Dynamic tree (SL)

The Dynamic Tree, or the Genealogy Tree, or more simply the Tree, allows you to visualize a genealogy in the form of a tree, to quickly select an individual in the tree, and to build this tree.

It is the view that most closely resembles the traditional idea of the classic family tree, and that best captures the simple relationships between individuals and their families.

Description

The dynamic tree window displays the tree below a toolbar.

Tree

The tree displayed is that of a root individual, with his ascendants on one side, his descendants on the other.

Individuals and their families are represented by boxes. These boxes are joined together by means of lines of filiation, and organized in an ascending and descending tree-like manner.

When a descendant has entered into several unions, his or her spouses are also displayed, one at a time.

All the other individuals of the genealogy are not visible in this tree, but they can be visible in other trees, by changing the root individual.

Root Individual

The root individual is the one around which the tree is built. Its name is indicated in the tree toolbar. It is by default in a brown frame.

The root individual can be different from the selected individual. The tree changes each time another individual is selected as root. This is why the Tree is called dynamic.

It is necessary to distinguish the root individual from the selected individual. Indeed, in order to be able to move in the tree to select one by one the individuals and display them in the views and editors, it is preferable that the tree does not change.

The root can also be a family which does not fundamentally change the display of the tree.

The tree can be displayed vertically (ascending at the top) or horizontally (ascending on the left).

When the tree is too large to be displayed in its entirety, scrollbars at the bottom and on the right allow you to move over the entire surface. You can also use the preview to move around the tree.

By default, the box of the root individual has a brown outline, except when it is selected in which case the outline is yellow.

Selected individual

The individual selected in Ancestris is the one that appears by default in a yellow frame. This is the one in the example on this page.

Individual and family boxes

Each box displays information about the individual or family it represents.

Aspects of the boxes (fonts, alignment, colors, dimensions, etc.) as well as the categories of information they display (name, dates, locations, etc.) can be customized using the blueprints.

When an individual has entered into multiple marriages, the spouse's box on his or her right-hand side has a button with a plus sign. Each click on this button displays successively all the spouses of the individual.

Les cases sont par ailleurs réceptives au Menu contextuel par clic droit. C'est ainsi que l'on peut ajouter des individus ou des familles à l'arbre.

By default the outlines of the boxes have the following colors.

Yellow for the selected individual and the root individual if it is the same one
Brown for the individual or the root family if different from the selected entity
Blue for men, pink for women, dark grey when gender is unknown
Light grey for families

It is possible to change these colors, see the paragraph on customization.

Union Symbol

This symbol is located between two spouses and indicates that the tree displays families and spouses. It is possible to not display spouses and families.

Buttons for contracting or extending a branch

Buttons are placed at each branch start. These are branch contraction and branch extension buttons that allow to fold or unfold a branch. This allows to optimize the display of certain parts of the tree.

Toolbar

The toolbar of the dynamic tree includes, from left to right, the following buttons.

Hovering over a button with the mouse gives you the function of the button.

Zoom slider

The zoom slider allows you to vary the degree of zoom of the display area by dragging the mouse.

Towards the left, the display moves backwards: more individuals can be seen in the display area.
Towards the right, the display moves forward: we see fewer individuals but the information is more readable and the boxes are likely to display more information.

Thanks to this cursor, the user can instantly adapt the scale of the display area to his or her activity, tastes and view, as many times as he or she wishes, and in a very precise manner.

Open or Close Preview Window Button

The preview allows to see in miniature the whole tree corresponding to the root individual and to move quickly in the tree, in case the tree to be displayed does not fit entirely in the dynamic tree window.

When the preview button on the toolbar is activated, a small preview window appears at the top left of the tree.

This window displays a scale model of the complete tree corresponding to the root individual. We see in yellow and brown the selected and root individuals. Here, they are the same, therefore in yellow.

A new click on the button hides this window.

