Entities table (L)
The Entities table lists all the entities of the genealogy and provides detailed information for each of them in columns.
This view is the one that best allows you to list and navigate through the entire genealogy.
You can also create, modify, and delete entities from this table using the Context menu.
Description
The entity table displays a table of entities. At the top of the table is a specific toolbar.
Data table
Rows and columns
Each row represents an entity, which belongs to the category currently selected using the selection buttons in the toolbar.
Each column represents a property associated to this category of entity (individual, family, note, source, etc.).
Sorting entities
The header of each column shows its title. It corresponds to the name of the property associated with the category of entity selected.
These column headers are also buttons to sort the table. To sort the table on a specific field, just click on its corresponding header.
A small triangle is displayed on this column header shows the sorting orientation : ascending or descending (pointing upwards : ascending direction, pointing downwards : descending direction). This direction is immediately reversed with a new click on the header.
When sorting columns, a serie of cursor buttons appear on the toolbar, between the Search window and the Export button. These buttons have letters or date labels. Clicking on a letter or a date takes you directly to the first entity whose first letter or date corresponds to the clicked cursor button.
The Table View allows you to display the Context Menu by right-clicking on any cell of the table.
Toolbar
Entity selection buttons
Located on the left hand side of the bar, these buttons materialize each entity.
Shortcut: the Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right keys are used to select the entity to the left or the entity to the right of the selected button.
Search field
Located to the right of the selection buttons, the search field allows you to search on the name among the entities proposed by the application.
If a text is entered in this field, Ancestris will, without waiting, immediately display in the table the entities whose name includes the entered text.
As soon as at least one character is entered, the filter is active and the number of corresponding entities is displayed to the left of the field.
To the right of the field, a check box Exact Match allows you to refine the search by distinguishing upper and lower case.
Cursor buttons
They work in correlation with the entity selection buttons, and adapt to the selected column.
They allow you to go directly to the rows starting with the clicked cursor.
If the selected column is a text field, the cursors are letters.
If the selected column is a date, the sliders are years.
If the search field is used, only the cursor buttons corresponding to the search result are displayed.
Shortcut: The keys corresponding to the letters of the cursor buttons allow you to go directly to the lines beginning with that letter.
Export button
The Export button activates the command of the same name, which saves the current display of the Table as a tab-separated text file.
Freeze Table View Button
The Freeze Table View button locks the current selection on the highlighted line. If other entites are seleced in other Ancestris views, the highlighted line will remain.
Configure View Button
The Configure View button opens the panel to set the Table display preferences.
Usage
The table allows you to quickly select an entity that you want to analyze or work on.
It also allows you to create, modify or delete an entity.
Select an entity
To select an entity in the Table, first click on the selection button for that type of entity or press Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right to scroll through the entity categories.
Then use the table as a spreadsheet and use the search bar, sort or cursor buttons to find the entity you are looking for.
You can sort across multiple columns by holding down the control key and clicking on the column headers.
You can also, from a sorted column, type the first letter of a name or the first number of a date to go directly to the first row that begins with that letter or number.
You can also move the columns with the mouse if it makes your search easier.
Once the entity you are looking for is visible in the table, a simple click in one of the cells of the row selects the entity.
This selection will be instantly reflected in the other views of Ancestris.
A double click on the identity number will make this entity appear as the root of the Dynamic Tree.
Create an entity
To create an entity from the Table, you normally use the Add Property or Global Entity command, and choose the category of entity you want to create.
This command can be found in the Context Menu that is displayed by right-clicking in one of the grid cells.
Modify an entity
To enter or modify an entity from the Table, it must first be selected.
Once selected, the entity can be modified from one of the editors.
Delete an entity
To delete an entity from the Table you must first select it.
Once selected, the entity can be deleted using the Clear command from the context menu.
To delete an entity, the right click must be made very precisely on the cell of the column corresponding to the ID number column of the entity to be deleted. If this right click is made on another column, the command will not delete the entity, but will simply erase the content of this cell.
Customization
The display preferences of the Table can be set using the Settings panel of the current view, accessible via the button on the far right of the toolbar, which mainly allows you to choose, for each category of entity, the properties to be displayed in the columns.
This panel has two horizontal areas displaying labels related to the selected entity category.
Columns Selection
The upper area (Columns to display) shows, in a tree structure and in an indented presentation, the tags containing the information that can potentially be displayed.
To the left of each of them, a checkbox allows the user to request the display of the corresponding information (checkbox enabled), or to waive it (checkbox disabled).
Column Order
The order of the columns can be changed directly with the mouse by dragging and dropping the columns one by one.
It can also be changed in this settings window.
The lower area (Order of columns) displays the tags currently activated in the Columns to be displayed area, in the form of an ordered list.
- Examples: INDI:NAME (first and last names of the individual), INDI:BIRT:DATE (date of birth of the individual), etc.
The tag in the first position (at the very top) corresponds to the column that will be displayed first (the left column); the tag at the end of the list (at the very bottom) corresponds to the column that will be displayed last (the right column).
A simple mouse click in this list allows you to select the row corresponding to one of the currently displayed tags.
In the lower part of the area there are some buttons and a checkbox.
- The Up button allows you to move the selected tag up one place in the list above;
- The Down button moves the selected tag down one place in the list above;
- The Delete button allows you to delete the tag selected in the list above;
- The OK button closes the panel by validating the changes made and displays the Table according to these changes;
- The Cancel button closes the panel without validating the changes and displays the table according to the previous settings;
- The Toggle Table, regardless of the type of entity selected in another view check box allows to retrieve the selection of an entity from another view and to force it to be reflected in the Table.
Width of the columns
The width of the columns can be changed directly from the table itself, by moving the edge of the columns with the mouse.