Post by Uncle Buddy on Jun 30, 2020 1:02:33 GMT -8
When you enter a name in the "change current person" field that does not exist in the database, the Add Person dialog opens up with a chart of names for the new person which you can fill out or leave blank. The name entered in the input is filled into the birth name slot automatically but you can change it.
I avoid using R-U-Sure??? dialogs but in the case of entering duplicate people it's worth the trouble. It's a easier--or better design--to catch a duplicate when the user tries to enter the duplicate than it is to merge two people into one later. If the name entered exactly matches a name already in the database, a duplicate checker will open up giving you the option of entering the new person with the same name as the existing person, editing the new person's name before creating the person, or canceling the transaction. You'd choose the latter if you had forgotten the person was already entered, thus avoiding the addition of a duplicate person by mistake.
It's good to add duplicate people sometimes if you don't know whether two people you've found are the same person, until you find more evidence one way or the other. Treebard will be able to merge two people into one or split one person into two. The problem is when the user is entering a duplicate by mistake and doesn't know it. He might add quite a bit of data to one or the other and think he's going crazy when data he thought he'd entered keeps disappearing. I don't believe in micro-managing the user's every move nor trying to guess what the user wants to do next; smart software is obnoxious. The question is, when to do reminders and validation, and when to let the user do what he wants without comment.
I avoid using R-U-Sure??? dialogs but in the case of entering duplicate people it's worth the trouble. It's a easier--or better design--to catch a duplicate when the user tries to enter the duplicate than it is to merge two people into one later. If the name entered exactly matches a name already in the database, a duplicate checker will open up giving you the option of entering the new person with the same name as the existing person, editing the new person's name before creating the person, or canceling the transaction. You'd choose the latter if you had forgotten the person was already entered, thus avoiding the addition of a duplicate person by mistake.
It's good to add duplicate people sometimes if you don't know whether two people you've found are the same person, until you find more evidence one way or the other. Treebard will be able to merge two people into one or split one person into two. The problem is when the user is entering a duplicate by mistake and doesn't know it. He might add quite a bit of data to one or the other and think he's going crazy when data he thought he'd entered keeps disappearing. I don't believe in micro-managing the user's every move nor trying to guess what the user wants to do next; smart software is obnoxious. The question is, when to do reminders and validation, and when to let the user do what he wants without comment.
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