Format Section

Overview

The Format section controls the format and content of the person page entries with one additional property for the Surname Index page.

Person Pages

Format

Second Site supports multiple output Formats. The Format property determines the structure of the person page entries.

Choose one of the available formats from the Format pull-down menu. For a description of the Formats supplied with Second Site, see the list of Formats Supplied with Second Site.

Users who want to define their own Format should see the Custom Formats page. Some users have submitted custom Formats for your use. See the Custom Formats Contributed by Users page.

Detail Format

The Detail Format pull-down menu controls whether person page entries show Raw Data or use the sentence to format the text for a tag. The default value is Use Sentence.

Note The remaining properties work in most Formats, but it is up to the Format designer to detemine how to interpret the property, and indeed, whether the property affects the output at all.

Add Parent Sentence

When Add Parent Sentence is checked, Second Site will add a tag that identifies the parents of the current subject. The tag will sort one day after the primary birth date. The usual result is that the parent tag appears immediately after the birth tag. The default is unchecked. You may want to check it if you are using the Narrative Format.

BMDB First

When BMDB First is checked, Second Site will sort all BMDB events before the other events. In the Narrative Format, Second Site adds a paragraph break after the BMDB events. Tags in both paragraphs are sorted by sort date. The default is unchecked.

Force BMDB Sequence

If BMDB First is chosen, the Force BMDB Sequence checkbox is enabled. If checked, BMDB events in the first paragraph sort as follows: birth, marriage/divorce, death, burial. The primary event within any group (B, M, D, or B) will sort first. The remaining events within the group will sort by sort date. For marriage/divorce, the only way to get acceptable results when someone has a mixture of marriages and divorces is to set the sort dates.

Show Gender

The Show Gender checkbox controls whether person page entries include the subject's gender. The default value is checked. If you define an icon for the Sex flag, you may want to uncheck Show Gender.

Show TMG ID

The Show TMG ID checkbox controls whether person page entries include the subject's TMG ID number. The default value is unchecked.

Show Pop-Up Pedigree

The Show Pop-Up Pedigree checkbox controls whether person page entries include a Pop-Up Pedigree link that opens a 3-generation pedigree panel. The default value is checked. The Pop-Up Pedigree panel is a navigation aid that supports moving quickly from the subject person to his or her parents and grandparents.

The Pop-Up Pedigree contents are dynamically generated when the user clicks the link. They are an efficient way to provide a brief pedigree, and to move from person to person in that pedigree.

Last Edited Date

The Last Edited Date pull-down menu controls whether the last edited date is included in the output, and if so, whether it appears at the top of the person page entry or at the bottom. The default value is "Ignore", and the Last Edited Date is not shown.

Index Groups

The Index Groups pull-down menu controls whether the list of Custom Index groups is included in the output, and if so, whether it appears at the top of the person page entry or at the bottom. The default value is "Top of Person Entry".

Reference Field

The Reference Field pull-down menu controls whether the Reference Field is included in the output, and if so, whether it appears at the top of the person page entry or at the bottom. The default value is "Top of Person Entry".

Person Entry Chart List

The Person Entry Chart List pull-down menu controls whether the list of charts for a particular person appears at the top of the person page entry or at the bottom. The default value is "Top of Person Entry".

FamilySectionNote

The FamilySectionNote pull-down menu controls whether Second Site searches for special events to add to the start of a Family Section. If FamilySectionNote is set to FamilySectionNote, Second Site will insert the output of a FamilySectionNote event at the start of the Family Section if such a tag exists for the two parents whose children are listed in that Family Section. If FamilySectionNote is set to NarrativeChildren, Second Site will use that event instead. If FamilySectionNote is set to Ignore, Second Site will not search for a qualifying event and no note will appear in the Family Section.

For an event to qualify, it must be primary for the current subject and the two principals must be the current subject and the co-parent. In practice, it's best to make the event primary for both parents but Second Site only checks the primary status of the current subject.

If there is a qualifying event, but the given couple had no children, or if all their children are excluded and not shown, the event will be shown in the Family Section. Thus, you can use the event to describe special circumstances such as:

Insufficient research on the couple's children
Some children are excluded and not shown
etc.

