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Wholly Genes Newsletter
12 December 2003
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In this issue:
o Give the Gift of TMG at 50% off!
o What does the TMG license allow?
o Using Timelines in TMG and FTST
o Did you know? (Tips and Hints)
o Resources website
o How to reach us
o How to unsubscribe
=== Give the Gift of TMG at 50% off! ====================
Now you can make it easier to share data with other researchers and introduce them to the power and flexibility of The Master Genealogist v5 for HALF OFF the regular retail price. For a limited time, registered users of TMG v5 can purchase additional copies of the program at a 50% discount!
What better way is there to help your fellow researchers than to encourage them to upgrade to TMG? At the same time, you'll make it easier on yourself when exchanging data with them. At $39.50 for the Gold Edition (or $19.97 for the Silver Edition), the price of TMG has never been lower.
Here's how it works:
1) Run TMG, access the Help menu, and choose "About The Master Genealogist."
2) Make a note of the Edition (Gold or Silver) and the first ten characters of your serial number. Those ten characters will serve as your "Promo Code." (Note that the letters I, O, S, and D are never used in a TMG serial number in order to avoid confusion with numerals of similar appearance.)
3) Go to one of these links to add *ONE* copy of TMG to your shopping cart at the regular retail price:
Gold Edition users: http://www.whollygenes.com/buytmggold.htm
Silver Edition users: http://www.whollygenes.com/buytmgsilver.htm
4) After clicking on , you will be asked for your e-mail address and password. On the same screen is a field for the Promo Code. Enter your Promo Code in ALL CAPS. Your invoice reflecting the discounted price will be shown before you are asked to confirm your order.
IMPORTANT: The discount price applies only to purchasing additional copies of the same edition of TMG that you already own (Gold or Silver), so choose the link above accordingly. While you may purchase multiple copies of that product at the discounted price, it is very important that you order only one copy per invoice in order to produce a unique unlock code for each user!
Your Promo Code uniquely identifies you and must not be shared with other researchers. Copies purchased at this promotional price may not be resold. Unlock codes for each additional copy will be mailed to you. Gift recipients must unlock the software by entering the unlock code along with name and e-mail address with which the product was purchased. Quoted prices include a printed Users Guide (Gold Edition only) and CD-ROM but exclude shipping and handling.
This offer expires on 31 Dec 2002 so don't delay. Order extra copies of TMG today!
=== What does the TMG license allow? ==================
We often get questions about whether the TMG license allows you to install the program on more than one computer. This is what the license says: "The Master Genealogist - you may use this product on a single computer. For your convenience, you may install this licensed copy of the product on no more than three (3) computers (e.g., home, office, laptop) for your exclusive use or that of your immediate family members, provided that no two of those computers shall ever operate the software at the same time."
So, unlike many programs, it is perfectly legal to purchase one copy of TMG and install it on both your desktop and laptop computers, for instance, so that you can use it at home or while you are on the road. (To move your data, simply make a backup from one and restore it to the other).
TMG v5 is also multiuser and network compatible. That means that if you have two computers on a home network, then you and your spouse can take turns working on a single TMG project that is stored on a shared drive. You can even access that project _at_the_same_time_ but, in that case, the license requires you to purchase two copies of TMG.
(Hint: Now's a good time to ensure compliance with the license and buy your family members additional copies of TMG at half price.)
=== Using Timelines in TMG and FTST ===================
Timelines show the events of your family in the context of history. Using this feature, which is built into every copy of The Master Genealogist and Family Tree SuperTools, you can gain insight into the lives of your ancestors through the events of the world around them. After all, the fun part is not to record dry dates and places but to convert them into a real understanding of the people through an examination of the forces that shaped their lives, right?
Integrating timelines into your research may also lead to clues or significant discoveries. For instance, you might examine evidence about the location of an elusive marriage record in light of changes to county lines around the time of the event. Or you might anticipate emigration patterns based on the political events of a foreign country. Or you might be able to predict the final resting place of a missing soldier by comparing his correspondence to the timing of known battles. There's no better way to put yourself in your ancestors' shoes than to examine their lives in the context of history.
