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Genealogical Computing
4/1/2002 - Archive
Creating Web Pages with Genealogy Software
One of the many joys of genealogy is making contact with others who are researching
a common ancestral line. Sharing information with distant and sometimes not-so-distant
cousins can advance research goals and make for a very rewarding experience.
In the past, genealogists have had to rely on queries in genealogical society
publications and some cold-call letters to reach fellow researchers. The fruits
of their research were born out in print, sometimes in typewritten manuscripts
given to a few relatives and libraries, sometimes in full-fledged books.
The Internet has given genealogists a new medium for exchanging information.
Although many people receive Web space from their Internet Service Provider,
many do not take advantage of it because they don't know how to code in HTML
(the language used to create Web pages) or they don't want to be bothered with
the coding involved in a genealogy report.
Just as genealogy software can help people create books (methods for creating
books with genealogical software appeared in "From Bytes to Books: Publishing
with Genealogy Software," GC 21:3), it can also help in taking care of
tedious HTML coding. This article will discuss some of the features of the same
four programs examined in the previous article: Legacy, Family Origins,
The Master Genealogist, and Family Tree Maker. Mac users will want
to consult the Winter 2001 issue of GC [20:3] for publishing options with Mac
software.
With the exception of Family Tree Maker and users who opt to use space
with Family Origins, the HTML files created with a genealogy program
need to be uploaded with another program such as CuteFTP or Microsoft
FrontPage. Even though another program is needed to actually publish
the files to the user's site, these genealogy programs make it much easier to
publish genealogical data on the Internet.
Legacy 3.0, Standard Edition
(www.legacyfamilytree.com)
The free version of Legacy 3.0 gives its users many options for creating
Web pages. To access this feature, click on Internet>Create Web Pages or
press Ctrl+W. The Web Page Creation window offers several options for content
and format (see figure 1). In addition to these functions, Legacy 3.0
Deluxe allows users to produce PDF files of previewed reports, which
could be added to a user's Web site.
The Project tab controls where the Web page is stored on the hard drive-not
the Web site to which it will be published. The Web pages can be saved to a
different folder or drive by clicking the Location button. The Project tab is
also where users input a title for the pages, as well as a message that will
appear under the title. Because one purpose of having a Web site is to enable
others to contact you, Legacy gives users a place to enter a name, address,
and e-mail address. The e-mail address becomes a hyperlink, which gives visitors
an easy way to contact the Web site's creator.
The Project tab is also the place to set the style of Web page—ancestor,
descendant, pedigree, family group, or individual. The ancestor and descendant
styles are those most familiar to Internet users. The pedigree style creates
an ancestor chart page that has expanded information about the subject and a
listing of the subject's spouses and children, with links to their pages. These
several features are not found on most ancestor charts.
Users who will be creating multiple Web pages may find their job a bit easier
by using Legacy; it offers the ability to save the report settings for
use with other projects. These controls are found on the Project tab. Once the
settings are made to the user's preference, choosing Save will make the settings
available for future Web pages. Selecting Load will allow the user to choose
which setting he or she would like to use. A very useful button is the reset
button, which looks like an R inside of a circle. Users can play with the settings
as much as they want and if they want to go back to Legacy's default
settings, they need only select the reset button.
The easiest way to select the main subject of the Web page is to have that person
highlighted in the Family View or the Pedigree View. If a different subject
is needed, the user can click on the Who to Include tab, then click on Change.
This brings up the Name List for that family file.
The What to Include tab contains many essential options. It is where users can
suppress details for living individuals and even change the name to "Living."
It is also where users set the details to be included, such as notes, causes
of death, and alternate names. And they can add a GEDCOM file for visitors to
download.
Source citations are very important in genealogical research. The What to Include
tab allows users to include source citations on their Web pages. The default
setting is to include them. Sources can be by themselves on a separate page
or on every page.
Web designers need to be concerned not only with content, but also with formatting.
Large pages can take a long time to download. Under the Formatting tab, Legacy
gives users the option of putting ancestor and descendant reports all on one
page or putting each generation onto separate pages. The default is to have
the report all on one page. This would make for a very large page when the family
is large. The Formatting tab is also where users can format the appearance of
the names, headers, surname indexes, and name lists.
The Graphics tab contains the options for the graphics used in the Web page
such as the background, bullets, divider lines, and arrows. Pull-down menus
allow users to choose from graphics that are available within Legacy
or other graphics that the user may already have.
