Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Inserting Chart as Graphic

Click below to see the posts in this series:
Click here to see the Introduction
Click here to see the Layout Page and Insert SmartArt
Click here to see Altering the Chart
Click here to see Word 2003
Click here to see Using Chart and Resizing Boxes

While having a working chart as a Word document is convenient when you're creating the chart, trying to control the chart inside of a working Word document--think page in a book--can be a challenge for a host of reasons. In addition, charts frequently must be rotated and resized to fit into a portrait oriented page.

When you create charts, I suggest that you create them as an individual documents, and then use Paint to convert the charts to graphics, which you can insert into your document (article or book). If you need to make corrections later on, you can correct them in the live chart...the individual Word document, use Paint to turn the chart into a graphic again, and replace the graphic in your document. The advantages of this approach are that you can easily rotate and resize the graphic.

If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know I'm a big time fan of Paint...and you've probably read all of the posts so that you're way ahead of me on this suggestion.

If you're a new reader, following are the posts you need to read to learn how to use Paint to capture the chart and resize and rotate it.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 1 Capturing a Screen
Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 8 Resizing and Rotating

If you want to read more about Paint, click here to go to the Archive post with links to Paint-related articles listed in sequence.

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Using Chart and Resizing Boxes

Click here to see post 1 in this series--The Introduction.
Click here to see post 2 in this series--Layout Page and Insert SmartArt
Click here to see post 3 in this series--Altering the Chart
Click here to see post 4 in this series--Word 2003

Using the Chart
The point of having created the form is that you're going to want to use it repeatedly rather than having to create the chart every time you want to fill out one for a family. So you will want to save a copy of the chart you created under a new name prior to completing the chart.

Note: If you've created a form that only you will be using, you might want to complete the contact information in your master copy so that information is there when you open the chart.

To use the chart:

1. Save a copy of the chart under a new name. 
2. In boxes, double click placeholder text and type in the real information. As you fill the boxes with text, you'll notice that the text flows outside of the box. Don't worry. We'll fix this later.
3. Save your chart and resize boxes. 

Resizing the Boxes
When you resize, you need to resize all of the boxes in a column at the same time. Resizing based on columns gives you a consistent display.

To select the boxes in a column:

1. Click in the first box. The handles (circles and squares) appear. 
2. Hold down the Shift key, and click in the border of the second box. The handles for the second box appear. You'll know you're clicking in the right spot because your cursor will change to a four-headed arrow. 
3. Repeat step 2 until you have all of the boxes selected. Your screen will look similar to this one.
   
   Handles are the circles and squares inside the orange squares and circles. 

To resize boxes in a column: 

1. When you selected the first text box, the SmartArt Tools tab opened on the ribbon. 
2. Select the Format tab, and locate the Size group.
   
3. In the Height field, click the up and down arrow beside the field to increase and decrease the height of the selected boxes.
4. In the Width field, click the up and down arrow beside the field to increase and decrease the width of the selected boxes.
5. When you have the arrangement you like, save (Ctrl + S). 

If you find that you can't adjust the height or width, it's most likely because the layout is getting cramped and Word isn't letting you make the adjustment. You might want to consider using abbreviations or otherwise altering the presentation of the information in boxes.

So good luck with resizing. I'm sure you'll do fine. It's easy...you just have to know the trick of how to select multiple boxes to apply the change to all of the boxes in a column.

I'll continue hacking around and seeing what additional functionality you might need.

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Word 2003 options

Click here to see post 1 in this series--The Introduction.
Click here to see post 2 in this series--Layout Page and Insert SmartArt
Click here to see post 3 in this series--Altering the Chart

I had a few minutes today on the computer where I have Word 2003 installed. So I went poking around. While you don't have as many choices as you do in more recent versions of Word, it's not as limited as I originally thought.

Here are the menu selections you make to get to the charts in Word 2003. Word automatically inserts the default organization chart.

In addition, Word displays the Organization Chart toolbar. If you click outside of the chart area, the toolbar closes. To open it again, click inside of the chart area. 

This chart works like all of the others I've been talking about. Click in a box and start typing text. 

Adding boxes in Word 2003 is different. You use options (Assistant, Coworker, Subordinate) from the Insert Shape drop-down list to add boxes in different locations.

If you want additional options for formatting, click the Auto Format button to display the chart style gallery. Pick a style from the gallery to see how it changes your chart.

Use options on the Layout drop-down to change the arrangements of the boxes. 

So there you have some of what you can do in Word 2003. I'll pick up writing about the Word 2007/2010 versions in my next post. 

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Altering the Chart

Click here to see post 1 in this series--The Introduction.
Click here to see post 2 in this series--Layout Page and Insert SmartArt

As noted in my last post, you can use two different methods to alter the graph.

• Replace [TEXT] with the text you want.
• Add text using a text dialog. 

In addition, you can use the text dialog to add new text boxes to the chart and rearrange text boxes to alter the display.

Default Hierarchy Chart

Template You Want to Create

The double arrows that you click to open the text dialog are circled in this graphic.

