



PAF Dates before the year 100.

PAF will not accept dates prior to the year 100 AD.  One reason for
this limit may be the algorythm used to convert the various forms
of date entry to the 'dd mmm yyyy' used in the Family Records
Display.  The two digit number to designate years less than 100 may
not be easily distinguished from the two digit representing the
month or two digits representing the day.

For those who are endeavoring to enter early dates into their data
base, especially those dealing with very early Royalty and those
dealing with the Bible lineages, the following is suggested as an
alternative date entry for dates prior to 100 AD.

PAF will accept years up to and including 2100.  In dual dates, that
is those dates that have a span of years separated by '/' the date
on the right can be up to 2300.  This offers an opportunity to
'code' your early dates so that they can be entered in the record
and be displayed on the Individual Display and on the Pedigree
Search Display.

Since these very early dates seldom have a day or month connected to
them, and since they are approximations at best, the year is the
only term deemed to be significant.  Using the 'bef' modifier and
the dual date it is possible to code dates back to 4,000 BC.

Consider using the dual date '/' as separating two years to be
combined to display the actual year.  Since some may still be using
these versions of PAF after the turn of the century, we will
consider the year 2100 as the base of your coding.  When entering
these early dates less than 100 place the year 2100 to the left of
the '/' and follow with the actual two digit year.  The year 2000 is
not used due to the pending turn of the century.

Example:   For the year 86, enter '2100/86' in the date field.  PAF
will immediately modify this to read '2100/2186'.  From this you can
see that the actual date is last two digits in the entry.

If these dates are AD then this is all that is needed.  It will be
obvious that the 2100/2186 is not a current date and it is therefore
recognized as a 'coded' date representing the year 86 AD.

If the date is BC then we resort to the first name place associated
with that date and enter BC or B.C. in that name position.  This
will then identify the date as BC and not AD.  In these examples and
for the two utility programs associated with this discussion, the
term B.C. is used.  Either will suffice, but the programs are
designed for the B.C. entries.

If the years are 100 or greater, all that is needed is to enter the
correct year.  For these years all that is needed is to enter the
B.C. in the first name field to designate dates BC as opposed to
dates AD.




Since PAF will not accept years greater than 2100, another modifier
is used to add the additional 2000 years needed for early BC dates.
The date modifier 'Bef' is used to indicate that the date entered is
actually 2000 years later than the correct date.  By adding the 2000
to the date displayed, the actual date is determined.  If the 'Bef'
is not displayed, then the date is as displayed being modified only
by the dual date entry of 2100/21nn and the B.C. in the first level
name field.

    EXAMPLES of date entries:

       Entered as      Name field               would be read as

       100                                      100 AD
       100              B.C.                    100 BC
       2100/2150                                 50 AD
       2100/2150        B.C.                     50 BC
       1850                                    1850 AD
       1850             B.C.                   1850 BC
   Bef 1200             B.C.                   3200 BC     (added 2000)
   Bef 2100/2160        B.C.                   2060 BC     (added 2000)
   Bef 2000             B.C.                   4000 BC     (added 2000)

The date modifiers 'Aft', 'Abt' can still be used on those dates
greater than 99 and less than 2001.  Avoid the use of the 'Bef' to
minimize the confusion that might occur on dates needing the added 2000.

Reports created contain records with these coded date entries will
display the actual entered date and not necessarily the true date.  If
are sent to another individaul, then a discussion of the date coding
should be included.

Most PAF Shareware utilities that use and display dates will also
display the actual entered date.  Two of these utilities have been
checked and a conversion utility developed for them to correct the
coded dates to their actual value.  The included program DESCCONV.EXE
will convert the descendant charts created by John Barron's DESCEND23.
The program AHNENFIX.EXE will convert the ahnentafel created by Ann
Turner's AHNENTAF.EXE  ver 1.3




A sample of each of these charts in its original form and in its
converted form follows.

