Terry's TMG Tips

New Features in TMG Version 7

This page updated 18 Apr 2008

Version note: Applies to TMG 7

Version 7 of TMG, released 27 Dec 2007, introduces a number of useful new features. Release 7 builds on versions 5 and 6, so users of those versions will find a familiar interface, but enhanced with new capabilities. For a complete list of the new features in version 7 see the List of New Features on the Wholly Genes website. This article, and those linked to it, describes those I find most interesting, and include some tips on how to make the most of them.

Updating from TMG Version 5 or 6

TMG 7 is a totally separate program from TMG 5 or 6. That means you can have both versions installed on your computer at the same time – there is no need to uninstall the old version before installing the new one. In fact, users should not remove the old version until they have successfully transferred all existing Projects and customizations to version 7.

MicroSoft's new Windows Vista™ operating system, in the interest of improved security, enforces new rules about the location of user data and configuration files. TMG 7, as a Windows Vista-compliant application, automatically addresses this requirement, both for users using Windows Vista and those using older operating systems. In order to do that, the process for transferring an existing Project from TMG 5 or 6 is different than that used for prior updates.

See my article on Updating to TMG 7 for details on how to copy your custom settings and transfer your Projects created in versions 5 or 6.

Users creating a new Project in TMG 7 simply use the File > New Project command. All the files created are automatically placed in appropriate locations.

Users updating a TMG 4 Data Set to TMG 7 will use the File > Import command to transfer their data just as with versions 5 and 6.

Improved Screen Resizing

When data entry screens in TMG 5 and 6 were resized all the fonts in labels and data fields were adjusted in size accordingly. Therefor a taller Memo field did not display more lines of text, and lists did not display more items. In TMG 7 the default mode is for the font sizes to remain the same as the screen is made taller, with the additional space given to "memo" fields and list boxes so they can display more information. For example, the Tag Entry screen might appear as follows:

Note how in the new format more lines of the memo are visible, and more Witnesses and Citations can be seen.

For those that prefer the previous method of managing these screens, there is an option in Preferences > Program Options > Other to use the "TMG 5/6 method of window resizing."

The Associates Window

A new feature in TMG 7 allows you to see at a glance all the people linked to the current focus person. Perhaps more useful is the ability to navigate to any one of them by double-clicking on their names, as you can do with the Children and Sibling windows, and in the Person View.

The new window lists every person attached to any Event Tag in which the current focus person is attached. Since the "other Principal" is already visible in the tags in the Person View, the new window is really most useful when the Tags include Witnesses. Here is an example of the Associates window for a person with a number of Tags with attached Witnesses:

Note that the list includes the name and ID# of each person, the date and name of the Tag, and the Role assigned the person. I find the Role to be especially useful because I use Roles with Census, Moved, Immigration and other Tags, and the Role generally tells how each person fit into the event.

There are a number of options to control the display in the Associates window, all available from the right-click menu. The settings I find most useful are:

• When the Focus Person is a Principal – I set it to include Witness only, because the other Principal is already visible in the Person view.

• When the Focus Person is Not a Principal – I set it to include Witness only, because generally the Principals are already visible in the Person view.

• Sort – I set to Date, Tag Name, because the resulting list generally mirrors the tag listing in the Person View.

Of course other users may find different setting more useful. Be sure to explore the available options.

Data Entry Reminders

Knowing exactly how to enter data for best results in Tags and Sources can be a concern for new users, and also for experienced users who have created complex Tag Sentences or Source Types. The new "Reminder" function is designed to assist users in either situation.

See my Using Reminders article for details of how the function works, and tips on how you can make use of it.

Sentence Preview Screen

Users have long asked for a preview function so they can see, while editing a Tag, how the information entered will appear in narrative reports. The new Sentence Preview feature provides this capability without the need to create a preview report. The preview is especially useful for users who are modifying the Sentence Structure in a tag and want to test the results of their work.

See my Sentence Preview article for details of how the function works, and tips on how you can take advantage of it.

Customizing the "Children of..." Statement in Journals

Journal reports include a list of the children of the focus person, which is introduced with a statement similar to:

Children of John Jones and Mary White were as follows:

If there are no children of the couple in the Data Set, a statement like this appears:

There were no children of John Jones and Mary White.

There are several report options to modify these statements, which apply to everyone in the report. A new feature introduced in TMG 7 allows the user to construct a custom statement for each couple. This is useful, for example, when the report includes some cousins who have only been partly researched. In such a case, the statement might reflect that the list of their children may or may not be complete.

