Tag Archives: tng 11

TNG 11 Feature Highlight: Fan Charts

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fanchart2Today I’m putting the spotlight on a feature that’s new in TNG 11, the fan chart. First of all, many thanks go to Ben Wagner, a TNG user who contributed most of the code. Great job, Ben!

To find a fan chart on any TNG 11 site, just search for any individual, then click the Ancestors tab near the top of the page. Finally, click the Fan Chart option on the menu bar just below the tabs.

I love the fan chart because it gives you a great visual sense of a person’s ancestry while making more efficient use of the space than a standard pedigree chart. In other words, there are no empty holes like you get with a large pedigree chart, even when you’re viewing a large number of generations. It’s great for showing off your tree at family reunions.

The primary individual (in the sample image here it’s my grandfather Leo Lythgoe) is at the center in the bottom, with each ring around that person representing a new generation (parents, grandparents, etc.). It’s even color coded for the eight largest families. To see more for a particular individual (like birth, marriage and death dates and places), just hold your mouse pointer over any name shown. Doing that will display a small pop-up window containing the information. Of course you can also jump right to the page of any individual listed there by clicking on their name.

I should also mention that the chart makes good use of the new HTML5 “canvas” element, which lets you draw arcs and show text on an angle. Because of that, you’ll notice that the chart is not an image, it’s just HTML, and that helps keep the bandwidth down.

As with the other TNG ancestry charts, you can choose a different number of generations by adjusting the number just above the chart on the left. And if you love the fan chart an extra large amount, you can go to Admin/Setup/Chart Settings/Pedigree Chart and set the Initial Display so that the fan chart is the first chart you see whenever you click the Ancestors tab for any person on your site.

And now that you’re done reading this, click the image above to jump to the actual page and see the fan chart in action.

So what else would you like to see on this blog? Please comment!

TNG 11: Feature Preview

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tng-title11TNG 11 is here! This major upgrade includes nearly a hundred fixes, enhancements and new features. Here’s a summary of the most significant changes:

  • DNA: Aid your research by keeping track of DNA tests taken by the people in your tree. Enter the specifics once and link them to those affected.
  • Fan Charts: A fan-oriented chart of ancestors can now be displayed for each person in your tree.
  • Data Validation: Several preconfigured validation reports will help you spot potential errors in your data.
  • New Design: Another new template has been added.
  • Family Chart: This view shows a person’s spouse, children and parents all together on one page in graphical fashion.
  • Mobile-Friendly: More improvements here will make your site even more usable on mobile devices.
  • Administration: Enhancements to the Admin menu show quick totals for all data categories, plus an “Important Tasks” area to remind administrators of items that need attention.
  • Heat Maps: Color codes on the Places, Surnames and Search Results pages now show the global distribution of surnames and places.
  • Search: A Google search page now allows you to search across your entire site using Google’s indexes.
  • Timeline: The Simile Timeline layout has been redesigned to be more readable, with separate bands for family and general events.
  • Compatibility: Pro-active changes will make sure TNG remains compatible with the latest versions of PHP.

You can get the upgrade at a discount ($14.99) by going back to your previous downloads page. If you’ve lost the URL or access info, send me a message at darrin@lythgoes.net and I’ll send it to you again. If you only purchased TNG or the v10 upgrade recently (in the past 6 months), you’ll be eligible to get the upgrade for free.

Also take note that Simply Hosting does not install upgrades. A helpful 15-minute video will be available to walk you through the process, but there will also be an option to pay an extra $15 to have the upgrade installed for you. If you’re doing the upgrade yourself, take a minute to review the post here from the v10 release on helpful tips for a successful upgrade.