To replace [TEXT]: 

1. In the chart, click [TEXT] in the first text box. 
2. Type the following text:
   --Name, and then press the Enter key.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Enter key.
   --d. DatePlace, and then press the Enter key. 

This method is fine as long as you don't want to add boxes or adjust the display. To do that you need to display and use the text dialog. 

To use the text dialog:

1. Click anywhere inside the chart but not in a [TEXT] box.
   --The chart frame appears, with double arrows on the left side of the frame.
   --The SmartArt Tools tab opens on the ribbon with two tabs: Design and Format. 
2. Click the double arrows and the text dialog opens. The double arrows are circled in the graphic above.
   
3. In the text dialog, click the first [Text] entry and type the following text:
   --Name, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace.
   You may have already completed this step above when you replaced [TEXT] directly in the graphic. 
4. Click the second [Text] entry and type the following text:
   --FatherName, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace. 
5. Click the third [Text] entry and type the following text:
   --Grandfather, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace. 
6. Click the fourth[Text] entry and type the following text:
   --Grandmother, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace. 
7. Add a new [Text] entry to create a parent entry for the paternal grandmother.
   --Press the Enter key. Word adds a [Text] entry below the Grandmother text entry.
   --On the SmartArt Tools tab, click the Design tab.
   --In the Create Graphic group, click Demote to move the [Text] to the fourth column position.
   
   
8. Type the following text:
   --GreatGrandfather, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace. 
9. Press Enter to add a new [Text] entry, and then type the following text:
   --GreatGrandmother, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --b. DatePlace, and then press the Shift + Enter combination.
   --d. DatePlace. 
10. Add the great grandparents for the grandfather.
    --In the chart, click once in the Grandfather text box. In the text dialog, Word moves your cursor to the Grandfather text entry.
    --Be sure to click your cursor at the end of d. DatePlace.
    --Press the Enter key. Word adds a [Text] entry below the Grandfather text entry.
    --On the SmartArt Tools tab, click the Design tab.
    --In the Create Graphic group, click Demote to move the [Text] to the fourth column position.
    --Complete the GreatGrandfather entry.
    --Press the Enter key. Word adds a [Text] entry below the GreatGrandfather text entry.
    --Complete the GreatGrandmother entry. 
11. Repeat steps 7 to 10 to add more [Text] entries and text boxes and use the Demote (or Promote) buttons to arrange and rearrange text boxes in columns one, two, three, and four. 

You might need to fuss with the Demote and Promote buttons to move text boxes around in the graphic to get the four column display that you see in the samples above. 

As long as you have the text dialog open, each time you press Enter, Word adds a new text entry and a text box to the graphic. If you close the text entry dialog (click the X in the upper right corner of the dialog), you can click in a text box and press Enter as you add text to the box. However, you should notice that you affect the spacing in the text boxes. 

In these instructions, I've had you add text using the text box as we went along. Another option you have is to use the text dialog to add and arrange all of the text boxes you need in the graphic, and then close the text box and click in each text box to create your template...clicking Enter after each entry or Shift + Enter, depending on the spacing you want.

The other thing you should notice is that each entry has one word placeholder text; for example, DatePlace. When using the form, you just double-click the one word and start typing. The text dialog opens automatically. You can use it or ignore it and type only in the text boxes. 

Any of the hierarchy charts that you pick will work the same way as the one you've completed for this post. In subsequent posts, we can look at additional things you can do. For example, you might need to resize text boxes to accommodate your text.  

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Layout Page and Insert SmartArt

Click here to see post 1 in this series--the introduction.

I'm going to walk through the steps for creating the four generation chart template. After you have the template, you can complete it to create four generation charts for families. 

Layout Your Page

1. Open Word. The default Normal template displays automatically. Remember that this template is the lowest level template with just a few styles...the starting point for lots of documents.
2. Select File, Save As, and name the document Four Generation Chart.
3. Display the Page Setup dialog.
   --Word 2003: Select File, and then Page Setup.
   --Word 2007/2010: Select the Page Layout tab and locate the Page Setup group. Click the small arrow in the lower right of the group (group launch button).
   The dialog appears with the Margins tab displaying by default.
4. In the Margins group, enter .5 for the top, bottom, left, and right margins. Since this document is a chart, you are going to want to use as much of the surface area of the page as possible.
5. In the Orientation group, select Landscaped.
6. Click OK, and then save your document. 

Inserting SmartArt

1. From in Insert menu, click SmartArt to open the SmartArt dialog.
2. Select Hierarchy, and then select Horizontal Hierarchy. 
3. Click OK. The graphic opens in your Word document. 
4. Save the document. 

Doesn't look like much at the moment does it? In my next post, we're going to replace [Text] with entries that create a template and we're going to rearrange and add boxes. Depending on what you are doing, you'll use two different methods to affect what appears in the graphic. 

So stay tuned for upcoming posts.

Update 
I included Word 2003 in the page layout instructions above. However, Word 2003 options for this process are very limited. You have only one hierarchy chart that you can use. I'm going to have to work with it to see what you can do with it to make a template. 

