Generations Starter Kit 8.0 Version 8 Readme File 04/03/00 [To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above.] To use the UK setup for Generations, follow the instructions below. Installation: 1. Install Generations Starter Kit 8.0 first by placing CD 1 in the drive and the autorun feature should complete the installation. 2. Click on Easy Tree. To use the UK file format, click on the Mytree file, in the samples folder. 3. You will then be presented with a blank card to add the first person in your tree. 3. If you require further empty UK files just carry out instruction from 2. in the next section. Importing Data from existing files 1. If you have already started your own file in Generations Starter Kit 8.0 this can be imported into the UK format by :- 2. Click on File, Open, then select Mytree. Then click on File, Save a copy with type Clone and give the new file a suitable name, it is important to use a unique name. Repeat this if you have several files. 3. Open the new file then click on File, Import, Import familyfile or Easytree file and select your old file. 4. Now you need to select the family to be shown upon startup. Click on the Index icon and scroll down to the person you want and click on "Go". Click on Option, Startup, Use current family card, Save. UK View The UK setup orientates Generations Starter Kit. For UK research prior to 1837 no birth and death certificates are available, the alternative is Parish records which give baptismal and burial dates. This setup shows Baptism, Education, Occupation and Burial for each person in addition to the standard events. UK Style Descendant Charts The default descendant chart does not include spouses on the tree but on the UK setup version found in the Mytree file full details are given and the chart also implements autosubstitution of birth with baptismal dates if there is no birth date and the same for death and burial, giving you the best information that you have available without cluttering the chart. The option not to show empty fields is also invoked. UK Census This can be entered in full as a note or a formatted entry can be entered as a source to a persons details. A Census note allows a freeform transcript to be kept if required. UK Timeline Events To improve timelines (a type of chart that represents each persons lifespan by a line against the years that they lived) we have added Rulers.uds for the years ruled by Kings, Queens and Cromwell from 1500 and a further file UKWars.uds has UK wars as timeline events. These help give context to the lives of your ancestors. They can be imported using File, Import. Perspectives In version 8 you can load two perspectives we have created when in the timeline feature, these offer an alternative to the above and are called Wars.tlp and Rulers2.tlp To load them, create a timeline then click on Timeline, Perspective, Open Set and select one of the two files. Use Timeline, Perspective, Cleanup, Left to cascade from Left to Right or Split to peak in the middle as the example. UK Notes New note areas for Biographies, Diary Entries, Census and Will Transcripts allow further detail to be added. UK Sources We have added UK sources for Census from 1841 to 1901 so that a full transcript of the Census can be recorded. New sources also include Birth, Marriage and Death certificates with extra fields (witnesses or informants can often be family members). Searching Sources - To search sources you use Find, Sources with Any Type, Any field selected and whatever the name or text item you wish to search for in the contents. *********************************************************************** About This Document: Thank you for purchasing Generations Starter Kit 8.0. This document contains last-minute information about Generations Starter Kit 8.0 and other information about the program not found in the Help Files. This README file includes information that pertains to general problems and questions you may have concerning this software or your computer. Should you experience any problems with Generations Starter Kit 8.0, please refer to this file for additional help on answering questions about the program and solving technical difficulties. *********************************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS I. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS II. STARTING OUT III. GENERAL PROGRAM ISSUES IV. CONTACTING SIERRA I. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ----------------------- Windows 95 or 98 Pentium 100 or higher (Preferred Pentium 166 or higher) 16MB RAM (24MB RAM) 4X CD-ROM Drive (24X CD-ROM drive) 100 MB free hard drive space SVGA 800x600 @16-bit high colour Windows compatible mouse Windows compatible printer For Internet Options: 14.4 BPS Modem (33.6 BPS Modem) 32-Bit Internet Service Provider Note: Generations Starter Kit 8.0 includes the Generations 3D Chart generator. 