Inside this window, a green rectangle represents the currently visible large area of the tree, depending on the size of the window or the size of the screen. Moving this colored rectangle with a mouse drag immediately affects the entire display area, so that some areas that were not visible until now are now visible without having to manipulate the scrollbars.

A click on a mini-case inside the preview repositions the tree: the corresponding individual is placed in the center of the window.

This movement of the tree in the preview or the repositioning click does not modify either the root individual or the selected individual.

Moreover, it is possible to modify the size taken by the preview window, by means of a drag and drop of the mouse from its lower right corner.

Button Show tree in horizontal or vertical direction

This button allows you to toggle between two types of Tree display.

Horizontal display: according to the usual representation of the passage of time (from left to right), the ancestors are placed on the left, and the descendants on the right.
Vertical display: according to the meaning usually associated with the opposition ascendants / descendants, the ancestors are placed at the top, and the descendants at the bottom.

Show or Hide Families and Spouses Button

This button allows you to toggle between two display modes concerning the spouses of the root individual and those of his descendants. This choice is only possible when the root entity is an individual, and not a family.

Family mode: displays spouses and families
Individual mode: masks spouses and families

Hiding spouses saves space in the display area.

Each click on the icon button immediately switches the display to the other mode.

Show branch contraction/extension buttons button

This button allows you to toggle between two display modes for the branch contraction or extension buttons.

First mode: display of the symbols for branch contraction or extension
Second mode : masking of these same symbols

Hiding these buttons saves space for the tree display.

Each click on the icon button immediately switches the display to the other format.

Button Unfold / Fold up the stored branches

This button allows you to toggle between two display modes concerning branches, once you have contracted at least one.

Extension: unfolds all the branches that were contracted before.
Contraction: folds all branches that were previously unfolded

This allows to keep the folded branches in memory, and to switch more easily between the two modes, if it is always the same branches that you want to fold.

Each click on the icon button immediately switches the display to the other format.

Change Root Entity Button

This button includes two actions, both of which allow you to choose a new root entity. A click on the button performs the first action. A click on the small down arrow to the right of the button selects one of the two actions.

Action Rebuild Tree from Selected Entity proposes to make the currently selected entity the new root of the tree, and indicates its name.
Action Reconstruct tree from selected entity opens a window with a drop-down menu that allows to choose the new root among all the individuals or families registered in the genealogy.

Refocus Tree View Button

This button includes two actions, both of which allow you to re-center the tree. A click on the button performs the first action. A click on the small down arrow to the right of the button selects one of the two actions.

Action Ref centers the visualization on the selected entity places the currently selected entity in the center, indicating its name.
Action Centers the view on the root entity places the root entity in the center.

Bookmark button to change root individual

This button allows you to change the individual or root family from one of the entities registered as a bookmark.

Clicking the button opens a menu of currently saved bookmarks. This menu allows, wherever you are browsing, to choose in one click the individual or family you want to reach, and instantly make it the root entity of the Tree.

As bookmarks are fully user-configurable, this menu is empty if you have never defined any.

To create a new bookmark, use the context menu first on an entity visible in Ancestris. This can be done from the tree view or any other view where the context menu is allowed.

Open the Context Menu by right-clicking on the visible entity
Select the Bookmark this entity command for the dynamic tree.
A confirmation window allows if necessary to modify the name proposed for the future bookmark.
After validation, the bookmark is created and now appears in the menu

You can only put a maximum of 16 bookmarks in the list. If the user tries to create a 17th bookmark, it will replace one of the 16 already saved, which will be permanently deleted without any warning.

The management of the currently saved bookmarks, their order of appearance in the menu and their deletion, is done in the Bookmarks tab of the current view settings.

Screenshot button

This button allows you to make a screenshot of a part of the tree, to put it in the clipboard or a file.

In the example below, the captured part will be the green area, and it will be put in the clipboard. This green area can be moved and modified with the mouse (drag and drop or stretch lower right corner).

Name of the root entity

In the toolbar is then displayed the name of the root individual of the tree.

