TMG Very Basics

Some Important Concepts

Starting a New Project

Demonstration

The Master Genealogist

• Family History Project Manager

• Supplier: Wholly Genes … Bob Velke

• Application for Microsoft Windows

• Designed for Experienced Genealogists!

• Professional “grade” … feature rich

• Usable by novices …

… it can be a bit intimidating

Welcome to The Master Genealogist™

• Each time you enter The Master Genealogist™, you will see the Welcome window. In this window you can choose:

– Last Opens the last project used. This button will not appear the first time you open the program. If you place your cursor on the [Last] button, a tooltip will tell you which project was open last.

– Sample Opens the Sample project. You can copy this project and use the copy for practice.

– Select... Selects a project from a list of those already created.– Restore... Restores a project from a backup into a folder of your choice. – Import... Imports data from another program into a project.– New Creates a new empty project and allows you to import your own data.– Exit to Windows Leaves The Master Genealogist™ program and returns to

Windows.

• Today we are going to focus on “New”

TMG: Input, Process, Output

• Input– Import– Data Entry

• Process:– Rules, interfaces, databases, terminology

• Output:– TMG windows (layout)– Reports– Charts– Exports

Help!

• Menu bar: Help– Help, Help Contents

– Tips and Hints

– FAQ

– A Guided Tour of The Master Genealogist

• Very Windows style - tabs– Contents– Index– Search– Favorites

Tips and Hints

• contains interesting hints and tips on how to use various features

• increment from Beginning, through Intermediate, to Advanced tips (then recycle)

• Show tips and hints at startup [ ] or [X]

FAQ

• Useful information

• But, not very extensive or frequently updated

More Help

• Message manager

• Check for an update

• Technical Support

• About The Master Genealogist

Windows GUI

Title bar

Menu bar

Toolbars

Minimize, maximize (restore), exit

Scroll bars

Title bar

Menu bar

Toolbars

Minimize, maximize (restore), exit

Scroll bars

A well behaved application!

TMG Layout

Project Explorer Details Windows

Flags Window

Image window

Siblings Window

Children Window

Associates window

Details Window

• Most of the data for an individual

• Display options– Person View– Family View– Tree Vuew

Project Explorer

• Provides an overview of the individuals in your project.

• Display of all names (unless filtered for primary names)

Flags Window

• Displays standard flags: sex, living, birthorder, multiple birth, adopted, ancestor interest, and descendant interest

• Displays custom flags

• Flags are single character fields used to codify information about a person

Cue Card

• Pesky little messages with “hints”

Everyone is a number!

• An ID Number is assigned to each person

• It serves as a quick way to reference a particular person.

• When asked for an ID Number, enter the number and press <Enter>.

• If you do not know the ID Number, you can search using the Picklist or the Project Explorer.

New Project …the beginning

Starting a New Project

1. Import Wizard … new project with data recorded in another program

2. Data Entry Wizard … enter data from scratch: yourself, your father, your mother, and their marriage

3. Direct data entry (what you do next)

Import

• Import from different genealogy programs– A new TMG data set, or– A new project

• File > Import

• Import Wizard

• Definitely a “trial and error (correction)” process …

• Learn TMG to at least intermediate FIRST

Maintenance

• Use periodically

• Five choices (functions):– Reindex– Optimize– Performance Recommendations– Validate File Integrity– Initialize Repeat Files

Backup

• Learn it, Use it

• If possible backup to different disk from where your Project resides

• e.g.– C: stores programs, parameters, etc.– D: stores data (My Documents, +)– E: external drive used for backups

• Norton 360• TMG, Outlook, and other application specific

Mode: Beginner or Advanced

• File > Preferences > Program Options: Data Entry– Beginner Mode– Advanced Mode

• After using TMG for several hours of tutorial, experimentation, etc. SWITCH to Advanced Mode and learn it … then stay in advanced mode!

TMG Files / Project

• … /My Documents/The Master Genealogist v7/Projects• Project files (*.pjc), e.g. Clark family.pjc• TMG has other folders:

– Backups– Configuration Files– Exhibits– Logs– Repeat_files– Report_output– Slideshow– Timelines

Menu bar: File>>New Project …

New Project Wizard

• New project through data entry (not import)

• Fast way to create a new … project …

• Enter first three people:– Yourself– Your father– Your mother

• Gee … that was easy

Everything is in a table (list)

• People

• Places

• Events (aka Tags)

• Repositories, Sources, Citations

• Tasks (research log)

• Witnesses

Report … List of … each of the above

Repeat Keys

• F3 and CTRL F3 are the repeat keys– Values stored as the “Repeat Files”– Pressing <F3> in a field inserts most recently used

value for that field

• F2 is the Unique Values key– Pressing <F2> from many data entry fields will

produce a listing of all previous entries in that field.– Highlight any item on the list and press <Enter> or

double-click on the item to insert all elements of that entry into the appropriate field(s).

• Frequently Asked Questions web sitewww.whollygenes.com/faq.htm

• Additional Resources web sitewww.whollygenes.com/resources.htm

Tags

• Basic medium for recording information about a person– Also use Flags, images,– Name tag– Event tag– Address tag– History tag– Relationship tag

• >100 pre-defined tags + your custom ones

TMG Fields

Principal 1

Date

Principal 2

Date

MemosCitation Windows

Sort Date

• Dates are sorted chronologically in several places, using the date in the Sort Date field, regardless of whether the Date or Sort Date field is displayed.

• If a Sort Date was not entered or included in imported data, the Date field will be used in the Sort Date field.

• Very useful feature!

Primary Tag

• TMG allows multiple tags for the same type of event, relationship, or name.

• It is necessary to designate one of these as "primary."

• Used by features and at other times when only one tag of a type is expected.

• Primary tags are designated with an asterisk (*) or bold type [preferenes]

Bibliography

• Primer for TMG, by Terry Reigel

• Getting the Most Out of TMG (aka GTMOOTMG), edited by Lee Hoffman

• Video Training for TMG - Getting Started

• Help system of TMG

• Help >> Online Guided Tour of TMG

Read the freakin’ manual!