The aim of this chapter is to explain:
how to create a Standard Diagram;
how to create a Freeform Diagram;
how to create a Kin Terms Diagram;
how to create a Query Diagram;
how to create an Archive Data Linker Diagram;
how to deal with the several features related to the above mentioned diagrams.
All the diagrams produced are in a scalable vector format of publishing quality and all diagrams can be exported into PDF format. The working files are in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format, which can be opened in graphics applications or viewed in modern web browsers.
Layout options:
right click onto the main panel > Reset zoom: if the diagram has been zoomed in or out, it will return to its default size;
right click onto the main panel > Reset Layout: use this option when you want the entities of the diagram to be differently displayed;
to zoom the diagram in/out: press Alt + rotate the mouse wheel
to move the diagram to the left/right: press Shift + rotate the mouse wheel
to scroll the diagram up/down: rotate the mouse wheel.
A standard diagram is a type of diagram through which you create (and/or work on) a project database. A standard diagram is created through the adding of individuals (or other kind of entities such as social events or kin terms) and of relations between them.
First of all, you may want to create a project. To do so:
File menu > New Project > choose a directory and a name for your project > Save > a dialog window will appear: Creating database for project 'name of the project'. Now on top of the page you will see the name of your project.
If you already have a project saved on your machine: File menu > Open Project > choose the project (if you click on the project some information related to it will come out: Project Title, Project Description, etc.) > Open.
You may also want to re-open a recently closed project. To do so:
File menu > Open Recent Project > choose from the list provided. If you want to delete such list select Clear List (it is located at the end of the list).
To create a standard diagram from scratch:
File menu > New Diagram of Type > Standard Diagram (current project); a new page of the application will open.
Right click on the main white panel > Add > choose an item among the ones displayed (Individual, Chromosome_Example, Clan_Example, KinTerm, Social_Event), or among the ones listed in the profiles settings (Panels menu > Diagram Settings > Entity Profiles).
In addition, you can use the right click menu option Add Geometry, and choose among the items provided:
Add Label, which allows you to enter a label for your diagram, and you can do it by entering the text into a small window opening at the bottom of the page when the option is selected.
Add Circle
Add Square > these three are graphic options you can use to differentiate your diagram.
Add Ellipse
According to what you have chosen, a new entity will appear. Its icon shape depends on how this has been preconfigured in the profile settings. To modify profile settings: Diagram Options menu > Settings > Symbol Fields tab.
Tip. If your diagram is going to have a big amount of entities, instead of creating all of them one by one: create some > select them (left click and drag or hold down the Ctrl or Shift keys) > right click > Duplicate Selected Entities.
By comparison, you can use the option Merge Selected Entities when, for example, you have two separate entities carrying different pieces of information, and you find them to be the same individual. Therefore, you want to make them merge into a single entity. What results from the merger is a single entity carrying the data of both entities which have been merged .
Select the entity you have created. At the bottom of the page you will see a table with some information to fill in: name, gender, date of birth, date of death, etc.
Once you have entered the required information, either click on the entity or select Save all data changes from the right click menu. The entity should now show such infomation.
As far as kinship data are concerned, you can:
add custom fields. Right click on the table and choose the one(s) you need from the list. Alternatively, you can type the field by yourself, using the option Add <custom field> (again, via right click menu).
add the same custom field to several entities. Select all the entities you need > from the table at the bottom of the page select again all the entities (hold down Shift or Ctrl keys) > right click > Add. All the entities in the table will now carry the same new custom field.
delete custom fields. Select the field you want to delete > right click > Delete field "...".
decide which custom fields need to be shown on the diagram next to the entity. To do so:
Diagram Options menu > Settings > Label fields tab;
Choose the field from the drop down menu located into the mentioned tab, and click on Add.
By contrast, to delete fields, click on the small squares on the right of the tab (see red arrow in the figure below).
Once that several, single entities have been created, you may also want to create relations between them. To do so:
select how many entities you need (click on them while holding down the Ctrl or Shift key on the keyboard) and right click. You can choose between: sibling, ancestor, descendant, union, kinterm, other (the latter meaning that the relation connecting two, or more, entities, is not a sanguine relation, but it has to do with other kinds of relationships), directedin (a relation from one specific entity), directedout (a relation towards one specific entity), undirected (a bidirectional relation).
![[Note]](images/note.png)
Note as far as ancestor and descendant are concerned, the choice of one or the other depends on which entity you select first. In other words: if you select the parent first, then you have to use the descendant relation, whereas if you select the child first, you will have to choose the ancestor relation.
Alternatively, you can simply select one entity, take the little blue circle you need, and drag it to the other entity (see figure below).