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt

1. Click here to download a copy of this four generation chart (Word 2010).  SkyDrive opens. 
2. Select File, Save As. A Download button appears.
3. Click the Download button and complete the download to your system.
4. If the SkyDrive Enable Editing button appears, click it to begin using the form. 
5. To complete the form, double-click placeholder text and replace it with your personal text. 

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to create a generational chart as a fillable form and bombing. When you find that you can't do a task one way, it's worth stepping away from the keyboard for a break. Sometimes, you get struck with inspiration.

I don't have occasion to use SmartArt very often. I just don't use that sort of thing in my professional or personal life. However, there are hierarchy charts that bear a striking resemblance to the charts that genealogists use. So I started playing around and I've discovered you can use SmartArt to produce a number of different types of charts, including the one above, which you can download if you're using Word 2010.

Here are a few more charts that I created using SmartArt on the fly.

So now I'm on a learning curve, trying all of the buttons that turn up on the Design and Format tabs of the SmartArt Tools context sensitive tab. I'll try to share what I'm hacking my way thru in an orderly fashion. I'm also going to have to look at how clipart can be used in conjunction with SmartArt. 

To display these charts, open an MS Word document and make the following selections: Insert, SmartArt, Hierarchy. A preview of the pre-formatted charts opens. Select one to begin using it. 

Completing one of these charts is kind of a fun mindless task that I'm doing while watching TV. 

PDF to the Rescue

Many of the types of graphics you might want to use in a document fit the profile of a graphic that needs to be rotated so that it fits on a portrait oriented page. For example, a census sample, a certificate, or a chart. You already know how to rotate a census page or a certificate. Generally, you have these items already appearing as a graphic (.gif, .jpg, or .png). You can copy the item into a Paint canvas, rotate it, and then copy the graphic and place it in your document.

A chart can be a different story. Frequently, a chart is developed as a Word document, in an Excel spreadsheet, or a PowerPoint slide. The likely hood of using one of these programs increases if you use one of the many templates available on the Web. Even if you use a genealogy program to export your data to a chart, you generally don't get a chart that you can rotate easily. Frequently, you get a chart that is in Rich Text Format. You can save the files in other formats; however, none of them is a graphic format.

With any of these formats, if you try to do a screen print and then paste the screen print into Paint like I've suggested previously, you get only a portion of the screen print (unless you are working on a very large monitor). Here's a suggestion for handling the problem.

1. Produce your chart. It doesn't matter what program you use.
2. Convert the chart to a PDF.

If you're using 2007 or 2010 software, you have the option of simply saving the document as a PDF. If you're using Word 2003, you need to go out on the Web and download one of the free PDF creators. You can also buy a PDF progam that will give you a bit more in capabilities; however, the free ones work just fine. When you PDF the page, the PDF creator shrinks the chart to fit comfortably on the page.

3. Be sure to maximize the display of the PDF on your screen.

Click the square beside the X that you would use to close the PDF to get a full screen display.

4. Use the zoom percentage of the PDF to display all of the chart you've created.

Using the percentage is what allows you to capture the entire chart as a paste item that will work in Paint. You want the biggest display you can get while still being able to see the entire chart. For example, enter 90% as the zoom percentage.

5. Complete a screen print.

On a PC, you simply press the PrtSc button. On a laptop, you need to press an additional key (blue FN on my laptop), and then press the PrtSc button. A copy of your screen is placed on the clipboard.

6. Open Paint, and paste the screen print. (Press Ctrl + V).
7. Use the scroll bars to move your chart to the center of your screen.
8. Use the Select tool to draw a line around your chart.

Click to tool, and then click in one corner of your chart, hold down your mouse key, and drag your cursor across the chart to the other corner. Let go of your mouse key.

9. Copy the selected area. (Press Ctrl + C).
10. Open a new canvas. (Click File, New.)

A message asing if you want to save the current drawing appears. Answer Don't Save, and a new empty canvas appears.

11. Paste the selected area into the new canvas. (Press Ctrl + V.)
12. Rotate your graphic, copy it, and paste it into your document.

So now the question...Who's more exhaused? You? Me? Probably both of us. I know this all sounds like a lot. However, once you get used to bouncing into and out of Paint to deal with a graphic on the fly, the easier it becomes. Besides, just think how impressed all your friends will be when you show them how to handle this problem.

Picture This!

You've figured out how to put a document together with mirrored margins and working headers and footers. You have a portriat oriented document; that is the text is printing on the length of the paper. You reach a place in your document where you want to add a graphic; for example, a descendants chart. However, the chart is too wide to fit on a portrait oriented page. You need a page that is landscape oriented--wider than it is long. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with the problem.

1. Convert the chart to a graphic, and then rotate the graphic so that it's printing sideways. You can then insert the graphic into a portrait page.
2. Save the chart as a PDF, and then rotate the PDF so that it's printing sideways. You can then insert the PDF into a portrait page.
3. Insert a Continuous break, change the orientation of the page to landscape, insert your chart, add another Continuous break, and change the orientation back to portrait.

Each of these methods is going to require a bit of explanation. Each of these methods has pluses and minuses. This post is just an introduction to the problem and possible solutions. The solution you use in any set of circumstances is going to depend on what software you use to create and/or convert the graphic. So stay tuned. There's more to come.