3D Chart may run slowly on a minimum system. 3D Chart should run smoothly on a machine with a PII chip, 32MB RAM, and a graphics accelerator. II. STARTING OUT ---------------- Program changes may have been made to the product after the User Manual was printed. However, the online help file within the product is very complete and up to date. If you encounter a problem that doesn't seem to match (or be addressed by) the manual, please refer to the online help file for more up-to-date information. A) Installation B) STARTING Generations Starter Kit C) What's in Generations Starter Kit D) Accessing Internet Links A) Installation --------------- Installation for Windows(r) 95 & 98 with AutoPlay activated: 1. Start your computer system so that Windows(r) 95/98 has launched. 2. Insert Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive. 3. If you have AutoPlay activated, just select the install option and follow the on-screen prompts. Installation for Windows(r) 95 & 98 without AutoPlay activated: 1. Start your computer system so that Windows(r) 95/98 has launched. 2. Insert Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive. 3. From the START menu select RUN. 4. In the RUN window, browse to or type D:\SETUP and click OK. This assumes that your CD-ROM drive is D. Please substitute the appropriate drive letter. 5. Follow the on-screen prompts to install Generations Starter Kit to your hard drive. B) STARTING Generations Starter Kit ------------------------------------ To start Generations Starter Kit under Windows(r) 95/98, insert the Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive, and select the RUN option when Autorun appears. Without AutoPlay activated, click on the START button and select Programs. Select the SIERRA option, then Generations Starter Kit. Click the Generations Starter Kit icon to open to the Generations Starter Kit launch screen. C) What's in Generations Starter Kit ------------------------------------- The contents of the Generations Starter Kit CD's are as follows: CD 1 Easy Tree, Easy Chart, Tutorial, Names Glossary CD 2 GWNI A - B CD 3 GWNI C - E CD 4 GWNI F - H CD 5 GWNI I - L CD 6 GWNI M - P CD 7 GWNI Q - S CD 8 GWNI T - Z CD 9 Historic Map Library: British Isles CD 10 Historic Map Library: Europe CD 11 Demo's of Web Artist, Photo Artist. D) Accessing Internet Links --------------------------- Generations can take advantage of a web browser to give you direct access to the Web for such activities as downloading additional data, product information, and on-line shopping. In order to access the Web from within Generations just click on the "Internet Centre" button. A number of Genealogy related websites are available. You must have a browser installed and be registered with an Internet Service Provider. If your Internet browser cannot find the links from within the Generations program, each site is listed in the Generations Help file with it's web URL for you to copy and paste into your browser. You may also reach the Generations dedicated Web site directly at the following address: http://www.sierra.com/sierrahome/familytree/ III. GENERAL PROGRAM ISSUES --------------------------- A) EasyTree B) EasyChart C) Font Issues D) General Issues A) EasyTree ----------- Issue: Family file: Rebuilding the index takes time -- especially with large files. Solution: Generations only rebuilds the index if the application doesn't close properly. If you don't want to wait for this, hold down the shift key while opening a file to avoid building an index. Issue: Date feasibility checking doesn't understand a date format of straight numbers -- 010484, for example. Solution: This is one date format that Generations won't be able to read. However, the manual dedicates 10 pages to dates, date formats, and custom dates. Please refer to the manual and or On-line help to make sure you're using the correct date formats. Issue: HTML reports can be quite large Solution: When you transfer any file to HTML format, the size of the HTML file is going to be 1.5 times more then the original file because HTML adds tags and mark-up frames to the text. You should be aware of this before posting to the web if you have space limitations on your web site. Issue: Copied document is truncated after 60 characters in the Memo field. Solution: You can type in more than 60 characters into the memo field. You can also cut and paste, but you must do so line-by-line. If you try to cut and paste a full multi-line text, it will be truncated after 60 characters. Issue: The manual says there is an option to setup Video and Sound default folders, but there is no menu item in EasyTree. Solution: Unfortunately, the manual was sent