Workspace Windows
The Map Window
To open the Map Window click on the Map Window button 
on the main application
toolbar. A dropdown menu appears with options for displaying maps
in the Map Window. If a Map Window is already open, it
will normally be re-used - unless you have specified in Preferences (Workspaces tab) that
you do not want Map Windows to be re-used, or unless you open a saved
map or overlay, both of which will be displayed in a new instance of the
Map Window.
Terminology: The descriptions below make reference to geocoding
and marker sets. If either of these concepts are
unfamiliar to you, you are recommended to read the Geocoding
and/or Marker Sets sections
below, before reading other sections.
The available menu commands are these:
| Map Window | Opens the Map Window. If a new Map Window is opened, the List
Pane (see below) which displays marker sets, will initially show
no marker sets. |
|---|---|
| Map Individuals & Events... |
Creates a marker set for all or selected Individuals. The
marker set will show, for each Individual, all the locations that
they are associated with, if any. Every event can be
associated with a place, an address or both. You will be
able to choose between locating places only, addresses only, or
addresses preferred. If you choose this last option, the
location of the address will be used if known. If not, the
location of the associated place will be used if known. |
| Map Places... | Creates a marker set for all or selected Place records.
Place records which have been geocoded (assigned a latitude and
longitude) will have a marker on the map. Place records are
normally geocoded automatically. However, if the location of
one or more of the referenced places is not known, you can geocode
it yourself (i.e. assign a latitude and longitude to it) by
dragging-and-dropping from the list on the left-hand side, onto
the appropriate map location, on the right. |
| Map Addresses... | Creates a marker set for all or selected Address records.
Address records which have been geocoded (assigned a latitude and
longitude) will have a marker on the map. Address records
are not geocoded automatically. If the location of one or
more of the Address records is not known, you can drag-and-drop
the Address text, from the list on the left-hand side, onto its
map location, to geocode it. Alternatively, right-click on the
address in the list and choose "Locate in Map". You will be
asked if you wish to zoom to the location of the Place record
associated with the Address record, or to search the map for the
address name. |
| Map Overlays |
Opens the Map Overlays Dialog. |
| Saved Maps |
Opens the Saved Maps Dialog. |
The List Pane and the Map Viewer will be discussed in more detail below.
See Place Records and Address Records to learn more about Place and Address records, and how they are used.
Marker Sets
A marker is a little coloured icon like this 
or this 
.
Numerous different icon types are available in different colours.
Family Historian will place markers on a map, to mark either a place or
an address - such as, the place or address where an event
occurred. A marker set is a collection of records and
their associated markers. Each Map Window can have, and can
display, as many marker sets as you want. These are shown in the
marker set list in the top-left of the Map Window. Each
marker set uses a single type of marker only - that is to say, all
markers for any given marker set, look the same. Suppose you want
to mark all places for events associated with your father and his
ancestors using a blue marker, and all places for events associated with
your mother and her ancestors with a red marker. To do this, you
need two marker sets: one marker set for your father and his ancestors,
with a blue marker, and another marker set for your mother and her
ancestors, with a red marker.
Often when you open the Map Window, you will at the same time create a new marker set. If you are re-using an existing Map Window, this new marker set will be added to whatever existing marker sets it already has. You can also add a marker set to a Map Window by clicking on the button on the toolbar below the marker set list.
