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Diagram Window

Fan Chart Dialog

Fan Chart Dialog
Fan Chart Dialog


The Fan Chart dialog is displayed when the Fan Chart option is chosen on the Charts menu, or when a fan chart is inserted into an existing diagram (which can be done via the Shapes toolbar).  It provides options for the fan chart.  It is also possible to change many aspects of a fan chart after it has been displayed.  One way to do this is to right-click on it and choose 'Format' from the dropdown menu that appears.  You will be able to change the colour of lines, and their thickness, as well as other aspects of the fan chart.

A fan chart in a diagram, is implemented as a complex shape object.  More specifically, it is a collection of text pie shapes that have all been grouped together.  So if you wish you can do all the things with it, that you could do with any shape object.  You can rotate and resize it, for example (and undo/redo any changes).  If you ungroup a fan chart (that is, right-click on it, and choose 'Ungroup' on the Grouping menu) you will be able to access the various text pie shapes of which it is composed.  You could, for example, change the background colour or other details of individual text pie shapes, and then, if required, select all the text pie shapes and group them all back together once again.  This could be useful if you wanted to highlight some particular individuals, for example.

Another thing to be aware of is that you can double-click on any person in a fan chart, to open the Property Box to view and edit their details.  If the Property Box is already open, just clicking on a person will cause the Property Box to show their details (if it is synced to the current selection).  Text pie shapes (and text shapes for that matter) can be selected for this purpose, even if they have been combined into a larger group shape object, if they are linked to a record node (see the 'Data' tab of the Format dialog for these shapes).

Fields

Root Person The person who will be the root of the fan chart.
Chart Type Options are:
  • Quarter Circle
  • Half Circle
  • Three-Quarter Circle
  • Full Circle
Root Circle
 This tick box is only available when the Chart Type is Three-Quarter Circle.  In that case, if Root Circle is ticked, the root (only) will be displayed in a full circle.
Generations The number of generations to display.  The maximum is 12.
Radials From The text for each ancestor is normally initially displayed in an arc, centred on the root.  However, as the ancestral generations get higher, the space allocated to each ancestor gets narrower and at some point,it makes sense to switch the layout of the text, so that instead of being displayed in an arc, it is displayed in radial lines emanating outwards from the centre.  The value for Radials From specifies the generation from which to switch to radial lines.  For example, if the value for Generations is 8, this means that 8 generations will be displayed in total.  If the Radials From value were 6, that would mean that radial lines would be used instead of arcs, when laying out the text, for generations 6, 7 and 8.

If the Radials From value is higher than the Generations value (which is allowed), this means that radial lines will not be used.

The maximum is 13 (this is so that you can always set the Radials From figure to a larger number than the number of generations).
Contents The options for the contents of each segment in a fan chart are:
  • Name Only
  • Dates
  • Ahnentafel Numbers
  • Ahnentafel & Dates
  • Blank
  • Custom
The first 5 options do the following:
  • Name Only: each person's name is displayed (only)
  • Dates: each person's name is displayed, together with their life dates if known
  • Ahnentafel Numbers: each person's name is displayed, preceded by their ahnentafel number, calculated with respect to the root (so that the root's ahnentafel number is '1').
  • Ahnentafel & Dates: each person's name is displayed (preceded by their ahnentafel number), together with their life dates if known
  • Blank:  the entire fan chart is blank.  This could be useful if you wanted to, say, print out a fan chart as a template to give family members for them to fill in.

The final option for Contents is 'Custom'.  When this option is selected a window is opened displaying the 'Custom Fan Chart Contents' dialog where custom text content can be specified.  The Edit button, to the right of the Contents field (normally disabled) becomes enabled when 'Custom' is selected, allowing the custom text contents to be edited.  Specifying custom content for text in a fan chart is an advanced option for technically-minded users.  Ordinary users, who are not technically-minded, may find constructing custom content a challenge.  Another option, in that case, for users with complex requirements that are not met by the standard contents options, would be to post a question on the Family Historian User Group website (https://www.fhug.org.uk).  There may be users there who can advise on how to achieve the desired results.

For technical details on customizing fan charts, see Customizing Fan Chart Content.
Colour Options are:
  • White
  • 1 Colour
  • 3 Colours
  • 7 Colours
Colours can be customized by clicking on the Colours button.  The colours listed have the following labels:
  • Root Person
  • Father
  • Mother
  • Father's Father
  • Father's Mother
  • Mother's Father
  • Mother's Mother
Depending on the option chosen for the Colour field, the labelled colours are used as follows:
  • White: all segments are white - i.e. labelled colours are not used.
  • 1 Colour: all segments are the 'Root Person' colour.  Other labelled colours are not used.
  • 3 Colours: the root person is the 'Root Person' colour.  The father and all of his ancestors are the 'Father' colour.  The mother and all of her ancestors are the 'Mother' colour.  Other labelled colours are not used.
  • 7 Colours: the root person is the 'Root Person' colour.  The father is the 'Father' colour.  The mother is the 'Mother' colour.  The father's father and all of his ancestors are the 'Father's Farther' colour.  The father's mother and all of her ancestors are the 'Father's Mother' colour.  The mother's father and all of his ancestors are the 'Mother's Father' colour.  The mother's mother and all of her ancestors are the 'Mother's Mother' colour.
Generation Depth (arcs) The depth of each segment where the text is displayed in an arc (see Radials From above).
Generation Depth (radials) The depth of each segment where the text is displayed in radial lines (see Radials From above).
Font The font that will be used in the fan chart.

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