Problem

Since a software version update (not under the control of contributors) in March 2010 our main person-page form for data entry has been misbehaving with most common browsers except Firefox 3.

Solutions

In order to add person pages or add substantial amounts of data (as distinct from narrative) to an existing page, people not using Firefox 3 may do one of the following (preferably the third one):

1. Install Firefox 3. (It's free and respectable, but not cutting-edge and probably not going to be supported much longer. Regrettably, we haven't found how to get things right with Firefox 4. If anyone has tested with Firefox 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10, and had success, please tell us!)
2. Do an old-fashioned edit, where lots of data will need to be later moved into standard templates for inclusion in our cleverly-designed systems for searching and for display of ancestry and descent tables and tables of events that happened at particular places.
3. Use a work-around, in the shape of a copy-and-paste model where you just enter data in pre-ordained spaces; that data will be part of the above-mentioned clever systems without further work - superficially very like what we used to do with info pages, but much more versatile. It's hardly any more work than using a form: instead of "Tab" to the next field, you can either click or use your "down" arrow, and maybe your "End" key to get to the end of the line, then just type or paste your data after the "=" sign.

Examples; you may copy one

Try this simple version, taken straight from Demo Person. (People who have been using their own may feel inspired to add helpful comments, for the benefit of less experienced users. Thanks to User:Lanica for inspiring me to start this page.) — Robin Patterson (Talk) 03:51, June 27, 2010 (UTC) - amended — Robin Patterson (Talk) 04:37, July 1, 2010 (UTC)

Note that you can save time by copying the filled templates from a sibling, parent, or child. rtol 05:20, June 27, 2010 (UTC) --- unless the new person will use several more fields. — Robin Patterson (Talk) 14:26, June 29, 2010 (UTC)

When you want to add more data to an existing page, you can copy any whole line from below into the page. The order of lines is not important as long as they are all within the right template (i.e. the things that have curly brackets at start and finish). But keeping to the order listed below will make things as easy as possible for later edits. --- Robin Patterson (Talk to me) 07:03, March 5, 2011 (UTC)

I add a gallery directly to the page instead of a separate tab via the sensor. Is there a Familypedia standard to this or is it personal preference? Which is more recent? Tabs or galleries? Lanica 16:58, June 27, 2010 (UTC)

Ah - gallery versus "Pictures" tab. Galleries have been part of Wikia for most of its existence. The pictures tab is fairly new (and a trifle complex); I wouldn't bother with one unless I had more pictures than an article could comfortably hold. — Robin Patterson (Talk) 14:26, June 29, 2010 (UTC)

Fairly clean version, which may lose most of its unused parameters as soon as it is published:

 <!-- do not delete any curly brackets or vertical bars -->
{{Showfacts person
|given_name= (compulsory field)
|middle_name= 
|surname= (compulsory field)
|sex=F
|father= Père (-)
|mother= Mère (-)
|skills= 
|familysearch_afn= -
|joined_with= Spouse1 (-)+Spouse2 (-)+...
|ifmarried-g1=true
|image= (omit "File:" prefix)
|short_name= (compulsory field, preferably including birth surname)
|notes= Notes
|sources= Source(s)
|contributors= (wiki user names)
|birth_year=
|birth_month= (number)
|birth_day=
|birth_date-approx= "c" or "bef" or "aft"
|birth_street=Other place, e.g. hospital or church
|birth_locality= Locality
|birth_county= Comté
|birth_nation-subdiv1= Département / "state" / UK "country"
|birth_nation= Nation
|birth_notes=
|birth_sources=-
|death_year=
|death_month= (number)
|death_day=
|death_date-approx=
|death_street=
|death_locality=
|death_county=
|death_nation-subdiv1=
|death_nation=
|death causes=
|death_notes=
|death_sources=-
|wedding1_year=
|wedding1_month= (number)
|wedding1_day=
|wedding1_date-approx=
|wedding1_street=
|wedding1_locality= (Locality of first marriage)
|wedding1_county=
|wedding1_nation-subdiv1=
|wedding1_nation=
|wedding1_notes=
|wedding1_sources= -
|baptism_year=
|baptism_month= (number)
|baptism_day=
|baptism_date-approx=
|baptism_street=
|baptism_locality=
|baptism_county=
|baptism_nation-subdiv1=
|baptism_nation=
|baptism_notes=
|baptism_sources=
|ifmarried-g2=true
|wedding2_year=
|wedding2_month= (number)
|wedding2_day=
|wedding2_date-approx=
|wedding2_street=
|wedding2_locality=
|wedding2_county=
|wedding2_nation-subdiv1=
|wedding2_nation=
|wedding2_notes=
|wedding2_sources=
|ifmarried-g3=true
|remains_year=
|remains_month= (number)
|remains_day=
|remains_date-approx=
|remains_street=
|remains_locality=
|remains_county=
|remains_nation-subdiv1=
|remains_nation=
|remains_notes=
|remains_sources=source
|globals={{get globals}}
}}
{{Showfacts biography}}
<!-- this space is good for narrative and other images, though the children box may get pushed above it initially -->
{{clr}}<!-- that template can be deleted if there are several lines of text or table of contents above the "children" heading -->
{{Showfacts children <!-- "g1 is the group from the first listed spouse or partner; later numbers correspondingly -->
|children-g1= (join names with plus signs, giving each name a birth year if possible)
|children-g1_sources=sources
|children-g1_notes= 
|children-g2= 
|children-g2_sources=sources
|children-g2_notes= 
<!-- adapt for third and subsequent partners -->}}
{{showfacts awards}}{{showfacts journeys}}{{showfacts residences}}{{showfacts workhistory}}
{{showfacts military}}{{showfacts religious}}{{showfacts community}}
<!-- you can also add your own narrative, images, etc, in this space, to go below the "children" box, and move some around later -->
{{footer}}<!-- that template sometimes gets deleted but should be restored because it has the notes, sources, and contributor list--> <!-- you can add acknowledgment of Wikipedia or other source at the bottom -->

