Tree Generation - banisterious/obsidian-charted-roots GitHub Wiki

Tree Generation

This page covers how to generate family tree visualizations on the Obsidian Canvas.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Open Control Center

Method 1: Command Palette

  1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + P
  2. Type "Canvas Roots: Open Control Center"
  3. Press Enter

Method 2: Ribbon Icon (if enabled)

  • Click the Canvas Roots icon in the left sidebar

Step 2: Navigate to Tree Generation Tab

Click the Tree Generation tab at the top of the Control Center modal.

Step 3: Select Root Person

Using the Person Browser:

  1. Search: Type in the search box to filter by name
  2. Sort: Click column headers to sort by name or birth year
  3. Click: Select any person as the tree's root
  4. Birth/death years appear next to names for identification

Using Family Groups (Multi-Family Vaults):

  • If you have disconnected family groups, use the sidebar
  • Shows "Family 1", "Family 2", etc. with person counts
  • Click any family to select its representative person

Step 4: Configure Tree Options

Tree Type

  • Ancestors: Shows parents, grandparents, etc. (pedigree chart)
  • Descendants: Shows children, grandchildren, etc.
  • Full: Shows both ancestors and descendants

Generations

  • All generations: Include everyone related to root person
  • Limit generations: Set maximum number of generations (1-10)

Spouses

  • Include spouses: Show spouse relationships in the tree
  • Exclude spouses: Show only blood relationships

Layout

  • Vertical: Generations flow top-to-bottom (traditional pedigree)
  • Horizontal: Generations flow left-to-right (compact for wide screens)

Layout Algorithm

  • Standard: Default family-chart layout with proper spouse handling (default spacing)
  • Compact: 50% tighter spacing for large trees (ideal for 50+ people)
  • Timeline: Chronological positioning by birth year (X-axis = time, Y-axis = generation)
  • Hourglass: Root person centered with ancestors above and descendants below

Spacing

  • Horizontal spacing: Distance between nodes side-by-side
  • Vertical spacing: Distance between generations
  • Adjust in Canvas Settings tab

Source Indicators

Display badges showing how many source notes link to each person:

  • Show source indicators: Toggle in Settings → Canvas Roots → Canvas styling
  • When enabled, nodes show badges like "📎 3" indicating 3 linked sources
  • Color coding: Green for 3+ sources (well-documented), yellow for 1-2 sources
  • Only appears on nodes that have at least one linked source
  • Source notes are identified by type: source in their frontmatter

This feature helps visualize research quality at a glance—nodes without badges may need more documentation.

Step 5: Generate

Single Tree

  1. Enter an optional canvas name (defaults to "Family Tree - [Root Person]")
  2. Click Generate family tree
  3. Canvas opens automatically

All Trees (Multi-Family Vaults)

  1. Click Generate all trees
  2. Creates separate canvas for each disconnected family group
  3. Files named "Family Tree [N] - [Representative Name].canvas"

The plugin calculates optimal positions using the family-chart library and creates the canvas.

Layout Algorithms Explained

Standard Layout

The default algorithm optimized for most family trees:

  • Properly positions spouses side-by-side
  • Balances ancestors and descendants
  • Good for trees up to ~50 people

Compact Layout

50% tighter spacing for larger trees:

  • Reduces horizontal and vertical gaps
  • Better for trees with 50+ people
  • May require more zooming to read individual nodes

Timeline Layout

Positions people chronologically by birth year:

  • X-axis represents time (earlier births on left)
  • Y-axis represents generation
  • Useful for visualizing when family members lived relative to each other

Hourglass Layout

Centers the root person with ancestors above and descendants below:

  • Root person in the middle
  • Parents, grandparents flow upward
  • Children, grandchildren flow downward
  • Good for showing a person's complete context

Next Steps