User Guide

Navigating the Burrows Family Archive and preserving our legacy.

🏛️ Exploring the Pedigree Tree

The Interactive Pedigree Tree is where you can see the whole lineage at a glance.

  • Navigation: Click and drag to move around the archives.
  • Centering: When navigating back from an ancestor's profile, the tree will automatically **focus and zoom** onto that individual.
  • Zooming: Use your mouse wheel or the side controls to zoom in and out.
  • Parent Order: Use the tree controls to swap which parent renders first (mother-first or father-first) without changing the data.
  • Portraits: If a profile photo is set, it appears on the tree card as a thumbnail.
  • Profiles: Click on any ancestor's card to view their complete life history and archived evidence.

🪭 Fan Chart View

The Fan Chart offers a quick ancestral overview centered on one person.

  • Generations: Use the +/- controls to expand or compact the view.
  • Parent Order: Switch mother-first or father-first to match your preference.
  • Jump to Profile: Click any segment to open that person’s profile.

🌍 Geographical Archive (Map)

Trace the physical journey of the Burrows lineage using our interactive world map:

  • Map Discovery: Every archival event with a location is automatically geocoded and plotted as a marker on the map.
  • Life Event Filters: Use the dropdown to isolate specific milestones, such as viewing only Birth locations or Military postings across the globe.
  • Navigation: Click any marker to see the event details and jump directly to that ancestor's profile.

📂 Viewing Ancestor Profiles

Every profile serves as a deep dive into an individual's history:

  • Life Timeline: A chronological list using professional GEDCOM-standard types (e.g., Birth, Baptism, Military Service, Probate).
  • Evidence Vault: Access to archived record evidence. Links open in a separate tab to preserve your current view.
  • Profile Photo: The top-left portrait is the official profile photo and is used for tree thumbnails.
  • Biological Map: Quick links to navigate between parents, siblings, and children.

📝 Maintenance & Records

The ledger is always open for new discoveries. Use the Archive center or ✎ Edit Archives on a profile to contribute:

  1. Biological Linkages: Select the mother and father from the existing database to automatically map their position in the lineage.
  2. Flexible Dates: You can enter dates as YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD.
  3. The Evidence Vault: Attach scans, screenshots, or CSV data directly to the server. Files are uniquely vaulted and permanently linked.
  4. Set Profile Photo: Any image in the Evidence Vault can be set as the profile photo with one click.
  5. Edit/Delete Events: Timeline events can be updated or removed from the Edit Archives page.
  6. Privacy Settings: Check "Currently Living" for any relative born within the last century to provide strict data protection.
  7. Commit to Ledger: Once verified, hit the commit button to permanently register the history.

⚖️ Our Privacy Standard

This archive balances world-class transparency for historical figures with absolute secrecy for living relatives. Restricted data like birth dates and bios for living members are hidden by default from the public eye.