Computer Genealogy Specialists

Using Word Processors With PAF-4 and PAF-5

(Article 22)

In PAF 2.1 and 2.31, you could store notes in separate files and use your DOS_based word processor to manage them. When you accessed the notes, PAF would start your word processor rather than use its own notes feature. It simply maintained a link between the individual and the notes file that you were using. This allowed you to bypass the limitations on the amount of notes that you could add. It also allowed you to use your word processor's full functionality.

This functionality was not included in PAF 3, 4, or 5. However, in PAF 4 and 5 you can use the Windows Copy and Paste features to move general-notes, tagged-notes, source-notes, and source-actual-text to and from PAF and your Windows-based word processor. This allows you to use your word processor to more conveniently format your note-text, reorder the text sequence, perform spell-checking and grammar checking functions, and separate out stories and biographical sketches from the notes into word processor documents where you have more control over the story telling elements (bold, italic, font size, centering, color, pictures, pagination).

To perform the transfer, start your word processor within an empty document. Start PAF and open the pedigree you want to work on. Although there are several ways to access the notes and source notes, I like to double-click on an individual to open the Edit Individual window. Click on the Note button at the right. With All highlighted in the list, click on Open to see all the notes. Press Ctrl+A on the keyboard to select all the note text. Press Ctrl+X to cut the note text and place it on the Windows invisible clipboard. In the taskbar at the bottom of the screen click on your word processor. When the empty document opens press Ctrl+V to paste the text from the Windows invisible clipboard to your word processor document. Now you may use your word processor to format, reorder the text, spell check, grammar check and separate out stories.

When you have the note text cleaned up, press Ctrl+A to select all the text, and press Ctrl+X to cut the text from the word processor document to the Windows invisible clipboard. In the taskbar at the bottom of the screen click on the PAF button. You should see the open Notes window just the way you left it. Click Ctrl+V to paste the reformatted text into the Notes window. Click Save to save the notes. Click Close to return to the Edit Individual window. At this point you may open each of the Sources and perform the same operation on Source Notes and Source Actual Text. Remember that Source Notes and Actual Text may exist at either the Source level or the Citation level, so look in both places.

Stories and biographical sketches of individuals are best handled, not in PAF Notes or Source Notes, but in word processing documents. Here you can create page headings, center text, format paragraphs, use bold, italic and underlining, use color and insert pictures with frames and captions. A Word processors is a much better place to tell a story.

Both Microsoft Word and WordPerfect have full capabilities to handle these tasks. You can use the same portrait, group and document pictures you used for the PAF slide-show and scrapbook in a word processor, because word processors make a copy of the picture and incorporate the copy within the document. This leaves the picture still intact for PAF to display as well.

PAF can export any of the reports (pedigree, family group, individual summary, etc.) to a printer, or to a file for a word processor to use. However, the only PAF report that work well in the word processor is the Book report (under the Book tab), either the Ahnentafal-Ancestry report or the Modified Register-Descendant report. Both of these generate text-based output that work well in word processors. The other reports are too complicated and cause the word processor to work very slowly. To send one of the Book reports to a word processor click the report icon in the tool bar and click on the Book tab. Make your selections within the report setup area. Click on the Print to file box to place a check mark in it. Click on Print. PAF then gives you a screen asking where you want to store the output file, and what name you want to give it. Finally, click Save and PAF will generate the report, open your default word processor, and display the report within the word processor. You may now modify the report as you wish and save it as a document file.

For a printer friendly version of this document contact CGS by email and request this document by number and title. It will be returned to you by email as soon as possible.

22 Using Word Processors With PAF-4 and PAF-5