Creating Connections
Connect two people who are already on the canvas, attach a child to a couple, and fix a connection that won’t draw.
Most connections are made for you when you add people with the buttons around a person (Add Parents, Add Partner, Add Sibling, Add Child). When both people are already on the canvas, connect them with Draw Connection.
Connect two existing people
- Make sure the Select tool is active (V), then click the first person. A ring of round buttons appears around them.
- Press the blue Draw Connection button (the link icon, upper left of the ring).
- Either drag to the second person and let go on their symbol, or click the button once, then click the second person. A banner reads Click another person to connect · Esc to cancel.
- A How are they connected? window opens. Under Partnership choose Married, Divorced, Separated, Cohabiting, Engaged, or Dating (or + More for Life Partner, Affair, Widowed, Remarried, Annulled). Under Family choose Parent → Child or Sibling.
The window highlights a best guess: Parent → Child if one person is well above the other, otherwise Married. Press Enter to accept it or Esc to cancel. For Parent → Child, the person higher on the canvas becomes the parent.
Make someone the child of a couple
Start Draw Connection from the child and let go on the line between the two parents (not on either parent). The child is connected to both parents in one step. Connecting to a single parent gives a child of that parent only, which is how half-siblings work (see Half-Siblings & Step-Family).
Pets, notes, and secrets
- Connecting a person and a pet creates a Pet Connection straight away, with no window.
- You can also connect a person to a canvas note or secret to show what it refers to.
If the connection doesn't appear
- You let go on empty canvas. When you drag, you have to release on the second person's symbol. Let go anywhere else and the line disappears. Aim for the middle of the shape, not the name under it.
- They're already connected. If the pair already has a partner or parent-child line, a message says Structural connection already exists. and selects that line. Change its type in the Inspector instead of drawing a new one.
- The ring of buttons vanished. It hides when the pointer moves away. Click the person again to bring it back.
Changing or removing a connection
Click any line to select it. The Inspector lets you change its type. To remove it, press Delete or click the trash button in the Inspector footer. The people stay where they are.