This lets you sort by last name (A to Z or Z to A) or by birth date (oldest first or youngest first). Wouldn’t it be useful to see everybody in order of birth date, for instance? Click on the button showing three file cards, select View>Index of Individuals or simply hit F2 on your keyboard, then click the Options button in the lower right corner of the resulting screen. FTM’s Index of Individuals is a handy way to scroll through the names in your file - but sometimes you’d rather not have your ancestors sorted by last name. Most Reunion reports then offer a Use Privacy Filter check box, as does its GEDCOM export (File>lmport/Export>Fxport GEDCOM), which adds an Exclude Sensitive Data option. Reunion’s privacy settings are under Options>Rcports click on Privacy Filter. RootsMagic lets you privatize when you create a Web site using its WebWizard (go to Internet>Create a Web Site). To make a note Confidential in Ancestral Quest, insert a blank line (hit Return), type a tilde (∼) at the beginning of the note, then insert another blank line at the end of the note.
Then, when you export a file (File>Export), uncheck Confidential and Full Information on Living to omit this info. In PAF, you can go to Edit>Individual Event List or Edit>Marriage Event List and use a check box to decide whether each type of event (such as Divorce Filing) is Confidential. The Advanced Options button lets you designate specific individuals for privacy. Note that FTM doesn’t privatize text in notes and books, and you can’t make permanent changes to your file while it’s temporarily privatized.įamily Tree Legends offers four levels of privatizing under Options>File Options. FTM 11 makes it easy to hide these facts before printing or uploading: Go to File> Privatize File and click Yes. In these days of identity theft and privacy paranoia, you - and your relatives - may not want every little detail about living people included when you share your family tree files. You can also simply hold down the Shift key and drag and drop buttons to rearrange or delete them. To customize the Toolbar in RootsMagic, right-click any Toolbar button with your mouse and choose Customize. Do you miss the “Co Forward” arrow that was standard in earlier versions? Here you can restore it - and place it anywhere you like. Hidden under that Help & Setup tab in FTM’s Preferences is a button labeled “Customize Toolbar.” Clicking here opens another window in which you can add, subtract and rearrange elements on the Toolbar across the top of your screen. In Reunion 8, use the individual Options menu items to set a variety of preferences. RootsMagic uses Tools>Options, or click the Options button toward the right of the Toolbar. Personal Ancestral File (PAF) 5 and Ancestral Quest put preferences under Tools>Preferences (or Shift+Ctrl+P). Facts Page sorting, Family Finder and CD Search preferences, and what happens when you click on an individual’s name in trees and reports.įamily Tree Legends’ preferences are set under Options>File Options and Options> Program Options. Don’t miss the Help & Setup tab, which combines a number of handy (if seemingly unrelated) settings: background color for Family Pages, Help tools. You also can set preferences for data entry here: The Editing tab lets you switch between Insert and Overtype mode, manage error-and spell-checking, and control FTM’s “Fastfields,” which speed data entry by suggesting the rest of what you’re probably planning to type based on previous entries. Don’t like the way FTM displays your data? Click on File>Preferences to change options for everything from date formats to measurements.
Ready to take your software into the fast lane? Buckle up, boot up and let’s go. (And no, there’s no connection between that software and this similarly titled magazine!) We’ve also noted tips and tricks in other popular programs. Most apply to version 11 of Family Tree Maker (FTM), the latest edition of what’s by far the best-selling genealogy program. We’ve assembled 30 tips and tricks to help you soup up your software and unlock its hidden power.
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