Diagram Options Dialog

Diagram Options Dialog: Proxies Tab

Proxy boxes only ever appear in All Relatives trees. Only direct ancestors of the tree root ever have proxy boxes. They are optional boxes, used to show where an ancestor fits in, in the context of the ancestor’s own parents’ family.

The main reasons for using proxy boxes are these:

If an ancestor has one or more siblings, they can help to make it clear where the ancestor fits in amongst his or her siblings. They are not essential for this, because you can still see from the point where the ancestor’s line connects to his/her parent’s child bar, where he fits in. But proxy boxes may help to make this clearer.
If you have a very wide diagram, they may help to make the diagram easier to read. If you had no proxy box, and you were looking at an ancestor’s family, you might have to follow a line right across the diagram, to find out the name of a child. Proxy boxes make it possible to keep all family information together, in one place in the diagram.
Proxy boxes can also be helpful for diagram editing. You can click-and-drag on a proxy box to add parents. You can select it and click on the Shift Sibling buttons to move it relative to other sibling boxes.
Proxy boxes can be helpful for diagram browsing. One convenient way to move around a diagram is to use the keyboard arrow keys. For example, in top-down orientation you can use left-and-right arrow keys to move left and right along diagram rows, and you can use the Up and Down arrow keys to move up and down generations. You can do this whether or not proxy boxes are displayed, but it works best if they are displayed.

Set against this, if you have too many proxy boxes they may make diagrams look cluttered, especially if they serve no obvious purpose - which they may not, if they are used indiscriminately.

The options specified in the Proxies tab allow you to specify if, and when, proxy boxes are displayed. But you can always use the Hide Selected Boxes command on the Diagram menu to override the options in a particular case, and hide a particular proxy box. And you can use the Show Hidden Boxes command on the Diagram menu to show all hidden boxes, including hidden proxy boxes, and unhide any that you wish to display.

Fields

When building an 'All Relatives' tree…	Options are: Never show proxy boxes: Proxy boxes are not displayed at all Always show proxy boxes : Proxy boxes are displayed for all ancestors of the tree root (if they have a parent family). Show proxy boxes if any of these conditions apply: This last option allows you to set conditions for when proxy boxes are displayed. You can specify that a proxy box should be displayed if the distance between the ancestor’s box and his or her parents’ family is greater than a specified offset. You can also specify that you want a proxy box for all ancestors that have siblings. You can optionally qualify this last choice by additionally specifying another offset. Finally you can also specify that you want a proxy box for all ancestors where the ancestor is not displayed in the correct sibling order. For example, a male ancestor appearing to the left of his spouse (so his siblings appear to his left) will not be in the correct sibling order if he has one or more siblings and isn't the youngest (i.e. last). Equally, a female ancestor appearing to the right of her spouse (so her siblings appear to her right) will not be in the correct sibling order if she has one or more siblings and isn't the oldest (i.e. the first).
When expanding an ‘All Relatives’ branch	This option affects what happens when you click on an expansion button to show a branch within an All Relatives tree. The options are: Never show proxy boxes: Proxy boxes are not displayed when you expand branches Always show proxy boxes: Proxy boxes are displayed for ancestors of the tree root when you expand branches - if they have a parent family. Show if ancestor has siblings : Proxy boxes are displayed for ancestors of the tree root when you expand branches - if they have a parent family, and if they have one or more siblings.
When displaying proxy boxes…	This option is only applicable if you are, or may be, displaying proxy boxes. Do you want extra boxes to be displayed for each spouse too? The options shown here are only applicable if the current Spouse Display Option is Spouse in Own Box. The options are: Do not show spouse proxy boxes: Only one box will be displayed for each proxy. Ancestral spouse only: That is, only show a spouse box next to a proxy box if the spouse is also an ancestor of the root. Show spouse proxy boxes: Show each spouse in a separate spouse proxy box.

When building an 'All Relatives' tree…

Options are:

Never show proxy boxes:: Proxy boxes are not displayed at all
Always show proxy boxes: : Proxy boxes are displayed for all ancestors of the tree root (if they have a parent family).
Show proxy boxes if any of these conditions apply:: This last option allows you to set conditions for when proxy boxes are displayed. You can specify that a proxy box should be displayed if the distance between the ancestor’s box and his or her parents’ family is greater than a specified offset. You can also specify that you want a proxy box for all ancestors that have siblings. You can optionally qualify this last choice by additionally specifying another offset. Finally you can also specify that you want a proxy box for all ancestors where the ancestor is not displayed in the correct sibling order. For example, a male ancestor appearing to the left of his spouse (so his siblings appear to his left) will not be in the correct sibling order if he has one or more siblings and isn't the youngest (i.e. last). Equally, a female ancestor appearing to the right of her spouse (so her siblings appear to her right) will not be in the correct sibling order if she has one or more siblings and isn't the oldest (i.e. the first).

When expanding an ‘All Relatives’ branch

This option affects what happens when you click on an expansion button to show a branch within an All Relatives tree. The options are:

Never show proxy boxes:: Proxy boxes are not displayed when you expand branches
Always show proxy boxes:: Proxy boxes are displayed for ancestors of the tree root when you expand branches - if they have a parent family.
Show if ancestor has siblings: : Proxy boxes are displayed for ancestors of the tree root when you expand branches - if they have a parent family, and if they have one or more siblings.

When displaying proxy boxes…

This option is only applicable if you are, or may be, displaying proxy boxes. Do you want extra boxes to be displayed for each spouse too?

The options shown here are only applicable if the current Spouse Display Option is Spouse in Own Box.

The options are:

Do not show spouse proxy boxes:: Only one box will be displayed for each proxy.
Ancestral spouse only:: That is, only show a spouse box next to a proxy box if the spouse is also an ancestor of the root.
Show spouse proxy boxes:: Show each spouse in a separate spouse proxy box.

Tip: Changing Proxy tab options does not force a diagram rebuild. The changed options, if 'Remember Options' is ticked (bottom-left), will apply to the next time you build an All Relatives tree, or insert an All Relatives tree into the current diagram. Alternatively you can set this option before opening a diagram, by clicking the More Options link when the diagram prompt appears.