Now that you have set the preferences or options you want, and clicked OK to save your selections, you will probably find yourself in a blank family group view. Notice the three tabs across the top of the PAF program labeled Family, Pedigree, and Individual.

If you click on the tab labeled "Pedigree," you will see the pedigree view.

You can move between the three views by clicking the appropriate tab. Begin by adding your name as person number 1 by clicking on the word Add and then scrolling down to the word Individual.

Another way to do the very same thing is to double click in the darkened grey area on the screen. The Add Individual template will open (see below).

If you don't like to take your hands off the keyboard as you enter information, you can accomplish the same thing by holding down the Control key and striking the "A." Another way is to go to the icons bar at the top of the program and click on the man's face with a + sign beside it. There are multiple ways to accomplish the same tasks using this program. This is one of the reasons this program is liked by many people. It is free, it easy for a beginner to use, you may choose the way you use the options, and all the items you enter can import to other programs.

The third tab at the top of the entry screen in addition to the "Family" and "Pedigree" tab, is entitled "Individual" tab. This tab allows you to sort lists of individuals in order to modify the spelling of names, to standardize localities, or to sort for something you want to find in those fields. Once you have added a few people to your file, try these options out. For now let's enter something about you, in the first individual entry form.

At the blank Add Individual screen enter your name (married females should enter their given names then their maiden name(s)). If you have two surnames both of them should go between the slash marks such as Karen/Jones-Smith/. It would then print out as Karen JONES-SMITH. I had step parents, foster parents, and my husband so these are the names I would include.

Now enter the date of birth as the day first. If you enter "5" it may enter "05." If you type in the month for December as "12" it may change it to "Dec" depending on your preferences.

Now enter the location by starting with the smallest area (city or town), followed by the county (you don't need to enter the word county as long as you separate it from the town with commas), and then the state (you can use two letter abbreviations). See the example above.

Notice the little symbol that looks like a tiny spiral notepad to the right of the template. When you click on that you arrive at a blank form. Here you can enter any notes, documentation, traditions, etc., about the person you have entered. If you don't want to remove your hands from the keyboard, you may hold down the ALT key and tap on the letter "N" for the notes field. To save hold down the ALT key and strike "S" for "save."

If you set your preferences to varify names, each time you entered a name, a confirmation box would appear. The program waits for you to type the same word twice, the same way.

The importance of that box is that, once "Thomas" is entered, for example, it becomes part of the data file dictionary. If you tried to enter another "Thomas" but spelled it "Tomas," you would get another confirmation box asking if "Tomas" were correct. You answer, no, and try again. When entering names into a computer, it is important to standardize names. If there are spelling variations, put those variations into your notes exactly as they appear spelled in the records. That way you can still search on the word easily, but you will have the variations for future work on the family.

Notice that the confirmation box appears every time you enter a location—for the same reason. When you have entered information into the template properly, click on the SAVE button to retain the information. Then click on the notepad to enter your notes. We will learn more about documentation and notes in our next lesson.