to print before the product was ready to ship. There is no option to set default locations for Sound and Video files, but these files can still be added to your family file by choosing Sound or Video from the Windows menu or Toolbar. Please see the Help files for more information. Issue: WordPerfect 2000 and other newer Word Processing programs are not in the default list for Report Options. Solution: To set your Report Options, choose Reports from the Options menu. Choose either Word Processor or Web Browser from the Options list. If your application is not defined in the default list, choose Other. Browse your hard drive for the location of your application executable, then choose the executable file from the folder and click open. When you make Reports and choose to send them to your Word Processor or Web Browser, it will now open with your application as the default. Issue: After deleting an event from the Define Person Fields window, the child buttons on the family card seem to be disabled or disappear. Clicking them will not open their family card. Solution: This is a redraw issue in Generations. To enable the child buttons, use the Restore button on the Easytree title bar to make the window small, then click the Maximise button to make the window large again. Issue: The current view of my family cards does not reflect the view selected in EasyTree. Or, EasyTree reverts back to the default view when clicking on a person card to edit it. Solution: There are a couple of workarounds to this issue: A. If you have a certain view that you would like to permanently display when using EasyTree, edit the Default view and save it. You can make a backup of the original Default view by clicking the Duplicate View button in the Define Views window before making your own changes. B. If you wish to use a view temporarily, but do not want EasyTree to switch back to the default view if you want to edit a card, use the EasyTree Shortcuts to open the card for editing. For example, use the shortcut h+ENTER to edit the current husband's card. When you close the card, your selected view will still be displayed. You can revert to the default view again by clicking on the person's name as if you were intending to edit the card. A second click will open the card as normal. B) EasyChart ------------ Issue: Chart prints as blocks of black, or an entire page of black. Solution: Change the settings of the printer to Vector instead of Raster graphics. For more information on making changes to your printer settings, check your documentation or help files. Issue: The boxes in EasyChart only display one line of text after editing the text. Solution: If you edit the text in a 'Person Box' in EasyChart, do not use two carriage returns to create a blank line. Any line after the second carriage return is disregarded, but can still be seen when editing the box. Issue: The boxes in EasyChart are very long and thin after editing the text. Solution: If you fill the 'Person Box' with text without hitting Enter and registering a carriage return the Box becomes one long sentence. After specific information such as a Name, Date, or Location, use the Enter key to start a new line of text. Issue: When choosing to Tile multiple charts, some redraw with oversized, garbled text. Solution: Click on the chart(s) with the garbled text to select it. This will cause the chart to redraw correctly. Issue: Copy/Paste or saving a chart as a graphic causes text in boxes to overflow the boundaries of the box. Solution: This occurs when using small sized fonts. Change the Font size of the Chart text to 12pt or larger, and then save as a graphic or copy and paste. Issue: Caption text flows outside its border or box in the Pedigree Chart. Solution: This is a redraw issue in EasyTree. To allow the caption to draw correctly, do the following: 1. Create a Pedigree Chart from EasyTree. 2. Add a caption to the Pedigree Chart. 3. From the Tree menu, choose Top-to-Bottom. 4. Minimise the Chart in EasyChart, but leave EasyChart Maximised. 5. Return to EasyTree, leaving EasyChart open. 6. Create another chart by choosing Enhanced Hourglass Chart from the Chart menu. 7. Accept the Default settings, and click Chart. 8. EasyChart will come forward with the new chart open. 9. Minimise or close the newly created Enhanced Hourglass Chart. 