Freeze current view button

This button allows not to refresh the display of the selected entity in the tree when you select another entity in another view of Ancestris.

Button Change the display of individuals

This button allows you to change the way information is presented for individuals or families.

The button will change depending on whether an individual or a family is selected.

A click on the button opens the list of layers corresponding to either an individual or a family.

Ready-to-use templates allow the user to adapt the display to his personal taste.

Configure view Button

This button allows you to customize a lot of things about the presentation of the dynamic tree. It opens the settings panel of the current view.

Usage

The possible uses of the Dynamic Tree view are to :

Visualize the tree of your choice to be exploited later, for example for a publication, or for a partial export of branches
Navigate the tree and select an individual to be displayed in other views or to be edited in an editor
Build a tree, by adding or removing individuals using the context menu

View the tree of your choice

The first function of the tree is to display the ascendants and descendants of a root individual. The other individuals will not be visible.

Your first choice is therefore to choose this person in such a way as to have the maximum number of individuals in the tree, which will then prevent you from changing roots too often.

Once chosen, there are several ways to change the root individual.

The Change Root Entity button on the toolbar
The choice of an entity from the Bookmark menu in the toolbar, provided you have defined bookmarks beforehand
A double-click on the box of the entity chosen from the tree
A double-click on the entity individual or family from the entity table, the Gedcom editor, the Gedcom explorer

The choice to make this entity the root of the dynamic tree from the contextual menu

As soon as a new root is defined, the displayed tree changes and redraws the corresponding ascendants and descendants. The root entity also becomes the selected entity until another entity is selected.

In order to see or hide elements to optimize the presentation of your tree, you have all the buttons of the toolbar at your disposal.

You can also customize the set of displayed elements, and the possibilities are numerous. Refer to the paragraph on customization.

Once the tree you want is displayed in the form you want, you can print it or make a screenshot of it.

It is also possible to export the visible individuals in a new Gedcom file.

Navigate in the tree and select an individual

From the root individual, you can navigate through family relationships within the ascendants of the root entity, or within the descendants and their spouses.

In general, navigation within tree entities is done using the mouse.

A drag and drop from the tree to move the tree to the desired individuals
A double-click on the box of an entity to make it the new root entity, which then allows you to see its ascendants and descendants.
A single click on an entity's box to select it and display its information in the other views.

Because of the display with the ascendants of the root individual on one side, his descendants on the other, one can notice that one can simply move in the tree without changing his root to see the ascendants of an ascendant and the descendants of a descendant.

As soon as you want to see the descendants of an ascendant, or the ascendants of a descendant, you have to redo the tree from a new root.

For example, to see the brothers and sisters of an individual, he must be the descendant of the root individual and then simply move the tree to him.

If he is not the descendant of the root individual, then the root individual must be changed. For example, choose either one of its parents or the family made up of its two parents as the new root.

Whatever the way of operating, the selection of an individual or a family in the dynamic tree is instantaneously reflected in the other windows.

Selecting an entity does not modify the choice of the root, and therefore has no effect on the structure of the displayed tree.

However, let us mention finally that in two cases, selection and root merge into one and the same box: on the one hand, each time the box selected by a click is other than the root entity, on the other hand, each time a new root is adopted by a double-click.

Building a tree

You can build a tree visually directly from the dynamic tree using the context menu, with a right-click on the individual from which you want to add an entity, or which you would like to remove.

Creation of an additional individual

In the Dynamic Tree view, the creation of an individual or a family is done by means of the Context Menu which opens with a right click on the box of an entity chosen as reference.

Here, the contextual menu from the individual Jacqueline Bouvier :

To create or add an individual related to the individual, choose the action Add another person or a family, then, in the sub-menu that opens, choose one of the desired actions Add a family of parents, Add a brother, etc.).
You can also directly add a media, a note or a source with the action Add a media, a note or a source.
For the creation of an entity without any link with this reference entity, choose the action Create a global entity

To add an entity, Ancestris asks you via a window to confirm whether you want to create a new entity or link an existing one. Example here to add a brother :

In case of a new entry, Ancestris positions you in the default editor on a new individual.

