily accessed online. I just think died and burial date is a bit repetative.

 

Many thanks again

regards

Kaye

[Michael Hannah 0]

Kaye,

 

Just a quick note about your "descendancy charts" (which was the report name in Version 4). In Version 7 it is called a "Descendant Indented Chart" (at least I think this is the chart you mean). In the Report Options, on the Tags tab, you can specify which of the four basic life events (BMDB) should be included. I often select to exclude reporting Burial for exactly the reason you mention, but still make a point to include the dates and information about a burial in the dataset.