Add meat to the bones of your family tree

01 ENTER BASIC INFORMATION

When you create a new person, you’ll be prompted to enter their basic details: name, gender, plus birth and – if applicable – death and burial information (be sure to untick the Living box if this is the case). Leave any unknown information blank, and finish by clicking OK.

02 ADD NEW FACTS

A person’s life is made up of facts (sometimes referred to as ‘events’) – you’ll see the birth, death and burial details already entered constitute individual facts. Click the ‘Add a fact’ button to add a new event. Pick your fact type from the list and click Select.

03 EDIT FACT DETAILS

A new blank fact will appear in the list, selected. You’ll see boxes on the right where you can fill in various details about the fact. Consult the help file under ‘Date formats’ if you’re struggling to enter dates correctly – ranges are supported, useful for facts like periods of residence.

04 ADD MORE DETAILS

Use the ‘Place details’ box to record the top level of an address – church name, street, etc – and the Description box to record a summary. Not all so-called ‘facts’ are definitive – use the Proof dropdown menu to mark them proven, disproven or disputed. Click Save to update the fact.

05 ATTACH SOURCES

Facts need to be backed up by hard data. Click Sources to open the Citation Manager. This is where you create sources (such as documents, references to online material, photos and so on) to prove what you’ve entered is true. Click ‘Add new source’ to select the type of source you have.

06 ENTER SOURCE DETAILS

Work through the multi-tabbed dialogue box providing as much details as you can, using the original source to provide the information you need. Use the Quality tab to categorise and rate the source to help you determine how much it helps prove the fact’s validity.