There are 3 types of marker sets:
- Individuals & Events marker sets
- Places marker sets
- Addresses marker sets
The Individual event marker set type has 3 subtypes: "places only", "addresses only", or "addresses preferred". The table below describes the various marker set types and subtypes:
| Marker Set Type (and subtype) |
"Type" Column of Marker Set List |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals & Events (places only) |
Events (place) |
Shows a 2-level list of individuals and the events (or facts
generally) associated with them that have an associated Place
record (whether geocoded or not). In each case, if the
associated Place record has been geocoded, the place will be
marked on the map. Note: events which have no specified place will not be listed. |
| Individuals & Event (addresses only) |
Events (address) |
Shows a 2-level list of individuals and the events (or facts
generally) associated with them that have an associated Address
record (whether geocoded or not). In each case, if the
associated Address record has been geocoded, the address will be
marked on the map. Note: events which have no specified address will not be listed. |
| Individuals & Events (addresses preferred) |
Events (addr/place) |
Shows a 2-level list of individuals and the events (or facts
generally) associated with them that have either an associated
Address record or an associated Place record or both (whether
either or both have been geocoded or not). In each case, if
there is an associated Address record and it has been geocoded,
the address will be marked on the map. Failing that, if
there is an associated Place record and it has been geocoded, the
place will be marked on the map. Note: events which have neither a specified address nor a specified place will not be listed. |
| Places |
Places |
Shows a list of Place records. In each case, if the Place record has been geocoded, the place will be marked on the map. |
| Addresses |
Addresses |
Shows a list of Address records. In each case, if the Address record has been geocoded, the address will be marked on the map. |
Finding a Marker
As can be seen from the table above, markers are associated with events,
places and addresses. With an Individual event marker set,
you will need to click the little '+' to the left of the Individuals name,
to see their associated events. If an individual has no '+' next to
their name, it means that they have no associated events - or none that
meet the requirements of the marker set subtype. For example, an
event which has no associated address will not be listed in an 'Addresses
only' marker set.To see the marker associated with a listed event, place or address, click on the listed item. A Popup Marker Window will be displayed, showing events associated with the location. If the item has been geocoded (has a latitude and longitude), and is visible in the Map Viewer, the Popup Marker Window will be white and will point to the item's exact location on the map. If the item has been geocoded (has a latitude and longitude), but is not visible in the Map Viewer because it is scrolled off-screen (e.g. if the Map Viewer is showing an area of Europe and the item is in North America), a brown-coloured Popup Marker Window will be displayed with a button. If you click on this button, the map will scroll until the exact location of the item can be shown using a white Popup Marker Window. If the item has not been geocoded, a brown Popup Marker Window will be displayed with the text "Not geocoded" in red. There will also be a button next to it. Click this button for options to help you locate the item on the map.
For more on the Popup Marker Window, see Popup Marker Window below.
Although two Place records can have the exact same latitude and longitude, the actual place name that they are associated with is guaranteed to be unique. You cannot give exactly the same place name to two Place records. So each Place record always gets its own marker. The same is true of Address records. The same is not true of events associated with Individuals, however. Any number of events can have happened at the same place. So within an Individual & Events marker set, all events that happened at the same place, will share a single marker.
Geocoding
Before we can mark a Place or Address record on a map, we must first
determine its latitude and longitude. This process is called geocoding.
By default, Family Historian will automatically geocode all Place
records that are either listed, or referred to, in the current marker
set. Automatic geocoding requires an Internet connection, and uses
an Internet geocoding service*. While geocoding is in progress,
you may see a little clock icon next to each place being geocoded.
Address records are not automatically geocoded.
You do not need to use automatic geocoding. You can 'manually' set the latitude and longitude for both places and addresses if you wish. There are 3 different ways you can do this:
- Open the Place or Address record in the Property Box and enter the desired latitude and longitude into the Lat./Long. field. If you have copied a latitude and longitude to the clipboard, you can paste it in here. A wide variety of formats for latitude and longitude are recognised and supported. There is also a Helper dialog for this field, to help you to enter latitude and longitude information if you wish to (to open it, click on the little button with 3 dots at the end of the field, or double-click on the field itself).
