GedShow

GedShow is a simple WordPress plugin that allows the uploading of a gedcom file to a WordPress website. Once the plugin is installed there is a new menu item in the Admin menu panel on the website entitled Gedshow. On clicking this menu option a file upload dialog page is displayed allowing you to browse your computer for your gedcom file and then upload it. Once the gedcom file has been uploaded some of the data is extracted from it and loaded into the WordPress database. The uploaded information can then be displayed on a page using a shortcode.

The first shortcode is [gedshow living=”yes”] or [gedshow living=”no”], as usual the shortcode should be typed in lowercase and surrounded by square brackets. This displays a list of all the surnames in the database with a count of the number of records who have that surname in brackets next to the surname. The surname is displayed on a button, clicking on this button then shows the first and surname of all those individuals of the surname clicked and hides the all surnames records, again the names are displayed on a button. Clicking on this new button shows the individual record of that person. Currently occupations, birth, baptism, death, burial, residence and occupation dates and places are shown. If the individual had children a ‘show tree’ button is displayed, clicking this button shows a graphical tree of the family below the marriage details. The names of the spouse and children of the individual are links and clicking on any of these changes the display of fact to that new individuals details.

The second shortcode is [surname sn=”smith” living=”yes”] or [surname sn=”smith” living=”no”]. Replace smith with the surname of your choice within double quotes (ensuring that the surname exists in your gedcom). This shortcode then displays the data as above.

The third shortcode is [gs_individual id=”I1″ name=”Y” facts=”Y”] This shortcode can be placed on any page or post and will display the persons name (if Y is in the shortcode) followed by their Birth, Marriage and Death details and then any person level notes. Additional information and photos can then be added in the usual way. The reference number can be found for the person in the header of their normal Gedshow page by hovering over their name. More details on the demo site.

The fourth shortcode is [gs_tree id=”I1″] This displays a 3 generation Ancestor tree for a chosen individual. The id number is found in the same was as shortcode 3 above. The shortcode can be used anywhere on a page or post. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SHORTCODE DOES NOT CHECK FOR LIVING INDIVIDUALS BEING DISPLAYED.

The first two shortcodes can now have living yes / no qualifier. So [gedshow living=”yes”] or [surname sn=”smith” living=”yes”]. If you do not add the living qualifier living=no is assumed.
For these new shortcodes to work you MUST re-import your gedcom file as there are database changes. There is a new page on the demo website on using this new living qualifier.

The fifth shortcode is [gs_allnames] This is for a page specifically for search engines it lists all the individuals in the database with their dates of birth and death (if known) in a simple table. It does not include living individuals.

When first and surnames are shown on either the button or in the heading for individual records the sex of the individual is shown after the surname using the unicode symbols, ♂ for male and ♀ for female.

The ‘Upcoming Birthdays’ widget is available in the Widgets pane as Gedshow Birthdays. It can be displayed in any widget area (ideally around 250px wide or wider) the title and number of birthdays to show is selectable in the widget dialog (default 10). Only the day and month are shown so display of Living people is not repressed.

The ‘Top Surnames’ widget is available in the Widgets pane as Gedshow Surnames. This widget shows a configurable number (default 10) of the highest number of surnames in the database.

The ‘Anniversaries’ widget is available in the Widgets pane as Gedshow Anniversaries. This widget shows a configurable number (default 5) of the upcoming wedding anniversaries in the database.

The ‘In Memoriam’ widget is available in the Widgets pane as Gedshow In Memoriam. This widget shows a configurable number (default 10) of the upcoming deaths in the database.

Current limitations:

• Only one gedcom can be uploaded, the previous one will be deleted if a new one is uploaded.
• UTF-16 gedcom files, native to Family Historian V6, are not supported. Export as utf-8 format gedcom for use in this plugin.
• Large gedcom files with >25000 individuals are unlikely to load due to webserver timeouts (this may be a smaller number on free / shared webhosts.

Future enhancements:

• Suggestions for added functionality welcome

Demo site – Full shortcode
Demo site – Surname shortcode
Demo site – Person story shortcode

Users group on Facebook

Any comments / feedback to [email protected]