19 replies to this topic

[unthings]

Fantastic idea! Having just added census and residence information to several very large family groups this would have been a huge time saver. It could also memorize the fact, much like the new sources feature does in RM 3.0, then paste it to other family members.... but I like your idea bettter!

[trackingyourroots]

Currently a Census (Family) fact is propagated to the spouse only, even if he/she is dead at the time.

I propose one enhancement that will solve the two issues.

After a Census (Family) fact is entered, the user should be presented with a window asking to whom the fact should be propagated. The window will contain the spouse and children, and will select, by default, the spouse if he/she is alive at the time of the census, and all living unmarried children. Obviously the user can make adjustment to the default selections.

This approach can be used for other Family type facts.

I LOVE THIS IDEA!! And I learned something new today here! Thx!
Lisa

[apw6270]

And how about the Date field being a Drop-Down List containing the dates of the censuses so that I don't keep having to type them in.

The dates in the list can be based on the locale so that UK and US dates etc are listed as appropriate.

[Jackie]

Currently a Census (Family) fact is propagated to the spouse only, even if he/she is dead at the time.

In all actuality, "family" facts are really only for the "couple". So if one spouse is deceased, I wouldn't use the Census (Family) fact.

I propose one enhancement that will solve the two issues.

After a Census (Family) fact is entered, the user should be presented with a window asking to whom the fact should be propagated. The window will contain the spouse and children, and will select, by default, the spouse if he/she is alive at the time of the census, and all living unmarried children. Obviously the user can make adjustment to the default selections.

This approach can be used for other Family type facts.

But would that meet GEDCOM standards?

[melis868]

Currently a Census (Family) fact is propagated to the spouse only, even if he/she is dead at the time.

I propose one enhancement that will solve the two issues.

After a Census (Family) fact is entered, the user should be presented with a window asking to whom the fact should be propagated. The window will contain the spouse and children, and will select, by default, the spouse if he/she is alive at the time of the census, and all living unmarried children. Obviously the user can make adjustment to the default selections.

This approach can be used for other Family type facts.

Hello

Just found this message in the archives, I think this feature is such a great idea & this is exactly what i was thinking about this morning.

I do hope this feature would be added quite soon, another time saving addition for RM

Thanks muchly
Melissa

[apw6270]

In all actuality, "family" facts are really only for the "couple". So if one spouse is deceased, I wouldn't use the Census (Family) fact.

I'm not suggesting that a 'family' fact is created for the children and single parents. The software would create the appropriate fact types - 'family' for parents, 'individual' for single parent and each child, etc.

[Ben S]

Count me as a "Me, too," with one change to the original request: rather than have RM determine which children to assign the same census information to (the original poster said this should happen on the basis of if the child is married or not), I'd like the default behavior to select all children, but prompt me to confirm the list. If I want to deselect one or more children, I could do so.

-- Ben

[vlanders]

Add my name to the list of users who would love to see this feature.

[MVS]

I agree that the propogation to children (or some of them) would be a great step forward but I would like to add a general requirement. Although the propogation of census data is one of the most time consuming situations there are potentially many other times where it would be fantastic to propogate an event (including all its notes, references, multimedia links etc) to more than one person.

Examples, if I find a family group who may have taken passage on a ship, or if I find a reference in a book or will to a group of people. In both cases the famliy members will not necessarily be the tight family group of paretns and children. But the requirement to save time by 'copying' an event is the same.

I could also say it is often the case that more distant family members are shown living in the same place during a census (nephews, nieces, grandchildren etc); they too need the fact recorded but do not fit into the parents/children criteria.

So my thoughts are that regardless of the type of fact, census or otherwise, a means of easily copying and pasting it to other people would be the most 'complete' way forward.

[craigg]

I agree that a generalized "fact copy" facility would be more beneficial than an facility specifically for census data. The way that I process census data a generalized fact copy facility would do the job and I could also use it for other facts that appy to more than 1 person.

[nolimp]

Count me as a "Me, too," with one change to the original request: rather than have RM determine which children to assign the same census information to (the original poster said this should happen on the basis of if the child is married or not), I'd like the default behavior to select all children, but prompt me to confirm the list. If I want to deselect one or more children, I could do so.

-- Ben

I totally agree, where do I sign?

Wes

[MVS]

Further to my and many other contributors notes on this subject of Fact Copying. Of course - taking this to its logical conclusion; it might be advantageous to not actually copy the fact but just to create one fact record which mutiple people are linked to.
or perhaps just to have the options to.

The advantage of this is, of course, that if you have made some errors in the notes of descriptions then to correct them would only require one change. Also, if more supporting information came to light, sich as images or other records, these could be linked just once, rather than updating a fact and having to paste to all the other people (having first deleted the original fact !).

I would be interested to hear what others think; but probably the ideal solution would be to have the fact pasting solution, but with options to keep a fact as a single database record, or, if different variants are required, just to paste info/

Mark

[bvalco]

I would be interested to hear what others think; but probably the ideal solution would be to have the fact pasting solution, but with options to keep a fact as a single database record, or, if different variants are required, just to paste info/

Mark

I've asked for a census paste function in the past. This is even better! PLEASE work on this!

Beverly

[bienia]

And how about the Date field being a Drop-Down List containing the dates of the censuses so that I don't keep having to type them in.

The dates in the list can be based on the locale so that UK and US dates etc are listed as appropriate.

There are two dates associated with a census. The "as of" date and the "enumeration date". The "as of" date was when the data given was to have been accurate. The "enumeration date" was when the enumerator appeared at the door and requested the information. Sometimes there was great gaps between the "as of" and the "enumeration" dates. Some families insisted on including children or adults who entered the household between the two dates, and the enumerator complied.

For some very early census records in Upper Canada, the only date is the "enumeration" date.

Which date do you use? I use the enumeration date as the date of the fact. I don't enter the "as of" date anywhere, although I have a cheat sheet of census "as of" dates for Canada, the US and the UK by my desk.

Bill Bienia
Hillsburgh, Ontario, Canada

Currently a Census (Family) fact is propagated to the spouse only, even if he/she is dead at the time.

I propose one enhancement that will solve the two issues.

After a Census (Family) fact is entered, the user should be presented with a window asking to whom the fact should be propagated. The window will contain the spouse and children, and will select, by default, the spouse if he/she is alive at the time of the census, and all living unmarried children. Obviously the user can make adjustment to the default selections.

This approach can be used for other Family type facts.

Other programs which provide this capability, TMG (The Master Genealogist), Genbox, and Brother's Keeper to name a few, have a complete "Witness" feature included in their data structures.

This allows children, parents, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, etc., to be included on census records. It also allows sponors in baptisms and christenings; witnesses, minister, best man and bride's maids at weddings, witnesses for wills and probate records, and for land records.

I wholeheartedly support adding the feature, with all the benefits of full witness support,.

Bill Bienia
Hillsburgh, Ontario, Canada