- If a given Place or Address has already been geocoded and marked on
the map, and you wish to move the marker, click on the Enable
Marker Dragging button
on the Map
toolbar. When marker dragging is enabled, you can
click-and-drag on any marker to move it. This updates the
geocoding (the latitude and longitude) in the Place or Address record. - Alternatively, click-and-drag on any place, address or event in the List Pane, and drag it onto the Map Viewer. If the item you drag is a place, the Place record's latitude and longitude will be set at the location where you 'drop' it. If the item you drag is an address, the Address record's latitude and longitude will be set at the location where you 'drop' it. If the item you drag is an event, you might be trying to geocode either the place or the address associated with the event. In that case, you will be prompted to specify which of these you are geocoding.
Yet another option is to use a plugin (possibly one downloaded from the Plugin Store) to geocode some or all Place or Address records.
See the Map
Window Legend for an explanation of the meaning of the icons used
to display geocoding status information in the List Pane.
The List Pane
As stated earlier, the Map Window is divided vertically into 2 areas, separated by a dividing line, called the List Pane and the Map Viewer respectively. The List Pane has a Marker Set List at the top, and below that, an Item List, which shows the list of items associated with the currently selected marker set (if any). If the Marker Set List is empty, or if there is no marker set selected, the Item List will be blank.
The Marker Set List
The Marker Set List has its own toolbar, at the bottom of the list,
with the following toolbar command options:
 Add Set |
Click on this option to add additional marker sets to the
list. You will be able to specify the name of the marker
set, its type, marker, and the records associated with the marker
set. |
|---|---|
 Edit |
Edit the selected marker set. |
 |
Copy the selected marker set. |
 |
Paste the selected marker set. |
 |
Delete the selected marker set. |
 |
Move the selected marker(s) set up the
list. |
 |
Move the selected marker(s) set down the list. |
 |
Shows a dropdown menu with these menu
commands:
Visible marker sets have a tick in the 'Visible' column of the Marker Set List. Hidden ones do not. |
You can also right-click on any item in the Marker Set List to see a menu with similar options.
The Item List
The Item List will be blank if no marker set is selected in the Marker Set List, or if the selected marker set has been hidden. Depending on the type of the selected marker set, the Item List will display individuals & events, places or addresses.
Any geocoded items in the list will have a check box on the left side
of the list, which may or may not be ticked. For places, addresses
and events, a check box means that the item has been geocoded (either
manually or automatically) - that is to say, it has a specified latitude
and longitude. If the check box is ticked, the item is marked on
the map with a marker. Depending on which part of the map is being
displayed in the Map Viewer, the map may be scrolled off-screen
In an Individual & Events marker set, individuals may also have
check boxes, and these too may or may not be ticked. If an
individual has a check box, this means that he or she has one or more
events which fit the criteria of the market set, and which have been
geocoded - which is to say, has one or more events which have a check
box (you may have to click the '+' next to the Individual's name, to see
these events). If the individual's check box is ticked, it means that
all of the associated event check boxes are also ticked. If the
individual's check box is not ticked, it means that none of the
associated event check boxes are ticked. If the individual's check
box contains a black square, this is an intermediary state, which means
that one or more, but not all, of the associated event check boxes are
ticked.