You enter the corresponding information, validate it, and the individual is then added in the tree, provided that the added individual is an ascendant or descendant of the root individual. Otherwise, it has been created but does not appear.

Modification of individual or family information

The modification of an individual is also done through the Context Menu.

The default editor is then positioned on the clicked individual. Make your modifications. They will appear immediately after your validation, as long as they are part of the information displayed in the boxes.

Deletion of an individual or a family

Deleting an individual or family is also done through the Context Menu.

Choosing the Delete selected properties action then asks for confirmation.

If the deletion is confirmed, the tree display updates immediately.

This can significantly change the tree display if the selected entity was the root or the middle of a branch.

If the root individual is deleted, the tree disappears completely.
If an individual in a branch is deleted, the whole end of the branch disappears.

Customization

Customization of the tree is done using the toolbar buttons for the different display modes, and the parameters window, accessible with the Current View Parameter button on the toolbar.

The modifications are made in the different tabs, and the exit of the window is done using the buttons at the bottom right:

The OK button, to close the panel by validating any changes
The Cancel button, to close the panel without validating the possible modifications.

General Settings Tab

This tab allows you to change navigation settings and display style.

The checkbox Automatic center on selected entity, when enabled, forces the display to center on this entity as soon as it is selected. This updates the display each time the entity is changed in the other Ancestris windows.
The drop-down menu Action in the Tree on a double-click allows you to select in this menu the action to be performed when double-clicking :
- Change the root (default choice)
- None
- Center
The Number of generations around the root individual allows to display only the corresponding number of generations. By changing this parameter, the tree changes immediately, allowing you to set it precisely to your wish. The maximum is 99 generations on either side of the root.
Check box Show quick information about each entity, allows to display a tooltip window when hovering over an entity with the mouse. This window allows you to see basic information about the entity in question, in case little information is displayed in the boxes, or if this information is not visible enough.

Style

Three styles are defined by default, and a fourth allows you to define your own.

When you choose a style, the tree display changes immediately.

To create your own style, select My Style and then go to set the layer, colors and settings you want. These will be stored as your style.

Bookmarks tab

The Bookmarks pane is used to manage bookmarks: order and deletion.

It consists of the list of currently saved bookmarks, under which there is a series of buttons: Up, Down and Delete.

The order of the bookmarks in this list is an exact reflection of the order in which the bookmarks appear in the Bookmark menu on the toolbar. To change this order, select the bookmark to be moved from the list (by clicking on it), and use the Up and Down buttons.

To delete a bookmark, select it and then click on the Delete button.

This pane does not allow you to create or rename a bookmark. To create a bookmark, see the Bookmark Button paragraph. To rename a bookmark, you must first delete it, then create another one from the same entity and with the appropriate name.

Colors tab

This pane allows you to customize the colors of the links, the frames, the surface of the boxes and the background of the tree.

Zone of choice of the element to be colored

The upper area of the Colors tab lists the elements in the tree view whose color can be changed, each line ending with a square of the currently selected color for that element.

When one of the above items is selected with a mouse click, its color can be changed in the lower area.

Color Selection Area

The lower area of the Colors tab itself contains a number of tabs that are different ways to choose colors.

Choose the color you want, this will update the small square in the element in the upper area.

Settings tab

This tab allows you to choose the font and its size, display modes, and the size of the frames.

Fonts

The Font zone allows you to select the type of font from a drop-down menu, and its size from the window on the right of this menu.

Display

The Connect frames with broken lines checkbox, when enabled, turns the filiation links between the boxes into broken or angled lines, rather than straight lines.
The Show Union Symbol checkbox, when enabled, displays a double ring between the two individuals making up a family.
The Enable Antialiasing checkbox, when enabled, produces a smoothing of the pixel display for images.

Cadres

The Frames area allows you to choose the shape and size of frames for individuals and families.