10. Maximise the Pedigree Chart and the Caption should draw correctly. You can now change the chart orientation back to Left-to-Right. C) Font Issues -------------- Issue: In EasyChart, fonts over 36 characters get clipped in timeline charts. Solution: There are some font styles that don't size well in timeline charts. If you are encountering this problem, simply try a different font style. This should resolve your problem. Issue: Changing the font in "EasyChart" changes the format of the tree and boxes. Solution: EasyChart needs to make adjustments to accommodate larger point size fonts as well as styles. Experiment with larger font styles and sizes prior to making major changes to your layout. Issue: You can make the text too large for the boxes, which, in some cases, will print outside of the text box borders or print off the edge of the chart. Solution: We've tried to accommodate as many font and text sizes as possible. The more information you enlarge, the more likely you won't see everything displayed. Try enlarging the chart by right clicking on the small black box and dragging the chart either left to right or top to bottom. The black box can easily be found at the bottom of the chart. Change the view to 10:1. Issue: In EasyTree, data gets cut off if Windows is set to use Large Fonts Solution: Although we've worked hard to support large fonts in many fields, there may be some places where text appears to be cut-off. The information is still there. Switching to small fonts will correct this problem. Otherwise click on More Info to bring up a dialog screen with entire information or you many need to resize the boxes or scroll back and forth within the text box, title box or field itself. Issue: Type 1 (Adobe) PostScript fonts are not showing up in my list of display fonts to choose; only TrueType (TT) fonts. Solution: Generations doesn't support Type 1 Adobe PostScript fonts. D) General Issues ----------------- Issue: The Windows Task Bar hides the bottom of the Launch screen and Research Centre. Solution: If the Windows Task Bar is set to Always on Top, and the display settings are at 640x480, part of the Generations launch screens may be hidden. To hide the Windows Task Bar, right click on it and choose Properties. Check the Auto Hide option in the Task Bar Properties. Issue: The Launch screen and Research Centre colours do not display well in 256 colours. Solution: Though EasyTree and EasyChart have no visible differences when run in 256 colours, the Launch Screens display best in 16-bit colours. The screens are still usable in 256 colour mode, as is the rest of the Generations program. For best results, change your display to 16-bit colour in the Windows Display Properties. Issue: When opening the Heritage Quest Catalogue, Adobe gives an error message that it failed to open the document. Solution: The Heritage Quest Catalogue requires Adobe Acrobat 4.05. If you have an earlier version, errors may occur. You can install Adobe Acrobat 4.05 from CD#13. Insert CD#13, go to Start, Run and type D:\rs405eng.exe, where D: is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Click Okay and the updated version will install. You may wish to uninstall any previous versions of Adobe Acrobat before installing version 4.05. Issue: Long names are not readable in the 3D Chart. Solution: Unfortunately, some longer names may become unreadable when converted to a 3D Chart. Names of average length should display correctly, but text in long names such as 'Blackburn Preston Lancashire' will overlap in 3D Chart. Issue: Some image files do not display in 3D Chart. Solution: 3D Chart is displayed in a Web Browser environment, and supports .JPG and .GIF image files. If you have image files such as .BMP or .PSD attached to your family card, they will display as a grey box in the 3D Chart. If you would like to view all of your images in your 3D Chart, you will need to convert the images to .JPG or .GIF. You can use programs such as MS Paint or Snapshot to do this. Issue: The .wrl file created by 3D Chart does not open properly if IE5 is installed, but Netscape is set as the default browser. Solution: The .wrl file has been associated with Internet Explorer. Change the file association so Netscape will open the file instead. To do this: 1. Open Windows Explorer. (Start, Programs, Windows Explorer) 2. Choose Folder Options from the View menu. 3. Click the File Types tab. 4. Under Registered File Types, choose CosmoPlayer control. 5. Click the Edit button. 6. In the Edit File Type window, click the Edit button. 