SunTree

Custom designed Family Tree in the form of the Sun. Feel free to fork it and create your own tree. See here for steps http://family--tree.org/

About

This is the source code for a family tree renderer. The design inspiration came from MyHeritage. There were several other requirements which weren't cover by MyHeritage's team so we developed this renderer.

The tree output is a SVG file which works fine on the most high-end devices. The original version was producing Canvas but it wasn't working on mobile without some magic so it was easier to switch to SVG.

Features

• Sun layout tree
• Web-based application
• Print version
• Multi-language support
• Layout customizations for both web-based and print version
• "Debug" controls for live customizations
• Easy-to-create input files
• Fork to make your own tree

Sun Layout Tree

As you might already read, the tree is in the shape of the sun.

• It starts from the first known ancestor in the center
• On the background of the ancestor is a map which represents the region from where was the ancestor
• Male, female, child, deceased are in different colors
• In addition to a name, the birth date and death date is displayed
• The tree supports several wives

The user interaction inspiration of the tree was from Google Maps. A user should use a scroll to zoom in/out and drag & drop to move around.

Web-based Application

The main idea of the renderer was to host it on your web-site so that everyone can access it anytime.

The design consists of:

• Title & Subtitle
• Language selector and tutorial
• The tree itself
• Meta information and the legend

Everything can be changed for each language. See below in "Input files" for more information.

Print Version

The print version was designed for the cases when one wants to print a fancy family tree for the dining hall. To retreive it, simply add /print to your URL.

• It has a huge Title and Subtitle
• The meta information on the left
• The legend on the right

To print or save, use a browser print feature (cmd+P or ctrl+P). You will be able to select the size (up to A0) and save as a PDF to print it later.

The language selector and the controls won't be displayed.

Multi-language Support

Both web-based and print versions have a language selector which translates all meta information as well as the entire tree (even the map).

It's easy to add any new languages in config.json

Customizations

Each version has both common settings and its own settings for the layout and styles.

Layout

In index.js the following default settings are presented:

• setPersonRadius is the radius (pixels) of each circle for every person
• setSize is global setting representing the size of everything in the tree: circles, the distance between generations, names, the map
• setOverlap is the distance between each person
• setInitialRotation allows to rotate the tree clockwise and counterclockwise
• setLevelSizeOffset is the distance between the first ancestor and the second generation

For live updates of those settings, use Debug controls (see below).

Simillary to index.js, the print.js has the same settings for the print version.

Styles

Use svg_renderer.css to update the following styles of the tree:

• Colors of the circles
• Font and font sizes for names, dates and for root ancestor

Use style.css to update overall styles of the web app.

Use print.css to update overall styles of the print version.

Both style.css and print.css overwrite svg_renderer.css. So for example if you want to make a bigger font size for names in print version, you just add .person .name class to print.css. That way the web-based app will remain the same.

Debug Controls

To make easier the tree layout customization, the "Debug controls" were introduced. It allows updating the default settings of either index.js or print.js right on the web page. Simply add /#debug to both web-based app or print version.

Input Files

There are several files required to render the tree and the web pages. All files are located in assets folder.

Meta Information

example_configs.json stores the settings for each language: displayed name, the link to tree data, to the legend and meta information data, to the background image.

An example of a legend & meta information data consists of:

• Names in the legend
• Title, Subtitle, tutorial, birth_abbreviation, death_abbreviation, text_columns for web-based version and print_columns for print version

Tree Data

The renderer expects a CSV file for each language. There are 2 options how to create it.

FamilyEcho

The best way to create the tree data is to use FamilyEcho web-service. Creation of the tree might require quite a long time, so we suggest to create an account there.

Once the tree is ready, tap "Download / export this family.." and select CSV format. Add it to /assets and update the link in configs.json. Done!

To translate to other languages, simply open the CSV file in Excel / Google Sheets and use "Find and Replace".

Manually

The other option is to manually create the CSV file. The following columns must be presented: ID, firstName, lastName, genderDescriptor, birthYear, deathYear, MotherID, FatherID, PartnerID.

By default, the renderer expects the columns' order in the same order as in FamilyEcho export. To change it, edit in tree_loader.js starting from the line 38 and 104.

Fork to Make Your Own Tree

If you forked the repository, there are several things to know:

• The app works perfectly fine with GitHub Pages. Once you opened the URL of a GitHub Page, it will retrieve /index.html and display the app.
• To test the app locally, open the fork in terminal app, run python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8090 and open localhost:8090 in any browser.
• Add your configs.json file (plus all input date as separate files) and the app will use it instead of example_configs.json. That way you'll be able to pull updates of the code from our repository.
• You will also need to add your meta information and Google Analytics (if needed) in index.html and print.html.

Limitations

The software is provided on an "AS IS" basis and it has some limitations we'd like to make sure you understand.

• The current version supports only 1 main ancestor (either male or female).
• Parents' of wives wouldn't be displayed on the tree.
• 3 and more wives aren't supported.
• There are some challenges with zooming on the map on Android and Windows devices (see issues).

Contact us

If you have any issues with the tree feel free to create an issue or directly reach out us. Pull requests are also very welcome.