* various: merge changes made in gramps20 up until R2_0_9 tag.
svn: r5544
This commit is contained in:
Alex Roitman
@@ -23,278 +23,242 @@
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<!-- $Id$ -->
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<title>Preface</title>
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<para>
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&app; is a free software package designed to help you with
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genealogical research. It allows you to store, edit, and research
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genealogical data using your computer. &app; is an open source
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software package, which means you are free to run it on any number
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of computers, examine the code, make changes, and redistribute as
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many copies as you like. It is developed and maintained by a
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worldwide team of volunteers and is available at no cost from the
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project web site and from many software distributions
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</para>
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<para>GRAMPS is a software package designed for genealogical
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research. Although similar to other genealogical programs, GRAMPS
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offers some unique and powerful features, which we'll discuss
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below. </para>
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<para>GRAMPS is a Open Source Software package, which means you
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are free to make copies and distribute it to anyone you like.
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It's developed and maintained by a worldwide team of volunteers
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whose goal is to make GRAMPS powerful, yet easy to use.</para>
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<sect1 id="why-gramps">
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<title>Why use GRAMPS?</title>
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<para>
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Most genealogy programs allow the researcher to input
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information related to a family tree. They can usually display
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descendant or ancestral relationships through graphical
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displays, charts, or reports. Some allow pictures or other media
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to be inserted to enhance the raw data. Most provide a means to
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include data on individuals or families that may or may not be
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related to the primary family being researched. And they may
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include other features such as exporting or importing to and
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from other programs and printing data contained in various
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reports.
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<para>Most genealogy programs allow you to enter information
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about your ancestors and descendants. Typically, they can
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display family relationships through charts, graphs, or
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reports. Some allow you to include pictures or other media. Most
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let you include information about people even if those people
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are not related to the primary family you happen to be
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researching. And they may include features that let you exchange
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data with other programs and print different types of
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reports. </para>
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</para><para>
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<para>GRAMPS has all these capabilities and more. Notably, it
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allows you to integrate bits and pieces of data as they arise
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from your research and to put them in one place — your
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computer. You can then use your computer to manipulate,
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correlate, and analyze your data, rather than messing with reams
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of paper. </para>
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&app; has all these capabilities and more. Notably, it allows
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you to integrate bits and pieces of stray data as the arise from
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your research and put all this information in one place - your
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computer. You can then use the speed, power, and accuracy of
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your computer to store, manipulate, correlate, and analyze your
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data, rather than messing with reams of paper.
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</para><para>
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&app; has the power to let you rearrange your data in any order
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or sequence and to help you fill gaps in genealogical
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relationships.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="whats-new">
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<title>What's new since 1.0.X</title>
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<para>
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This section lists most notable changes from the previous
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stable branch of &app;, the 1.0.X.
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<title>What's new since 1.0.X</title>
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</para>
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<para>If you are new to GRAMPS, it may not be important for you
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to know how GRAMPS version 2.0.0 (the object of this manual)
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differs from previous versions of the software. You may
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therefore elect to skip this section.</para>
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<para>However, if you are already familiar with GRAMPS and are
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interested in the new aspects and features of version 2.0.0,
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please read on.</para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry><term>Berkeley database backend</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The default format for &app; is now the BSDDB database.
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This change allowed us to overcome performance issues and
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memory requirements of the 1.0.X branch. With the database
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backend, the database sizes of up to a hundred thousand
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people do not present a major obstacle any longer.
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<para>We've adopted the Berkeley database format (BSDDB) as
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the default for GRAMPS. Berkeley is the most widely used
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open source developer database in the world.</para>
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</para><para>
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<para>This change allowed us to overcome issues of
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performance and memory requirements that beset version
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1.0.X. With the new back-end, database sizes of up to a
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hundred thousand people no longer present a major
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obstacle.</para>
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The default extension for &app; BSDDB database files is
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grdb. The new format is open and fully documented in the
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developer's API reference distributed with the source of
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&app;.
