What's New in Family Historian 6?

Key New Features and Enhancements

• Automatic Internet Data Matching using MyHeritage data, with 'Hints' in the Focus Window.*
• Matches are checked automatically with no user action required.
• You can check for 'Smart Matches' (family trees), 'Record Matches' (historical data), both or neither.
• You can specify a required confidence level, and other details.
• Matches can be confirmed or rejected within 'MyHeritage'.
• To view most data, a MyHeritage account is required.
• Matches can be displayed in the Web Search window or an external browser, as preferred.
• New Map Window:
• Automatic geocoding of place names ('geocoding' means assigning a latitude and longitude to a place).*
• Can display lists of place records, or places linked to individuals.
• Places can be displayed using multiple marker sets.  For example, one marker set might show each of the places your ancestors were born with a red marker, and another might show each of the places your spouse's ancestors were born, with a green marker.
• A timeline tool allows you to easily see movements across places over time.
• Powerful 'go to' toolbar buttons allow you to jump to viewing all visible markers, or your preferred 'home' region.  You can also click-and-drag a stretchy box round a region on the map to jump straight to it.
• Easily switch to seeing any chosen map area in Google Maps, Bing maps or OpenStreetMap.
• New Web Search Window
• Is a complete web browser in a window.  Although you can always use an external web browser if you prefer, there are advantages to using the Web Search window - including good support for drag-and-drop (which may not work with an external web browser), and better control over window layout (you can dock the Property Box at the side, for example).
• New support for Place records.  Places can now have:
• pictures
• notes
• standardized place name
• latitude and longitude
• Enhancements to the 'Search the Internet' dialog
• This is now 'modeless' and designed to work with the Web Search Window (including displaying bookmarks set there).  You can also use it with an external browser however.
• New Web Clipping Capability
  'Web Clipping' is the process of easily transferring textual information and pictures from websites to the program.  A design goal for version 6 was to make it as easy possible to extract text and images from any website that a user may visit, while also making it as easy as possible to provide appropriate source citations (without having to re-type any text).  We considered creating a special tool to support web clipping, but concluded that we could do a much better job by creating or enhancing a number of different components that can be used for web clipping, but not just for web clipping.  The components and enhancements (all mentioned elsewhere on this page) are:
• The New Web Search window
• The New Automatic Source Citation Pane
• Easier, Faster Data Entry and an Enhanced Property Box
• Extensive Support for Drag-and-Drop (and Copy-and-Paste Images)
• More ‘Modeless’ Windows
• Redesigned Media Window:
• new look with improved layout
• easy access to file on hard disk (just click on link)
• new Media Link Tool, with drag-and-drop from list to add 'frame links' or 'simple links', making it much easier and quicker to link people to their faces in pictures
• drag-and-drop onto Media Window to add images
• new option to show all frames for a given picture
• links tab now supports multiple selection
• new 'fix broken link' support, can automatically search for a picture if link is 'broken'
• Can now set keywords using multiple selection, making it much easier to work with keywords
• Thumbnails and images are now centred in the display area
• You now have an option to load meta data as fields within records (title, comment, keyword and original picture date).   You can also switch off autogeneration of keywords, if required.
• When accessing media for one or more selected records, you now have improved options.  You can now opt to view pictures of the person or persons, or images linked to the people in question (e.g. linked to their records).  You have similar options when accessing the Media Window from the Media tab of the Property Box.
• Thumbnail images are now cached for faster performance
• Support for International Character Sets (Unicode)
  Unicode is the name of a standard that allows characters from languages all over the world (including accent characters) to be support.
• Family Historian has supported import and export of Unicode in previous versions.  From version 6, it now also uses Unicode internally, which means that accent characters - even very exotic and unusual accent characters - from around the world, can now be entered and stored.
• New Accent Popup Window
• Press-and-hold a letter key in any field in the Property Box or Automatic Source Citation Pane to choose from a popup list of accents for that letter.  The list for any letter (and some non-letters) is configurable, and can include all accent characters from a list of languages, or other accent characters of your choice.  You can combine as many languages as you wish.  You can share definitions of accent sets with other users. 
• You can even enter alternative punctuation characters in this way. For example, if you press and hold the question mark character, you will be offered the choice of the upside down question mark used in Spanish, as an alternative.
• Press the Escape (Esc) key to cancel the Popup window without selecting anything (or just click elsewhere).
• The 'accent popup' capability can be switched off in Preferences, or temporarily disabled by pressing-and-holding the Insert key.  If disabled, the default behaviour will revert, which is for the letter to auto-repeat.
• Extended Family 'Timeline' Facts
• You can optionally show extended family ‘timeline’ facts in the Facts tab of the Property Box. These ‘timeline facts’ can be easily ‘toggled’ off or on, and are distinguished from normal record facts by a light grey background.  They are configurable, and can include events such as birth, marriage, divorce and death, for parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren.  The practical consequence is that you can now easily get a quick overview of all the important events in a person’s life from a glance at the Facts tab.
• A new ‘Individual Timeline’ query can be used to show the same timeline facts in the Query Window, or be printed as a report.
• New Automatic Source Citation pane
• Now docked at the top of the application window, to make it much easier to see
• Full support for drag-and-drop makes creating source records easy
• Automatic source citations now apply to both new and updated data
• Option to 'clone' a source record
• Option to create a source record - and have the new source record be displayed in the Property Box
• Option to copy and paste automatic source citations
• Support for a compact mode, to reduce the size of the automatic source citation pane
• Support for Witnesses.
  Witnesses' is the common name in genealogy software, for non-principal participants in events.  For example, the bridesmaids at a wedding would count as 'witnesses', and so too would the best man or the minister.  Other examples would include the executors or the beneficiaries of a will, household members in a census event, or the other residents in a 'Residence' event.
  