At the top of the Item List are the following check boxes and buttons:
| Check All |
Click on this to check or uncheck all the items in the Item List
that have a check box. This in turn will show or hide all
the related markers (athough, again, markers may be scrolled
off-screen). |
|---|---|
| Expand All/ Collapse All |
Always greyed unless the selected marker is an "Individuals
& Events" marker set type. In that case, it will cause
the tree to be fully expanded, so that all events associated with
the listed individuals (which match the criteria of the marker
set), are displayed. If the tree is already fully expanded,
the text will switch to 'Collapse All' and it will cause all
expanded branches to be closed. |
| Event Options |
Always greyed unless the selected marker is an "Individuals
& Events" marker set type. In that case, it can be used to
specify which event types to show (or hide) markers for. So
if you only want to see markers for death events (say), you would
untick all event types, except 'Death'. You can also use Event Options to change the subtype of the marker set - i.e. to determine whether, for each event, to display places, address or 'address preferred'. |
| Records | Used to modify the items in the marker set. For an
Individuals & Events marker set, you will be able to select
from a list of Individual records. For a Places marker set,
this will be a list of Place records. And for an Addresses
marker set, this will be a list of Address records. |
| More | Displays a dropdown menu with the following menu commands:
The menu command, Show Address Markers for Selected Place(s), shows all markers for addresses associated with the selected places - if there are addresses and if they have been geocoded. You can optionally hide all other markers first. The addresses will automatically be added to a marker set for addresses called "Associated Addresses". "Selected places", in this context, just means the selected items, if the item list is showing a list of places. If the item list is showing a list of addresses, it means the places (if any) associated with the selected addresses. If the item list is showing a list of individuals and events, and the selection includes one or more events, "selected places" means the places (if any) associated with those events. If the selection includes one or more individuals, it means the places (if any) associated with the events linked to the selected individuals. The menu command, Reverse Display Order, is applicable to Places and Addresses marker sets only. If the place or address name has comma-separated parts, these will be reversed. It has no effect on place or addresses which do not contain commas. The menu command, Show Popup on Place or Address Selection, which is ticked by default, will cause the Popup Marker Window to be displayed, whenever you select a place or address. |
The Map Viewer
The Map Viewer is the name for the area on the right side of the Map Window, where the map is displayed. It has the following components:
| Address Bar and Go To button |
If you wish to find a place in the map, enter the place name in
the Address bar (to the right of the 'Location' label) and press
the Go To button 
to the right of the list. If matches are found, a dropdown
list of options will be displayed. |
|---|---|
| Address Bar Menu |
This is the menu that appears when you
click on the 'cog' button 
to the right of the address bar. The menu choices are:
The last menu item, "Options", takes you to the "Map Window" tab of Preferences, where you can view and edit Map Window options. |
| Map |
This is the map component itself. There are numerous ways
of zooming in, out, and around the map. The map has its own
on-screen zoom control, and 'rose' in the top-left corner which
can be used to reposition and zoom the map. You can also use
your mouse wheel, and arrow keys to zoom, or move around - but
first click on the map itself to ensure that the mouse wheel
action, and keyboard presses, are directed to the map, and not to
some other component of the Map Window. When you zoom using
the mouse wheel, the map is sensitive to the current position of
the mouse pointer, which is maintained throughout the zoom. You are recommended to learn how to use the various buttons on the Map Window toolbar that are related to zooming and position the map - especially the View Home Region button  , the View All
Markers button  ,
and the View World button  . |
| Time Slider |
The Time Slider is hidden when you first open the Map
Window. To enable it, click on the Time Slider button 
on the toolbar. The Time Slider is used to hide or show
places associated with Individuals and events at given
dates. To use it, you must have at least one marker set of
the Individuals & Places type. The Time Slider
has no useful role with marker sets which just show the location
of (undated) Place records.When enabled, the Time Slider control is displayed at the bottom of the Map Viewer, below the map. It causes all dated markers to be hidden if they do not fall within the start and end dates of the Time Slider. You can specify in the Map Window tab of Preferences, whether you wish undated markers to be hidden or not. Click-and-drag on the Time Slider to move the date range. You can also separately move the start and end dates, to extend or shrink the range. |
Popup Marker Window
The Map Viewer has a Popup Marker Window which appears whenever you click on a marker, on the map. It will also be displayed whenever you select a place or address in the Item List, if the option Show Popup on Place or Address Selection, is ticked (which by default it is).
Every marker on the map is associated with either a Place record or an Address record. If the marker is associated with a Place record, the Popup Marker Window will show the Place record name at the top - as in figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Popup Marker Window showing Place Record
In figure 1, the Place record name at the top is "Liverpool England". This is a link. Click on it to view the Place record in the Property Box. The list is a list of all the events associated with the place if it's a Place Record marker set, or a list of all the selected events associated with the place if it's an Individual & Events marker set.
