How to edit family tree templates

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How to edit family tree templates

Easy instructions for editing the free family tree templates available on this site.

Find out how to:

change page position on chart
delete elements
change the look of the charts

Family chart templates
Ancestor charts
One-line ancestor charts
Family group charts
Descendant charts
Family record-keeping charts
Editing family tree templates

Change page position of chart

All the templates have been positioned on my pages. You will probably want to change the position to suit your page.

Text box format

Select chart by clicking anywhere inside it.
From Format ribbon, under Arrange, select Position.
Choose from menu options or set precise position from More Layout Options.

Table format

Select table by clicking anywhere inside it.
From top menu choose Table > Table properties > Table.
Set desired alignment and indent. That might be all you need but if you want to go further:
Set text wrapping to Around to activate the Positioning button.
Click Positioning and set desired parameters.

Delete elements

You will need to delete elements from descendant charts and possibly one-line ancestor charts to suit the number of people in your family tree.

Delete elements in text box format
Use for descendant charts and one-line ancestor charts

Select the boxes and lines you don’t need. Hold down the command key to select multiple elements.
Press the delete key. The size of the grouped element automatically adjusts. How easy is that?

Delete rows from top in table format
Use for one-line ancestor charts.

Select rows. Select the area from top of the table to above the first required row. Include the space above the first row you want to use.
Delete rows. From top menu: Table > Delete > Rows. Or press Delete and from Delete Cells box, click Delete entire row and OK.

Delete rows from bottom in table format
Use for descendant charts.

Select rows. Select the area from under the last required row of grandchildren to the bottom of the table. Include the space below the last row you want to use. Eg, if the greatest number of grandchildren from any child is 5, select from grandchild 6 to the bottom and include the space between grandchild 5 and 6.
Delete rows. From top menu: Table > Delete > Rows. Or press Delete and from Delete Cells box, click Delete entire row and OK.

Delete part of column in table format
Use for descendant charts.

Select cells. Select from the first cell of grandchild not required to the bottom of the column. Don’t include the space under the last grandchild you want to use. Eg if there are 2 grandchildren, select from grandchild 3 to the bottom and don’t include the space between grandchild 2 and 3.
Remove borders. From Table Layout ribbon click Borders icon then click None. Or from top menu: Format > Borders and Shading > Borders, under Setting click None.
Delete text. With the cells still selected, press Delete. Then, from Delete Cells box, click Shift cells up and OK.

Change the look of the charts

Change the look of the charts. You can change fonts, lines, shading and spacing. Change font specifications in text box format by modifying the style. If you want to adjust spacing in text box format you will need to ungroup and regroup elements.

Edit font specifications
You can change font specifications in table format and text box format by modifying the style. I’ve assigned styles to the names and dates in the charts so you can easily change font specifications. The styles are cleverly named ‘Names’ and ‘Dates’.

Choose style. From the top menu: Format > Style. In the style box select the style you want to change (Names or Dates) and click Modify.
Modify style. In the Modify Style box make any changes you want and click OK.
Apply change. In the Style box click Apply to update the style through the whole document.

Edit background shading
In table format, select individual cells separately and use the repeat key.
In text box format , select multiple text boxes and apply once.

Edit line specifications
In table format, redraw the lines.
In text box format, select multiple text boxes and lines and apply once.

Resize whole chart
In table format, drag bottom right corner.
In text box format, drag any corner or side.

Adjust spacing within chart
In table format, drag whole column or row.
In text box format, ungroup, change and regroup elements. This is fiddly. If you want to adjust spacing consider using table format instead.

Select the chart by clicking on one of the boxes in it.
Ungroup the text boxes. From Format ribbon, under Arrange, click group icon, then click Ungroup.
Click on another part of the page to deselect the elements.
Change positions as required. Select individual item and format position (see above.)
Regroup the elements so you can move them around as a unit. Select every text box and line using the command key. From Format ribbon, under Arrange, click group icon, then click Group.