App Updates: Safari Trails & Settings for FanChart/Fractal/Webs/SuperTree

Question

There have been some recent updates to a number of my Tree Apps, with some extra settings and options added here and there - BUT - this G2G post is to let you know about two major updates to the way they work.

(1) The Fractal Tree and the Super Tree specifically did not "play nice" with Safari or iOS, and anyone using that browser or those devices will know what I mean.  If you dragged the tree around, you inevitably left trails behind you, and the bottom part of the tree would not be redrawn completely.  I have finally found and squashed this bug (I hope) - so - Apple users (like myself) can rejoice, and not have to rely on Chrome or Firefox as much.

(2) In four of the Tree Apps I have also added the use of Cookies to store your most recent settings when using the Ancestor Webs, FanChart, Fractal Tree or the Super Tree apps.  If you customize the look and feel of your app, then the next time you use it again in your browser, the most recent settings should be applied. 

Cookies are tiny text files that your browser stores to record preferences, and this option can be turned on or off as desired.
Note: These cookie settings are browser specific, so, if you run multiple browsers, each browser could have its own setting for the Fan Chart, for example. Also, separate apps have distinct sets of settings.

To manage the settings (and to save them, in case you need to clear your cache, and thus lose your cookies), there is a new tab (with a gear icon) at the end of the Settings pod, which allows you to Reset back to the Default settings, or Save or Load your own custom settings.

For example, I use this (now that I've created it) with two Settings Files I've created for the Fan Chart: 

* one settings file shows people with full names, including middle names, all dates, coloured by generation, using the Script font for Names.

* my other settings files has no colour background, just white, but highlights ancestors who show the X chromosome inheritance, with Arial font for Names, and only years for Birth & Death.

Now, with the Load Custom Settings option, I can very quickly jump back and forth between those two views.

I hope you find these additions to these four apps helpful. Please let me know if there any bugs you find, or strange side effects.

P.S. Huge thanks to Riel Smit and Ian Beacall whose code I "stole" and repurposed to do the settings! Thanks guys for sharing!

Comments

Thank you! Love the Fan Chart. Need to figure out how to print it. Very pleased with it

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Thanks a million Greg, for updating everything, very much appreciated. Thank you.

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Thank you for the improvement!

Answer 1

Hey Greg! Of these apps, I mostly use the Fan Chart. It's far and away my favorite tree representation on WikiTree.

I'm a Firefox user on Windows, and don't think I'll be swapping out my settings files (yet), but just wanted to say a big THANKS! for drawing my attention to the options pane in the Fan Chart. There's a wealth of cool knobs to fiddle with in there that I'd somehow overlooked up until now. Even though they're not technically new features, they sure feel like new features to me! :)

Answer 2

Clarke,thanks for the hard work your the man

Answer 3

Thank you for your contributions! Everything looks great. I, too, like the Fan Chart.

I know it's a dream request, but I've been searching for a way to color code fan chart by location. Different shades for US regions, and then different colors for homeland countries. Thoughts?

Comments

Is this what you are looking for?

• Bring up the Fan Chart
• Click on the Gear icon
• Click on the Colours tab
• Go to "Background Colour cells by:" and choose Location
• Then go to "Specifically by:" and choose Birth Country or Birth Region, Country

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Wellllll, in a word....YES!

Thank you for the nudge forward!

Only thing, I need to go to all of the birth locations for consistency. If there is any variation, it gets its own color. For instance:   Indiana, USA and Indiana, United States

Any thoughts about which is prefered "USA" or "United States". I guess I like USA

Kristi

Answer 4

Greg, I appreciate all of your hard work.  My favorite is the Fan Chart, color version.  It is simple to use and enables me to quickly spot  relatives that are missing profiles.

I am also a fan of the Super Tree.  It too is easy to use and shows ancestors in a larger size which is great now that I have suddenly gotten old & my vision ain't what it used to be! Thanks again for creating such useful tools for all of us to use.  Your efforts are very much appreciated.

Answer 5

Greg, I really liked the Fan Chart.  I could probably spend days on Wiki just playing with different buttons to see what happens!! Thanks for all the hard work!!

A newbie from Nebraska

Julia

Answer 6

Hi Greg, and thanks for providing us with this wonderful app Fan Chart!

I have tried every aspect of it and I am most fond of the Color by Location feature. Would it be too much to ask for yet another option for color based on Birth and Death Locations?

Existing (relevant) options for Birth/Death Color by Location are:

Country (last name in Location field)

Region+Country (second last name)

Town+Parish+Region+Country (first name from the beginning)

I work mainly with Swedish profiles. We have the recommended location field order "Homestead/Farm, Village/Manor Parish, County/Province, Country". 

The problem here is that Color by County/Province is often too rough and Color by Homestead (or Village if Homestead name does not exist) is often too detailed as the homesteads and villages can be really small.

The main primary source - the Swedish church records - are all parish based. Therefore it would be awsome if we could get Parish+Region+Country; a "third-from-the-end"-based color option for visualizing the parishes. It is important that it is "third-from-the-end" and not "x-from-the-beginning" as either the Homestead name or the Village name could be non-existing. "Third-from-end" would also be workable if the parish, but not the homestead or village is known, wich is sometimes the case.

For example:

"Granlund, Vännäs, Västerbottens län, Sweden"

"Sörfors, Umeå landsförsamling, Västerbottens län, Sweden"

"Bergebo, Hjortö, Hjorted, Kalmar län, Sweden"

"Getterum, Hjorted, Kalmar län, Sweden"

A third-from-the-end option would certainly also be useful for other than Swedish locations; most of the US locations tend to contain four or more names, and I assume it is the same for most places around the world.

Comments

Excellent suggestion, Helena, and thank you for being specific in your example and rationale.  Very helpful.  I will add that to my list for the next round of updates.

Greg