12 replies to this topic

[jonmira]

I noticed that the narratives for some of my ancestors do not list any marriage information. I think this because two "marriage" fact types can be selected. One is for "personal" and the other is for "family."

I probably selected the "personal" for the marriage fact type for some of my ancestors and "family" for the marriage fact type for the others.

When should you use "personal" or "family" for marriage fact type? I really do not understand the advantages of disadvantages of each. How do I make the corrections so that the marriage information appears in the narratives?

I looked at the RootsMagic 4 book and could not find any reference to this issue.

Appreciate any help.

John

[Alfred]

If you have a personal marriage fact, it is not one of the original issue facts, it is a user defined fact.

If the fact does not show up in a narrative report it is usually because there is no sentence template for that fact.



I don't know how a single person would have a marriage fact, so I would:
DO A BACKUP OF YOUR FILE -- just in case...
Then, go to the Lists - Fact type list - and do a print of the personal marriage fact  with People who have this fact, save it to a text file and edit all those people to create a FAMILY marriage fact for all of them, then delete the personal marriage fact.

[Laura]

To tell the difference between a Program defined fact and a user defined fact, highlight the fact on the Lists, Fact type list screen.

Edit the fact.  The Program defined fact Name and Abbreviation can not be changed.  The user defined fact Name and Abbreviation can be changed.

I start all my user defined fact names with a character which sorts them to the top of the list.

[jonmira]

I still have a problem with this issue. If I use the marriage fact with the "family" selection, I still do not have the marriage sentence showing in the narrative for the married couple (for either the husband or wife).

Can anyone list the detailed steps to take so that the marriage information appears in the narratives for the married couple. The marriage sentence template does show the sentence I want in the narrative; however, it does not appear in the narrative.

In addition, if I add a marriage note, the marriage note does not appear in the narrative. What gives!!

This is the only fact type that is giving me problems; the other fact types are great. I must be missing a important concept with this fact type.

Thanks for any help.

John

[Alfred]

Check the edit marriage fact in the fact types list and see if there is a check mark in the "Include when:" box before Narrative reports.

[jonmira]

Yes, there is a check mark for all the headings under: "Include when:"

I am going to create a new RootsMagic file and add marriage facts  to see if I have the same problem.

Anyway, thanks for your input.

John

[c24m48]

jonmira, on 17 November 2012 - 01:52 AM, said:

I still have a problem with this issue. If I use the marriage fact with the "family" selection, I still do not have the marriage sentence showing in the narrative for the married couple (for either the husband or wife).

Can anyone list the detailed steps to take so that the marriage information appears in the narratives for the married couple. The marriage sentence template does show the sentence I want in the narrative; however, it does not appear in the narrative.

In addition, if I add a marriage note, the marriage note does not appear in the narrative. What gives!!

This is the only fact type that is giving me problems; the other fact types are great. I must be missing a important concept with this fact type.

Thanks for any help.

John

I'm sort of guessing from your description, but it sounds like perhaps you are expecting the marriage fact to appear in a narrative report in timeline order. It doesn't.

For example, suppose John Doe is married to Jane Smith and John has three facts - born 1870, married 1895, and died 1942. The part of the report that's specific to John Doe will only show two facts - birth and death. The marriage will appear in a slightly different part of the report that's shared between John and Jane. So the marriage will appear only once - for them as a couple. The marriage will not appear twice - once for John and once for Jane. Is that what you are talking about?

Jerry

[jonmira]

Jerry,

Thank you. I was expecting to see the marriage information in the narrative. I was trying all this time to have the marriage info. in the narrative.

Anyway, you have given me the answer.

Thanks again,

John

[c24m48]

jonmira, on 17 November 2012 - 02:21 PM, said:

Thank you. I was expecting to see the marriage information in the narrative.

What you are asking for has been much wished for. However, I confess that I sort of like it the way it is for facts that are what I call "couple facts" such as marriage and divorce. If the capability came into being where such things as marriage and divorce could appear in timeline order with things like birth and death, I think it would need to remain an option to do it the way it works now.

RM calls these kinds of facts family facts rather than couple facts, but I've never understood that terminology. To me, the family is the couple plus the children, and the children didn't marry their parents. At the same time, there are facts such as family census facts which might logically be considered to apply to the whole family of the couple plus the children. However, even family census facts are really treated by RM like couple census facts in narrative reports. If you don't believe it, put in a family census fact and start a narrative report with one of the children who was listed in the census family fact. The child will be missing the census fact for that year.

For that reason and several others, I avoid using RM's family facts to the maximum extent that's reasonable. I seldom go much beyond using marriage and divorce. And I never use family notes (a family note that's freestanding rather than being associated with a family fact). However, I'm sensitive to the fact that many very expert and experienced RM users do like family facts such as family census facts and make heavy use of them.

Jerry

[jonmira]

Jerry,

When I finally publish my family history and give copies to my relatives, I know, without a doubt, I will get a lot of questions from the family about the missing marriage information in the timeline of the narrative.

Someone will say, something like:  "Hey, you missed the marriage date for Aunt Carmela." I will then have to explain that the program does not list the marriage information in the timeline of the narrative. Oh well.

Overall, I have to say RootsMagic 4 is excellent program. Great - no -  but none are!

I might add that the RootsMagic 4 book does not have any reference to the marriage fact in the narrative.

Jerry, thanks for input. It really helped.

John

[c24m48]

jonmira, on 17 November 2012 - 08:50 PM, said:

I might add that the RootsMagic 4 book does not have any reference to the marriage fact in the narrative.

The marriage sentence really should be there. It just will be after the timeline with birth and death.

Jerry

[Alfred]

I am pretty sure that it is a case of operator error and isn't the program's fault.

BUT, I could be wrong.
If you would send me a backup file of your database I will try to see what might be the problem
Mention which type of narrative you are trying and who you are selecting as the starting person.
Just attach a copy of the backup file to an email to me at:
adeller@santel.net

[jonmira]

Alfred,

You are right it was "operator error." I deleted and reentered all the marriage info. All's well.

I will be able to sleep well tonight!

Thank you,

John