Working with the More About Facts Window
Family Tree Maker offers you a way to track additional life events. As your research progresses, you will find that you are relying on such things as probate records and church records, in addition to the more recognizable vital records. Family Tree Maker has included a variety of predefined facts (Family Tree Maker’s name for the events in a person’s life) to help you record this information.
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You can also access the More About options from the View menu.
Adding Additional Facts
You will record much of the information about your ancestors in the More About Facts window. This is where you will record the variety of life events that you discover.
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TIP
Many of the facts in the Fact drop-down menu are pertinent to specific religions. This allows you to select the appropriate religious event, rather than making do with, say, a general christening event.
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TIP
Information entered using the More About options can also be added using the Individual Facts Card. For more on this option, see Chapter 9, “Getting into Individual Facts Cards.”
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The Pref’d check box is disabled for event-type facts, unless you have conflicting or duplicated facts. If you had two death dates, you would select one of them as your preferred choice.
Adding Additional Names
There are times when you will discover that your ancestor had another name. It might have been a religious name or a nickname, or it might just be a variant of his or her given name. Family Tree Maker allows you to keep track of these different names. Whereas the AKA (also known as) name option allows you to record one additional name, through the name options here you can record variant name spellings and other names you simply want to remember.
Selecting a Preferred Name
Even if you checked the Pref’d check box when you entered a name, you can always change that. For example, when sending reports to a cousin, you might want to use one name; when sharing with your brother or sister, you might want to use another name.
Creating a New Fact Name
Family Tree Maker includes 41 different facts, but you might need to record an event that is not covered by any of them. You can create a new fact name whenever you need one.
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You can use partial dates, or estimate the date based on the individual’s age at another time. To estimate dates, see “Calculating Dates and Ages” in Chapter 20, “Working with Dates and Facts.”
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You can always get rid of a fact name that you have created. For more information on this, see Chapter 20, “Working with Dates and Facts.”