| You have the research material to build your | | | | branching off horizontally, the parents are placed |
| family tree but have trouble organizing it all in a | | | | in concentric circles around the individual at the |
| coherent visual presentation? If that's the case, | | | | center. This format is generally better for deeper |
| your best bet is to take a look at various family | | | | family trees extending to include many |
| tree outlines and decide which one best serves | | | | generations. |
| your needs. There is no universal one size fits all | | | | Media friendly outlines |
| formula: family trees can be very varied, ranging | | | | Today most genealogists build their family tree |
| from highly skewed to highly dense to very deep. | | | | online. This approach offers such huge scope for |
| Here are some possible outline formats in a broad | | | | inclusion of data, as well as for editing, modifying |
| categorization. | | | | and researching. Chances are, you will also want |
| Simple Outlines. | | | | your tree to be rich with data like pictures and |
| These include the traditional branching of nodes | | | | videos. Therefore there are special outlines that |
| from the root. The branching can take place | | | | are especially suited for the job of displaying |
| horizontally (from left to right or from right to | | | | media rich information along with the basic |
| left) or vertically (from top to bottom or bottom | | | | information for each family member. No wonder |
| to top) depending on your preference. You may | | | | that these outlines are gaining prominence. |
| want to decide ahead of time if one of your goals | | | | The great thing about the many online tools |
| is to display your final product. If that's the case, | | | | available to today's genealogists is that they give |
| then its size, depth and breadth will determine the | | | | us a chance to try various formats and compare |
| type of orientation of the tree you are building. A | | | | them. They also allow us greater flexibility: it's |
| variation on this theme is the pedigree family tree | | | | always possible to use one format for the |
| that can be used for more complex genealogy | | | | purposes of sharing certain data with other family |
| projects. Choosing this option will make it easier to | | | | members and another for the purposes of |
| show relationships among the family members. | | | | coming up with something you can display. |
| Individual-centric outlines | | | | The final outline you choose should be determined |
| This type of family tree outline is used to present | | | | based on the structure of your family tree and |
| the ancestry of a particular individual and can | | | | also on your needs. For example, to share online, |
| come in a variety of designs. The bow tie outline | | | | a media friendly outline would be naturally |
| keeps the individual at the center and the parents | | | | preferable. On the other hand, for display |
| on either side. This is repeated for the parents, | | | | purposes, you might want to choose a traditional |
| and as a result, a bow tie family tree extends | | | | family tree outline with custom made designs to |
| outwards, resembling-- you guessed it!-- a bow tie. | | | | make the family tree unique in appearance. |
| A variation is the fan chart in which instead of | | | | |