Quick-Start Guide

This page gives a quick overview and guidance on how to use the GenTree™ software. Please follow the guide below. If you have any questions please Contact Us - we will be happy to hear from you!

Create and Save a New Database

When you first launch GenTree™ you will be presented with an empty window. To begin using the software, you must first create a new database. To do this, select File | New Database from main menu.

Having created a new database, it is recommended that you then save it. Select File | Save Database from the main menu. You will be prompted to specify a location and file name for the database file. It is recommended you save it where you save other documents that you regularly back up - e.g. in the "My Documents" folder.

Create Your First Family Tree

You may create and store multiple family trees in one database file. To create your first family tree, select Tree | New | Tree from the main menu. Enter a name for the new tree, then click OK.

Create The Highest Ancestor In Your First Family Tree

After creating your first family tree in the previous step, you are now ready to add your first person to this tree. To do this, first click on the tree in the Explorer View at the left of screen. Then select Tree | New | Child from the main menu. Alternatively, you can right-click on the tree and select New | Child.

You will now see a dialog allowing you to enter the details for the new person. Enter the details as desired. Note the special requirements for dates as described below. Click OK once you have entered the desired details, and you will then see the new person listed underneath the new tree.

Note: if at a later date you wish to add more ancestors (i.e. go further back in your family tree) you can click on the highest existing ancestor in a tree, and then select Tree | New | Parent from the main menu. Alternatively, you can right-click on the highest ancestor in the tree and select New | Parent.

Entering Dates

The format for entering and displaying dates is set by selecting Tools | Options from main menu. By default the editing format is set to "dd/mm/yyyy" (i.e. day/month/year). This can be changed as desired - for example, for USA date format you can change this to "mm/dd/yyyy".

When entering dates, it is possible to enter only the Year portion, or only Month & Year, if this is all that is known. For the unknown portions of a date, simply enter a zero value, or leave that portion blank.

For example, assuming the default date format is being used, to enter 1784 as the date of birth, type either of the following into the date field:

0/0/1784
//1784

And to enter May 1863 enter either of the following in the date field:

0/5/1863
/5/1863

At various places, GenTree™ will calculate the age of a person. In order for the calculation to be performed correctly, special attention must be paid to the Date of Death. If you leave this field empty, it is assumed that the person is still alive. Therefore the age will be calculated as the difference between the Date of Birth and today's date. If, however, you know that the person is dead, but do not know when the person died (even in what year), then enter an asterisk (" * ") in this field. This signifies that the person is dead but that the date is unknown. The age will then be shown as unknown, rather than being calculated at today's date.

If the person has died, and a Date of Death is entered, then the Age value calculated is the age of that person at death.

Create Other Children In Your First Family Tree

After creating your first ancestor, you are now ready to create other children. To do this, simply click on the parent and select Tree | New | Child. Alternatively, you can right-click on the parent and select New | Child.

Removing and Adding Children

If you realise that you added a child in the wrong location, you can simply remove this child from the tree. This will NOT delete the person's details - it will just remove them from that tree location. To do so, select the person/child and then select Tree | Remove Child from Tree from the main menu. Alternatively, you can right-click on the person and select Remove Child from Tree.

To add this person (or any person) to a new location in the tree, click on the person's parent then select Tree | Add Child To Tree from the main menu, or right click on the person and select Add Child To Tree. A list dialog will then be shown. Find the person in the list, then click OK.

A person can be added more than once. For example, you can create multiple trees, then add a person in all trees. This shows that person's place in various family lines (mother, father, grandparents, etc...). When you add a person to another tree, all that person's existing children as entered elsewhere is automatically added as well. Adding new children will automatically show in all places that that person exists.

Viewing a List of All People Entered Into the System

You can view a listing of all people entered into the system by selecting Tools | List of People from the main menu. From within this window, you can browse all people present, and modify their details. You can also export this listing by select File | Export to Excel from the main menu within this window.

Maintaining Child and Spouse Relationships

You can view and refine relationships by clicking on a person and selecting Tree | Relationships from the main menu, or by right-clicking on the person and selecting Relationships. Using this dialog, a person can be linked to another person as their spouse, as well as altering the order of their children.

Printing a Listing of a Family Tree

You can print out a family tree by selecting the tree in the Explorer View, then selecting File | Print Preview from the main menu. You will then see the report in a new window. You can print the report by select the Print button from within this window.

To print only a subsection of a tree, select a person in the Explorer View, then select File | Print Preview from the main menu. You will then receive a report including only the family of this person and all descendants.

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