Family Tree Maker: How Do I Do That? (Part 2: Media)

Have you forgotten how to assign a portrait to an individual? Or have you attached a photo to the wrong person and can’t remember how to unlink them? In part 2 of “How Do I Do That?” I’ll give some quick tips to help with your media items.

Assigning a Portrait to an Individual

You can choose which photo or image will appear for an individual in the People workspace and in charts and reports.

1. Go to the People workspace. Make sure the individual you want to assign a portrait to is the focus of the Family tab or Person tab.
2. In the editing panel, right-click the silhouette image. If the photo you want is already in your tree, click Link to Existing Picture; if you need to add the image, click Add New Picture.
3. Do one of these options:

• If you are linking to an item, click the item and then click OK.
• If you are adding a new item, use the Look in drop-down list to find the folder where the image is located. Click on the image you want and then click Open.

Creating a Media Category

1. Go to the Media workspace.
2. In the right-hand panel, click the Edit button.
3. In the Categories window that opens, click Add.
4. Enter a name for the new category and click OK.
5. Click OK again to close the Categories window.

Renaming a Media Item’s File Name

When you click on a media item, the right-hand panel displays the caption, date, and description you’ve entered for an item. Beneath that, you’ll see the image’s file name and its location on your hard drive.

If the file name isn’t descriptive or you want to change it, right-click the item in the Media workspace and click Rename Media File. Enter a new file name and click OK. The file name is changed not only in Family Tree Maker but on your computer hard drive as well.

Unlinking a Media Item from an Individual

You can unlink a media item in a couple different ways.

• On the People workspace, access an individual’s Person tab. Then click the Media tab at the bottom of the window. Click the media item you want to detach from an individual and click the broken link icon in the media toolbar. Click Yes to unlink the item.
• On the Media workspace, click the media item you want and then click the Detail tab. On the Links tab at the bottom of the window you’ll see all the individuals the media item is linked to. Click the name of the individual and then click the broken link icon in the media toolbar. Click Yes to unlink the item.