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GRAFTREE Version 2
December 7, 1990
Copyright Bill Beinert, 1990.
Compuserve 76407,132
or
PO Box 1974
Peter Stuvesant Station
New York, NY 10009
FILES INCLUDED
GRAFTREE.DOC - This file.
GEDBROWS.EXE - The GEDBROWS program
GRAFTREE.EXE - The chart printing program
SAMPLE.GED - A sample GEDCOM file
GT8PIN.FNT - The font for 9 pin printers
GT24PIN.FNT - The font for 24 pin (LQ) printers
GRAFTREE consists of two programs that enable a genealogist to read
GEDCOM files directly, as a group of related individuals, and to print
Descendant Charts sideways on dot-matrix printers, banner style.
GRAFTREE is a shareware program. This means that you can try it out
for free, let your friends try it out, or upload unmodified copies to
bulletin boards. If you like it and use it, then you are required to
register. The registration fee is a very reasonable $10, payable to me at
the above address. It is certainly a small price to pay for the smiles on
your relatives' faces. Other programs cost much more and require you to you
key in your data again.
GEDBROWS is the first program. GEDCOM files, for those of you not
already familiar with them, are a means of transmitting genealogical
information from one computer system to another. The format, which has been
standardized by the LDS church, is not suitable for use as a database, nor
for easy viewing by humans, since it consists of a group of variable length
records composed of a variable number of variable length fields, all
internally cross-linked by identifying pointers. Closely related
individuals may be widely separated in the file, and the records describing
the families they are members of even more widely spaced. Viewing a GEDCOM
with a text browser such as LIST or BROWSE is an exercise in frustration.
Previously, the only way a genealogist could determine who was in a
GEDCOM was by importing the GEDCOM into his or her database, and using the
database's facilities for viewing the individuals and their relationships.
This often means maintaining separate databases, at least until it can be
determined that the people in the GEDCOM should be merged into the main
database.
GEDBROWS presents each individual on a separate screen, listing the
person's name and dates, and the names of his or her parents. Below this is
a list of each of the individual's spouses and children. Navigating through
the GEDCOM is as simple as pointing to a person and pressing Enter.
GRAFTREE, the second program, produces a graphic family tree in a
descendant format sideways on Epson LQ and IBM compatible printers. Each
descendant is enclosed in a box, with his or her birth and death dates, and
first 2 spouses or dates for a sole spouse. Charts can be 42 generations
deep and 100 pages wide. Charts deeper than 7 generations are supported by
printing multiple banner style pages. For example, a 20 generation chart 5
pages wide will be printed by printing the first 7 generations 5 pages
wide, followed by generations 8 to 14 on the next 5 pages, then generations
15 to 20 on the next 5 pages. Separate the pages only after each 5 pages,
and the three 5 page banners will line up.
REQUIREMENTS
Both programs require an MS or PC DOS compatible computer with 512K
free RAM. All of GRAFTREE's files must be in the same directory. If you are
using DOS 3.0 or later, you can put this directory in your PATH, and access
it from anywhere. DOS 2.x requires that all of the files be in your current
directory when you execute it (otherwise GRAFTREE won't be able to find the
fonts).
GEDCOM files must conform to Release 4.0 (August 1989) of the GEDCOM
standard, as implemented by PAF 2.1 or later. Most popular genealogical
database management systems, such as Roots III, The Family Edge, and
Brother's Keeper, conform to this implementation. GEDCOM files prepared by
or for use with PAF 2.0 are not supported.
GRAFTREE supports IBM and compatible dot matrix printers. It should
work on any printer that accepts IBM graphics commands, either 9 or 24
pin. If you have a 24 pin printer, try using the /LQ switch, which should
work on any Epson LQ series 24 pin dot matrix printer or any printer that
can emulate one. The LQ version is very much faster than the IBM version.
Both produce Near Letter Quality output.
A note on pin spacing: 9 pin printers support a line feed of 1/216 inch.
Epson LQ printers 1/180 inch. This means that the IBM version will print
OK on the Epson LQ but the logical page will be longer, resulting in boxes
being printed over the perforations.
LIMITATIONS
The GEDCOM Specification allows enormous flexibility in the contents
of a GEDCOM file, more than GRAFTREE can handle, at least in it's early
releases. If you encounter any of these limitations, please let me know.
The following features permitted by the GEDCOM spec are NOT supported at
this time:
1) Multiple file GEDCOMs. GRAFTREE assumes that the input file contains
a complete GEDCOM.
2) Number of people. This version allows for 1000 descendants of the
common ancestor in 42 generations. The banner chart can be up to 100
pages wide. The GEDCOM cannot contain more than 2000 INDI records and
1000 FAM records.
3) Name lengths. A total of 27 characters will be printed.