7. Change the Application used to perform action from Internet Explorer to Netscape. Click the Browse button to locate the Netscape executable and choose it as the default application. If CosmoPlayer still does not open the .wrl file in Netscape, uninstall CosmoPlayer from Add/Remove programs, then reinstall by running the file Cosmo.exe from CD#1. Issue: Creating the 3d chart hangs the machine so ctrl+alt+del is needed to exit. Selecting the chart that is produced has the same effect. Solution: This problem is hardware specific. The Cosmo release notes lists 4 chipsets that Cosmo supports: Riva 128 -- Diamond Viper 330, Premidia 2 -- Diamond Fire GL 1000 pro, ATI Rage Pro -- ATI 3D Rage Pro, and Intel 740 -- Real 3D Starfighter. Issue: Choosing a name from the viewpoint list from the 3D Chart in CosmoPlayer does not display the correct person. Solution: This occurs when collision detection is enabled. To disable collision detection, click the preferences button in CosmoPlayer (small button in lower right corner with a check on it.) Click on the World tab in the CosmoPlayer preferences window, and uncheck Collision Detection. Click Okay. IV. CONTACTING SIERRA ------------------- A) Customer Service, Support, and Sales B) Technical Support C) Legal Information A) Customer Service, Support, and Sales --------------------------------------- United States U.S.A. Sales Phone: (800) 757-7707 Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week International Sales: (425) 746-5771 Hours: Monday-Friday 8 AM to 4 PM PST FAX: (916) 939-1010 Sierra Direct P O Box 629001 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-9972 Email: customer.support@sierra.com http://www.sierra.com United Kingdom Havas Interactive Main: (0118) 920-9111 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fax: (0118) 987-5603 Disk/CD replacements in the U.K. are £6.00, or £7.00 outside the UK. Add "ATTN.: Returns." 2 Beacontree Plaza, Gillette Way, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0BS United Kingdom France Havas Interactive Téléphone: 01-46-01-46-50 Lundi au Jeudi de 10h à 19h Vendredi de 10h à 18h Fax: 01-46-30-00-65 Parc Tertiaire de Meudon Immeuble "Le Newton" 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier 92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex France Germany Havas Interactive Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-40 Montag bis Freitag von 9h - 19Uhr Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35 Robert-Bosh-Str. 32 D-63303 Dreieich Germany On-Line Sales CompuServe United Kingdom: GO UKSIERRA CompuServe France: GO FRSIERRA CompuServe Germany: GO DESIERRA Internet USA: http://www.sierra.com Internet United Kingdom: http://www.sierra-online.co.uk Internet France: http://www.sierra.fr Internet Germany: http://www.sierra.de Disk and or Manual Replacement: Product Returns*: Havas Interactive Sierra On-Line Returns 4100 West 190th Street Torrance, CA 90504 Havas Interactive Sierra On-Line CD/Doco Replacement 4100 West 190th Street Torrance, CA 90504 NOTE: To replace your CD(s) please send only the damaged CD and copy of your dated Receipt, if less then 90 days. After 90 days please include a $10.00 handling fee along with the CD(s). For Documentation replacement, please include a $5.00 handling fee and a photocopy ONLY of either your disk or CD. Payment should be made at the time of your request. Sorry, no credit cards. * Returns to this address valid in North America only. B) TECHNICAL SUPPORT -------------------- North America Sierra On-Line offers a 24-hour automated technical support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (425) 644-4343, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Web site. Sierra On-Line Technical Support P.O. Box 85006 Bellevue, WA 98015-8506 Main: (425) 644-4343 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 4:45 p.m. PST Fax: (425) 644-7697 http://www.sierra.com support@sierra.com United Kingdom Havas Interactive offers a 24-hour Automated Technical Support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (0118) 920-9111, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Internet or CompuServe sites. Havas Interactive 2 Beacontree Plaza, Gillette Way, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0BS United Kingdom Main: (0118) 920-9111 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fax: (0118) 987-5603 http://www.sierra-online.co.uk France Havas Interactive Parc Tertiaire de Meudon Immeuble "Le Newton" 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier 92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex France Téléphone: 01-46-01-46-50 Lundi au Jeudi de 10h à 19h Vendredi de 10h à 18h Fax: 01-46-30-00-65 http://www.sierra.fr Germany Havas Interactive Robert-Bosh-Str. 32 D-63303 Dreieich Deutschland Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-40 Montag bis Freitag von 9 - 19Uhr Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35 Mailbox: (0) 6103-99-40-35 http://www.sierra.de Spain Havas Interactive Avenida de Burgos 9 1º-OF2 28036 Madrid Spain Teléfono: (01) 383-2623 Lunes a Viernes de 9h30 a 14h y de 15h a 18h30 Fax: (01) 381-2437 Italy Contattare il vostro distribotore. C) Sierra Warranty & Legal Information -------------------------------------- Sierra's end user license agreement, limited warranty and return policy is set forth in the EULA.txt, found on the CD, and is also available during the install of the product. Copyright (2000 Sierra On-Line, Inc.)