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Auto Generation Tag

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I am trying to figure out how to easily determine a generation number for the currently displayed person in the Details window without running reports or hand-translating the auto-relationship tag.

 

Ideally, I would like to have an auto-generated tag (like the Auto Relation Tag) that simply displays the generation number (if calculatable) from a known target person. Maybe that is possible and I just don't know how to make it work?

 

Alternatively, I would like a "generation number" display field added to the "other info" box.

 

But I figures these would probably all have to be coded by the developers. So maybe users have figured another way to do this?

 

I tried to find previous discussions on such topics, but couldn't find any. However, I am not very good at navigating these forums so it's quite possible I missed it. In any event, can anyone offer suggestions or point me to any previous discussions on such capability?

--Randy

 

:unsure:

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Some of us do this with a custom Flag with appropriate values. One of the advantages of using a flag is that accent colors can be set for flag values. The disadvantage is that the flag values are not set automatically. However, since this relationship is a static value which can be calculated once using secondary report outputs, it is not burdensome. And since you can have multiple flags, you can define multiple relationships to different target people.

 

I define a Flag called 'MAIN' (on my main line of ancestors) with the following possible values:

N = no (default) people that have some linkage to me, but are not on my main line

0 = me

1-9 = 1-9 generations

A-K = 10-20

X = >20

U = unknown/unlinked to me in any way

? = other

 

To use reports to set everyone in an existing dataset to the appropriate number requires running a pair of custom List of People reports once for each generation. The first focuses on all people with the MAIN flag set to the highest generation number so far set, and includes one generation of ancestors, and sets a INTERIM flag as secondary output. This identifies both the people at that generation based on the MAIN flag and their parents. The second report focuses on all people with that INTERIM flag set and who do NOT already have the MAIN flag set to the highest generation number so far set (so we only get the parents), and now sets the MAIN flag to the next highest number for those parents as secondary output. Remember to reset the INTERIM flag after each generational step. You know to stop when the second of the two reports finds no people in its focus.

 

Hope this gives you ideas.

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Guest ProudFossil
I am trying to figure out how to easily determine a generation number for the currently displayed person in the Details window without running reports or hand-translating the auto-relationship tag.

 

Ideally, I would like to have an auto-generated tag (like the Auto Relation Tag) that simply displays the generation number (if calculatable) from a known target person. Maybe that is possible and I just don't know how to make it work?

 

Alternatively, I would like a "generation number" display field added to the "other info" box.

 

But I figures these would probably all have to be coded by the developers. So maybe users have figured another way to do this?

 

I tried to find previous discussions on such topics, but couldn't find any. However, I am not very good at navigating these forums so it's quite possible I missed it. In any event, can anyone offer suggestions or point me to any previous discussions on such capability?

--Randy

 

:unsure:

I use the following algorithm to determine which generation a person is in. I am in generation 1. Then all cousins are in generation "removed" + 1. For instance a 14th cousin 1 time removed will be in generation 2 while a 6th cousin (0 times removed) is also in generation 1. Of course parents and their siblings are in generation 2 and grand parents and their siblings are in generation 3. Then all ancestors with great in the relationship are the number of greats + 3. For instance a 5th great-grandaunt is in generation 8. You can get these relationships from the automatic relation tag display. For those individuals not genetically related to me, their generation is based upon their marriages into the family and then on the ascendancy/descendancy from that marriage.

 

My children are in generation -1, their children are in generation -2, etc. Here it is not as easy to calculate the generation but must be done by manually computing the number. Fortunately there are only a couple of generations involved here (so far).

 

Unfortunately there is no automatic generation number generator in TMG and for good reason. It is very possible for the same person to be in several generations. As an example my wife's 3rd great-grandaunt married one of my wife's 4th great-granduncle. These two individuals are not related but now their children will be 1st cousins 2 and 3 times removed, hence in generations 3 and 4. Whoops. My wife's father is also her 5th cousin 2 times removed which makes her three brother her 6th cousins 1 time removed and thus in generations 1 and 2.

 

Very confusing.

 

Since there is no automatic tag or even a standard tag for generation number I use the following custom one:

Tag name = (Generation)

Role name = Charlene and the corresponding sentence is:

[P] is in generation [M1]< and in generation [M2]>< and in generation [M3]> based upon [PP] relationship to Charlene

Role name = Michael and the corresponding sentence is:

[P] is in generation [M1]< and in generation [M2]>< and in generation [M3]> based upon [PP] relationship to Michael

 

Isn't genealogy fun?

 

Mike

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Randy,

 

Thanks to the flexibility of TMG there are multiple ways to do the same thing. If you want sentences describing the relationships, like Mike proposes, you might also consider my custom "Related" tag type. Added to the Other group, the extremely generic sentences of this custom tag type provides a way to describe either a reciprocal relationship between the two Principals or a non-reciprocal relationship using roles. If the relationship is reciprocal, I use [P1] and [P2] and[M1] is required to specify the relationship (e.g. “is a first cousin of”), with [M2] optionally providing details associated with the Date and Location, and [M3] for optional comments. The three parts of the memo allow the template sentence to be used for a variety of reciprocal relationship circumstances. If the relationship is non-reciprocal, I use the Principal role “Target” for one or two people on one side of the relationship, and all other people use the witness role “related”. Since the main memo parts and the witness memo parts can be different, this allows for non-reciprocal wording, e.g. [M1] = “were godparents of” and [WM1] = “was a godchild of”. My custom sentences are:

Principal "[P] [M1] [PO] ."

Target "[R:Target] [M1] [R:related] ."

related "[W] [WM1] [R:Target] ."

Witness "--Not defined"

 

Mike's proposal does not link the target person to his tag, only the related person as the Principal, but has the advantage of allowing multiple target people using a single tag by using roles named for each target person. My Related tag could also be used for this purpose, but requires one tag for each target which is the Principal and multiple witnesses related to that one target. My tag's advantage is that the target person shows on the Person View of the witness and that provides the ability to easily jump to that target person.

 

Hope this gives you even more ideas. Isn't genealogy and the flexibility of TMG fun!!

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