Family Origins 10.0
www.formalsoft.com
Family Origins 10.0 gives its users very straight-forward options for
creating genealogical Web pages. The creation process begins by clicking Internet>Create
a Web site.
Rather than using a tabbed menu approach, Family Origins 10.0 uses the
"Home Page Wizard" (see figure 3). The wizard asks questions about
different aspects of the Web site. After answering the questions, the user clicks
Next and, depending on the type of page desired, moves through four or five
screens of questions and options. Unlike wizards in some other software programs,
Family Origins 10.0 allows users to click Back to change options after
they have moved past that screen.
Before starting the creation process, users go to the Tree View or the Family
View and highlight the person who is to be the main subject of the site. Although
one of the options for types of Web sites is "Some or All Individuals,"
it is much easier to begin the process with the subject highlighted. In fact,
choosing a person through this option will preclude the site being set up with
traditional generation headings, such as "First Generation," "Second
Generation," etc.
The first screen the Home Page Wizard sets up covers some of the technical aspects
of the site. In this screen, users enter the project name, which Family Origins
uses to name the folder into which the pages are stored. Users also enter a
file name ("index" is the default value) and file extension. This
is also the screen where users can select the type of Web site. Options include
ancestors of highlighted person, descendants of highlighted person, some or
all individuals (all three of which are in a narrative "book" format),
pedigree charts, and family group sheets. Reports can include up to 30 generations.
The first screen is also where a user can enter the title of his or her Web
site. Users can enter a description of the Web site, which will appear at the
top of the main page of the new site. This gives the Web site author the ability
to add more specific information about the family than what is included in the
title.
The second screen is where users select the colors for the text and background
of the main screen and the sidebar. There are also several textures that are
available for the main screen and sidebar.
Users select things to include on their Web site from the third screen of the
wizard. Options include whether to include the data of living people, photos
of each person, sources, and notes. The main page can include a photo, either
of the starting person or of another image on the hard drive. For users who
want to easily share their GEDCOM file, Family Origins allows users to
make the file available on the new Web site.
Having other researchers contact you is one of the major reasons for publishing
a Web site. Family Origins gives its users the option to add contact information
from the fourth screen of the wizard. Users can enter a mailing address as well
as a clickable e-mail address. This screen is also where Web authors can place
links for up to four other Web sites.
Depending on the type of Web site created, authors may be done at this point.
If the "Some or All Individuals" or Family group sheet style was chosen,
the user will be taken to a screen where the desired individuals are selected
for inclusion (see figure 4).
After the pages are generated, a menu showing where the files are located appears.
The files can be previewed with an Internet browser. If the user has signed
up for a site at Family Origins, clicking "Upload this Web site
to your Family Origins home page" will upload the newly created pages.
The Master Genealogist, Gold Edition, version 4.0d
www.whollygenes.com
Users of The Master Genealogist (TMG) have long touted its report
capabilities. Creating HTML files is an option for many of the reports that
users can generate. In addition to the traditional ancestor and descendant reports
typically made with genealogy programs, The Master Genealogist will also
create HTML files for reports such as ahnentafels, kinship listings, and distributions
of people.
The steps for creating HTML files for most reports are very similar. Some options
for what can be included may not appear in every type of report, but the steps
for including them are the same. For the purposes of this article, we will concentrate
on the descendant reports.
Users create reports in HTML format the same way they generate other reports
in TMG, by clicking Reports, then clicking on the type of report. The
Descendant report gives options for box chart, indented chart, indented narrative,
and journal narrative. Under journal narrative is the option for genealogy report
(register) to HTML file. However the other options, including "Modified
Register," can be modified to save its output as an HTML file.
Upon choosing the report type, the user is given a Report Definition screen
(see figure 5). It is possible to select the subject of the report through the
Focus tab or upon report generation (for most types of reports). Like other
programs, the easiest way to set the subject of the Web page is to have that
person as the subject on the person, family, or tree views before starting to
create the files.
The Report Definition screen is the heart of creating a Web page with TMG.
This screen has several menu tabs, each of which has several options. The General
tab is where users choose to create an HTML file (if it is not already selected).
Although the default directory for the files is the Reports sub-directory, users
can change this, as well as select a file name. Care should be given to naming
the file, as TMG will truncate anything past the first five characters.
