Terry's TMG Tips

Customizing Your Tags

This page updated 10 Jul 2014

Version note: Applies to TMG 8 & 9

TMG uses Tags to record almost everything about each person in your Data Set. It may be helpful to think of each person you record as initially being defined only by an ID number, which TMG assigns automatically. It is the Tags that bring the person "to life" by adding one or more names, connections to parents and children, defining all manner of events, from birth to death, and endless possibilities in between. These Tags hold the information that is displayed on screen, and which is the source of the reports you may generate.

TMG considers Tags to be in Several Groups:

Tags in the Name group contain the primary name, and any other names, like nicknames, name changes due to events like marriage, and spelling variations.
Tags in the Relationship Group define parent/child links. They are what mark one person as the parent or child of another.
Tags in the Marriage Group create marriages or other like unions.
Tags in the Birth Group and Death Group are special cases because they control the key dates that appear in many reports. In addition, Birth Group Tags serve as a basis for the age calculations that appear in various places.
Most other Tags fall in the Other Event Group, which is the extremely varied group that records everything from schooling, to census, to occupation, and many more events.

TMG comes with a large number of default Tag Types to record various events. It also provides the user the option to create custom Tag Types to suit his or her preferences. Listed below are articles describing how to customize Tags and Tag Types, and a few custom Tag Types that I have found useful to add to those supplied with the program:

General Information
Editing and creating Tags and Tag Types in TMG

Modifying Tag Sentence Structures - tips on editing Sentences

Sentence Variables - lists of available Sentence variables and their meanings

Sentence Preview - seeing how your tags will output in narrative reports

Sentence Variables for People - the three different types of Variables used to refer to people

Using Roles - more options for controlling sentences

Combining Output Sentences - making two tags produce a single output sentence

Using Reminders - aids to entering data in standard and custom tags

Creating Flowing Narratives - combining techniques for better narratives

Export/Import of Tag Types - copying Tag Types to another Data Set

Changes in Role Variables - new behavior of Role Variables with TMG 9.02

Special-Purpose Codes and Tag Types
Working with special Codes and Tag Types to Enhance Your Reports

The NarrativeChildren Tag - customizing the "children of" Statement

JournalIntro and JournalConclusion Tags - adding introductory and conclusion sections

Centering and Indenting Text - displaying quotes "properly"

Terry's Custom Tag Types
Some custom Tag Types I have found useful

Alt-Tags - dealing with conflicting dates and places

Census Tag - Basic - entering all members of the household in one tag

Census Tag - Expanded 1850 & Later - listing everyone in the Head of Household's narrative

Census Tag - Expanded Before 1850 - dealing with unnamed household members

Multiple Marriages - adding the traditional 1st, 2nd, and 3rd labels and repeat marriages

Will Tag - including the executor, heirs, and those "mentioned"

Miscellaneous Tags - research notes and the like

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