• You can record as many witnesses as you like for any event - either by name only, or as people you have records for.  Each witness has a role, and an optional note and source citations.
• You can define new roles - as many as you like.
• Witnessed events are listed along with ordinary events in the Facts tab, and included in narrative reports.
• A new Witnesses window (a 'satellite' window of the Property Box) shows witnesses for a selected event, and is 'modeless' (doesn't have to be closed).
• New filter options in lists.
• Filters at the top of record lists make it much quicker and easier to find the record you want.  For example, you can filter on surname or given name, or parts of either or both, when viewing lists of Individual records.  Similar filtering is available for other record types, with options that are appropriate for each record type.
• Alternatively (or additionally) if you click on a record list and type the first few characters of the record title (e.g. an Individual's name), the first matching record will be selected.
• Easier, Faster Data Entry and an Enhanced Property Box
• Fast-add menu for commonly-used facts, displayed when you click 'Add Fact'.  This is configurable.  You can add/remove any fact (including custom facts) to/from the Fact-Add list.
• New 'Recent' list at the bottom of the 'settings' menu on the Property Box toolbar, makes it very quick and easy to go back to any recently-visited record.
• Sources pane can now also display floating, as well as docked, if required
• Right-click menus now supported throughout - e.g. on lists in tabs of the Property Box
• Improved ability to 'go to' other records, by double-clicking on facts, or by use of the 'Go To' button.
• You can now optionally display fact notes in the Notes tab.
• New icons in the Facts tab make it much easier to see which facts have associated notes, witnesses or media.
• Improved 'Go Back' and 'Go Forward' behaviour - now includes actual tabs visited.
• Support for even more different date formats than before (e.g. Mar-Jun 1809).
• Customized tabs in the Property Box can now appear in any position within the tab order, except the first.
• Property Box lists now support multiple selection, and in the case of Flag options in the Media tab, you can edit multiple items at a time.
• All workspace windows now remember the state of the Property Box (open or closed, docked or floating) by default.  Also, it is easier to maintain a policy for all workspaces with regard to the Property Box, as the options for them are now maintainable in one place, in the Preferences dialog.
• Redesigned Preferences dialog
• Improved look, more tabs and more options
• Improvements to the Focus Window
• New look for the Descendants tab
• Visual indication for Ancestors' tab, if there are more ancestors than are shown
• Age information is now included for Individuals, so you can see at a glance what a person's age was when an event occurred.
• Place information is included for marriages
• Children which are the file root, or ancestors of the file root, now have a blue arrow pointing down next to them, making it easier to find your way back to the root.
• Colour themes (including high-contrast colour schemes) for the whole program now supported.
• Users can also create their own colour schemes and share them.
• Extensive Support for Drag-and-Drop (and Copy-and-Paste Images):
• Add media by dragging-and-dropping external pictures into the Media Window, Media tab of Property Box (e.g. for Individuals, Families & Places), and Fact Media window (accessible from the Facts tab).  e.g. you can often drag-and-drop Internet pictures from the Web Search window, to add them to the project.
• Drag-and-drop in the Map Window, from places mentioned on lists onto the map, to add place to a given location.
• Drag-and-drop text (e.g. from the Web Search window, but also from elsewhere) onto any field in the Property Box or Automatic Source Citation pane, to add it.  With many single line fields, you can either drop onto existing text (to replace it), or drop to the right of it (to append it).
• Drag-and-drop from the Media Link tool in the Media Window, onto the display pane, to add 'frame' or 'simple' links.
• Drag-and-drop from the main section of the Records Window onto the Named List pane, to add records to a named list.
• Drag-and-drop from the left side (available records) to the right side (selected records) of the main record selector dialog (e.g. when selecting records for a report)
• You can also copy images to the clipboard and add them to the program, in any of the ordinary contexts that you can add images (e.g. you can add them to the program itself, or as images linked to individuals or other records, or as images of a given event).
• New 'Find Dialog' allows all fields to be searched, and displays the results in a list on the window itself. 
• You can double-click on any row in the list, to view the field in the Property Box.  Or you can view all results in the Query Window if you wish.
• New 'Replace Dialog', for search-and-replace throughout the project. 
• You can view 'before' and 'after' updates in the Results pane, and undo all changes via the 'Undo' menu, if required.
• You can opt to be prompted to confirm each replacement, if required.
• More 'Modeless' Windows
  ‘Modeless’ Windows are windows like the Property Box, that appear in front of other windows, and that can be left floating.  You don’t have to close them before you can do other tasks.  They have no ‘OK’ or ‘Cancel’ buttons.
• The following windows were not previously modeless, but now are:
• The ‘Names & Titles’ window, accessible from the ‘Main’ tab of the Property Box
• The ‘Show Media’ window, for showing pictures of events (media linked to facts) in the Facts tab of the Property Box
• The ‘Search the Internet’ tool
• The following new windows are also modeless:
• The new Find window
• The new 'Parents window - for showing parents in the Property Box
• The new 'Witnesses' window - for showing witnesses for an event
• The Property Box's Source Citation pane can also be displayed as a separate floating modeless window, if required.
• New improved look for the whole program:
• new icons and images everywhere, and font-smoothing
• improved support for 'high DPI' monitors (sometimes called 'retina' displays) with a choice of toolbar and image sizes
• Enhancements to Reports:
• There is now support for information about witnesses in narrative reports
• You can specify alternative names for individuals in narrative reports
• You can opt to show names of Individuals 'adorned' (i.e. with prefixes and suffixes) in narrative reports
• Improvements to the 'How Related' tool
• New display options allow you to hide unwanted spouse or sibling information, or both

