GenealogyTools

Genealogy Software Tutorials for Mac & PC

Mac Software

Virtual Tree

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MacFamilyTree includes a three-dimensional view of ancestors and descendants called a “virtual tree.” The view can be scrolled in three dimensions to make inspecting relationships easier. Every person in a family history file is represented in the diagram with an icon. The icons are interconnected by lines if they have ancestors, descendants, or a spouse. This view provides a different way of finding unconnected people in your data.

In this video from the MacGenealogist Archives I show you how to open and navigate the view as well as provide a couple of other tips.

How to Transcribe Scanned Images in iFamily for Leopard

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Would you like to be able to quickly locate interesting text within your scanned genealogy document images? I often find myself searching a scanned newspaper page image for text that I had previously thought interesting. iFamily for Leopard speeds up this process by allowing one to annotate a scanned image with a rectangular box. Further, it enables one to type in a transcription of the text. That text can then be linked to the box, making returning to it later, very quick.

In this video from the MacGenealogist Archives I walk you through adding an image to a person, transcribing a section of the image, and locating the transcribed section. There is a bonus tip contained in this screencast as well. Please play the video and follow along in your iFamily for Leopard database.

How to Add Perspective Events to an Ages List in Reunion 9

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Reunion for Mac perspective events can help you connect with your ancestors by better understanding their life experiences. They can be used in the timeline chart and the ages list.

The ages list gives you a different view of history than the timeline chart. It’s primary purpose is to convey a person’s age at the time of each recorded event in his or her life. You can add other events individually or in sets. This video will take you step-by-step through adding perspective events to an ages list.

How to Add Perspective to Reunion for Mac Timelines

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Reunion for Mac can generate timelines and enables you to easily add historical events to your charts. In Reunion for Mac, these are called perspective events.

Timeline charts are a great way to learn about your ancestors. They help you visualize people’s lives in the context of the other people whom you include. Choosing who to include in a timeline is easy. You can display a timeline for the couple displayed on a family card and their descendants, marked people, or your entire family file.

Including perspective events in your timelines enables you to see your ancestors set against a backdrop of historical events. This will help you connect with them and perhaps provide clues to their motivations and fate. For example, observing that a person died during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic could be a helpful clue if you haven’t determined their cause of death.

You can add individual events to your timelines or apply them in sets. You can download a set of perspective events from the Reunion website or create your own set of perspective events for reuse or sharing.1

In this video I’ll walk you through installing a free set of perspective events and applying one to a timeline chart.

Before starting the video please download the file, EventSet.zip, from the Leister Pro website so you can follow along.

  1. Covered in the video, Creating a Perspective Event Set for Reunion for Mac

How to See More Information About Children and Parents in Reunion 9

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The family card in Reunion 9 can display children and parents as buttons or lists. The list mode displays more information about parents and children. The fields displayed can also be configured. For example, the birth and death places can be added to the view.

This video from the MacGenealogist Archives demonstrates the child and parent list mode and will walk you step-by-step through the preferences.