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Customised Place Styles

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I have created a number of different Place Styles for use with customised Tags. For example Certificate for entering for entering addresses from Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates; Census for entering addresses from Census records; Residence for entering an address where a person or family lived - usually over a number of years; and so on.

 

Recently TMG has started asking whether I wish to change a place style when I save a Tag, for example from Certificate to Residence. This occurs when the 'L' fields contain the same information for two different Tags which use different place styles. If I answer 'No' the Tag window will not close. If I answer 'Yes' it changes the place style with the result that I end up with a Census address in a Certificate Tag and so on.

 

Is this inherrent in TMG or have I inadvertently changed an option (without knowing it)?

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Each unique "Place" in TMG can have only one Style. A unique "Place" means all the fields contain exactly the same data. So when you enter a previously used Place but try to apply a different Style TMG is offering you a choice - change the Style of the existing Place, or change the current entry to match the existing Style. You have to do one or the other.

 

If you really need to use the new Style, you can do that by entering something in an otherwise unused field to make the new Place different than the existing one.

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Another way of saying what Terry is trying to explain is this.

 

Place Styles are not linked to or associated with Tags. (Think about that. Thus a "Census" Place Style like you are creating may not make sense.)

 

A single entry in the Master Place List can have only one Place Style. And a Tag is linked to only a single entry in the Master Place List which happens to have its one associated Style. When working with Tags TMG also lets you work with and edit a Place entry and its associated Style, but that is only a matter of convenience. Place Styles are not linked to or associated with Tags, only Places.

 

Hope this helps,

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Each unique "Place" in TMG can have only one Style. A unique "Place" means all the fields contain exactly the same data. So when you enter a previously used Place but try to apply a different Style TMG is offering you a choice - change the Style of the existing Place, or change the current entry to match the existing Style. You have to do one or the other.

 

If you really need to use the new Style, you can do that by entering something in an otherwise unused field to make the new Place different than the existing one.

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A tag type does let you set a default place style. So, a "Census" Place Style could be set as the default on a Census Tag type. I created a "Cemetery" place style. I have it set as the default on the Burial tag. That way I don't need to remember to change it to cemetery when I add a new tag. By setting the default, I eliminated a lot of those "Do you want to change the style" messages

 

Sheila

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A tag type does let you set a default place style.
Yes, Sheila, but what you are defining on your Census tag is the default Style that will be used for the Place you enter for that Census tag. The Style is still linked only with that Place, not with the tag. If you then create a Burial tag with its different default Style, and now enter the exact same Place you entered before, you will get that message. If you accept the prompt to change, then that one Place entry in the Master Place List will now use the Cemetery Style for the output of that same Place for both the Burial tag and the Census tag. You can do this, but you need to understand what is really happening. Or make something different about the two Places so you get two different entries in the Master Place List as Terry suggests.

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I agree with Shiela. It is very useful to have specific Place styles for different Tags and set it as a default for the Tag, largely because the 'tailored' L* field names make the entering of data more self evident especially when the sentence structure in the Tag has been tailored. I too set my Place styles as default for the associated Tag but this doesn't prevent TMG asking which style is required when the same data is entered in two different styles. I do appreciate that entering something in another L field will stop this happening. Reflecting on this it may only need to be a character such as '-' in an unused field and provided that either the Place style is tailored to exclude unwanted fields or the Tag only uses a sentence structure based on [L*] fields as opposed to [L] my particular problem may be solved.

I have just tried it and it seems to work.

I am a great fan of TMG having tried 3 other family history programs before migrating to TMG. In particular I like its facilities for tailoring Tags both on a universal and individual basis. However, it does have a few quirks such as the one that I opened this topic with but usually there's a work around.

 

Jack

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I agree with Shiela. It is very useful to have specific Place styles for different Tags and set it as a default for the Tag, largely because the 'tailored' L* field names make the entering of data more self evident especially when the sentence structure in the Tag has been tailored.
Yes, Jack, this is a perfect use of this advanced feature of TMG, but both Terry and I want to be sure you understand the quirks of doing that.

 

I do appreciate that entering something in another L field will stop this happening. Reflecting on this it may only need to be a character such as '-' in an unused field and provided that either the Place style is tailored to exclude unwanted fields or the Tag only uses a sentence structure based on [L*] fields as opposed to [L] my particular problem may be solved.
That is the workaround that both Terry and I suggest. If you either exclude the data in that subfield from printing by using a leading '-' exclusion character or make sure that particular subfield is not in the Place Style Output template, this works great.

 

Over the years, those who do not need or use location subfield [L10] for its designed purpose of LDS Temple, have suggested a variety of uses for this subfield since the default Place Style template does not output this subfield. In your case you may wish to enter a "code" in that subfield describing the intended Place Style. Then two otherwise identical Places will differ by that code and remain as two separate entries in the Master Place List. I carefully say intended Place Style code since it will be up to you to be sure that the actual Place Style linked to the Place matches whatever code you put in that subfield. However, if you are careful in your data entry and make sure the code matches the style, the presence of that code can be helpful even when viewing places in the Master Place List.

 

In particular I like its facilities for tailoring Tags both on a universal and individual basis. However, it does have a few quirks such as the one that I opened this topic with but usually there's a work around.
Me too. I have done a lot of tailoring of TMG, and I really like all the ways it can be configured to get it to do things My Way. :D

 

Glad we were able to give you ideas,

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Once again thank you for your help. Personally I have renamed the [L10] sub-field 'Denomination' in my Certificate Place Style and use a sentence structure in my Baptism, Marriage, Burial & Cremation Tags to give a sentence which includes the denomination. In my and my wife's families could be Church of England, Church od Ireland, Roman Catholic or Presbyterian.

 

An example taken from my Baptism Tag is '[PG] was baptised <[D]><[L2], [L3],>< into the [L10]> <by [M1]>. <[M2]>' to give a sentence 'Albert Nathaniel James was baptised on 12 Feb 1896 in Christ Church, St Marylebone, into the Church of England by the Rev. H. W. Waycock. As his parents names are recorded in the register it is assumed that they were both present. It is surprising to see that Albert was baptised as his parents were married in the Bristol Register Office on 28 Aug 1879.'

 

As none of my Place Styles use the [L7], [L8] of [L9] sub-field I can use any of them for entering a distinguishing 'code'. But then that just demonstrates the versatility of TMG.

 

Jack

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Very, clever, Jack. I do something similar, but most of my custom tags use split Memo parts (e.g. [M4]) rather than Place parts for such things. As you say, just more TMG versatility.

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