Unrelated Person and Islands

[willipam]

I added an unrelated person to my family file (edit -- add unrelated person). Then I built on that person by adding 32 others. I should have a new island of 33 people but I don't. I've checked to see if I inadvertently made a connection to my main family tree but I can't find any connections. Why don't I have a new island?

[Muriel A]

I have the same issue. I cannot find anywhere how to create a new island. Help! I already have several islands, so I must have done it before...

[SGilbert]

FWIW, If you ever deleted someone who was the only link to your tree, the people associated with that person would now become an island. You would now have to delete (or keep if you wish) those people.

[Bob White]

Or use the Edit menu. There is a command in said menu "Add Unrelated Person". Either way works.

[Muriel A]

That's all well and good, but those thoings don't create an island. I have the same issue. Sometimes islands will appear, sometimes not. I just added 18 people attached to an unrelated person (I know how to do that) but no island was created. i did a search for the 18 people, marked them and saved them as a set. What is the difference between a set and an island? I like the idea of islands, but execution is really confusing and seemingly haphazard. Like te OP, I already have islands, but I can't find how they were created.

[Bob White]

What I know is that if I use the Add Unrelated command and create that single family card and do not connect with any other family card, when I go and check Islands, that card is an island all by itself. If I connect another person to that family card, such as adding a spouse, it remains an island. If I connect it with the base file, the island disappears. If I connect with another island, there is just a larger island (and one less island overall). And, as Gilbert describes, if I break the relationship with the base file, an existing record becomes an island.

An island is one or more people that you have not connected by any relationship to your base file.

A set is two or more people/family cards that you have grouped via a find or custom marking. Such a group can be saved as a set. You can have sets inside the base file or any of the islands.

Hope this gives some clarification.