Getting started with your Joaktree component

1. Installation

    1.1 Install Joaktree component
    1.2 Create and upload a GedCom file
    1.3 Create and upload pictures
    1.4 Pagination (advanced)

2. Getting started - step 1: set up your parameters
3. Getting started - step 2: process your GedCom file
4. Getting started - step 3: create a family tree
5. Getting started - step 4: publish your family tree
6. Keeping your trees up and running


1. Installation

1.1 Install Joaktree component

The Joaktree component is installed with the install function of Joomla! 1.5.x.
There are no additional requirements or steps to be taken for installing the component.

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1.2 Create and upload a GedCom file

Joaktree is a viewer for genealogical information which is maintained by you in a separate application.
Most genealogical applications can create so called GedCom file for exchanging the stored information with other programs.
The Joaktree component has no function for creating and uploading a GedCom file. This has to be done by you.
 
Create from your application a GedCom file for the descendants of person XYZ. This person XYZ will be your root person.
If you are given a choice for a character set of the GedCom file, it is recommended to choose UTF-8.
If this option of character set is not available, choose the standard ANSEL character set, because Joaktree can convert this character set to UTF-8.
 
Use your favorite FTP program to upload your GedCom file to your directory of choice (see chapter on parameters).
The default directory is the tmp

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1.3 Create and upload pictures

You have the option to show pictures along the person information.
Joaktree has no function for uploading and sizing your pictures.
It is adviced that you size your own pictures with fixed heigth and width for an uniform look and feel of all your pages.
Joaktree supports the following picture formats: gif, jpg, png, and bmp.

When you decide (see parameter settings) to show pictures Joaktree will look for these pictures in specific locations.
You have to upload the pictures to these locations in order for them to be shown correctly.

  1. Joaktree looks for a folder in the specified base folder with name of the folder being exactly the same as the ID of the person
     
  2. If Joaktree does not find this folder, it will show default pictures.
    Joaktree looks for a folder in the specified base folder with name of the folder being exactly the same as the name of the family tree
     
  3. If Joaktree does not find this folder, it will show Joaktree pictures.
    Joaktree looks for a folder in the specified base folder with name of the folder being exactly jt-images
     

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1.4 Pagination (advanced)

The Joaktree component uses the standard pagination function of Joomla! when showing list of names (see also).
This function works closely with the pagination function of your own template if this exists.
Sometimes there is an error in this template pagination function, which causes the pagination to work incorrectly.

When this is the case, you have to do the following steps

  1. Locate the folder your site/templates/name of your template/html .
  2. Open the file pagination.php for editing.
  3. Locate - in this file - the function pagination_item_active
  4. If the function consists of one line
    return "<li>&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"".$item->link."\" title=\"".$item->text."\">".$item->text."</a></strong>&nbsp;</li>";  
     
    Replace this line with the following lines
    if ($item->base>0) {
        return "<li>&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"#\" title=\""
            .$item->text."\" onclick=\"javascript: document.adminForm.limitstart.value="
            .$item->base."; submitform();return false;\">"
            .$item->text."</a></strong>&nbsp;</li>";
    } else {
        return "<li>&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"#\" title=\""
            .$item->text."\" onclick=\"javascript: document.adminForm.limitstart.value=0; submitform();return false;\">"
            .$item->text."</a></strong>&nbsp;</li>";
    }
  5. Save the file

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