When you create an egocentric diagram, you may want to set one of the entities present on it as its "starting point". To do so:
Select the entity you want to set as ego > right click > choose Set as Ego (list will be cleared). That entity will go black.
The text into brackets (list will be cleared) means that a diagram can only have one ego. The moment you try to set a second ego on the same diagram, the other one will return a normal entity again. One excludes the other.
However, if you have several diagrams, you can set several egos: select the entity > right click > Add to ego list.
By contrast, if you want your ego to turn back to a normal entity: select the entity > right click > Remove from ego list.
To remove relations between entities:
select the necessary entities (click on them while holding down the Ctrl or Shift key on the keyboard) and right click. From the menu coming out choose Remove Relations > Remove relations between selected.
select the necessary entity > right click > Delete selected from project. The entity will be deleted from the database and from all diagrams.
select the necessary entity > right click > Release from diagram. The entity will be removed from the diagram you are working on, but in this case it will remain in the database, unlike with the option Delete selected form project, just described.
Relations between entities can be personalized through a series of graphical options. To customize such relations:
Diagram Options menu > Settings > Relation Type Definitions tab. This tab, in turn, is made up of sub-tabs:
Custom Name: a free text field to make the relation more specific;
Data Category: the data can carry an ISOcat link;
Relation Type: you can choose among the types seen above (sibling, union, etc.);
Line Colour: you can set a different colour for each one of the different relation lines;
Line Width: the relation lines can be thicker or thinner;
Line/Dash: the relations line can be either continuous lines or dashed lines, with the dashes being thicker or thinner;
Curve Line Orientation: you can choose between horizontal and vertical orientation. This option, however, is not valid for sanguine relations lines.
Look at the figure below to see how these features work.
To link some archive data to your kinship data (the main function of KinOath Kinship Archiver):
Panels menu > Archive Linker. A panel will open on the right of the page, called The TLA Language Archiver (if you have been using Arbil, then two other tabs may also open in the same panel: Arbil Remote Corpus and Arbil Local Corpus).
Choose the resource you need from the tree and drag it to the corresponding entity in the Diagram Tree tab that you can see on the left of the page. The archive reference will be shown next to the entity. See figure below. The numbers point out how many references have been linked.
To save the diagram you have created:
File menu > Save as (name of the diagram) > choose a directory and a file name.
Besides the normal saving process, you have other options you can choose from in File menu:
Export as PDF/JPEG/PNG/TIFF: this option allows you to export files (in one of the following formats: PDF, JPEG, PNG and TIFF) to a directory in your computer. As in the previous option, Save as, when selecting Export as you will be asked to choose a directory and a file name plus, in this case, a file format.
Export for R / SPSS: this option allows you to export a KinOath diagram to either R or SPSS, two programs you can mainly use to statistically analyse your data. The file format is, by deafult, .tab.
Note The file you have saved, or exported, is also visible on a web page. You only have to take it from the directory and drag it into a web browser.
Once the diagram is open on a web page, the archive links possibly existing become hyperlinks. If you select them you will be redirected to their corresponding location on the IMDI Browser tree.
only the page you are working on: File menu > Close (name of the diagram);
the whole application: File menu > Exit.
To work on already existing database:
First of all, you have to import data. To do so:
if you have data of your own, you can import data in two different ways:
File menu > Open Diagram > choose the necessary file > Open.
File menu > Import Gedcom/CSV/TIP file (into current project) > choose the necessary file > Open;
You may also want to re-open a recently closed diagram. To do so:
File menu > Open Recent Diagram > choose the necessary diagram. If you want to delete such list select Clear list (it is located at the bottom of the list).
otherwise, if you want to become more familiar with the application, you can use the sample data contained into the application itself: File menu > Import Sample Data (into current project) > choose the data you want to import.
when you start the import, a window like the one below appears. Select Start Import. Once the process has finished, select Close. The entities will be now listed in the Project Tree tab on the left of the page.
Note In the project tree you will see only the top-level ancestors of the genealogical tree, so that very big database, with a big amount of entities, will not result too confusing.
Now open the Search Entities tab on the left of the page and enter the name of the entity you want to search for. Press Enter, or click on Search. All the entities somehow related to your search will be listed in the same tab.
Entities can also be searched with fuzzy matching, so that possible spelling mistakes will not interfere with the search.
The results can also be expanded through kin type strings. To do so:
check the option Expand selection by kin type string.
in the white field located below the just mentioned option enter the necessary kin type strings (you can find a list of the main kin type strings below in Section 2.2 2). As you enter different strings, the diagram updates itself accordingly.