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<para>The default extension for GRAMPS' BSDDB database files
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is grdb. The new format is open and fully documented in the
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developer's API reference distributed with the source code
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of GRAMPS. </para>
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</para><para>
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<note id="default-format">
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<title>Preferred format</title>
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A consequence of the new database backend is that the
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changes, once approved by the user, are applied
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immediately. In short, once you click
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<guibutton>OK</guibutton> in the Person, Family, Source,
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Place, Media object, or Event editor, all the changes made
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to this object are recorded in the database. No saving is
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necessary (or even possible). The analog of quitting
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without saving would be abandoning all changes and
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quitting. Also, it is possible to undo recent actions.
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</para>
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<para>The preferred and default format for &app; is the
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new BSDDB format.</para>
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</note>
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<para>A consequence of the new database back-end is that the
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"saving" function is no longer necessary (or even
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possible). Now, once you approve changes, they are
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immediately applied; this means that clicking
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<guibutton>OK</guibutton> in the Person, Family, Source,
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Place, Media object, or Event editor immediately records
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changes in the database. </para>
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<para>In previous versions, you could "quit without
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saving." This option no longer exists per se; however,
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in version 2.0.0, you can achieve the same effect if you
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abandon or "cancel" all changes and then
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quit.</para>
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<para>Also, it is now possible to undo recent
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actions.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry><term>Interface improvements</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<varlistentry><term>Other database back-ends</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Along with the BSDDB backend, we've incorporated
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"in-memory" database handling for the GRAMPS XML
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and GEDCOM formats. This means you can now open files in
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those two formats and work with their data without having to
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first create a new database and import data into it. Since
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this approach requires GRAMPS to hold all the data in
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memory, it is only useful for small databases (depending on
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available memory size).</para>
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There were numerous changes in the interface. Most of them
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are subtle and incremental improvements, and all of them
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cannot be listed here. The most noticeable changes are:
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<warning id="gedcom-editing">
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<title>GEDCOM Editing</title>
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Removal of alphabetical tabs
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Ability to add/remove/rearrange columns in list views
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Removal of Save function and addition of Undo
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Proper window management and removal of most modal windows
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Support for Tip of the Day
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Person-dependent context menus (right-click) in Pedigree View
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listing parents, children, spouses, and siblings
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Export wizard
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Built-in Find function in list views
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Date selector dialog
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Name editor enhancements: patronymic names and non-default
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grouping
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Recent file support (both gramps-specific and gnome-wide)
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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<para>Please keep in mind that some information in a
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GEDCOM file may be lost during import into GRAMPS. Simply
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opening and viewing the file will not change it. However,
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if any changes were made and they were not abandoned upon
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exit, exiting GRAMPS will save the data, with the possible
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data loss.</para>
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</warning>
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>
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Other database backends
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</term>
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<term>Desktop integration</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Along with the BSDDB backend, the in-memory database handling
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for &app; XML and GEDCOM formats has been added. Simply put, it
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is now possible to natively open data in those two formats
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(although the preferred and default format is grdb) and work with
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that data, without necessarily setting up an empty database and
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then importing into it. This approach requires holding all data in
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memory, so it is only useful for small databases (depending on the
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available memory size). In such mode, the data is automatically
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saved upon exit, to mimic the functionality of the real database.
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<warning id="gedcom-inmem1-warn">
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<title>GEDCOM Editing</title>
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<para>
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Please keep in mind that some information in GEDCOM
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file may be lost during import into &app;. Simply
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opening and viewing the file will not change it.
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However, if any changes were made and they were not
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abandoned upon exit, exiting &app; will save the data,
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with the possible data loss.
