Customize, Format and Save your Report in Family Tree Maker
This is a general overview covering the various options for customizing, formatting and saving a report of your choice. We also have individual help articles that guide you through creating any report you choose. Simply search our knowledge base by inputting the name of the report you would like to create in the Search Online Help field.
This article discusses the following:
- Report Preview
- Right Clicking Options
- Report Options Icons
- Report Options
- Report Options Checkboxes
Report Preview
In the Preview area of your report there are several options for viewing, as well as general information about the report.
Right Clicking Options
Right clicking options are the same regardless of the report you choose to create. By right clicking your mouse, anywhere within the preview area of your report, you will have the following options available:
This Hand Tool icon allows you to grab and drag the document to move the page around.
- This option
allows you to choose the zoom level of your report. Click on the arrow to select a zoom percentage, or type a number in the box.
These icons allow you to zoom in and out.
These arrows allow you to navigate to different pages of the document.
This icon allows you to view your report from a distance several different ways.
- Send as PDF
- Send as CSV
- Send as RTF
- Send as Image
- Export to PDF
- Export to CSV
- Export to RTF
- Export to HTML
- Export to Image
Note: These options are also available when you select the Share button in the top left hand corner of Family Tree Maker. For more information on how to share or save your report as an external file please click here
Report Options Icons
There are several customization options available from the icons at the top of the Report Options panel to the right of Report Preview. The same options are available to you in nearly every report and vary slightly depending on which version of family tree maker you are utilizing. Below we cover all the options that may be available in the report of your choice.
Items to Include
The Items to Include icon will let you add any facts or notes you’ve entered in your tree, whether it’s someone’s birth date or their weight, to your report. Clicking this icon opens a window from which you can add and remove facts from your report. You can also choose to Include only preferred facts, private facts, blank facts, sources, Use specified order and Display user-defined short place name. Additionally, you have the option to Include person notes, research notes, relationship notes, fact notes and private notes.
To add a fact, click on the Blue Plussign. This opens up another window with a list of the facts available to add to your report. To remove a fact, click on the Red X. To change the order in which facts are listed for each individual, select the fact you wish to move and use the Up and Down arrows to change where it appears in the list.
You can also change the labeling options for each included fact by selecting the fact in your list and clicking the Options button underneath the list of included facts. A window specific to that fact will open. Please note that the options you choose are only applicable to the report that you’re working on. For example, if you choose to display last names in all capital letters, this wouldn’t change the way names are displayed in your family tree or in your index of individuals in the People workspace. From the Fact options panel you can choose to Include only preferred facts, Include blank facts, Include sources, Use specified order and Display user-defined short place names. From the Notes panel you can choose to Include person notes, Include fact notes, Include research notes, Include private notes and Include relationship notes. Once you have made your selections click OK and your report will automatically be updated.
Fonts
You can change font options by clicking on the second icon, Fonts . This opens a window from which you can change not only the font, but also the text style, size, alignment, and color.
You will need to select which type of text to modify from the list of Items to format. You can change the style of the title, the text in boxes, etc. from this menu. You can also italicize, underline and make the text bold. When you finish making your selections click OK and the changes will be applied automatically.
Header and Footer
If you want to add page numbers to a report, include the print date or time, the Header/Footer options will allow you to customize what appears at the very top and bottom of your report. Family Tree Maker 2008-2010 does not have a Header/Footer option. When you select the icon the Header/Footer window will appear.
The Show report title on every page will display the title of your report at the very top of every page. Include print date/time will give the report a stamp of the time or date of when you selected this option. You can also choose to Include page number, this will display the page number at the very bottom of your report. When you finish making your selections click OK and the changes will be applied automatically.
Page Setup
The Page Setup is great if you know you will be printing your report on non-standard sized paper, if you wish to change the page orientation or if you want to change how much white space will show between your report and the edge of the paper. When you finish making your selections click OK and the changes will be applied automatically.
Save Settings
Once your report is customized the way you like, you can make sure you don’t have to repeat the process for other relationship reports you might create in the future. You can save the formatting settings that you’ve chosen by clicking on the Save Settings icon. You’ll have the option to save the options you’ve chosen as the preferred template for the type of report you’re working on. Family Tree Maker 2008-2010 does not have this option available.
