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Most reports are grayed out

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Some time ago I purchased Familt Tree SuperTools and after a long hiatus I just started the program up to create some charts.

To my surprise almost all the charts are grayed out and unavailable! I'm not sure why this is. I'm on a Windows 10 laptop if that matters.

What can I do? This is a purchased copy, not an evaluation one.

FamilyTreeSuperTools.JPG

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FT SuperTools is essentially the Visual ChartForm subset of TMG Version 7.0 which came out roughly in 2008.  The Wholly Genes company halted all development of any products in 2014, so I believe what you have is probably the last version available.  The list of reports you see in the dropdown menu are all the possible reports in TMG V7, which is what FT SuperTools is based on.  But TMG has the capability to produce many other types of reports that SuperTools cannot. Those are the reports that you see grayed out in SuperTools. SuperTools only produces charts, and only those you see in bold.

I don't know what you are attempting to do, but depending upon what database you are using there are likely to be more current programs to do what you want with more advanced features.

P.S. This Forum is no longer monitored by the company, only by a few of us dedicated users of TMG.  We will try to help as best we can. I see that you joined this Forum in 2006, but last posted in 2011.  Welcome back.  I also note that Virginia Blakelock helped you with FT SuperTools back in 2011.  You may be interested to learn that she died on February 15, 2019, age 81.  She was an active TMG user and helped many of us over time.  I had the great privledge of knowing her personally.  She is sorely missed.

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Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. That's very kind of you and your answer explains everything.

I've never owned or used TMG. For a very long time the genealogy software I use has been Legacy. While exploring the kinds of genealogy charts and graphs I could use in an upcoming book I remembered that I had an old purchased copy of Family Tree SuperTools. I therefore explored it to see what chart possibilities it offered. Essentially I was looking for descendancy charts (preferably with the box styles most "non-genealogists" can easily understand) that would be condensed enough to fit on a single book page and still be legible. I was planning on using a series of such customized 3-4 generation charts in this book. While Legacy software is quite capable, its charting capabilities are rather limited. So I was looking for alternatives that might provide more satisfactory options. Would you have any suggestions? I am not adverse to purchasing additional software for that purpose.

I am sorry to hear about Virginia Blakelock. I recall her being quite helpful. I am 81 years old myself. So I believe she died far too young.

 

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Jim has made a good suggestion for a program to produce charts for a book which seems to be your focus.  If you want to explore more electronic solutions, since you "are not adverse to purchasing additional software for that purpose" I can suggest two other commercial programs to consider.

Since your data in is Legacy you might consider another program (called GEDSITE) either as an alternative to a book, or in addition to it.  GEDSITE creates web pages from a GEDCOM file such as can be exported from Legacy. It easily and automatically generates either narrative or grid style person pages, a master index, a surname index, source pages, and any other pages you wish to add such as various automatically generated charts. You can review the site (the collection of web pages) on your own PC before you share it with anyone. You can publish it on the web or distribute it only to selected people via a DVD or flash drive.  All they would need is a computer with a standard web browser to view all these pages.  See:

https://www.gedsite.com/

It even has an option for specializing the import from a GEDCOM file exported from Legacy to take advantage of the way you entered data in Legacy.  See:

https://www.gedsite.com/en/legacy.htm

Yet another program option which combines the look of a book but gererates it as an electronic "e-book" is Gedcom Publisher.  It eases and automates the creation of an e-book by combining information generated from a GEDCOM file (such as can be exported from Legacy) mixed with other electronic files that you provide, including text, images, and other content such as charts.  See:

https://www.gedcompublisher.com

It also has an option for specializing the import from a GEDCOM file exported from Legacy. See:

https://www.gedcompublisher.com/en/legacy.htm

To review e-books created with Gedcom Publisher, an e-reader program is required on your device.   Gedcom Publisher produces the book in the EPUB3 standard e-book format, and includes custom handling for EPUB books that will be converted to another standard MOBI format. See the Gedcom Publisher External Tools page for recommendations of such e-reader programs.

Both of these programs were written by John Cardinal who has been a long-time contributor to the TMG user community, and provides excellent hands-on support for his programs.  In this modern world, sharing electronic files allows more complete data to be shared in a more structured and viewable way.

Hope this gives you more ideas,

Michael

P.S. As having just "celebrated?" my 76th birthday I share your opinion that 81 is much too young.

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Thank you both for your suggestions. I will enjoy exploring them.

The reason I favor a printed book rather than an electronic version is because of the rapid evolution (and obsolecense) of technology. Even decades from now, a printed paper book will always be accessible with no tool other than human eyes. Besides, the text is already written  I'm just working on the charts to include. So any other charting suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you both.

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