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</para>
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</warning>
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</para>
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<para>We've improved the way GRAMPS integrates with the GNOME
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desktop interface common to many Linux distributions. All file
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formats recognized by GRAMPS are now registered as mime types;
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each has its own icon and has GRAMPS as its default
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handler. Thus, if you double-click on any file having one of
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these formats, GRAMPS will launch and open the file.</para>
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<para>We've also added support for GNOME's "recent
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documents" function and have incorporated this function
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within GRAMPS itself.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Interface improvements</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>We've made numerous changes in the interface. Most of
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them are subtle and incremental improvements, and all of them
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cannot be listed here. The most notable are:</para>
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>Removal of alphabetical tabs.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
|
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<para>Ability to add/remove/rearrange columns in list views.</para>
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</listitem>
|
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<listitem>
|
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<para>Removal of the Save function and addition of Undo.</para>
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</listitem>
|
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<listitem>
|
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<para>Proper window management and removal of most modal windows.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Support for Tip of the Day.</para>
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</listitem>
|
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<listitem>
|
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<para>Person-dependent context menus (right-click) in
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Pedigree View, listing parents, children, spouses, and
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siblings.</para>
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</listitem>
|
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<listitem>
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<para>Addition of an Export wizard.</para>
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</listitem>
|
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<listitem>
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<para>Built-in Find function in list views.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Addition of a Date selector dialog.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Name editor enhancements: patronymic names and
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non-default grouping.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>"Recent document" support (both within GRAMPS and
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GNOME-wide)</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Import and Export</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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New import and export filters available for the GeneWeb format.
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</para>
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<para>We've added import and export filters for the GeneWeb format.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term>Reports</term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A new report -- Statistics Chart -- has been added to &app;.
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</para><para>
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An overall change of the whole report framework has been
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accomplished. All reports now remember their options. It
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is possible to generate reports from the command line,
|
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without launching the interactive &app; session. The
|
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report API is much simpler now, making it easy to write a
|
||||
custom report. A single code instance may be used for a
|
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standalone report, a book item, and a command-line
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||||
report.
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
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</varlistentry>
|
||||
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<varlistentry>
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||||
<term>Command line</term>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
The new command line functionality includes opening the
|
||||
filename argument given without any flags, as well as new
|
||||
flags and options for report generation. Also, the
|
||||
addition of new formats leads to additional available
|
||||
format options.
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<itemizedlist>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>We've added a new report: Statistics Chart. </para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>We've changed the overall report framework. All
|
||||
reports now remember the options you configure for
|
||||
them.</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>It is possible to generate reports from the command
|
||||
line, without launching the interactive GRAMPS
|
||||
session.</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>The report API is much simpler now, making it easy to
|
||||
write custom reports.</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>A single code instance may be used for a standalone
|
||||
report, a book item, and a command-line report. </para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
</itemizedlist>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
</varlistentry>
|
||||
|
||||
<varlistentry>
|
||||
<term>Internationalization</term>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
The approach for entering and displaying dates has been
|
||||
completely re-worked. In particular, the new framework
|
||||
allows for a deeper localization of displayed dates than
|
||||
was ever possible using the translatable strings.
|
||||
</para><para>
|
||||
The internationalization of names have also been improved.
|
||||
Names can be grouped under a non-default
|
||||
string. Patronymic names are supported, and it is easy to
|
||||
program new ways of displaying names, as may be required
|
||||
by various cultures and languages.
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
</varlistentry>
|
||||
|
||||
<varlistentry>
|
||||
<term>Desktop integration</term>
|
||||
<listitem>
|
||||
<para>
|
||||
All formats known to &app; are now registered as mime
|
||||
types, each with its icon and &app; as a default
|
||||
handler. Double-clicking on a file with any of these
|
||||
formats will launch &app; and open that file. &app; also
|
||||
added support for the recent documents
|
||||
functionality. This is on both the GNOME-wide level
|
||||
and within the &app;.
|
||||
</para><para>
|
||||
The preferences are now properly stored using GConf, with
|
||||
schemas, partitioning of keys into smaller directories,
|
||||
error checking, and notification.
|
||||
</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
</varlistentry>
|
||||
</variablelist>
|
||||
<para>The approach for entering and displaying dates has
|
||||
been completely reworked. The new framework allows for a
|
||||
deeper localization of displayed dates than was ever
|
||||
possible using the translatable strings.</para>
|
||||
<para>The internationalization of names has also been
|
||||
improved. Names can be grouped under a non-default
|
||||
string. Patronymic names are supported, and it is easy to
|
||||
program new ways to display names in the manner customary to
|
||||
a given culture or language.</para>
|
||||
</listitem>
|
||||
</varlistentry>
|
||||
</variablelist>
|
||||
</sect1>
|
||||
|
||||
<sect1 id="typography">
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user