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Family Tree Maker FAQ 047

In addition to – or sometimes in contrast with – the Family History Center guidelines, here are some of the conventions Roderic A. Davis uses:


Dates
Always choose the "05 Mar 1997" format for readability, brevity and clarity.
Never disable the double-date option. Double dates have an important purpose.
Use "stillborn, child, infant" as death date where appropriate. date field will not accept words
Use date range for birth dates of groups: "(3-sibs) Brown 1901-1922" to indicate range of birth dates.
Try to provide estimated date ranges for unknown dates.
Avoid open ended ranges (e.g. bef. 1922) where possible. Such ranges cover LOTS of territory!

Gender
Use "?" where gender is unknown or where single entry stands for several people (e.g. "(3-sibs)")

Names
When using initials, always include the period to distinguish from single character names, e.g. "Harry S Truman".
When using the a/k/a, enter a whole name for proper indexing.
Use Title for terms of address: Dr., Sir, Lt., Duke &c
Use name suffix (following a comma) for:
Designator: "Jr.", "III"
Locality: ", of Northumberland"
Trades: ", Carpenter" Separate multiple suffixes by commas using the above precedence.
Use "(unmarried)" as name for spouse; Prints nicely in reports. I prefer - -- to generate a box in trees
Use "(n-sibs)" as given name for children where details are unavailable or unwanted. Forces into next generation display of GenRpts. I like this but will use n-siblings
Where wife's birth surname is unknown use husband's surname in parentheses: "Hillary (Clinton)". This form may be used for widows' remarriages as well. I use a -
Use "\\" to indicate unknown or absent surname I use a -
Delimit complex surnames by "\\"

FHC guidelines, provided by Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.
Places
Use "town, county, state" format
Keep place for unknowns: "_, Dutchess, NY" for Dutchess County.
Use standard 2-letter postal abbreviations for states. in USA
Use standard 3-letter abbreviations for countries

Chapman codes for UK counties
Genealogy, et Cetera