Addon:Forms Gramplet

From Gramps
Revision as of 23:30, 11 March 2018 by Sam888 (talk | contribs) (Forms Gramplet)
Jump to: navigation, search
Gramps-notes.png

Please use carefully on data that is backed up, and help make it better by reporting any comments or problems to the author, or issues to the bug tracker
Unless otherwise stated on this page, you can download this addon by following these instructions.
Please note that some Addons have prerequisites that need to be installed before they can be used.
This Addon/Plugin system is controlled by the Plugin Manager.

Gramps-notes.png
Please note from Gramps 4.2.X the Form Addons are a replacement for the Census Addons.

The Form gramplet allows users to create and edit structured source data in a single form.

The Form gramplet has been enhanced to handle other forms such as birth, marriage and death certificates and parish register entries.

You can stop using the Form Gramplet at any time and still access the data you entered. All the Form gramplet does is create an event and attributes to store source data. You could do this using the standard Gramps editors.

Configuration

Before using the form addons, you need to define the form that describes the information contained within a source.

To do this you need to edit each Source and add an entry in the "Attributes" tab. The entry must have a key of "Form" and a value which is a Code that uniquely identifies the form to be used eg: UK1841

Tango-Dialog-information.png
Translated Gramps

If you are using Gramps in a language other than English, enter the translated version of the key (e.g. In French, "Formulaire" instead of "Form").


Form Source.png

Supported form definitions

To see a full list of the supported Code's for definitions included with the addon that are available, See: Form Definitions

Writing your own form definitions

Gramps-notes.png
Note

Make sure that your definition file is saved using UTF-8 encoding.

If a form you require is not in the list of supported definitions then you can write your own.

Form definitions are stored in XML files. These are located in the Form directory beneath your user plugins directory. The file called form_xx.xml(where xx is a country code), is provided in the download, and contains some common definitions. Additional files called custom.xml and test.xml will also be searched.

Definition files consist of an XML declaration followed by a forms element.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<forms>
</forms>

The forms element contains a number of form elements, each representing a form definition. The form start-tag contains 4 attributes:

  • id : A unique code to identify the form definition.
  • type: The type of the event created by the form editor. This is the XML representation of an EventType.
  • title : A description of the form.
  • date : An optional date in a Gramps date format. This is only useful for census definitions.
<form id='UK1841' type='Census' title='1841 UK Census' date='6 Jun 1841'>

The form is divided into sections which describe the information that needs to be captured for people performing a given role in the event. Each form element should contain at least one section element. The section start-tag contains 3 attributes:

  • role : The role that people in this section perform in the event. This is the XML representation of an EventRoleType.
  • type : The type of section. This defines how a section is displayed and people are selected. Allowed values are: 'person' for a single person, 'multi' for one or more people, or 'family' for two people selected by a family.
  • title : An optional title which will be used to describe the section.
<section role='Primary' type='person' title='Child'>

Each section element should contain a column element for each column in the section. Column elements describe information that may be recorded for each person in the section.

A column element contains:

  • An _attribute element. This contains the key used to store column information in the attributes of event reference objects within the Gramps database. Once defined this text must not be changed.
  • An optional _longname element. This contains a fuller description of the column that is used in the tooltips in the editor.
  • A size element. This contains the size of the column in the census report. It is a percentage of the page width. The sum of all size elements in a definition should total 100%.
<column>
    <_attribute>At Home</_attribute>
    <_longname>Working at Home</_longname>
    <size>6</size>
</column>
Gramps-notes.png
Note

The underscore is important and indicates that the text should be translated by translators.

Each form element may optionally contain heading elements. Heading elements describe information that is recorded once for each form.

A heading element contains:

  • An _attribute element. This contains the key used to store information in the attributes of the event objects within the Gramps database.
<heading>
    <_attribute>City or Borough</_attribute>
</heading>

Although you can add your definitions to the pre-defined entries in form_xx.xml, it is recommended you create a separate file called custom.xml or test.xml for this purpose.

Submitting your form definitions

Once you have written some custom form definitions, you may wish to share them with the Gramps community.

A Form Testing area is available for this purpose.

Forms Gramplet

The Forms Gramplet is designed to be added to the bottombar of a person view.

The Forms Gramplet lists all the events for the active person that can be edited using the form editor. The listing displays the source, date and place of the event together with the role the active person performs in the event.

A new event can be created by clicking the New button at the bottom of the Forms Gramplet which will show you the Select Form selector dialog where you can choose the form to use. Once you select a form you will be taken to the {{man label|[[Form_Addons#Form_Editor|Form Editor}}.

An existing event can be edited either by highlighting a row and clicking the Edit button or by double-clicking on a row.

Forms Gramplet.png

Form Selector

The form selector allows the user to select a source that has been associated with a form. The sources are grouped by event type.

Form Selector.png

Form Editor

The form editor is designed so that most data for an event can be entered into a single form.

  • First a citation reference should be entered. This should comprise of one or more references that uniquely identify the citation. For example, in the case of a UK census you will need to enter the PRO reference, Piece, Folio and Page.
  • The date of the event can be entered. For a census, the date is populated automatically.
  • A place can be selected in the usual Gramps manner.

Details tab

The "Details" tab provides an area which allows the user to enter data specific to individual people listed in the source. This tab can be divided into sections. Each section consists of people performing the same role in the event.

Form Editor.png

Person Section

A person section allows information about a single person to be entered. A new person can be created and selected by clicking the "+" button. A person already in Gramps can be selected by clicking the second button ("share"). The user is prevented from entering data until a person is selected.

Form Person Section.png

Family Section

A family section allows information about two people belonging to a family to be entered. A new family can be created and selected by clicking the "+" button. A family already in Gramps can be selected by clicking the second button ("share"). The user is prevented from entering data until a family is selected.

Form Family Section.png

Multiple Person Section

A multiple person section allows information about multiple people to be entered. A new person can be created and then added to the section by clicking the "+" button. A person already in Gramps can be added to the section by clicking the second button ("share"). A person can be removed from the section by clicking the "-" button. The order of people in the section can be changed by highlighting a row and then using the up and down arrow buttons.

Form Multiple Section.png

Headings tab

The Headings tab provides an area which allows the user to enter data specific to the event listed in the source.

Gallery tab

The Gallery tab provides the ability to add media to the event. This is done in the same way as in the standard Gramps editors.