See my Customizing the "Children of" Statement article for details of how the function works, and tips on how you can use it to advantage.

Introduction and Conclusion Sections for Journals

Many users like to include an introductory section to reports, perhaps with some general comments about the family, description of their research, some statements about conventions used, or perhaps other material that applies to the report as a whole and not to specific individuals. A concluding section at the end of the report can also be helpful.

The Journal report supports use of both these sections (Introduced with version 7.01). See my Journal Introduction and Conclusion article for details.

Combining Tag Sentences in Output

Generally, each Tag in TMG creates one or more complete sentences of text in narrative reports. Thus each Tag produces a separate output sentence. A new code introduced in version 7 permits the output of two or more tags to be combined into a single sentence of narrative output.

See my Combined Sentences article for details of how the function works, and tips on how you can best use it.

Managing the Automatic End-of-Sentence Punctuation

By default TMG removes any punctuation at the end of the text output by each tag in narrative reports and applies a period. There is an exception for certain recognized punctuation supplied by the user, such as a question mark, which is retained. A new code introduced in version 7 allows any user-supplied punctuation to be retained, and prevents the addition of a period where none is provided by the user.

The new code – [:NP:] – can be typed into the Sentence field, or added by selecting "No Change to Punctuation" from the right-click menu. It can be placed anywhere in the Sentence, but placing it at the end avoids some obscure issues with some reports.

Several applications for the new code have been suggested, including:

• Using a Tag for only an exhibit, with no text output. Use of the new code eliminates the stand-alone period that would otherwise be generated.

• Creating text ending with final punctuation not recognized for that purpose by TMG, such as a colon.

• Creating a Tag to be used only for "printer codes," such as a Tag to produce a new paragraph in narrative reports. Such a tag would appear on the list of tags in the Person View, and would allow the paragraph break to be added, deleted, or relocated without editing the Sentences of the existing event tags. A Tag for this purpose might have a Sentence like:

  [:CR:][:CR:][:TAB:][:NP:]

Previously such tags created a stand-alone period in the output text, or replaced the user-supplied final punctuation with a period.

Including Special Characters in Report Output

TMG assigns special meaning to a number of characters, which means that generally those characters cannot be used in output text. Examples include:

A new feature, using what is called an "escape" character, allows these special characters to be included in output text and source notes. This is done by placing a backslash before the special character, which causes its special meaning to be ignored. For example:

Note that when special characters appear in pairs, as with the curly, square and angle brackets, each individual character is preceded by the backslash. The new escape character can be used in Tag, Witness, Citation, Source, and Repository Memos, Sentence Structures, Source Templates, Source Elements, and the Citation Detail.

Copying Source Types Between Data Sets

There is a new feature in TMG 7 that allows Source Types to be exported and imported. This should make it much easier to copy customized Source Types from one Data Set or Project to another, as well as for users to exchange custom Source Types with one another.

See my article on Importing and Exporting Source Types for details on how this works.

Some New Buttons

TMG 7 offers new buttons on the Person View to work with Tags:

TMG 7 also adds a pair of new buttons to the Citation section of the Tag Entry Screen:

The Repeat Last Citation button and it's equivalent keyboard shorcut, the F3 key, open the Citation screen with the most recently used Source number and Citation Detail entered in that screen. The Repeat Recent Citations button and its equivalent keyboard shorcut, the Ctrl+F3 keys, opens a list of recent Citations to choose from, and when you select one the Citation screen opens. In either case you can then edit the prior Citation Detail, and enter data in the other fields if desired. Or, use Add New Citation button , or its equivalent keyboard shortcut, the F4 key, to open the Citation screen, where you can apply the F3 or Ctrl+F3 keys to each field independently.

Entering Duplicate People

A new feature in TMG 7 examines new people as you add them to your Data Set to see if the new person may be someone you have previously entered. If a possible duplicate is identified a you enter information in the Add Person screen, a warning appears:

If you click the binoculars button next to the warning the Picklist opens, displaying only the person or people identified as possibly a duplicate. If you decide the new person is actually a duplicate, you can cancel the addition of the new person. If you determine it is not a duplicate, simply proceed.

The criteria used to determine whether a new person is a duplicate is controlled from Preferences > Program Options > New People:

You can disable the feature entirely by unchecking the first option. You can adjust the criteria used by use of any of the other settings.

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