If the marker is associated with an Address record, the Popup Marker Window will show the Address record name at the top, with the Place record name that the Address is linked to shown in a grey rectangle below it. This is illustrated in figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Popup Marker Window showing an Address record
In figure 2, the Address record name at the top is "Bristol Royal Infirmary". This is a link. Click on it to view the Address record in the Property Box. Address records are associated with Place records. The Place record name is always shown in a grey box, below the Address record name. The Place record name in this case is not a link.
The list in figure 2 is a list of all the events associated with the address if it's an Address Record marker set, or a list of all the selected events associated with the address if it's an Individual & Events marker set.
The list shows a list of all the events associated with the place if it's a Place Record marker set, or a list of all the selected events associated with the place if it's an Individual & Places marker set (which it is, in this example).
Popup Marker Window Toolbar
The toolbar below the list has 3 buttons:
- The Find Event In List button
is used with Individual
& Places marker sets only (it is greyed otherwise) and
locates the currently selected event in the current marker set
listing. - The Menu button
displays a small menu (see below). - The Locate In Property Box button
locates the currently
selected event in the Property Box.
| Find Place/Address in List |
If the current marker set is a Place Record marker set, this will select the place in the marker set listing on the left-hand side. If the current marker set is an Address Record marker set, this will select the address in the marker set listing on the left-hand side. If the current marker set is an Individual & Events marker set, this will select all the events in the current marker set, associated with this place or address (expanding entries for Individuals as necessary, if the relevant events are not showing). |
| Show Place/Address in Property Box | This has the same effect as clicking on the name link at the top of the Popup Marker Window. It causes the relevant Place or Address record to be displayed in the Property Box |
| Centre Map Here | Moves the map so that the current
marker is in the centre of the window. Use the slider below
the 'rose' in the top-left corner to zoom in and out on this
point, without moving the map at all. |
| List Selected Events at this Location | This option is only available when the current marker set is an Individual & Events type. If ticked, only events associated with the current marker set are listed in the Popup Marker Window. |
| List All Events at this Location | If this option is ticked, all events associated with the current marker set are listed in the Popup Marker Window. |
* See Family Historian Map Search and Geocoding for information about service providers. All features which use Internet services provided by third parties (such as automatic geocoding) are subject to the availability of those services.
Popup Marker Window Variants
As we have seen, whenever you select a place or address in the Item
List, if the option Show Popup on Place or Address Selection,
is ticked (which by default it is) the Popup Marker Window will display
to show the location of the selected place or address. Or rather,
it will do that if the selected place or address is geocoded. If
it is not geocoded, the Popup Marker cannot indicate the position on the
map of the place or address as this is not known. In this case,
the appearance of the Popup Marker Window will be slightly different
from usual. It will have a brown background (by default - this is
configurable) rather than a white background. And it will not have
a little 'tail' pointing to any position on the map, as it usually does
(see images above). Instead it will have a caption bar which
you can click-and-drag on to move the window. And it will appear
in the centre of the window, or wherever you last moved it (in its
variant mode) in the current session. It will have text at the top
of the window that sayscn red. And it will have 2 buttons: and .
The button has options to help
you search the map, to find the Place or Address. And the
button can be used to set the latitude and longitude of the Place or
Address to the map centre (indicated by crosshairs).
Tip: Instead of using the
button, you can alternatively click-and-drag the list item onto the map
viewer. When you release the map button, it will prompt you to set
the latitude and longitude to that point on the map. You can also
use this technique to update the latitude and longitude of an item that
has already been geocoded.
The Popup Marker Window will also appear in a variant form if
you click on an item which has been geocoded but where the map location
is not visible in the map viewer at its current position. In that
case, the Popup Marker Window will again have a brown background and a
caption bar; but there will be no text saying "not
geocoded" (because the item is geocoded), and there will also
be no and
buttons (because these are used to help with geocoding, which is not
required in this case). Instead there will be a button. Click on this button to scroll the map
to bring the item's location into view in the map viewer.