Sometimes I feel like a dork. I have had RootsMagic for a few years. Today, I was inputting some new ancestors born in the 1700s. For the first time, I glanced over and noticed the Living check box. Where the heck did that come from?
I imagine it has been there all along, but I never noticed it. I have a data input background and I’ve learned the screens by memory. But, that little box has evaded me until now.
Normally, I use the “Living” Fact Type where I can show a person as living and the city. I would not think to mark a box.
I looked up how to turn it off, but it appears you can turn this feature off. You go to Tools>Living. However, if I’m reading this right, you then have to go through the database and do a search (by date) and mark each person that shouldn’t be marked as living. Ouch! I’d have to do this for my 4 different databases. There are thousands of people in my Pacheco de Braga database. I certainly don’t want to sift through that one.
What exactly is the purpose of this Living box beyond telling me someone is alive? Which reports does this information appear on?
If all else fails, I set everyone to living-false. Since I have been living without it thus far I can’t see that my genealogy life will be greatly affected. I’ve got the living fact field, so I don’t really see the need for the redundancy.
I’d appreciate if someone could let me know what the Living check box affects. That way I’ll know what the consequences might if I set everyone to false.
I wonder what else I have missed because I am such an efficient data inputter?
I just took a quick lookie see, I had paid no attention to this box either.
On my data base, for the few I checked:
If they are deceased the little box is unclicked, and no, I did not un-click it.
If they are alive, the little box is clicked.
Man’s mother died last summer and her entry has no check mark in that box, so, my wild guess is that once you enter a death date for someone, that little box magically un-clicks itself.
Well, that is my story and I am stickin’ to it! LOL
Carol, that is interesting about how your boxes default. Mine default to living as checked, so I must have something wrong.