Windows Genealogy 2.1 is an application that you will use to store the collected information about your family history. It has the following capabilities:
Extensive use of Floating/Dockable toolbars, which includes 5 separate toolbars to give you quick single click access to all of the major features of the program. The toolbars can be extensively configured, including the ability to have you design and implement your own custom toolbar bitmaps.
Windows Genealogy 2.1 maintains your data in an object oriented relational database file. This data file provides an open non-proprietary structure that can easily be exchanged with other computer database programs for the purpose of generating custom queries and custom reports.
Provides a data file that can be 1000 million bytes in size. This means your data files can hold more family information then you possibly could collect in your lifetime. This one gigabyte data file has multiple tables that separates your family history data into a well organized and structured format.
In fact, Windows Genealogy 2.1 collects more information then virtually all of other genealogy programs COMBINED.
Each data file can contain a virtually unlimited number of queries. These queries are used to extract subsets of records and fields from your data file in an extremely fast and consistent and reliable manner using an English like language. The results of the queries are placed in a grid that can be copied and pasted into your favorite word processor. These queries can be modified and stored directly into your data file and can be exported to other data files and/or query libraries that you can exchange with your collaborators and friends. Windows Genealogy provides a query builder to make building these queries easy. Since the data file is an open object oriented relational database you can open these data files in your various programs such as MS Access, Word, Word Perfect, Excel, dBase 5, Paradox and virtually any other productivity applications that can comply with the industry standard Open Database Connectivity (ODBC).
Each of the more then 9 separate forms that are used to enter the wide variety of information available to be collected in Windows Genealogy usually support more then one entry of that form's type per individual, and at times the forms allow you to enter a virtually unlimited number of entries of any specific type.
You may use one form, the add/edit form, to enter the family member's information and only if you wish do you go to the other forms to enter other categories of information, so adding family members is very straight forward.
Windows Genealogy forms support and extensively use the latest in the visual design elements found in almost every "new" windows based applications, such as tabbed dialogs, tool tips, balloon help, tips of the day, drag and drop, and popup menus to name only a few.
Each of the forms uses tabbed dialog to separate, logically, each of the categories of information collected by those forms.
Common fields, such as names and places are maintain in an unlimited history support file. These pieces of information are categorized and stored in a shared file that makes these pieces of information available to every other data file.
Each of the forms can have an individual dragged from a collapsible tree or the Individual Listing onto them to have that information brought into the form. This makes Windows Genealogy a very visual environment open to the way you like to use the program.
From any individual, on any form, you can call that individual up into any of the other forms without having to move to either of the listings (Individual Listings or Descendent Tree) before retrieving a new one. While in the Add/Edit form you can essentially traverse the complete tree without having to return to either of the above mentioned listings.
Windows Genealogy 2.1 supports stored searches (this differs considerably from the feature that allows you to create search queries and to save and execute those search queries). When you search for a family member in the Iindiviual Listing that search is stored in the file and can be accessed over and over. The program stores the most recently performed search first. The searches are virtually instantaneous. Simply start typing the name of the individual in the Individual Listing and the search will proceed. You can search for any string in the listing, it also allows you to search for a match found previously in the list or to find the next possible match. You can even search based on the birth date.
Windows Genealogy 2.1 supports the importing of GEDCOM data and provides you with a highly flexible and easily selectable options for importing that data.
Windows Genealogy looks very attractive. The forms, buttons, and menus all have been carefully designed to look their best. Using a high resolution video driver, such as one supporting a resolution 1024x768 using small fonts (run at that resolution) you can spread out and really take advantage of the extra room to get the best performance and look of the program.
If you have a resolution of 1024x768 set in Windows Genealogy 2.1 you will display an outline of the immediately family group accessible directly on the Add/Edit form. This outline includes the name of the parents, siblings, spouses and children by all spouses. Any individual can be "double-clicked on" to retrieve the family member into the Add/Edit form.
It includes an extensive help file that is regularly updated to provide the most up-to-date information about the use of the program.
It includes an expandable/collapsible tree to better view the organization of your family.
You may enter a baby photo for the family member. You may also enter as many photos as you have physical/medical events for any family member, which means there are an unlimited number of photos that can be assigned and displayed for every family member.
An advanced search dialog box has been created to assist you in finding those family members by other criteria besides the last name, first name, middle name, etc. You can save the searches and re-execute those searches after retrieving them. It is possible to search on any field in any table in the data file. You may also sort the resulting records in a number of ways. From the listing you can select to retrieve the family member into the Add/Edit form without having to first return to the Individual Listing.