Given names will be truncated if necessary.
4) Dates. Alternate calendars (@#D...@) are not supported.
5) Length designated values. @#Lnnn@ values are not supported.
6) Continued COMM tags are not supported.
7) The 8-Bit ANSEL character set is not supported. Non-ASCII
characters are ignored in names.
A SUGGESTION FOR PAPER
Charts look better on good quality paper, and especially good on
parchment paper. If it is not available at your local computer store (I
have gotten it at Software, Etc.), you can order it by mail from
Lyben Computer Systems or Paper Direct
1050 E. Maple Rd. 57 Romanelli Ave
Troy, MI 48083 South Hackensack, NJ 07606
(313) 589-3440 (800) 272-7377
GEDBROWS
INSTRUCTIONS
Execute GEDBROWS by typing GEDBROWS and pressing Enter. You can
provide the file specification of the GEDCOM file as a parameter. If you
don't, GEDBROWS will prompt you for it. GEDBROWS will return an error
message if it can't find the file, or it is not an acceptable GEDCOM.
The first screen displays the Header, Submitter and Submission
information found at the beginning of the file. If there is more data than
can be shown on one screen, a second screen will be displayed, after you
press any key.
The next screen will display the first person in the GEDCOM. It may
take a while to display this screen, depending on the size and organization
of the file. See the Notes on Performance.
The Display Individual screen shows the ID (the unique identifier in
the GEDCOM) and name of the person, and the dates of birth and death. The
IDs and names of the person's father and mother are also shown. Beneath the
parents, the person's spouses and children are displayed. The Family ID is
shown to the left of the spouse. The ID and name of each of these persons
is separated by a cursor. Usually, the cursor looks like this: <--. If
there are more than 17 spouses and children, however, the cursor will look
like <++, indicating that fact. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move the
cursor to point to any spouse or child. If the cursor is <++, when you get
to the bottom of the screen, the list of spouses and children will scroll
up until you get to the bottom of the list. Scrolling up works the same
way.
You can select the next person to display by pressing a single key:
Enter Display the person pointed to by the cursor
F or f Display the father of the current person
M or m Display the mother of the current person
Page Up Display the previous person in the GEDCOM
Page Down Display the next person in the GEDCOM
Home Display the first person in the GEDCOM
? Display a person by ID. GEDBROWS will prompt you for the
ID of the person. Do not include the @s that surround the ID
in the GEDCOM. GEDBROWS handles those details.
Escape Quit GEDBROWS
Context sensitive help is available by pressing F1.
GEDBROWS can be used to execute GRAFTREE. The F2 key will bring up a
window that allows you to specify the parameters for GRAFTREE. Use the left
and right arrow keys to set the number of generations to be charted. Use
the Q key to toggle between 9 and 24 pin printers. The P key toggles the
preview function, which displays the box on the screen before printing.
You can print the chart immediately from this screen by pressing F2
again. Or you can press F3, and GEDBROWS will create or update a batch file
named GTGEDBAT.BAT, which can be run at some time when it is convenient to
let your printer run for a while. If GTGEDBAT.BAT already exists, you will
be asked whether you want to replace it or add the new command to it. In
this manner you can browse through a large GEDCOM, choose several persons
to chart, then just run the batch file at your convenience. (The GEDCOM
file must still be available when the batch file is run, of course.) The F1
key provides help in this context also.
GRAFTREE
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Use your genealogy database program to create a GEDCOM file. Methods
of selecting the people to include in the GEDCOM vary with the
program. PAF will allow you to include all of the descendants of an
individual in a GEDCOM. Or you could include everyone in your
database, and create many different GRAFTREE charts from the same
GEDCOM. You may need to take care to limit the number of people and
families in the GEDCOM. See the previously listed limitations. Exit
your genealogy program. Make a note of the name of the GEDCOM file. It
will usually have an extension of GED.
2) You will also need to know the unique identifier of each of the
ancestors whose descendants you wish to chart. (Not all of the people
on the chart, just the ancestors.) Every person in a GEDCOM must have
a unique identifier, which is created by the database program when it
creates the GEDCOM. PAF uses the RIN for this purpose. If your
program's documentation is unclear on what it assigns as identifiers
in a GEDCOM, use GEDBROWS to determine them.
3) Execute GRAFTREE by typing GRAFTREE, then press Enter.