DESCENDANT CHART - Version 2.3   (As produced by DESCEND23)

  1 - Peleg - 7331
       Born - Bef  244 B.C.
       Died - Bef 2100/2104 B.C.
     2 -  Reu - 7330
           Born - Bef  213 B.C.
           Died - 1973 B.C.
         3 -  Serug - 7329
               Born - Bef  181 B.C.
               Died - 1951 B.C.
             4 -  Nahor - 7328
                   Born - Bef  152 B.C.
                   Died - Bef 2100/2103 B.C.
                 5 -  Terah - 7327
                       Born - Bef  122 B.C.
                       Died - 1917 B.C.
                     6 -  Abraham - 7325
                           Born - Bef 2100/2146 B.C.
                           Died - 1872 B.C.
                     sp-  Sarah - 7326 (3163)

         (After conversion with DESCCONV.EXE)

 1 -  Peleg - 7331
       Born -  Abt 2244 B.C.
       Died -  Abt 2004 B.C.
     2 -  Reu - 7330
           Born -  Abt 2213 B.C.
           Died -  Abt 1973 B.C.
         3 -  Serug - 7329
               Born -  Abt 2181 B.C.
               Died -  Abt 1951 B.C.
             4 -  Nahor - 7328
                   Born -  Abt 2152 B.C.
                   Died -  Abt 2003 B.C.
                 5 -  Terah - 7327
                       Born -  Abt 2122 B.C.
                       Died -  Abt 1917 B.C.
                     6 -  Abraham - 7325
                           Born -  Abt 2046 B.C.
                           Died -  Abt 1872 B.C.
                     sp-  Sarah - 7326 (3163)


 
                     AHNENTAFEL  ( As produced by AHNENTAF.EXE)
                  (ANCESTOR TABLE)

================================= GENERATION 1 ================================
      1 JACOB/ISREAL,: b 1886 B.C.; d 1739 B.C. to LEAH,

================================= GENERATION 2 ================================
      2 ISAAC,: b 1946 B.C.; d 1766 B.C.
      3 REBEKAH,

================================= GENERATION 3 ================================
      4 ABRAHAM,: b bef 2100/2146 B.C.; d 1872 B.C.
      5 SARAH,

================================= GENERATION 4 ================================
      8 TERAH,: b bef 122 B.C.; d 1917 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 5 ================================
     16 NAHOR,: b bef 152 B.C.; d bef 2100/2103 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 6 ================================
     32 SERUG,: b bef 181 B.C.; d 1951 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 7 ================================
     64 REU,: b bef 213 B.C.; d 1973 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 8 ================================
    128 PELEG,: b bef 244 B.C.; d bef 2100/2104 B.C.

 
                         AHNENTAFEL    (After conversion with AHNENFIX.EXE)
                      (ANCESTOR TABLE)
 =============================== GENERATION 1 ================================
      1 JACOB/ISREAL,: b  Abt  1886 B.C.; d  Abt  1739 B.C. to LEAH,

================================= GENERATION 2 ================================
      2 ISAAC,: b  Abt  1946 B.C.; d  Abt  1766 B.C.
      3 REBEKAH,

================================= GENERATION 3 ================================
      4 ABRAHAM,: b Abt 2046 B.C.; d  Abt  1872 B.C.
      5 SARAH,

================================= GENERATION 4 ================================
      8 TERAH,: b Abt 2122 B.C.; d  Abt  1917 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 5 ================================
     16 NAHOR,: b Abt 2152 B.C.; d Abt 2003 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 6 ================================
     32 SERUG,: b Abt 2181 B.C.; d  Abt  1951 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 7 ================================
     64 REU,: b Abt 2213 B.C.; d  Abt  1973 B.C.

================================= GENERATION 8 ================================
    128 PELEG,: b Abt 2244 B.C.; d Abt 2004 B.C.




The use of AHNENFIX.EXE and DESCCONV.EXE does not alter any data except that
entered in the date fields in the coded manner suggested above.  The resultant
converted Descendancy and Ahnentafel charts display the actual dates that could
not be entered due to the limitations of PAF.

It should be noted that FRCHK will report an invalid date for those entries
99 BC to 99 AD inclusive and between 2001 BC and 2099 BC.  These errors should
be ignored as they cause no problem with any other aspect of PAF.  It should
also be noted that these dates would not be acceptable for Ancestral File
submissions and for Temple Ready submissions.

These two utility programs and this discussion are offered as FREEWARE to any
and all who are desirous of using these concepts to assist in a more accurate
entry of early dates into PAF without resorting to using the NOTES for all
early date entries.

Have fun.

Jack J. Chandler
812 Vermillion Dr.
Henderson, NV  89015

1-702-565-3158
