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Genbox Features

In one package, Genbox Family History provides a full set of genealogy tools.

Genbox Family History is a database, a research tool, a task organizer, a data analyzer, a chart producer, and a report writer. The user interface was carefully constructed to provide a lot of power and flexibility to the user while also being easy to use and uncluttered in appearance. Whether you are a  beginner, an experienced genealogist or a professional, you will be delighted with Genbox Family History.

Genbox stores your genealogical data. Pictures and other multimedia can also be stored and linked to the related data items. It can help you organize your research notes and tasks. Special features make it easy to add your source documentation. The charts and reports are very flexible, providing many ways for you to format and present your data to others. An advanced search capability will help you find particular subsets of your data, which can then be used as a group elsewhere in the program. 

Charts can be printed on any printer, including large-format printers or plotters for impressive color wall charts that will be the talk of your next family reunion. They can also be saved in JPEG or PNG format, so they can easily be shared with others and included on web pages. Text reports can be saved in Rich Text Format (RTF) or HTML so you can edit them with your own editor or upload them to the web. 

Genbox has an attractive, powerful, and flexible user interface.

A simple and consistent design makes viewing and entering your data easy to learn and a pleasure to use. Data is arranged onto a number of  views,  a different view for each type of data (individual, places, sources, media, etc.). On each view, data for one main record is presented at a time. The record ID and name of the record appear in a header area across the top of the view. Data entry fields are thoughtfully organized onto multiple tabs beneath the header. By simply clicking through the tabs, all data for the current record can be viewed and edited. There are no additional windows that you need to open in order to see all of the data or to edit the current record.

Related data presented in different views and tab pages is linked together and can easily be reached. A double-click on a selected field is all it takes to jump to associated data on another window or page, and back/forward arrows on the common toolbar will help you navigate among your jump positions. You can also step through your records one at a time, type in a name or ID in the key fields at the top of most view windows, or set up a filter to quickly find and  move between particular records of interest.

Each view window can have a different background color, making them easier to distinguish at a glance when you have several view windows open at once. Most user-interface elements, such as the text fonts, window sizes, and background colors, can be changed to suit your preference.

Auto-completion on date, place, and name fields speeds data entry. An "autosource" feature makes it easy to add to source documentation to a number of facts derived from the same source. 

Genbox Family History has an unmatched level of flexibility and control in its production of genealogy charts. 

Building on the functionality of the space-saving charts produced by GENBOX 2.02 for DOS,  there are ten pages of options available for controlling the five basic chart types (Ancestor, Descendant, Related, Convergent, Everyone). Multiple "key" individuals can be selected to focus chart production. The number of generations produced, the types of parent-child links to follow, and the kinds of "collateral relatives" off of the direct lines to include can be finely controlled, allowing charts to be produced for specific sections of a genealogy. Layout options include "direction of drop", link alignment, generational alignment, fan chart curved text type, book layout, "unboxed", "names on lines", and more. Styles and content can be assigned according to individual groups, to visually distinguish particular genealogical lines, surnames, key individuals, or any arbitrarily defined group. Styles include fonts for each type of text, box shapes (independently selected for box head and tail), shadows, fills, line styles, and colors. Content for individuals can be any combination of identifiers, attributes, events, pictures, and notes. Content can be independently selected for primary and spouse. Extra flags and icons can be added to further identify groups of individuals. Source citations can be included in the legend.  Numerous sizing options provide fine control over chart density, overall shape and size, and margins. Frames can be added to the chart, pictures, title box and legend box, controlling corner shape, fill, shadow, and colors.

The text reports produced by Genbox Family History live up to the standards set by its excellent chart production. 

Eleven pages of options are available to help you control the sixteen basic text report types (Ancestor Narrative, Pedigree, Descendant Narrative, Outline Descendant, Family Group, Individual Narrative, Calendar, Individuals, Places, Sources, Media, Researchers, Correspondence Log, Research Targets, Projects, Lists). Each report type has a number of layout options that make the reports ideal for numerous purposes. Produce everything from a simple data list or table to a multiple-section book with table of contents, unified name and place index, pictures, bibliography, and footnotes or endnotes. Multiple key individuals can be used to control the focus of the report. Fonts, headings, style, and format can be finely controlled. Individual content can be varied according to type of individual.

For the narrative reports, an advanced context handler has the job of identifying and reducing redundancy in the output, to create a more professional text flow.

When you have settled on a set of chart or report options that you like, you can name the options set and save it for later use, and even make it a choice on the Charts or Reports menu for the fastest access.

Going beyond the basics, the unique data structure employed by GENBOX offers support for previously problematic data relationships between individuals, events, dates, places, and source citations. 

Multiple personal names and identifiers, optionally linked to defining events, can be stored for individuals. Accurate relationships between each child and any number of parents can be stored. Any number of event types, attributes, and flags can be defined. Witnesses to events can be stored along with their roles. Places are considered independent data items in their own 6-level hierarchy. Each place can have multiple names, with optional date ranges of validity, yet still be recognized as the same place. Local sites are stored as the fifth level in the place hierarchy. Qualifiers can be applied to dates and places for a larger degree of expression. Event types and source types are supported with a sophisticated template system. 

A powerful search system rapidly finds individuals matching your search criteria.

You can define your searches by simply entering the matching values into the fields on the search dialog. Complex relationships among up to four "logical" individuals can be part of the criteria. Searches can also be saved for future use.

Individuals and other data items can be grouped into named lists which are then available for selection on charts and reports.

This feature provides for some powerful and time-saving capabilities. List members can be defined by direct selection, as the output from a chart production, or as the output from an individual search.

Genbox was designed with the needs of the researcher in mind.

A project objectives hierarchy, research targets table, and a correspondence log are part of the system. Most records support two rich-text notes fields: one for general notes and one for research notes. Charts and reports allow you to select which types of notes to include.

Genbox Meets the Demanding Needs of Professionals.

Each fact, or assertion, stored in Genbox can be separately documented. Multiple sources can be cited in support for a single fact. For each source supporting a fact, the support level and credibility level can be specified. Weighing these variables, you can assign an overall surety level to the fact. Genbox even supports storing the individual name variants exactly as they appear in each source, which can be helpful later in resolving research problems. Each source citation can also have associated "lead text", annotation text, and excerpt text, for plenty of opportunities to accurately record your source citations in the most helpful way.

Source citations are divided into three levels, recognizing that source material is often found within a larger source, which now only needs to be entered once. Advanced source and event templates provide control over the formatting of your data on text reports. The default source templates provided with Genbox are based on the formats described in Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth Shown Mills. New templates can easily be added, and existing ones modified.

Source citations can be included on all charts and reports. On charts, source citations can appear in the Legend Box. If you have many citations on a single chart, multiple legend boxes will automatically be created.

Share your data with others.

GEDCOM 5.5 file format is supported for the transfer of data to/from other genealogical software programs. Genbox can export and import all of its data using either GEDCOM or a native Genbox Database (.GDB).


© Copyright 2003  Thoughtful Creations. All rights reserved. Last Updated 5/16/2003.