Workspace Windows

The Query Window

A query is a reusable set of instructions for extracting information from a Family Historian project. The information returned by a query is called a result set, and it is laid out in tabular form, in a grid of rows and columns. Each row in the result set corresponds to a record. If the query is an Individual query, each row returned will correspond to an Individual record. If it is a Source query, each row will correspond to a Source record.

To open the Query Window, click on the Query button on the main toolbar and select the query you want to run from the dropdown menu that appears.  You can also open the Query Window without running a query by choosing the Query Window command (the first item on the toolbar).  You can run any query from within the Query Window itself if you want to (see below).

If you want to create a new query, choose New Custom Query (the last item on the menu).  The same options are also available from the Query submenu of the View menu.

When you run a query, you may be required to make choices and selections.  Some queries prompt you to supply information or make choices when you run them.  Some do not.

When Family Historian is installed, it comes with a set of queries ready for use. These are called standard queries. You cannot delete or alter standard queries significantly. If you want to modify an existing standard query (which is the best way to start learning how to work with queries), you must copy them as custom queries, and then modify the copy (to copy a query use the Save As Custom Query command, which is available from the Menu button on the Query Window toolbar). A custom query is a query that you create yourself. You can have any number of custom queries, and you can change or delete them, as you like.  All queries, custom or standard, are available to be used with all Family Historian projects. Queries are not stored in Family Historian projects - they are managed separately.

The Query Window has its own Query Toolbar. There is also a small Query Menu, which is available from the Menu button on the toolbar.

When constructing or modifying a query, here are some of the decisions you will need to make, and where to go to make them:

Decision	Where Specified
What records do I want?	The Rows Tab
What information do I want to display about each record?	The Columns Tab
In what order do I want the rows to be displayed?	The Columns Tab
What order do I want the columns to appear in?	The Columns Tab
What headings do I want for each column?	The Columns Tab
How wide do I want each column to be?	The Result Set Tab

 

If you want to print a query as a report, you also have to decide:

Decision	Where Specified
What title(s) do I want for the printed report?	The General Tab
Do I want the report to appear in Portrait or Landscape mode?	The General Tab
If the report is too wide to fit across a single page width, what do I want to happen about the overflowing columns?	The General Tab

 

The Query Window has 4 tabs:

The General Tab	For specifying general features about the query, such as the query type, a description, print details, and so on.
The Columns Tab	Allows you to select the columns you wish to appear in the 'Result Set'. Can also specify column headings and sort order.
The Rows Tab	Allows you to specify which rows you wish to appear in the Result Set by creating a list of 'filters' that will be applied in sequence.
The Result Set Tab	A 'Result Set' is the table of data that is displayed as a result of running a query. The Result Set tab displays the result set.