Second Site's FamilySectionNote capability is similar to the NarrativeChildren event processing in TMG's Journal report. For that reason, Second Site allows you to choose either its designated event (FamilySectionNote) or TMG's designated event (NarrativeChildren). Neither event has to be included in the Database.Tags list, and if checked, it will not appear in the regular tag output section of the person page entry.

Family Section

The Family Section pull-down menu controls whether Second Site creates a family section on the person page for childless spouses. If Family Section is set to For All Spouses, a family section is created for all spouses. If Family Section is set to For Spouses with Children, a family section is created only for spouses with whom the subject had children.

The default value is For All Spouses. Some Formats do not honor the Family Section choice.

Repeat Marriage Tags

The Repeat Marriage Tags pull-down menu controls whether Second Site shows marriage and divorce tags in the family section. The choices are:

Value	Description
Always	Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are always included in the family section
More than 6 tags	Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are included in the family section if there are more than 6 tags in the current subject's tag list
More than 12 tags	Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are included in the family section if there are more than 12 tags in the current subject's tag list
Never	Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are never included in the family section

Value

Description

Always

Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are always included in the family section

More than 6 tags

Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are included in the family section if there are more than 6 tags in the current subject's tag list

More than 12 tags

Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are included in the family section if there are more than 12 tags in the current subject's tag list

Never

Marriage and divorce tags for the current spouse are never included in the family section

The default value is More than 6 tags. Some Formats do not honor the Repeat Marriage Tags property.

Custom Flags

The Custom Flags pull-down menu controls whether custom flags are included in the output, and if so, whether they appear at the top of the person page entry or at the bottom. The default value is "Ignore", and the custom flags are not shown.

If a flag value is "?", the flag and the value are not shown.

Show Principal Role Name

The Show Principal Role Name pull-down menu controls whether the role name of a principal appears with the tag label in Formats that include the tag label in the output. The choices are "Always", "BMDB Only", and "Never". The default value is "Never".

If the role name is "Principal", the role name is not shown even when Show Principal Role Name is set to "Always" or "BMDB Only".

Show Witness Role Name

The Show Witness Role Name pull-down menu controls whether the role name of a witness appears with the tag label in Formats that include the tag label in the output. The choices are "Always", "BMDB Only", and "Never". The default value is "Always".

Surname Index

Show Surname Counts

The Show Surname Counts checkbox controls whether surname counts are included in the Surname Index. If checked, a number in parentheses will follow each surname in the index. The number represents the number of names in the index with the given surname. The default value is unchecked.

All Pages

HTML Format

The HTML Format pull-down menu controls whether Second Site writes HTML pages in HTML format or XHTML format. The default value is "HTML", and that setting is recommended for most users.

Background Information and Editorial

XHTML is an XML-based markup language that has the same set of element types and attributes as HTML 4. Modern browsers will accept and display web pages that are in XHTML format. There is a bit of a religious war going on between proponents of HTML and XHTML, and I don't really want to participate in that debate. I recommend the HTML format because there are some challenges associated with using XHTML, especially when the content comes from a complex source such as a genealogy database, and the benefits don't justify the extra work to overcome those challenges.

If you disagree with that point of view, please use the XHTML format. That's why I provided it: for people who really want to use XHTML.

If you want to know more about why I think the challenges outweigh the benefits, one good explanation, somewhat biased but well-written, is in a famous article called Sending XHTML as text/html Considered Harmful. I do not agree 100% with the article, and XHTML proponents will argue that there are reasons why using HTML is harmful. Again, I don't care to participate in a debate; I've made my own choice and you are free to make yours. If you are both a staunch XHTML supportor and also a Second Site user, please remember that I am an XML proponent, and that Second Site uses XML and XSLT to make the person pages, arguably the most important part of the program.

