Tuesday’s Tip – New File Shortcut (Intermediate)

madhattergenealogy@gmail.com

19 Mar 2019

Tuesday's Tips provide brief how-to's to help you learn to use the Legacy Family Tree software with new tricks and techniques.

New File Shortcut (Intermediate)

Ken (Legacy developer) just showed me how to do something in Legacy that I didn't know you could do! I was so excited that I had to write this post right away.

Normally when you want to create a new Legacy file, you go to File > New File. Depending on whether or not you have the Guided Setup Wizard option selected determines how many different setup screens you will get. Legacy wants to make sure that you get the file set up just the way you want. Even if you have the Guided Setup Wizard turned off, you will get two screens before you can give the new file a name and save it.

Intermediate and advanced users normally don't need these screens. They are creating a new file for some specific purpose and they already know what that is. There is a way to bypass the setup screens completely and I had no idea!

If you want to create a new without seeing these setup screens then instead of going to File > New File, go to File > Open File. Simply type your new file name in the File Name box and then click Open. Legacy will create the new file, name the new file, and save the new file with a single click. You will only get a single dialog box that simply asks you if you want to create this new file. Say Yes and the file will automatically open on your screen.

This is very exciting for me because as a beta tester create new files all the time.

Find tech tips every day in the Facebook Legacy User Group. The group is free and is available to anyone with a Facebook account.

For video tech tips check out the Legacy Quick Tips page. These short videos will make it easy for you to learn all sort of fun and interesting ways to look at your genealogy research.

Michele Simmons Lewis, CG^®is part of the Legacy Family Tree team at MyHeritage. She handles the enhancement suggestions that come in from our users as well as writing for Legacy News. You can usually find her hanging out on the Legacy User Group Facebook page answering questions and posting tips.

Comments (8)

James,
You can’t automatically sync the two files. You can sync them using IntelliShare but honestly that would be a lot work than is necessary in this case. I personally would keep everything in a single file. You can easily export just a portion of your family file (your wife’s brother’s file) at anytime using Tagging (or Focus Groups).

Michelle, Rightly or wrongly, I’ve included my wife’s family in my main family file. After all, they are also connected to me, and certainly to my children and grandchildren. However, I’ve also created a separate file for her family that I can eventually pass on to her brothers and families that won’t be “contaminated” with all of my family info.
My question is: Is there a way to link these (or any) two files so that when I enter/add new information about one of my wife’s relatives Legacy will automatically update, or sync, that person’s record in both files?
Thanks.

James,
You can change the wording between the mother and father to whatever you want on the Marriage screen (click Wording Options).
You also need to reset the Relationships (Tools > Set Relationship). If you set it to yourself, he will show as your great-grandson.

A granddaughter recently had a baby. However she is not married to the father, but they have been living together for sometime. The Legacy program gave them the relationship title of “Partnership,” and the child is not listed as as their son, just as a “Male.”

Michele, That is the way I have been doing the “new file” in Legacy “forever”. Once in a while I forget and accidentally start with the other method and get frustrated with all the time it takes to do it that way.

As a genealogist for our local historical society, I help folks with their family trees all the time. In my small county families intermarried all the time so trees can be convoluted. I have set up family trees with the info I have found when I did research for people, and saved them as different family trees in Legacy. Anything new I find that will work in one of my various trees gets added as I find it [before I forget that I found it]. Before I retire [maybe at 108 since I have so many projects unfinished] I will upload them to the web so they can be of service. After 30 years, I almost know their families as well as I do my own!!

Thanks Michele! As always – noteworthy hints, tips, suggestions! 🙂

Great tip Michele. Thanks. I create new files when helping others.

M
Michele

6 years ago

James,
You can’t automatically sync the two files. You can sync them using IntelliShare but honestly that would be a lot work than is necessary in this case. I personally would keep everything in a single file. You can easily export just a portion of your family file (your wife’s brother’s file) at anytime using Tagging (or Focus Groups).
JS
James Sweet

6 years ago

Michelle, Rightly or wrongly, I’ve included my wife’s family in my main family file. After all, they are also connected to me, and certainly to my children and grandchildren. However, I’ve also created a separate file for her family that I can eventually pass on to her brothers and families that won’t be “contaminated” with all of my family info.
My question is: Is there a way to link these (or any) two files so that when I enter/add new information about one of my wife’s relatives Legacy will automatically update, or sync, that person’s record in both files?
Thanks.
M
Michele

6 years ago

James,
You can change the wording between the mother and father to whatever you want on the Marriage screen (click Wording Options).
You also need to reset the Relationships (Tools > Set Relationship). If you set it to yourself, he will show as your great-grandson.
JA
James A. Cobbs

6 years ago

A granddaughter recently had a baby. However she is not married to the father, but they have been living together for sometime. The Legacy program gave them the relationship title of “Partnership,” and the child is not listed as as their son, just as a “Male.”
JI
Jay Ingalls

6 years ago

Michele, That is the way I have been doing the “new file” in Legacy “forever”. Once in a while I forget and accidentally start with the other method and get frustrated with all the time it takes to do it that way.
MT
Mary Thomason-Morris

6 years ago

As a genealogist for our local historical society, I help folks with their family trees all the time. In my small county families intermarried all the time so trees can be convoluted. I have set up family trees with the info I have found when I did research for people, and saved them as different family trees in Legacy. Anything new I find that will work in one of my various trees gets added as I find it [before I forget that I found it]. Before I retire [maybe at 108 since I have so many projects unfinished] I will upload them to the web so they can be of service. After 30 years, I almost know their families as well as I do my own!!
K
Karen

6 years ago

Thanks Michele! As always – noteworthy hints, tips, suggestions! 🙂
DG
Diane Gould Hall

6 years ago

Great tip Michele. Thanks. I create new files when helping others.