The General tab is also where users select the various components of the Web
page. The Publication Tools button gives access to selecting (or de-selecting)
such things as memos, sources, and indexes. Memos, sources, and indexes can
appear as footnotes, endnotes, or embedded in the text. Indexes can include
people, places, and/or marriages, with many options for formatting, such as
dates of birth and death, largest geographic element first, and combined bride
and groom index.
The Type tab allows users to change the numbering format (NEHGS, NGSQ, TAG,
or custom). It is also this tab where users can choose to suppress details for
living individuals and set the number of generations to include in the report.
TMG uses many types of tags, so it is not surprising that Tags would
have their own tab on the Report Definition screen. The Miscellaneous tab has
many options, including whether to have one file per generation or one file
per progenitor. Splitting it to one file per generation results in more files,
but each file is smaller than the one large file that is created when using
the progenitor method. This is an important consideration when there are numerous
individuals in the family file-the larger the family, the larger the file, the
slower it loads on a visitor's computer.
Family Tree Maker 9.0
www.familytreemaker.com
Family Tree Maker 9.0 has perhaps the easiest Web page creation and publishing
options. Users do not need to create the pages and then publish the files with
a separate program. FTM 9.0 will publish the files with the click of
a button. However, the user has no choice as to where the pages are published.
All of them end up on the user's site at family treemaker.com.
Before publishing a Web site with FTM, the user must first register his
or her site at familytreemaker.com. After starting an Internet connection, click
on Internet>Go Online. At the bottom of the page, click on New Family Tree
Maker Online User. Filling in the requested information will register the user's
home page.
Rather than starting with generating reports prior to making HTML files, FTM
9.0 has its users create a "Family Home Page." There are two ways
to begin this process: 1) by clicking the Publishing Center icon on the toolbar,
or 2) by clicking on View>Publishing Center. After the Publishing Center
window is opened, clicking on Create a Family Home Page starts the wizard that
guides the user through the process. Users can opt to include the entire file
(up to 2,000 individuals) or just selected individuals, include pictures, and
hide information of living people.
After the user has registered and created his or her home page, he or she can
add other reports, including Register, NGSQ, or Ahnentafel style
descent reports, outline descendant trees, and books. Click on the report button
for the report or tree that is desired and make any formatting changes with
the formatting buttons on the right side of the screen. After the report is
complete, establish a connection with the Internet, and click Internet>Publish
Report to the Internet. To view the page, click on the Publishing Center icon,
then choose View Your Home Page.
In a similar manner, Web authors can add books they have created. Click on Books>Open
Books and select the desired book. After it has opened, click on Internet>Publish
Book to the Internet.
FTM gives its users the option of adding an interactive box-style ancestor
chart called an InterneTree. Starting in the Family Page view, click Internet>Publish
Family Tree to the Internet. All or selected individuals can be included.
Reports can be deleted from the user's Family Tree Maker Web site. From
the user's home page, click Edit Your Page. The new page, Author Options, gives
a place to make many changes to the site. Clicking My Family History, Books,
Trees, Files, Photos, Reports, and Links gives the user a list of the items
included on the site. Items are removed by clicking the checkbox next to the
item(s), then clicking Remove Selected Items.
Users can change the look of their FTM Web site. From the user's home
page, click Edit Your Page, then click Text and Contact Information. Users can
see samples of the available format options, as well as update the contact information
that appears on the main page.
Conclusion
A recent search on Google.com for the term
"genealogy" yielded over 8.2 million hits; a search for "my family
tree" resulted in over 67,000 hits. Even with the plethora of genealogical
Web sites, there are genealogists who have not availed themselves of the Web
space they have. The Web page creation functions of these popular programs can
help users who have no knowledge of HTML coding (or desire to code their genealogical
reports) make their presence known on the World Wide Web-and hopefully give
them the joy of making a connection with a fellow researcher.
Note: To ensure privacy, do not publish the names and personal information
of living individuals on the Internet.
Amy Johnson Crow, CG, is a professional genealogist who specializes in Ohio research.
She is an author, lecturer, and trustee of APG and the Ohio Genealogical Society,
and chair of First Families of Ohio. Amy is a member of APG, NGS, GSG, and numerous
state and county societies. She can be reached by e-mail at amy@amyjohnsoncrow.com.
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