5 replies to this topic

[LornaHen]

With a large number of Groups, I find having to scroll the pull down list of groups rather slow.

Can the length of the pull down list in Groups view be sized according to the content, or at least show considerably more than the current 9? entries please.

Likewise it would be great if the quickgroups window that opens when you select QuickGroups remembered its size and position from last time - but that goes for every window.

[Vyger]

Most lists are truncated but you do know once you start typing the presented list will become more in focus? You can rename groups to suit your style and generally I use surname then identifier to help narrow the list, this is the same on Places and Place Details.

 

Regarding window size and position this is another long standing wish which was never closed out      

[Jerry Bryan]

I've dealt with the problem in a couple of ways. First of all, starting about a year ago I simply don't have a large number of groups anymore. I probably don't have more than about a half dozen groups active and defined at a time. For the less active groups, I have found it easier just to delete them and regenerate them if ever I need them again (and I usually don't need them again). I suspect that my processes would change if ever RM's groups became dynamic so that newly added individuals who met the criteria which had been used to create a group could be added to the group in some sort of automated fashion. In this case, I think there might be some significant value in hanging on a little longer to less active groups.

 

Second, if my list of active groups does get a little too big - say 12 to 18 groups - I prioritize them by pre-pending a special character such as * or ! or $ or some such to the names of more active ones to force them to sort to the top of the list. It's easy to remove the special character from the name if a group becomes less active and to add it back to the name if the group becomes more active, etc. If one particular group becomes the main or only group I'm working on for a while, I would double the special character at the beginning of its name to force it to the very top of the list while its the most active group.

 

Finally, there are obviously times where there is a particular group that I don't want to delete for a rather long time and I simply don't delete it until I'm ready. A typical group that hangs around in this fashion might be a group that has become kind of a to do list or project list - for example, a group of all individuals for whom I need to find courthouse marriage records from Jefferson County, Tennessee. As I process the individuals in such a group, I will remove them from the group using QuickGroups, and I will delete the group after it is empty. I will move such a group to the top or the bottom of the list of groups by renaming as appropriate while the project is still in progress.

 

Jerry

 

[LornaHen]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jerry.

 

Given I'm using RM for the  tree investigations for those matches in my autosomal dna project that I wish to investigate, my main use of groups is to overcome the navigation shortcomings of being able to quickly see/switch to pedigrees of associated people, ie those sharing facts with a person.

As such  most of my groups are permanent,

Sort of the equivalent of TMG's associates window (but with the ability to name them,) together with focus groups.

 

FWIW I'm currently naming them xxS/nnn: inits mrca where xx is the chr, S the side, ie P(aternal) or M(aternal), and nnn the start point in millions of the group concerned,  the initials of the primary person in the group, and mrca short codes for the identified most recent common ancestor.

Seeing more of the list at a glance also gives me a quick idea of which bits of whose chromosomes aren't yet triangulated.

 

Not to say that I don't have a few other groups, but they're mostly temporary.

 

PS Yes you can quickly jump to the groups whose name begins with whatever you start typing in the pull down list, BUT that doesn't work in either the Named Groups list from Groups view, or the Quick Groups window from right click on a person.

Definitely a wish list item on the latter two.

[Renee Zamora]

Confirming enhancement requests are in our tracking system. 

[Jerry Bryan]

PS Yes you can quickly jump to the groups whose name begins with whatever you start typing in the pull down list, BUT that doesn't work in either the Named Groups list from Groups view, or the Quick Groups window from right click on a person.

 

 

I'm finding the quickest way to get into the pull down list for groups is to right click a person (any person, doesn't matter which one) and then to click on "Manage groups" in the lower left hand corner of the pop-up window. It's a counter-intuitive approach and I'm sure it's not the approach that the RootsMagician intended that most users would use most of the time. But if the mouse is already in your hand and is already poised in the main view area of the screen, it works remarkably well for me. My muscle memory just sort of does it for me without any conscious thought process being required.

 

Jerry