# of Roles Boxes on Tag Entry Screen

[MJW 0]

How can I change the number of drop-down role boxes displayed on the tag entry screen? For example, a death event tag has 1 role box, and a burial tag has 2. I'd like to have 2 on the death event, one for the principle and one for informant. I have found that who reports a death or birth can give one insight to the circumstances of the deceased/birth family, and may offer other clues.

[Terry Reigel 0]

By going to the Tag Type Definition screen and adding the new Roles. See my Roles Tutorial for details.

[Michael Hannah 0]

In addition, Death tags have only one Principal, where Burial tags can have two Principals. Is the absence of a second Principal on the Death tags your real question? For historical reasons Burial tags can have two Principals, since sometimes two people got buried together, e.g. the mother and the still-born child. TMG intends you to enter people that are not primary to the event as Witnessess to that event with appropriate roles. That is the purpose of the TMG tag Witness feature. For example, only the people who were buried are intended to be Principals to a Burial tag, but the priest who performed the graveside service can be added as a Witness using a "Priest" role. On Death tags you can add the Informant as a Witness using an appropriate role. (If you added the Informant as a Principal on a Death tag, TMG would assume that person had died, which would not make sense.)

 

If your question is simply how to create a role called "Informant" for a Death tag so that it is available as a Witness option, then Terry's comments above are appropriate.

 

For more about the purpose and difference between a TMG tag Principal and a tag Witness, and how you can create roles for either of these, I highly recommend Terry's tutorial mentioned above, especially the section entitled The Confusing Term "Witness".