4) GRAFTREE will prompt you for:
a) The filespec of the .GED file created in step 1. You only need to
type as much of the filespec as you need to access the file from
your current directory. If it's in the current directory, just
the filename.ext will do.
b) The Identifier of the common Ancestor whose descendants you wish
to chart. GRAFTREE will scan the GEDCOM to verify that the person
is there. The speed of your disk and size of the GEDCOM will
determine how long it takes.
c) How many generations deep the chart should be. From 2 to 42. Use
the left and right arrow keys to change the number of desired
generations.
d) What kind of printer you have. Use the letter Q key to toggle
between 9 and 24 pin printers. Laser printers are not supported.
e) If you want a screen preview of what will be printed in the boxes
on the chart. The P key toggles Yes or no.
GRAFTREE will then process the GEDCOM file and start printing. A count-
down in pages will be displayed. Note that is possible for some pages to
be blank. These will take as long to print as if they had chart data.
You can stop printing by pressing any key. GRAFTREE will ask you for
confirmation before aborting.
BATCH OPERATION
You can run GRAFTREE in a batch file. Large charts take a long time to
print. You may want to create a batch file to do several charts overnight.
(GEDBROWS can create such batch files automatically for you.)
The syntax is
GRAFTREE d:filespec ID n /LQ /P
d:filespec is the file specification of the GEDCOM file
ID is the Identifier of the common Ancestor
n is the number of generations to be charted
/LQ (optional) for 24 pin printers. The default is 8 pin.
/P (optional) to request a screen preview
A NOTE ON PERFORMANCE
The response time of GEDBROWS is highly dependent on several factors.
The major ones are the size and organization of the GEDCOM file, and disk
speed.
The GEDCOM spec says nothing about the order of individual and family
records, so various database systems do it in different ways. PAF puts all
of the individual records at the beginning, followed by all the families.
In order to display the first person, GEDBROWS reads the first individual
record, then has to scan past all the other individuals to get that
person's family records (if there are any), then back to the individual
records to get the names of the parents and children. Scanning back over
individual records that have been previously read while looking for the
family record takes very little time, since GEDBROWS builds indexes for all
the individuals and families as they are read. With this type of file
organization, you will wait a few moments before the first person is
displayed. After that, though, response time will be consistently quick.
Other programs, such as ROOTS III, try to cluster individual and
family records together. The first individual will be displayed more
quickly, but subsequent response time will be a bit slower, since each step
forward will require sequential reads, rather than indexed reads.
The size of the GEDCOM file and the speed of the disk will naturally
affect response time. While GEDBROWS pays little attention to many of the
records and fields in the file (at least in this release), it still has to
read through them to get to the data it needs. This takes time; disk access
is the slowest thing on your system, and both GEDBROWS and GRAFTREE need to
do a lot of it. A RAM disk or cache will help a lot.
A chart of more than 7 generations can result in some totally blank
pages within the chart. For example, if an individual has 7 children who,
in turn, have no children, the columns below these 7 will remain blank for
the depth of the chart. Also, if the family tree is wide at the bottom and
narrow at the top (you may have only a single line for the first 7
generations, then fill out as more information is available for more recent
generations), the first and last pages of the first pass may be blank.
There are two things to note about these blank pages. One is that they
are supposed to be there. The intent is that a deep chart will be printed
as several banners of the same width, so you don't have to figure out where
the breaks are. It also means fewer seams and a neater appearance when the
banners are taped together for display. So don't be concerned if you
request a deep chart, and the first several pages have nothing on them.
The other is that these blank pages take as long to print as if they
had data on them. This is understandably annoying, and a future release
will recognize these situations and issue a page eject instead.
IN CASE OF PROBLEMS
If your printer does strange things like move to the right margin
and just stay there, check your printer manual to see if it supports
double density graphics. GRAFTREE uses the following graphic commands.
If your printer does not respond as expected to these commands,
GRAFTREE will not work.
ESC @ resets printer to default settings.
ESC 2 sets line spacing to 1/6 in.
ESC 3 n sets line spacing to n/180 or n/216.
ESC L n m sets printer to double density graphics mode
with 256*m + n columns of data to follow.
Besides the mailbox, I support GRAFTREE on Compuserve, in the
Genealogy Forum (GO ROOTS). The Roots Forum is an ideal place for
computerized genealogists to meet people with similar interests, give and
get help and advice from others and just enjoy the company of your peers.
Most major genealogy software vendors provide on-line support for their
products in this forum. Join the party!
THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE
Suggestions and comments are welcome. Address them to me at
Compuserve 76407,132, or write to
Bill Beinert
PO Box 1974
Peter Stuyvesant Station
New York, NY 10009
Suggestions for future development are welcome. Currently planned
enhancements are optional shadowboxes, and an Ancestor chart. Performance
improvements are also planned.