The following version has more detail (and most of us use it little if at all); it looks messy if you leave most of the parameters alone:

 <!-- do not delete any curly brackets or vertical bars -->
{{Showfacts person
|given_name=Prénom
|middle_name=-
|surname=Nom de famille
|sex=F
|father=Père ()
|mother=Mère ()
|skills=Job
|familysearch_afn=-
|joined_with=Spouse1 ()+Spouse2 ()
|ifmarried-g1=true
|image=---
|short_name=Nom abrégé
|notes=Informations générales - Note(s)
|sources=Source(s)
|contributors=Robin Patterson
|birth_year=950
|birth_month=1
|birth_day=1
|birth_date-approx=bef
|birth_street=Rue/Avenue/routière; par exemple: "Napoleon Avenue" 	 
|birth_locality=Localité de naissance
|birth_county=Comté
|birth_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État"
|birth_nation=Nation
|birth_notes=note
|birth_sources=source
|death_year=999
|death_month=1
|death_day=2
|death_date-approx=c
|death_street=Napoleon Avenue
|death_locality=Sea
|death_county=Comté
|death_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État"
|death_nation=Nation
|death_causes=Cause(s)
|death_notes=note
|death_sources=source
|wedding1_year=997
|wedding1_month=9
|wedding1_day=9
|wedding1_date-approx=c
|wedding1_street=
|wedding1_locality=Localité of first marriage
|wedding1_county=Comté
|wedding1_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État" (we should have Nation and "Other places" on this form too)
|wedding1_nation=
|wedding1_notes=note
|wedding1_sources=source
|baptism_year=991
|baptism_month=1
|baptism_day=1
|baptism_date-approx=c
|baptism_street=
|baptism_locality=Localité
|baptism_county=Comté
|baptism_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État"; form should have "Nation" too
|baptism_nation=
|baptism_notes=note
|baptism_sources=source
|ifmarried-g2=true
|wedding2_year=998
|wedding2_month=1
|wedding2_day=1
|wedding2_date-approx=aft
|wedding2_street=
|wedding2_locality=Localité
|wedding2_county=Comté
|wedding2_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État"
|wedding2_nation=
|wedding2_notes=note
|wedding2_sources=source
|remains_year=999
|remains_month=12
|remains_day=2
|remains_date-approx=aft
|remains_street=Rue/Avenue/routière
|remains_locality=Localité de Reste / enterrement / incinération / les funérailles
|remains_county=Comté
|remains_nation-subdiv1=Département/"État"
|remains_nation=Nation
|remains_notes=note
|remains_sources=source
|globals={{get globals}}
}}
{{Showfacts biography}}
{{Showfacts children
|children-g1=Enfant, Groupe familial-1+kid number 2+baby sis
|children-g1_sources=source
|children-g1_notes=
|children-g2=
|children-g2_sources=
|children-g2_notes= note - at present we need to do third family, and beyond, separately without form edit
}}
{{showfacts awards}}{{showfacts journeys}}{{showfacts residences}}{{showfacts workhistory}}
{{showfacts military}}{{showfacts religious}}{{showfacts community}}
<!-- you can add your own narrative, images, etc, in this space, and move some around later -->
{{footer}}<!-- that template sometimes gets deleted but should be restored because it has the notes, sources, and contributor list--> <!-- you can add acknowledgment of Wikipedia or other source at the bottom -->