Formats Supplied with Second Site

Format	Description
Narrative	The Narrative Format is similar to TMG's Individual Narrative report. It includes a section for spouses and children, and in that way is similar to a Journal Report format. The Narrative Format interprets TMG's tag sentences to construct the narrative and supports exhibits, icons, and most of Second Site's property options. The Narration style ignores the `Detail Format` property and always produces narrative-style output. (example)
Narration	The Narration Format is a hybrid of the Narrative Format and the Two Column Format: the subject's tags are displayed in narrative form. Like the Narrative Format, the Narration style ignores the `Detail Format` property and always produces narrative-style output. (example)
Grid	Grid is Second Site's original tabular Format. It was designed to imitate the Person View of the TMG v4 user interface. (example)
Bullets	The Bullets Format includes a list of tags for the subject. Each tag (name, event, relationship) begins with a graphic "bullet". The Format also includes a section for each family that includes the subject, showing the co-parent and their children. (example)
Bullets Unlabeled	The Bullets Unlabeled Format is a variation of the Bullets Format. The major difference is that tag labels for name and event tags are omitted when Detail Format is set to Use sentence.
Indented	The Indented Format includes a list of tags for the subject, a Parents section, and a section for each family that includes the subject and shows the co-parent and their children. The various sections are indented to separate them from each other. (example)
Two Column	The Two Column Format shows the information for a person in a two columns. Column one on the left has a label, which is the tag name or a section name. The right-hand column has the other information for a tag, which can either be in sentence or raw data format. You can modify the borders, background colors, etc., for some interesting effects. The left-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Colum 1" style. The right-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Column 3" style. (Grid Column 3 is always used for the right-most column in the Grid formats.) (example 1, example 2)
Three Column	The Three Column Format shows the information for a person in three columns. Column one on the left has a label, which is the tag name or a section name. The middle column has the date. (The middle column is omitted for some entries.) The right-hand column has the other information for a tag, which can either be in sentence format (Detail Format=Use Sentence) or a list that includes the place and a list of people involved in the event (Detail Format=Raw Data). You can modify the borders, background colors, etc., for some interesting effects. The left-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Colum 1" style, the middle column by "Grid Column 2" style, and the right-hand column by "Grid Column 3". (example)
Simple Text	The Simple Text Format produces plain text output, not HTML, and is intended for simple printouts, e-mail messages, or for manual formatting in your word processor of choice. When you make a site using the Simple Text Format, the only pages that are produced are person pages in text (.TXT) format. Indexes, charts, etc., are all suppressed.

Format

Description

Narrative

The Narrative Format is similar to TMG's Individual Narrative report. It includes a section for spouses and children, and in that way is similar to a Journal Report format. The Narrative Format interprets TMG's tag sentences to construct the narrative and supports exhibits, icons, and most of Second Site's property options. The Narration style ignores the Detail Format property and always produces narrative-style output.

(example)

Narration

The Narration Format is a hybrid of the Narrative Format and the Two Column Format: the subject's tags are displayed in narrative form. Like the Narrative Format, the Narration style ignores the Detail Format property and always produces narrative-style output.

(example)

Grid

Grid is Second Site's original tabular Format. It was designed to imitate the Person View of the TMG v4 user interface.

(example)

Bullets

The Bullets Format includes a list of tags for the subject. Each tag (name, event, relationship) begins with a graphic "bullet". The Format also includes a section for each family that includes the subject, showing the co-parent and their children.

(example)

Bullets Unlabeled

The Bullets Unlabeled Format is a variation of the Bullets Format. The major difference is that tag labels for name and event tags are omitted when Detail Format is set to Use sentence.

Indented

The Indented Format includes a list of tags for the subject, a Parents section, and a section for each family that includes the subject and shows the co-parent and their children. The various sections are indented to separate them from each other.

(example)

Two Column

The Two Column Format shows the information for a person in a two columns. Column one on the left has a label, which is the tag name or a section name. The right-hand column has the other information for a tag, which can either be in sentence or raw data format.

You can modify the borders, background colors, etc., for some interesting effects. The left-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Colum 1" style. The right-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Column 3" style. (Grid Column 3 is always used for the right-most column in the Grid formats.)

(example 1, example 2)

Three Column

The Three Column Format shows the information for a person in three columns. Column one on the left has a label, which is the tag name or a section name. The middle column has the date. (The middle column is omitted for some entries.) The right-hand column has the other information for a tag, which can either be in sentence format (Detail Format=Use Sentence) or a list that includes the place and a list of people involved in the event (Detail Format=Raw Data).

You can modify the borders, background colors, etc., for some interesting effects. The left-hand column is formatted via the "Grid Colum 1" style, the middle column by "Grid Column 2" style, and the right-hand column by "Grid Column 3".

(example)

Simple Text

The Simple Text Format produces plain text output, not HTML, and is intended for simple printouts, e-mail messages, or for manual formatting in your word processor of choice. When you make a site using the Simple Text Format, the only pages that are produced are person pages in text (.TXT) format. Indexes, charts, etc., are all suppressed.