Sundry Minor Enhancements

• Improvements to the direct import from The Master Genealogist databases (including support for importing witness details, and other enhancements)
• Improvements to the Selector dialog, to make it easier to select Individuals for reports, and other purposes, by allowing you to add people related to people on the right side, as well as to those on the left.
• The program now uses 'circa' and 'c.' as a prefix for dates, if approximate.
• New 'Emulator Compatibility Mode' (Advanced option on General tab of Preferences), designed to allow reports to display correctly when Family Historian is run under certain Windows emulators, on non-Windows platforms.
• Fixes to numerous minor bugs

Improvements and New Features for Power-Users

• Enhancements for Narrative Reports:
• You can now use data references and built-in functions in narrative sentences.
• You can now add line-break formatting codes ("<br>") and paragraph-break formatting codes ("<para>") to sentence templates.
• There are numerous new template codes to support witness sentences in narrative reports.  You can also easily construct clauses (in both witness and 'principal' sentences) which relate to the role played by witnesses.
• You can also override the default template for text describing a witnessed fact, in the Facts tab of the Property Box, and in the Map Window.
• Enhancements to Queries:
• You can now have multiple Query Windows open at the same time, if required
• New query: 'Individual Timeline', shows similar facts lists to those displayed in the Facts tab of the Property Box, when timeline facts enabled
• New query: 'Events near Place'
• New feature: 'buddy' columns for queries. Is similar to buddy columns for plugin result sets.
• Can now specify a record-type 'hint' making it quicker and easier to select records, as parameters for a query
• Enhancements to Data References:
• You can access place details as you could before (e.g. %INDI.BIRT.PLAC%); but a place can also be treated as a link to a place record (e.g. %INDI.BIRT.PLAC>LATLONG%)
• New context-dependent shortcuts in data references permit all context-specific data to be accessed easily (e.g. from diagrams).
• Enhancements to 'Built-in Functions':
• New 'TextPart' function allows you to retrieve one or more parts of a comma-separated list of place parts.  These can be reversed if required, and you can specify the required parts starting from either end (first or last)
• Two new functions, 'GetContextInfo' and 'GetContextItem' are designed to complement context-dependent shortcuts in data references, and are available where the latter cannot be used.
• New function 'fhSetOutputDestination' allows output to be routed to the Media Window
• New timeline functions: TimelineFactOrder, TimelineFactText, TimelineFactAge
• New distance function: DistanceBetween
• The GetField and GetFieldText functions both now support relative data references (i.e. ones where the first part is just a '~').

* All features which use Internet services provided by third parties (such as Automatic Internet Data Matching and Automatic Geocoding) are subject to the availability of those services.