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Adding Family Members

GenoTool makes it easy to build your genogram by adding family members directly from a selected person. With just a few clicks you can add partners, children, parents, and more.

Adding a Partner

To add a partner to a person:

  1. Select a person in the drawing.
  2. In the detail panel, click Add Partner.
  3. A new person is created and linked to the selected person with a family relation.
  4. Set the relationship type (e.g., Marriage, Cohabitation) in the relation settings. See Family Relations for all available types.

Adding Children

To an Existing Relationship

To add a child to an existing partnership:

  1. Select one of the two partners in the drawing.
  2. Click Add Child on the relation between the partners.
  3. A new person is created below the couple, connected by a child line.

With a New Partner

To add a child while also creating a new partner:

  1. Select the person who should gain a new partner and child.
  2. Click Add Child with New Partner.
  3. Both a new partner and a new child are created, with the appropriate relation lines drawn automatically.

Adding Parents

To add parents to a person:

  1. Select the person in the drawing.
  2. Click Add Parents.
  3. Two new persons (father and mother) are created above the selected person, connected by relation lines.

Adding Alternative Parents

GenoTool supports multiple sets of parents for situations such as foster care or adoption:

  1. Select the person in the drawing.
  2. Click Add Other Parents.
  3. Choose the parent type (e.g., foster parents, adoptive parents).
  4. A new set of parents is created and linked to the person.

Alternative parents are positioned with an offset from the primary parents to keep the drawing clear.

Adding Twins

Adding Twins to a Relationship

To add twin children to an existing partnership:

  1. Select one of the two partners.
  2. Click Add Twins.
  3. Two new persons are created as children, linked together as twins.

Adding a Twin Sibling

To add a twin sibling to an existing child:

  1. Select the child who already exists in the drawing.
  2. Click Add Twin Brother/Sister.
  3. A new person is created and linked as a twin to the selected child.

Note

You can specify whether twins are identical or fraternal in the person's Extra section. See Setting Up a Person for more details.

Automatic Positioning

When working in Auto mode, GenoTool automatically repositions persons in the drawing after adding new family members. This ensures proper spacing and prevents overlap.

If the drawing becomes too complex for automatic positioning, GenoTool will show a warning and suggest switching to Manual mode. See Canvas Settings for more information on positioning modes.

See Also