The chronology on the Person View can be interspersed with the events from one or more timelines. Timelines can be globally selected so that they are displayed on every Person View. Or they can be linked to specific people so that as you change the focus of the Person View, the timelines appear and disappear as appropriate. To select timelines to be displayed globally or for individual people, access the Timeline Manager from the Tools menu.
Selected timelines will not appear until the Timeline feature is turned ON by any one of these methods:
1) with the check box on the Timeline Manager;
2) with the button on the Tag Box toolbar;
3) by right-clicking on the list of tags and choosing "Show timeline events."
You can turn them off again using any of the same methods.
Only those timeline events that overlap the subject's lifespan are shown, plus a little before birth and after death to show the context of those events. (The range outside known events is defined by the meaning of "circa" and, if necessary, the assumed lifespan, both of which can be configured under Preferences > Program Options > Advanced.)
Selected timelines are remembered, even if you turn the Timeline feature off or stop and restart the program. The color of timeline events is controlled by a setting in Preferences > Program Options > Tag Box.
You can also associate a specific timeline with large numbers of people at once, using the Secondary Output option of the List of People ("LOP") report. For instance, you could generate a LOP report that is filtered for people with any event in Tennessee - and then "lock" the Tennessee County timeline to all of those people at once.
Although a long list of timelines is already provided, you can create your own from the Timeline Manager and share them with other researchers! Lee Hoffman maintains an extensive list of timelines that are available for downloading from:
http://www.tmgtips.com/timelines.htm
=== Did you know? =====================================
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers:
Q: How can I make TMG run faster?
A: The "Performance Recommendations" feature (on the File > Maintenance menu) analyzes your TMG configuration and notes any glaring issues that may be affecting program performance. Changing the settings of the Accent feature, Age Column, or Auto-Relation tag, for instance, may dramatically improve performance.
Q: When I change an event date, TMG always asks me if I want to update the sort date field too. The answer for me is always 'yes,' so how do I get it to stop asking?
A: This nagging question and many others like it are controlled by a Preference option. Access the File menu and choose Preferences > Program Options > Prompts to review or change those options.
Q: I activated the Age (or Surety) column from within Preferences (Program Options > Tag Box) but when I exit TMG and restart it, that column is gone again. How can I get it to stick?
A: That setting is saved as part of the screen layout. After changing the status, size, shape, or position of a window, column, or toolbar, you can save the current settings as a custom "layout" (View > Layouts > Manage Layouts). When TMG is restarted, it will use that same layout automatically. You can easily switch between layouts using the drop-down list on the Layout toolbar.
Q: When I generate a box chart (ancestors, descendant, or hourglass) there is a series of little black dots around the perimeter of each box. I can turn them off while viewing the chart (View > Ports) but they come back again when I generate another chart. How can I turn them off permanently?
A: The little black dots are "connection ports" and they serve as visual clues, marking the various places on the box to which you can attach custom lines. (By turning them off, you simply make the black dots invisible but the connection ports are still there.) When you edit the appearance of a particular chart after it is generated, those changes affect only the chart in question. If you want to affect every new chart, then change the options within the report definition itself. That is, on the Report Definition Screen, click on the Options button, access the Other tab, and uncheck the box that says "Visible connection ports." Now the connection ports will be invisible on every new chart that is generated with that report definition.
=== Resources Website =================================
Remember that the most complete clearinghouse for third-party resources for TMG and Family Tree SuperTools, including tools, utilities, users groups, etc., is at:
http://www.WhollyGenes.com/resources.htm
If you are involved in a users group or you have developed a tool, website, or product for users of TMG or FTST, please write to resources@whollygenes.com in order to get it included on this page.
==== How to reach us ==================================
For tech support, please write to support@whollygenes.com and be sure to note what version of the program you are using.
You can also reach us at:
Wholly Genes Software
5144 Flowertuft Court
Columbia, Maryland 21044
(410) 715-2260
(410) 379-5424 (fax)
www.WhollyGenes.com