Non Primary Marriage Tags

[okrick 0]

Please add a check to Validate File Integrity to make a marriage tag primary.

 

I noticed some wierd results when testing some genealogy software for techsupport alerts. One of the spouses would not have a marriage link to the other, e.g. the wife would have a marriage to the husband but the husband did not have a marriage link to the wife.

 

This was due to a couple of hundred instances in my database where one spouse had the marriage tag as primary but not the other. There was about a dozen where neither spouse had the marriage as primary. I'm positive I didn't add them that way. In fact the only reason I ever switched one marriage tag as primary for another was for engagements or the like, I'd make the marriage primary if it wasn't already.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick

[Michael Hannah 0]

Rick,

 

This might be a useful wish for the TMG Wishlist, but the actions to be taken by VFI would have to be carefully defined since any automatic action might override some alternative setting of Primary that is desireable by a user. Since there are many ways that a user might wish to set the Primary designation, I think it might be a better wish for a new feature in the TMG Utility, where the user could select among various options.

 

As best I can determine, the designation as Primary when a new tag is entered is usually done automatically, so the absence in your data may be (is probably?) caused by something you did without realizing its effect on Primary. Usually the first tag added among similar such tags is automatically made Primary, and the subsequent are not. For tags that are not in the "Other" tag type group, such as those in the Marriage group, only one tag in that group can be marked Primary for a given pair of Principals. But for multiple tags in a group the designation is made separately for each Principal and thus both Principals do not have to have the same tag designated Primary. Further, if there are multiple tags in a group and you delete one that is Primary for that Principal, I don't believe any other tag in that group is automatically made Primary. (I have not tested that recently.)

 

There are a number of different standard tag types in the Marriage group: Engagement, Marr Bann, Marr Cont, Marr Lic, Marr Sett, Marriage, SealSpouse. For multiple such tags within that group for a given couple only one can be Primary. For example, it is perfectly legitimate for the Engagement and not the Marriage to be Primary for both, or for the Bride to have the Engagement Primary and the Groom to have the Marriage Primary. Because they are in the same group you cannot have both a Marriage and an Engagement tag designated Primary for the same couple. Or the couple could have two Marriage tags, where one is designated Primary for the Groom and the other for the Bride.

 

Thus, a wished-for new TMG Utility feature might allow the user to select among the various types of tags in a tag group, and identify which one among these types should be designated primary if there are multiple tag types in that group for that couple. However, if there are multiple tags of the same tag type for that couple (e.g. two Marriage tags for the same couple) there would have to be some way to identify which of those tags should be designated Primary for each Principal. Because of the way Primary is handled in some reports and charts, there may be a good reason for the Groom to have one Primary and the Bride to have a different tag Primary.

 

While seemingly obvious, unfortunately the designation of Primary often can be quite complex.

 

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By the way, you can find all Marriage tags that have two Principals, but where one or both are not Primary on that tag as follows. Run a List of Events report with the following filter:

  Tag Type...   | Label		  | = Equals		  | MARRIAGE |   AND  Principal1..  | ID #		   | <> Does not equal | 0		|   AND  Principal2..  | ID #		   | <> Does not equal | 0		|   AND( Principal1..  | Primary marker | Off			   |		  |   OR  Principal2..  | Primary marker | Off			   |		  | ) END

I ran this and found one such tag in my data and fixed it.

 

Hope this gives you ideas,

[okrick 0]

Michael,

 

I ran a List of Events report with the following filter to find all 250 or so of my errors:

CODE

Tag Type... | Label | = Equals | MARRIAGE | AND

( Principal1.. | Primary marker | On | | AND

Principal2.. | Primary marker | Off | | ) OR

( Principal1.. | Primary marker | Off | | AND

Principal2.. | Primary marker | On | | ) END

 

I have no idea how these crept into my file but I'll try to watch for it when adding folks from now on. Most but not all of the non-primary marriage tags were on Principle 2. I usually add marriages by alt-a then o (Add Spouse menu item) but maybe a third result from the prompt after adding both parents to a child.

 

Good point about VFI. I can't imagine why someone might want a marriage tag primary for one partner but not the other but perhaps someone could enlighten me. Perhaps John Cardinal will pick it up in the utility.

 

Thanks,

 

Rick

[altenbernd 0]

Principal 1 may have only 1 marriage so that marriage should be primary.

 

This may be a first marriage for Principal 2 and you have decided to make the 2nd marriage primary for this person.

 

That would correctly be showing Principal 1 primary and principal 2 non-primary for this particular marrage tag.

 

Sheila Altenbernd.

[Jim Byram 0]

Both marriages can be primary for Principal 2 and should be.

[Terry Reigel 0]

Principal 1 may have only 1 marriage so that marriage should be primary.

Each pair of people can have only one primary Marriage Tag - a person can have as many primary marriages as there are different spouses (plus one with no spouse, if you can figure out a need for it).

[Michael Hannah 0]

Rick,

 

Glad my filter suggestion about finding these marriages gave you ideas that helped.

[altenbernd 0]

Shows how often I print reports with the primary designation is an issue. Thanks for correcting me. Sheila

 

Principal 1 may have only 1 marriage so that marriage should be primary.

Each pair of people can have only one primary Marriage Tag - a person can have as many primary marriages as there are different spouses (plus one with no spouse, if you can figure out a need for it).