Use Saved Settings
The Use Report Settings icon allows you to access previously customized and saved templates so you can create multiple reports with the same formatting options without the need to re-select every single option again. Family Tree Maker 2008-2010 does not have this option available.
Save Report
The Save Report icon lets you save your entire report – people, facts, formatting, and all – within Family Tree Maker. Once you click on the icon you can then choose to rename the report if you would like. When you are finished click Save.
You can access your saved reports from the Collection tab within the Plan workspace, under Saved Reports. Please click here for more information on saving a report. Saving your report won’t create a file outside of the program, so if you are creating a file to take to a printing shop, click here for help in saving a report as an external file.
Reset Report
The reset icon allows you to reset the report you are working on to the default settings. If you select this option it will be immediately applied.
Note: This option is only available in Family Tree Maker 2008-2010. Newer versions have reset icons, in most cases, directly to the right of each category. This allows for you to make a more targeted approach to revising your work.
Report Options
There are several options available in the Report Options panel to the right of the Report Preview. The same options are available to you in nearly every report and vary slightly depending on which version of family tree maker you are utilizing and which report you have chosen. Below we cover all the major options that may be available in the report of your choice.
Report Title
The title is the text that will appear at the top of your report. To change the title of your report click in the Report title field and make the desired change. Press Tab on your keyboard to apply the changes and click the Save Report icon to rename and save the file. The old saved report file needs to be deleted. Clicking the Blue Reset Arrow will return the chart to the default title and location.
Background
You can add a background picture to your report by clicking the drop down arrow directly to the right of Background. Family Tree Maker comes pre-loaded with some images you can choose from. To check out these backgrounds, select Browse For Image from the drop down menu. This option will also allow you to look elsewhere on your computer for other image files you may wish to use as a background for your report. If you have a media item already attached to your family tree that you would prefer to use as a background image, choose Select From Media Collection. You can also change the Transparency so the image appears more or less vibrant, and set the alignment to either Center the image to the middle of your report, Stretch to the dimensions of your report, which may cause the image to distort, Zoom to fill the entire background without distortion, or repeat in a Tile formation.
Individuals to include
There are several different options from the Individuals to include in your report section:
- Immediate family: All of the primary person’s siblings, children, spouses and parents.
- Extended family: All of the primary person’s siblings, children, spouses, parents, grandparents, aunts uncles and cousins. This option is only available in some reports for Family Tree Maker 2014.
- All individuals: All of the individuals in your tree.
- Selected individuals: This would allow you to select only the individuals of your choosing.
- When you choose this option the Filter Individuals window opens and from here you can select specific people or set up a filter to include people according to certain criteria.
Spouses
If the person you have chosen for a report has married more than once, you can select which spouse to include on the report. This option is not available in all reports.
Extra Children
The Extra children option will leave blank spaces for children who have not been entered into the tree file. This option is not available in all reports.
Pictures
This option displays a picture for each person in the report. The picture Family Tree Maker uses is the one selected for the person in the People workspace. Use silhouettes allows you to display a standard image for those individuals that have not picture assigned. When Use silhouettes is not selected, no picture displays for those individuals.
Generations
This option allows you to select the number of Ancestor or Descendant generations that appear in your report. The more generations you choose, the larger your report will become. Please note, you will not be able to export or print any report larger than 200 inches.
Report Options Checkboxes
There are several checkboxes at the bottom of the Options pane to help you customize your report. These checkboxes change based on what version of Family Tree Maker you are utilizing and on the report you have chosen. Below is a general overview of the checkbox options commonly available. Each report may have additional options available.
Include/Show Thumbnails
This option displays the picture you have selected for the person in the People workspace.
Include/Show section dividers
This option prints a line between each record or item in the report.
Include/Show facts and notes
This option will display the facts or notes associated with the people in your report.
Include preparer information
This option displays whatever you have entered as your User Information. This can be accessed through the Tools menu in the top left-hand area of Family Tree Maker.
Generate Report
This option refreshes the report according to the settings selected.