Adding and Scanning Pictures

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Adding Pictures

Adding Pictures
by James P. Terry

Any number of pictures, sounds, video clips, documents (media files), and web links can be attached to each individual in a Family File. Legacy reads most popular picture file formats. The pictures can then be displayed at any time and also included in many printed reports as well as Web pages.
Please note that Legacy does not actually add pictures, sound, video, and document files to a family file. Rather the program remembers the path (drive and folder) and file name of the image, sound bite or video clip. While this helps keep the size of the Family File to a minimum, it means when sharing GEDCOM files with other people, you should also send them your media files.
The Media Gallery is reached by clicking the media gallery icon in the Family View or by clicking on any existing picture displayed on either the Family View or Pedigree View. Up to nine pictures, sounds, videos, or documents are displayed in the window at one time. If more are attached, a scroll bar appears that can be used to bring up additional images.
Adding Pictures
To add a new picture to the Media Gallery, click the Add Media button and choose Picture. The Load Picture dialog box appears. It prompts for the path and name of the picture file you want to attach. The pictures can be previewed in this window so you can make sure you are selecting the correct one. (Whenever a picture is attached to an individual, only the picture file name is included in the Family File database. The actual picture file is not included.) When a picture has been selected, it is loaded into the Display Picture window where you can view it and add captions and descriptions. Clicking Close from the Display Picture window adds the picture to the next available location in the Media Gallery.
When adding or scanning a photo, please keep in mind that every photo has a special context (who, what, where, when and why). Be sure to include names, dates, places and the occasion for the photo whenever you know this information. Examine the original photo, if possible, for names, dates, places, event, plus studio identification and location. Ask knowledgeable relatives about the story behind the picture. All of this information should be added to the caption and description boxes in the Display Picture window. When dates are not known, it may be possible to estimate them from the apparent ages of the subjects (especially family groups with children), clothing, hairstyles, type of photo, time frame the studio was in business, etc. (Using these criteria it may even be possible to identify unknown individuals in old photos.) Make the image come alive!

HINT:
Did you know that pictures, sounds, videos, and documents in an individual's Media Galley can be copied and pasted to other individual's Media Galleries? Just right-click on a picture for an options menu where you will find Copy and Paste listed.
Viewing Additional Pictures
To view additional pictures attached to the individual, click the down arrow on the Picture Filter box (just below the Scan a Picture... button) in the Media Gallery. You can choose from All Pictures, Individual, Birth, Christening, Death, and Burial plus marriages (if any). Any events with an asterisk ( * ) have attached images. With the Media Gallery filtered to a specific event (for example Burial) you can also add or scan a picture to it.
Removing Pictures
To remove a picture from the Media Gallery, highlight the picture by clicking on the caption area below the picture and click the Remove button. Legacy prompts for confirmation and then unlinks the picture from the individual. The picture file itself is not deleted...only the reference link is erased.
Moving Pictures
You can move pictures from one position to another in the Media Gallery by dragging them with the mouse. Hold down the left mouse button over a picture and drag it to a new location. Letting up on the mouse button puts the dragged picture in its new location and moves the other pictures one place over to make room.
Showing the Preferred Picture on the Family and Pedigree Views
Normally the Preferred Picture (the picture with the asterisk * ) is displayed on the Family View and Pedigree View. If you would like to turn off this feature, choose Customize from the Options tab on the Ribbon bar and click the View option on the menu panel. Next in the lower right area of the screen, uncheck the Show Main Picture on Family Pedigree View box and click the Save button. This can speed up the display time on slower computers.
Tag/Untag Pictures
To tag a picture for Slide Shows and printing, click the box above the picture and it will be checked. To untag it, click on the check mark.
Re-sizing the Media Gallery Window
You can stretch the Media Gallery window by dragging its edges and corners. The picture boxes automatically re-size when you do this. Legacy remembers the size and location of the window from session to session.
Zooming a Picture
You can display the current picture in a larger window by clicking the Zoom button.
Showing More or Fewer Pictures
You can change how many pictures are shown at a time in the Media Gallery. This can range from 1 to 9. To change the setting use the "+" and "-" buttons. Clicking "+" will increase the number of pictures displayed and "-" will decrease it. Legacy saves your setting and uses it for subsequent gallery displays.
Setting the Preferred Picture
If you have more than one picture in the Picture Galley, you can change the Preferred Picture by highlighting it and then clicking the

button. This picture is displayed on the Family and Pedigree Views whenever the individual is current. The Preferred Picture is also printed on reports that include pictures.
HINT:
Did you know that word processing documents, as well as some other kinds of files, can be added to an individual's Media Gallery? Use the Sound button to attach the file. To view the file, simply highlight it in the Media Gallery and click the Play button.

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