PAF 3: Adding, Editing, 
& Linking Ancestors

(Last updated 01 March, 2003)

This brief lesson was designed to be covered in a single class period, which lasts about 45 minutes.  Therefore, it covers only the most basic elements of Personal Ancestral File (PAF).  To learn advanced elements of PAF, please consult the program's Help files by pressing the F1 key.  

Creating or Opening a PAF File:

1. Insert a floppy disk into the A drive and enter the PAF 3 program.
2. At the opening screen, press Enter to continue. The SELECT FILE TO OPEN menu will appear.
3. Follow option A, B, C, or D below.

A. If you do not yet have PAF 3 records on your disk:

1. Press "C" to Create a file.
2. Type in a file name for your new database.
3. Replace the drive name by deleting it and typing "A:"
4. Press F1 to continue.

B. If you do have PAF 3 records on your disk:

1. Press "O" to Open file not shown.
2. Press F3 to change the directory.
3. Type "A:" or "B:" (depending on which drive your disk is in) and press Enter.
4. Go to "Adding Data to PAF Records" below.

C. If you are importing records from a relative's disk and have no PAF records on your own disk:

1. Create a new PAF file on your disk by following step A above.
2. Go to step D.

D. If you are importing records from a relative's disk and already have PAF 3 records on your own disk:

1. Import your relative's GEDCOM file by following the steps in the GEDCOM lesson.

Setting File Preferences:

The next screen allows you to change your PAF PREFERENCES. A Help file is available if you need it. Once you have chosen your settings, press F1 to continue.

1. At the PRINTING PREFERENCES screen, press F3 to choose the printers you want to use with PAF.
2. At the SELECT PRINTER screen, use the arrow keys to highlight your printer, and press the Enter key to select the highlighted printer.
3. At the PRINTING PREFERENCES screen, press F1 to continue.
4. At the SUBMITTER'S INFORMATION screen, type your name, address, and phone number. Press F1 when finished.

Adding Data to PAF Records:

1. Once you have reached the SMALL PEDIGREE screen you are ready to add ancestors to your PAF database. To add the first person, press Enter.
2. At the INDIVIDUAL RECORD screen, add information about yourself. The first person added to the database is assigned a Record Identification Number (RIN) of 1. If you are RIN 1, it will be easier to navigate your family tree later by simply telling the computer to find "RIN 1".
3. Type your Given Name, or first name. For help with nicknames (or with any other field), press Alt-h.
4. To move to the next field press Enter or Tab. If you ever need to move back a field, press Shift-Tab.
5. At the Surname field, type your last name. A woman's surname is her maiden name. If your name contains foreign letters or accents, press F7 for a list of diacritics.
6. Add the sex and title. The title field is for inherited titles such as Jr. or Sr., as well as professional titles.
7. Enter your birth date. For help in using the right date format, press Alt-h. If you use the wrong format, you will be warned. The same format is used for all dates on the screen.
8. Enter your birth place. When recording the place an event happened, order the jurisdictions from smallest to largest. For U.S. localities, then, record the town, then the county, then the state, then the nation. Do not abbreviate place names; using state abbreviations like MS will confuse other users.
9. At the LDS Baptism Temple Code field, type "Live" for those who were baptized outside of the temple, or a temple code for those baptized in the temple or whose ordinances were performed by proxy. If you're not sure of a temple's code, place the cursor in the Temple Codes field and press F6 for a list of codes. For children born after their parents were sealed, type "BIC" (born in the covenant) for the date, and leave the temple code blank.
10. Notice the RIN number on the bottom of the Individual screen. Each time you enter an individual, he will receive a RIN number. This number will appear after his name on every screen you see in PAF.
11. Two notes to quicken your data entry: First, to ditto the information from the identical field in the last record, press F8. This works nicely for Place data. Second, to delete all the characters from the cursor to the end of the field, press F10.

Adding Others to Your Database:

1. From the Small Pedigree screen, press the A key. At the WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ADD screen, highlight the kind of individual you want to add, and press Enter. This will bring up the INDIVIDUAL RECORD screen, from which you can add data.
2. To add marriage information, go to the Small Pedigree screen and move the arrow keys so that the marriage line is highlighted. Press Enter. This brings you to the MARRIAGE RECORD screen. An index number called an MRIN number is assigned to every marriage just as RIN numbers are assigned to individuals.

Editing Individuals:

1. To edit an individual from the SMALL PEDIGREE screen, simply highlight him using the arrow keys, and type E to edit.
2. When the INDIVIDUAL RECORD screen appears, add or change information as necessary.

Deleting or Unlinking Individuals:

1. To delete individuals or unlink them from others, first go to the Small Pedigree screen.
2. From the WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DELETE screen, decide who you want to Delete (erase completely) or Remove (unlink as a relative, but not erase).  Make the appropriate selection.
3. A screen will appear which asks you to confirm your choice. Press the Y key to confirm.

You've now learned the basics of PAF 3.  For shortcuts on navigation and data entry, see the handout on PAF keyboard commands.