Navigation

As long as any database is open, GRAMPS is focused on a single person usually referred to as an Active Person. This allows you to view or modify the data concerning this person, his or her immediate family, etc. Navigating in the database (i.e. moving from person to person) is in fact nothing else but changing the Active Person. This section describes many alternative ways to navigate through the database using both the complex and the convenient interfaces GRAMPS provides. All these ways eventually accomplish the same thing, but some are more convenient than others, depending what you are doing in GRAMPS at the moment.

Using the People View

The most intuitive way to select an Active Person is to use the People View (see the section called “People View”). When in the People View, just select the name of the desired person from the list by clicking that list entry. The person you have selected becomes active. The statusbar updates to reflect the change of the active person.

Using the Family View

When in the Family View (see the section called “Relationships View”), you can easily navigate between the members of the displayed family as follows:

  • To make the currently selected spouse the Active Person, click the double-arrow button to the right of the Active Person box. Alternatively, right-click into the spouse box and select Make the selected spouse an Active Person item from the context menu.

  • To make the currently selected parents the active family (thereby making father the Active Person and mother the selected spouse), click the right-arrow button to the right of the active person's parents box. Alternatively, right-click into the active person's parents box and select Make the selected parents the active family item from the context menu.

  • To make the currently selected spouse's parents the active family (thereby making father the Active Person and mother the selected spouse), click the right-arrow button to the right of the spouse's parents box. Alternatively, right-click into the spouse's parents box and select Make the selected parents the active family item from the context menu.

  • To make the currently selected child the Active Person, click the left-arrow button to the right of the children box. Alternatively, right-click into the children box and select Make the selected child an Active Person item from the context menu.

In addition to this, GRAMPS provides an extensive set of keyboard navigation options. The detailed reference to the key bindings is found in the Appendix B, Keybindings reference.

Using the Pedigree View

The Pedigree View (see the section called “Pedigree View”) also allows you to move along the family tree. The benefit of this method is that you can see more than one generation of the family tree. Also, you can jump directly from a great-grandson to a great-grandfather without going through the intermediate generations.

Note that after changing the Active Person in the Pedigree View, the display is re-adjusted to show up to five generations, starting from the newly selected Active Person. When in the Pedigree View, you can easily navigate between the members of the displayed family tree as follows:

  • To make any displayed person the Active Person, right-click the corresponding box and choose the first entry in the context menu.

  • To make a child of the currently Active Person (if any) the Active Person, click the left arrow button to the left of the corresponding box. If there is more than one child, the button expands to the menu listing the children to choose from.

  • To move the whole family tree one generation back, click on the corresponding right arrow button on the right-hand side of the display area. Clicking the upper button will move the tree along the paternal line. Clicking the lower button will move the tree along the maternal line.

    Clicking either of these buttons is completely equivalent to double-clicking the lines connecting to the left of the corresponding boxes for father and mother.

You can also quickly access any of the spouses, siblings, children, or parents of any displayed person. To do this, move the mouse over the desired person's box and right-click to invoke a context menu. The appropriate menu items will contain submenus listing all spouses, siblings, children, and parents of the corresponding person.

[Tip]Advantages of using right-click menus
  • Direct access to spouse and siblings

  • Complete lists of all member of all categories, not only the preferred members.

Setting the Home Person

One and only one person in the database can be selected as the Home person. Once the Home person is selected, moving to that person becomes a matter of a single click, regardless of which view you are using at the moment.

To set the Home person, first navigate to that person using any method you like. Then choose EditSet Home person. Once this is done, you can move to the Home person from anywhere in the database by simply clicking the Home icon on the toolbar. You can also choose GoHome from the menu or select Home item from any context menu available on the right click.

Using history-based tools

GRAMPS also features a powerful set of history-based navigation tools. These tools are similar to those commonly used in web browsers. They include Back and Forward items available from the Go menu, context menus (available in People, Family, and Pedigree views), and the toolbar buttons. They also include the list of the recent selections available under the Go menu that allows you to jump directly to any of the recent selections. Finally, right-clicking on the Back and Forward toolbar buttons invokes the popup menu with corresponding portion of the history. Select any item from the menu to jump directly to it.

Bookmarking People

Similar to setting the Home person, you can bookmark other people from the database to simplify further navigation. To bookmark a person, first navigate to that person, then choose BookmarksAdd bookmark. To move to that person from anywhere in the database, choose BookmarksGo to bookmarkPerson's name.

You can manage your bookmarks by choosing BookmarksEdit bookmarks.... This opens the following Edit Bookmarks dialog with the list of bookmarks and the controls to modify this list.

Figure 3.32. Edit Bookmarks dialog

Shows Edit Bookmarks dialog.

Finding records

To find a record in a database, first switch to the appropriate View that provides the list of the desired records: People, Sources, Places, or Media. Then start typing the name of a person or the title of a Source, Place, or Media object that you are looking for, respectively. You may also press Ctrl+F to turn on the search mode, but simply starting to type is also enough.

Figure 3.33. Type-ahead find

Shows type-ahead find.

As you type, the first record in the list that is compatible with your input will be selected.

[Tip]Finding People

For more complex people searches you may want to use filters. Enable filter controls by choosing ViewFilter, select the desired filter, and click Apply. For details, see the section called “Filters”