In Family Tree Maker, the relationships you create between couples and parents and their children are initially assigned a default relationship type. You can change this type for any particular relationship if necessary. For a couple, you can also indicate the status of the relationship.
Tip: If you need to change the relationship type for multiple couples or parent-child relationships in your tree, you can do so quickly and easily using the Managing Relationships tool. For example, you can use this new tool to find all married people in your tree whose relationship is mistakenly shown as “Unknown”, and change them all at once to “Spouse”. To find out more about this tool, click here.
This article covers the following topics:
- Choosing a Type of Relationship for a Couple
- Choosing a Status for a Couple’s Relationship
- Choosing a Parent-Child Relationship Type
Choosing a Type of Relationship for a Couple
The default relationship type for couples in Family Tree Maker is “Spouse,” but this may not always be an accurate reflection of a couple’s relationship. Once a relationship is created, you can change both its type and status if necessary so that it better indicates the actual connection between the two people involved.
To choose a relationship type for a couple, follow these steps:
1. With your tree open in Family Tree Maker, go to the Tree tab on the People workspace and select one person from the couple.
2. Click the Person tab.
3. Click the Relationships button at the top of the tab, and then select the spouse’s name in the list of relationships.
4. In the editing panel on the right, choose a relationship type from the Relationship drop-down list.
Choosing a Status for a Couple’s Relationship
The status of a couple’s relationship is “Ongoing” by default. If necessary, you can change this status. For example, if a couple gets a divorce, you can indicate this with their relationship status.
1. With your tree open in Family Tree Maker, go to the Tree tab on the People workspace and select one of the appropriate couple.
2. Click the Person tab.
3. Click the Relationships button at the top of the tab, and then select the spouse’s name in the list of relationships.
4. In the editing panel on the right, choose a status from the Status drop-down list.
Note: If an individual has more than one spouse, you will see a Preferred spouse checkbox below the Status drop-down list. Select the checkbox if you want to make this spouse the preferred one (there can be only one preferred spouse). For more information about preferred spouses, click here (Windows) or here (Mac).
Choosing a Parent-Child Relationship Type
You can indicate a child’s relationship to each of his or her parents (e.g., biological, adopted, foster). By default, a child’s relationship to its parents is “Biological.”
1. With your tree open in Family Tree Maker, open the Tree tab on the People workspace and select the appropriate individual.
2. Click the Person tab.
3. Click the Relationships button at the top of the tab, and then select the father’s or mother’s name in the list of relationships.
4. In the editing panel on the right, choose a relationship from the Relationship drop-down list.
If a child has more than one set of parents (biological and adopted, for example), you can choose which parents will be shown in the pedigree/family view as well as charts and reports. In the editing panel for the father or mother where you chose the relationship in step 3 above, go to the "Preferred parents" section and click the Change button. Then select the preferred parents from the list that appears and click OK.