Overview
Use the Sentence Tester window to test a sentence template without having to make the output. The Sentence Tester supports all the sentence engines provided by Gedcom Publisher. As of version 3.00, the supported engines are:
- Gedcom Publisher's native sentence engine
- Family Historian
- Legacy Family Tree
- RootsMagic
- rootstrust
- The Master Genealogist
Using the Sentence Tester
Choose a person by entering an ID number in the ID textbox. You may also use the Picklist button to choose a person.
After entering a valid ID number, that person's tags will appear in the list below the ID.
Choose one or more tags by clicking the checkbox(es). Typically, you will choose only one, but if you have multiple tags of the same type, you may find it useful to select multiple tags.
Enter a sentence template in the Sentence textbox. Follow the syntax rules for the engine shown in the Engine pull-down menu in the upper right-hand side of the window. Gedcom Publisher sets that to the appropriate engine based on the current GEDCOM file. If the current GEDCOM file is not from an application with a supported sentence engine, the engine will default to Gedcom Publisher's native engine. You may change the engine to whichever type of sentence template you want to test.
As you type the sentence template, Gedcom Publisher will attempt to display the sentence output for all of the tags selected in the Tags list. If there is an error interpreting the sentence, Gedcom Publisher will show the error below the sentence textbox. While editing the sentence, it's common for errors to arise because the sentence is not complete. You can ignore the errors until you have typed the complete sentence.
Remember to use the proper syntax for the selected sentence engine.
Get Tag Sentence
The Edit > Get Tag Sentence command copies the sentence template for the first selected tag to the Sentence textbox. The command is enabled when at least one tag is selected in the Tags list.
If the first selected tag has a local sentence template, that sentence will be copied to the Sentence textbox. If the first selected tag does not have a local sentence, Gedcom Publisher will load the global sentence for the Tag Type.
Tag Selection Shortcut
If you hold the Ctrl key when clicking a checkbox to select a tag, Gedcom Publisher will deselect all other tags and will load the sentence for the tag, if any, into the Sentence textbox.