Template:Releases/2.2.1
The GRAMPS project is pleased to announce the first release of the 2.2.X series. Due to a slight mistake in the numbering scheme, this version is 2.2.1 (the "One, two, five!" release).
The changes between the 2.0.11 and 2.1.1 are significant, and cannot be easily summed up here. For an overview of the changes, see http://gramps-project.org/whats_new/
This release added support for MS-Windows.
As a brief overview, we have added shared Events and Repositories. The old Family View has been replaced with two views – the Relationship VIew and the Family List View.
The GRAMPS project is working on its latest major upgrade. The 2.2 release offers many new improvements. This document will guide you through a few of them.
- New Features
A new major release isn't all that interesting if there are no new features. Well, GRAMPS 2.2 should have enough to keep everyone happy.
- Shared Events
Events can now be shared. Since more that one person can participate in an event, multiple people can be linked to the same event. A person is connected to an event through an Event Reference, which is data unique to the person about the shared event. The most common use of this is to specify the role of the person in the event.
There are two ways to edit event information. The first way is to select the event from the new Event View. When you edit an event from this view, you are directly editing the event, and any changes affect all people linked to this event. A special References tab is provided to show you which people are connected to the event.
The second way to edit an event is through a person or family that is connected to the event. When you edit an event in this manner, you are editing the Event Reference, which contains the event itself, and the information specific to the person or family that is connected to the event. Editing the reference information affects only the person or family. Editing the Shared Information directly alters the event and all other people or families connected to the event. This information is marked as shared information and a warning is displayed if another family or event is connected to the event.
- Repositories
Repositories have been added. You can think of a repository as a collection of Sources. A library would be a good example. Sources can be connected to a repository so that you have documentation on where to find the original sources.
- Interface Improvements
Changes to the interface have been made to simplify the handling of your genealogy data. Genealogy data can be very complex, and it is important to maintain accuracy.
- Adaptive Menus and Toolbars
Menus and tool bars now understand their context. Menu items and tool bars adapt to the view you are currently using, adding needed buttons and removing unused buttons.
For example, in the Person View, navigation is provided so you can move back and forth between people.
- Menu and toolbars for Person View
In the new Map view, navigation between people does not make sense, but zooming in and out of maps does.
- Menu and toolbar in Map View
Searching
Most views now support searching. The search is fast and simple, and should meet most of the every day search needs. The search will hide all items on the display that do not match the requested text. A menu is provided to allow you to select which column should be searched.
The search only examines data that is currently visible in the list. It is a text only search. If data is associated with an item in the view, but the data is not visible on the screen, it will not be matched.
Search interface
Filtering
Some times, a basic text search is not enough. In previous versions of GRAMPS, you would have to create a custom filter to limit the display. This was not an easy task. In 2.2, you can enable a sidebar filter which allows you to filter out data without having to create a custom filter. You can easily experiment with the values, and apply and reapply your new settings.
Sidebar Filter
Relationship View
The Family View in previous versions tended to be a complex and difficult to use view. In 2.2, this has been replaced with the new Relationship View.
The Relationship View displays all the relationships for a particular person. Relationships can be added and removed from this view.
Relationship View
Family List View
The Family List View is a simple view that lists all the known families in the database. You may add, edit, or delete family relationships from this view. While the function of this view is similar to the Relationship View, it presents the data differently. The Relationship Views show how people are related to a single person; the Family View shows the concept of the Family, and how people are related to it.
Family View
Pedigree View
The Pedigree View has been enhanced using the new Cairo drawing library.
Pedigree View
Event View
The Event View displays all the events in the database in a list format.
Repository View
The Repository View displays all the events in the database in a list format.
Map View
The Map View is a new view to display the locations of places on a map. This view is under heavy development. The current implementation can download maps on the fly from public OpenGIS Web Map Servers.
Map View
New Data Editors
The new data editors have been simplified and made more consistent with each other. There are two major kinds of editors - data editors and reference editors.
Data editors are basic editors that edit specific and unique information. The basic format has the most important data at the top of the dialog, along with several tabs on the lower half of the dialog to edit the remaining information. A good example is the Edit Person dialog, which has been redesigned for GRAMPS 2.2.
The Edit Person dialog moves the Birth and Death information into the Event list. This allows the data to be more easily shared between people, and allows for multiple birth and death records.
Edit Person dialog
Another common type of editor frequently used is the reference editor. Data that is shared between objects (such as the Events mentioned above) is edited in a reference editor, which allows you to edit both the information specific to the object, along with the shared information.
Reference editors are used for Media Objects, Events and Sources.
Source Reference Editor
Undo History
While GRAMPS has provided an Undo/Redo mechanism for a while, 2.2 takes this to a new level. Instead of undoing a single step at a time, a new Undo History dialog is provided. This describes the actions that have been taken and the time when the action occurred. You can select any point in this list and roll back (or roll forward) the changes.
Undo History dialog
Marker Highlighting
2.2 introduces markers, which allow you to mark people and/or families with a status marker. This is typically used to indicate a "Compete" or "To Do" status. Items which are marked will appear in the lists in a highlighted color based off the value of the marker. This is useful to indicate which items have been completed, and which items are a priority in finding data. The colors for each category are selectable by the user.
Marker Highlighting
Bookmarks
Previous versions of GRAMPS allowed you to bookmark people. In 2.2, all primary data objects (People, Families, Events, Sources, Places, Media Objects, and Repositories) can be bookmarked. Each bookmark menu is context sensitive, appearly only when appropriate.
System Requirements
GRAMPS has been a GNOME based program from its beginings, and will remain so for the forseeable future. However, with recent improvements in the GTK libraries, it is now possible to run GRAMPS on platforms that do not support GNOME. If the platform does not support GNOME, some functionality, such as direct printing and advanced MIME type handling will not be available.
Several people are investigating packaging GRAMPS 2.1/2.2 for legacy platforms.
GRAMPS running on an alternative OS
