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Working with Pedigree Templates

Preface: What Are Templates, How Do They Work, and Why Should I Use Them?
Templates are a feature in Progeny that allow all pedigrees within a folder to share specific configurations. The most commonly used features of Templates are the Pedigree and Individual Datasheets, Icon Subtext, and Icon Symbols. Lesser-used features include Icon Markers, Pedigree Added Text, and SmartDraw Dimensions. Templates work by assigning a template value to all existing pedigrees within a folder. Once this has been accomplished, rules are set within Progeny so that any new pedigrees created within the folder also conform to the template format. This is a very useful feature to have (especially if you are working with multiple studies or are collaborating with other locations) as it ensures that all pedigrees within a folder share a degree of uniformity. The other benefit of using template folders is that you have the ability to quickly apply new formats to pedigrees simply by moving your pedigrees in and out of a folder. Say for example you want to run an individual through three separate studies. Rather than creating multiple individuals (one for each study) or modifying your datasheet to accommodate the fields required for each study, you can simply create the datasheets for each study, assign them as templates to three different folders, and move your pedigree from folder to folder. Each time the pedigree enters a folder with a different template, the pedigree automatically adopts the format of its destination folder. No data is lost during this format change, but the datasheet layout is altered to display the relevant data for that study. When the data entry is completed, you can then move this pedigree into another folder, which then automatically adopts the format of that folder. The following steps will allow you to set up folder templates for your own databases, quickly and easily. This may involve a modification to your existing workflow, but the benefits to both productivity and usability should easily outweigh the time and inconvenience involved in making the change.

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Step 1: Prepare Your Pedigree Folder

To effectively use template folders, you need to make sure that your folders are NEVER empty. To accomplish this you should create a pedigree that will forever enforce the applied template within the folder. In this example, we have created a pedigree with the name 0000-DO-NOTDELETE. By appending 0000 to the front of the name, weve ensured that this pedigree will always appear at the top of the pedigree list (so long as the pedigrees are sorted by Pedigree Name).

After you create your pedigree, open it and create a single individual by right-clicking the pedigree space and selecting Add Individual. The gender of the individual does not matter, as we only need an individual to exist within the pedigree for datasheet formats to be properly applied. Once the individual has been added, save and close the pedigree.

Next you want to make sure that you have your Template Options turned on within the folder. Right-click the folder, then select Edit Folder

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Inside the Edit Folder menu, there are seven Template Options available, as shown below.

Individual Datasheet This is your main datasheet and displays Individual, Sample and Marker-level data fields Pedigree Datasheet This is a secondary datasheet available for isolating Pedigree-level fields for Pedigree-specific data. Most users will have this option disabled as Pedigree Datasheets are not commonly used. Icon Subtext This is the text that is displayed below an individuals icon within the pedigree. Icon Symbols This is the series of available graphic symbols that can be displayed within an individuals icon to quickly identify individuals with user-defined common traits. Icon Markers This displays Marker-level data for individuals. This option is only needed for users of Progeny Lab or Progeny Suite Pedigree Added Text This is the text fields that are added to pedigrees. Most users will not have this option selected as it will replicate the same text across ALL pedigrees within a folder. Having this option disabled will allow users to add unique text fields to each pedigree. SmartDraw Dimensions This defines the space given to each individual within a pedigree. When SmartDraw is run, the pedigree is repositioned and adjusted to give each individual the allotted space. Most users will have this disabled so that pedigrees can be resized at will.

The vast majority of users will only need the three options selected in the picture above: Individual Datasheet, Icon Subtext and Icon Symbols. Make sure yours match and click Save.

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Step 2: Create a Folder for Your Template Pedigree(s) and Create Your First Template
Now that we have prepared our pedigree folder, we need to create a segregated space for the template pedigrees to exist (you can have as many as you like). From the Main menu right-click the folder tree root icon (the little computer monitor) and select New Folder

We will be calling this folder Template Pedigrees. Take note of the fact that in the picture below we have disabled ALL Template Options. This is intentionally done so that the template pedigrees do not overwrite each other. Once you have unchecked all the Template Options, click Save.

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Create a pedigree within this new folder, giving it a descriptive name that identifies the template from others. Many users will give these template pedigrees names that include the study, creation date, folder name, or other identifier that tells users exactly what the template is intended to be used for. In our sample, weve named this first template pedigree ProgenyFolder-SampleStudy to identify what it is for and where it will be applied. Take note that there are no spaces in the pedigree name.

Open this new pedigree and create a single individual. You can now customize this template with whatever pedigree and/or datasheet configuration you desire. Save often and when completed.

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Step 3: Apply the Pedigree Template to Your Prepared Folder

The last step in this process is to apply the template to the folder we prepared in Step 1. Close all open pedigrees and datasheets, then from the Main menu right-click the prepared folder from Step 1 and select Copy Features to Folder

In the Copy Features to Selected Folder menu, you are presented first with the prompt to select your source pedigree. This is the template you will be copying features from. Next you are presented with the same list we saw inside the Edit Folder menu. Here you will select the specific features you want applied to the prepared folder. At the bottom of the menu are two options: the first will automatically run the SmartDraw function on all pedigrees within the target folder (unnecessary at this time) and the other will allow you to apply these features to all subfolders of the target folder.

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Click on the Click to Select a Pedigree prompt. This brings up the Pedigree Chooser. Select the Template Pedigrees folder choose the template pedigree whose features you want to apply to the target folder. Click OK.

Next you will select the features you want copied to the target folder. In this example, were only copying the Individual Datasheet, Icon Symbols and Icon Subtext. Select these options and click OK.

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Before the process begins you will be prompted one last time to approve the copying of pedigree features. Click Yes.

Finally, you will see a progress bar and a Warnings window. If the Copy Feature action works properly, you will see a success message similar to the one below.

Click Close, and your process is complete! As long as you leave that initial pedigree within the folder (0000-DO-NOT-REMOVE), the folder will keep the template format we just applied. In the future, you may want to change the template layout that is applied. To accomplish this, all you need to do is repeat Step 3.

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