How to keep a surname from appearing on web cards.

[Blaise A. Darveaux]

Does anyone know how I can get Reunion to automatically leave out a family's surname when I make web cards? Privacy filtering options KEEP the surname and hide the first names (or hides the whole name). The Sensitive Date Delimiters apply only to multimedia items, note, and memo fields in reports. I have been editing the individual web pages, but that is awkward and sometimes I forget. Is there a better way?

[Dennis J. Cunniff]

Does anyone know how I can get Reunion to automatically leave out a family's surname when I make web cards? Privacy filtering options KEEP the surname and hide the first names (or hides the whole name). The Sensitive Date Delimiters apply only to multimedia items, note, and memo fields in reports. I have been editing the individual web pages, but that is awkward and sometimes I forget. Is there a better way?

Options -> Reports... -> Privacy Filter

Under "What to do with private people" set Name: to "Omit", and additional text to "Private" or "Confidential" (or "None").

This "should" get the job done, but I haven't tested it.

[Blaise A. Darveaux]

Nope, that doesn't do it. None of the options allow for just the surname to be excluded.
Thanks anyway.

[Eirik Strøm]

You are clearly trying to do something that Reunion does not support yet as an automated function, although I should not be surprised if a future version of Reunion might do just what you ask for.

In the meantime, there are ways to move your work with editing web cards into the family file. This will also prove to be cumbersome, still you may feel more assured that you make no slips due to forgetfulness. And while other techniques (such as a multifile search and replace operation on your web files through a suitable text editor after proper preparations) will prove more effective for deleting surnames, this method secures the integrity of your surname and index pages, which I suppose you use.

So, in case you feel this may after all prove less troublesome than editing web cards, here goes:


1. In your ordinary family file, define a new flag called “Delete surname”, and check this flag for each person who is to appear on a web card with no surname. (Or you may substitute such a flag by any other flag utilized for identical purpose in your privacy filter.) — This is the only thing you do in your ordinary family file. All the ensuing operations must be done in a copy of your family file so that your family information is not corrupted. (However, you should define and save web card layouts in your ordinary family file to preserve them.)


Any time - every time! - you want to produce web cards follow these steps:

1. Make a new temporary, working copy of your family file. (It should probably be deleted after you have produced your web cards to avoid confusion with your primary family file.)

2. Use the “Find Anything” menu to find all persons with the “Delete Surname” flag checked. Configure the “Found List” window to show Surnames, but as little surplus information as possible.

3. Use the ensuing “Found List” to “Unmark Everybody in Family File, then Mark Everybody in List”.

4. Save a report of the “Found List” and open it in a word processor/text editor. Now you should have two windows open, one with Reunion and one with your “Found List” report.

5. At this point you are to use the Replace function in the Find meny. Configure the Replace window in this way:

Replace all occurrences of: [Do the rest and see below]
With: [Leave this field empty]
Who: [Check “Marked people”]
Where: [Choose “Last Names”]
How: [Check “Any Match”]

6. Now you have to perform a separate Replace operation for every surname variation you find in your “Found List”. (You can of course choose to replace the surname with a text, for instance “Surname withheld”.)

7. If this procedure succeeds, you have a copy of your family file where your “sensitive” persons no longer have surnames. Now you should be able to produce web cards and surname/index pages that meet your specifications of privacy.


- Eirik Strøm

[Blaise A. Darveaux]

Thanks Eirik,

I may not do exactly as you say to do, but you have given me some ideas to make it easier. There are only three cards to change (plus the index and the surname list), but if I set the flag, duplicate the file, search, change, then make web cards, it should be easier then what I am doing now.

--Blaise