Fact Types Dialog

Configure Language and Accent Characters Dialog

If you use the default option for accent-handling (see Preferences) when you press-and-hold a letter key (any key in the range a-z), in any text field in the Property Box or in the Auto Source Citation Pane, Family Historian will display a little popup window called the Popup Accent Window (see below) with a choice of alternative versions of the letter in question which you can select by clicking with the mouse, by using the arrow keys and pressing Enter, or by pressing the appropriate number key.

Typically, the choices in the Popup Accent Window will include accented versions of the same letter. You can also press-and-hold the upper-case version of each letter, and some other keys - such as the double-quote character, the single-quote character, the pound and dollar signs (if available on your keyboard), the hyphen, the full-stop, the comma, and even the space bar. The key that you press-and-hold is called the Hold Key, and the alternative characters displayed in the popup window are called the Accent List .

The purpose of the Configure Language and Accent Characters dialog (show below) is to allow you to see which accent lists are associated with which hold keys, and to configure them to suit your purposes. 

The Configure Language & Accent Character Dialog

There are two ways to open the Configure Language & Accent Characters dialog.  You can either click on the little settings button  on the right side of the Popup Accent Window.  Or you can click on the Menu button  on the Property Box toolbar, and choose Configure Language & Accent Characters from the drop down menu that appears.

You can use the Edit button to modify the accent list associated with any Hold Key.  Untick 'Hide Unused Keys' to view any currently unused hold keys.  You can of course configure these too.  You can also add accent lists for a number of languages.  Click on the Add Accent Set button, and choose the language you wish to add.  You will be asked if you wish to replace the existing values, or merge in the values for the language you have selected.  You do not have to restrict yourself to one language only. 

You can temporarily disable the Popup Accent Window by pressing-and-holding the Insert key before pressing-and-holding a letter key - if you are using the default option for accent-handling, specified in the General tab of Preferences (Press-and-hold key). When this option is chosen, if the Insert key is pressed, default Windows behaviour will occur and the letter key will auto-repeat. You can also disable accent selection altogether in Preferences.  Finally, there is another option, Press Insert and letter key.  If this option is chosen, the Popup Accent Window will only open if the Insert key is held down when you press a letter key.

How to Display Accents From Multiple Languages in the Popup Accent Window

Suppose, for example, you wish to always have accent characters available to you for Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.  Start by clicking the Clear All button to remove the current settings.  Then add the 3 languages in turn, using the Add Accent Set button, choosing the 'merge' option when prompted.  Finally, you may decide to also  the Add Accent Set button one last time, and choose 'Symbols' (again, merging).  This will make some additional symbols available as well.

Create Your Own Custom Accent Sets

To create your own custom accent set, just create the set you want using the usual techniques.  Then click  Save Accent Set and give the accent set a unique name.  Thereafter it will be listed when you click on the Add Accent Set button.

Rename or Delete Accent Sets

To delete an accent set, you create an empty accent set, and save it using the name of the accent set you wish to delete.  To do this, click the Clear All button to clear the current accent set.  Then click  Save Accent Set and give the name of the accent set you wish to delete.

You cannot directly rename an accent set, but you can achieve the same thing by loading an accent set (click Add Accent Set and use the 'replace' option).  Then save it with the new desired name, using  Save Accent Set.  Finally delete the old version.

Import and Export Accent Sets

Accent Sets can be imported and exported using the "Import/Export" command on the application File menu.

Buttons and Check Boxes

Edit	Change the values in the Popup Accent List.  Click the 'Open Character Map' button to open the character map.  You can copy and paste characters from there.
Add Accent Set	Displays a dropdown list of accent sets.   You can optionally merge the chosen set with the current values, or replace them.
Save Accent Set	Use this option to save the current values as a named set.  If there are no current values, you can use this option to delete an existing accent set.
Clear All	Clears all current values.  Will automatically untick the 'Hide Unused Keys' option, if ticked.
Open Character Map	Opens the Windows Accessory application "Character Map".  You can copy characters and symbols from the Character Map into the Popup Accent List for any key (press 'Edit' to allow access to the list).  You can also copy characters and symbols from the Character Map directly into any field in the Property Box if you wish to.