Accenting Your Ancestors in TMG

(Note: This was written for TMG v4.x but the principles also apply to TMG v5x.and v6.x
But for the same discussion detailing the steps to follow for TMG v5x and v6.x, go here ).


This is a lesson on color coding your ancestors in TMG v3.6 & later.    I'm choosing four ancestral lines:
    My father                   = Rhinehart, his ID# is 2
    My mother                 = Ash,         her ID# is 3
    My husband's father   = Bassett,    his ID# is 10002
    My husband's mother = Jones,      her ID# is 10003

I want to color code the ancestors of each of these lines.

First, I make a flag called Ancestor.
    Select Utilities -> Customize-> Flag  from the menu.
    Click on the Add button.
    Label = Ancestor
    Values = ?RABJ      (note that the first value is the default value)
Key:
    ?=Unknown/not set
    R=Rhinehart
    A=Ash
    B=Bassett
    J=Jones
Click on the OK button

Now set the flags for the ancestors in question.  This is done by generating a List of People report four times,
once for each line:
-- From the menu, select Report->List of->People->Add Another  or
    select Report->Custom Report Writer... and then select New and List of People.
          Selecting the latter is a little more efficient.
-- When the Report Definition Screen is displayed, make entries as follows:
    General tab
        Configuration name = Ancestor Flag Set
        Destination = Screen with [X] in the Suppress For Secondary Output option.
                    Note: The Suppress option is not available for selection until after the Secondary Output tab
                              options are activated.  When the Suppress For Secondary Output is selected, TMG
                              will not display the list on the screen. The first time you generate the report, you may
                              want to leave it unchecked so you can check the filter.
    Secondary Output tab
        Select [X] Change Flag = Ancestor to R
    Focus Tab
        Select Filtered Group
        Field (line 1)         =     ID Number
        Operator (line 1)  =     Equals
        Value (line 1)       =     [?]  
                  With this entry, you will be asked for the desired value when you generate the report.
                        This reduces the changes needed when you run the report multiple times as will be done
                         here.  For this tutorial, the first answer to the request will be 2.  By having [?], the only
                         actual change you need make to the Report Definition for later runs is to change the
                         Secondary Output Flag setting.
        Connect (Line 1)  =     Or
        Field (line 2)        =     Is An Ancestor Of
        Operator (line 2)  =     Person Number
        Value (line 2)       =     [?]  
                    When requested by TMG, you would enter the same ID# as for the line above
                         The first entry (above) is the the person while this entry is for all their ancestors.

        Connect (Line 2)  =     End
        Ensure NO checkmarks in any of the items at the bottom of the screen.
    Output tab
        Default
    Options tab
        Default

--  Now click on the Generate button, and enter the ID# in both places for the first or R line when that is
requested.  After it calculates, click on OK. If you have not selected the Suppress For Secondary Output 
option, the list of selected people will display on the screen.  After you have reviewed it, close it. You will 
then be asked: XX qualifying people found. Are you sure... and your answer is Yes. You will then be
asked if you want to change date last updated. I don't, but that's your choice. If it's changed, then you
may wonder what changes you made to a person on that date. Some of my people haven't been updated
for a couple years. I'd rather leave that old date so I know when I last worked on a person 

-- When you generate the report, you should have at least a general idea of the number of persons that
qualify for a specific filter.  With this value showing correctly,  you may or may not want to also select the
Suppress For Secondary Output option (on the General tab) if you haven't already selected it. To select
it, you must first have selected one of the Secondary Output tab options, then you may return to the General
tab and select it.

This completes the setting of the Ancestor Flag to R  You now need to generate the report three more
times, once for each of the other lines (A, B, and J).  Each time the report is generated, be sure to change
the Change Flag option to the appropriate setting (A, B, and J) based on the ID# (3 for the second run,
10002 for the third run, and 10003 for the third run). If you are in the Custom Report Writer (CRW) Log,
just press enter to select the same report definition.  If you have been returned to the main program,
just select  Report->List of->People->Ancestor Flag Set.

After all four reports have been generated, it's time to turn on the accent colors.
    Select Utilities->Accent from the menu.
        Click on Accent to activate the feature.
        Select Ancestor = B and choose Color (I used foreground white and background navy)
        Click on the OR field to activate the next line.
        Select Ancestor = J and choose Color (I used foreground blue and background white)
        Click on the OR field to activate the next line.
        Select Ancestor = R and choose Color (I used foreground white and background red)
        Click on the OR field to activate the next line.
        Select Ancestor = A and choose Color (I used foreground red and background white)
                     I clicked the colors and didn't mess with the numbers. Even though I
                            reversed the blue/white, and red/white in principle, I used blue instead
                            of navy for Dave's maternal line simply because the navy lettering looks
                            more like black.

    At this point you could also choose a conflict color (like yellow) over on the lower right of the screen.
    Click OK and you're set.

Obviously, when you turn this tutorial into your reality, the Flag letters and the ID  numbers will need to
reflect your own family. The colors are also your choice, but my reasoning was the old stereotype blue for
male (my husband's side), pink for female (my side).  Then I just reversed the colors for the female line of
each.  Makes its real easy to see a color and know what line it represents.

Submitted by:
Kathryn Rhinehart Bassett (Pasadena CA)
kathryn@bassett.net


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