Using standard formats for dates and places in Family Tree improves the accuracy and searchability of the information you enter.
- Many places have or have had the same or similar names. People write dates in many ways. Family Tree helps you standardize dates and places as you enter them.
- Standardized dates and places (also called "standards") improve the accuracy of the search, record hints, and duplicates features of Family Tree.
- The list of standardized versions can speed up data entry for you.
- When a date or place does not have a standard, Family Tree identifies it as a data problem and displays a red exclamation point next to it. To fix this problem, open the Edit box, click on “No Standard Selected,” and select a standard.
- In a date or place field in Family Tree, begin typing the date or place.
- Tips for dates:
- 29 February standardizes only for leap years.
- Use B.C. or B.C.E. for "before Christ" or "Before Common Era." The standard shows as B.C.
- Family Tree standardizes using the Gregorian calendar. To enter a date from another calendar, enter the date, type a space, and then enter the Gregorian version of that date (Day-Month-Year). For example, if a birth date occurred on December 31, 2003, you would type: "31 December 2003."
- In the drop-down list, standardized dates have a calendar icon.
- Tips for places:
- The database of standard places is not yet complete. The standards will improve over time.
- If possible, enter the place-name as it existed when the event happened.
- You have the option to enter places in your native language or the native language of that place.
- Tips for dates:
- As you type, the system displays a drop-down menu with the available standards. Click the correct one.
- You must select a drop-down item in order for the Save option to work.
- If the correct standard is not available, retype the date or place. If none of the options match, save what you typed by clicking the first item in the drop-down menu. Family Tree selects a standard if it can.
- To select no standard, click the mouse somewhere else on the screen.
- To change the standard, simply click in the field, and choose the one you want.
- The system will likely prompt you to update the reason why the information is correct. Do this, then click Save.
- In a date or place field in the Family Tree mobile app, begin entering the date or place.
- Tips for dates:
- 29 February standardizes only for leap years.
- Use B.C. or B.C.E. for "before Christ" or "Before Common Era." The standard shows as B.C.
- Family Tree standardizes using the Gregorian calendar. To enter a date from another calendar, enter the date, type a space, and then enter the Gregorian version of that date.
- When entering dates, it is possible that 2 options will appear (for example, 5 Nov 1911 or 5 November 1911). Choose the date with a calendar icon beside it (usually the latter, 5 November 1911). This prevents data errors associated with date format.
- Tips for places:
- The database of standard places is not yet complete. The standards will improve over time.
- If possible, enter the name of a place as it existed when the event happened.
- You have the option to enter places in your native language or the native language of the place.
- If the correct standard is not available, enter the place as you want it to be recorded, add a space, and then enter a version of the place-name that can be standardized. This may be the modern-day place-name or the name of the county, state, province, or country where it is currently located.
- Tips for dates:
- As you enter the name or date, the system displays the available standards.
- Tap the correct standard. You may need to scroll through a list of place standards to find the right one.
- If no applicable standard is available, go to the bottom of the standards list, and tap None of the above.
- To keep what you entered and have the system select an applicable standard, tap away from the standards list.
- To change the standard, you need to re-enter the date or place. The mobile app, unlike the website, does not allow you to change a standard without also reentering the information.
Family Tree Lite automatically standardizes dates and places as you add or edit them. You cannot choose a standard.
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