The preferences form provides an extensive facility for configuring your environment. Additional configuration options are available from options that are set in the wingen.ini file (these are documented in the help file).
Virtually every element of managing your family member's information is guided and controlled to eliminate lack of the association (found in many other programs) of information about those family members. This means that adding parents, children, and siblings is completely controlled and easily and quickly performed.
You can enter and maintain an unlimited number of WARS. As you identify wars that are not included you can enter that new war to be tracked.
You can perform the same thing with the awards (military and civil), and records (such as the various types of records you may have accumulated about your family member).
Windows Genealogy allows you to enter an unlimited number of diseases for your family history and via extensive and customizable queries you can extract and generate sophisticated statistics about these diseases -- as well as other categories of information. Since you can add new diseases on the fly your reports could incorporate virtually an unlimited number of disease types. For example:
DISEASE NAME TOTAL DISEASES TOTAL BY DISEASE PERCENT BY TOTAL
Addictions 21 7 33.33%
Mumps 21 4 19.05%
Measles 21 3 14.29%
Influenza 21 2 9.52%
Ulcers 21 1 4.76%
Diabetes 21 1 4.76%
Chicken Pox 21 1 4.76%
Bells Palsy 21 1 4.76%
Alcoholism 21 1 4.76%
OR
SEX DISEASE PERCENT BY TOTAL TOTAL DISEASE ENTRIES
M 11 52.38% 21
F 10 47.62% 21
You can enter basic vital statistics such as the social security number, whether the family member is listed in the Social Security Death Index, whether the family member is listed in the International Genealogical Index, what the tombstone inscription is, the time of death and birth, the location of burial, the type of body disposal (burial or cremation), the cause of death, and on an on.
Windows Genealogy provides you with one of the most extensive facilities for tracking your family member's events -- those events that are not covered anywhere else on any of the other forms. You can provide an extensive explanation of who, what, where, and when and the reliability of the event. You can also indicate whether the event applies to a family member or to a family group. Plus much, much more.
Sources of information can also be extensively maintained. You may state an enormous amount of information about the sources of information, such as author, title, book, reliability, page number, paragraph and much more. You can extensively enter descriptions about them and the sources of information are very extensive.
You can add an unrelated indivdiual, detach a child from a family group, detach a spouse, marry a family member to another family member already entered into the data file, prune a family member from the tree.
What does all of this mean. Windows Genealogy is one of the best tools for tracking your family member's history. It provides you with an extensive set of facilities that allow you to document this information. It assists you in managing that information. It provides you with a easy to use visual environment that is highly configurable. It allows you an extensive facility for extracting and analyzing and statistically analyzing your family member's information through the use of a query facility, and to share the custom queries with your friends and collaborators. Its' data files are object oriented and relational which means that the program has the ability to quickly be updated. Since it is supported directly by Microsoft it means that whenever Microsoft releases an update to their database engine Windows Genealogy receives new features, some of which have been extremely dramatic.
I could go on and on and on, such as the ability to view significant dates, the automatic generation of soundex codes, the ability to calculate ages between two dates, the ability to marry two individual already entered into the data file, the ability to reorder the child grid to suite your entry preferences, the default name generation for adding children and parents, the ability to compact your data files to remove excessive temporary objects and to speed up the execution and extraction of the data, the ability to repair potential damage to your data file, the visible graphical trash can (which includes the ability to undelete or delete all), the ability to store custom reports on a menu, the use of frequently used files listing, the fact that Windows Genealogy will run in all version of Windows (Windows for Workgroups, Windows 3.1x, Windows NT 3.xx, and Windows 95), it includes a help outline used to assist you in using the help file, over 120 predefined queries, over 250 tips on how to better utilize the program, the ability of the program to remember your last edited items, the ability of the program to remember your form's location and sizes as well as it remembers the icon locations, it has the ability to collect native American information (such as the tribe name, % of Indian descent, tribe registration number, etc.), the ability to change the font name and font size and colors of the listings (Individual Listing and Descendent Tree) and the notepad, the ability to import text into the notepad, the ability to export to comma separated or tab separated text, the ability to enter 32K of information on every individual plus 32K of information the family member's immediately family group, it has absolutely no limitation on the number of spouses that can be entered for any individual nor is there a limit on the number of children that can be entered for an individual, and on and on.
