The Fan chart (Ancestor) displays a starting person and their direct ancestors (parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc) in a fan (circular) format. You can customize the layout, style and many other aspects of the chart.

RootsMagic also includes additional Fan chart layouts:

•Fan Chart (Descendant) for displaying descendants of the starting person.

•Fan Chart (Hourglass) for displaying both ancestors and descendants of the starting person.

 

 

•Person - Select the starting person for the chart

•Generations - Enter the number of generations for the chart

•Shape - Select the shape of the fan chart

o1/4 circle

o1/3 circle

o1/2 circle

oFan

oFull circle

•Orientation - Choose the direction the chart moves from the starting person

oLeft to right

oRight to left

oTop to bottom

oBottom to top

•Generation widths - Enter the width of each generation for the chart

•Vertical margin

•Horizontal margin

•Layout - Enter the layout of the chart.

oBest size - Turn on Fit to Chart to automatically size the page to fit the chart. If you turn off this option, you will be asked to enter:

▪Paper size

▪Width

▪Height

▪Orientation (portrait or landscape)

oMargins - Enter the top, bottom, left, and right margins around the chart elements

oBackground - You can select a color (or no color) for the background, or select an image file which will be used as the background

 

There are other settings (colors and styles) which are described here.

Keep outer generations readable

Open Publish > All reports and charts and select Fan Chart (Ancestor). Choose the person, generations, and shape, then generate the chart. Inspect the outer bands where more ancestors share the available space.

If text is too crowded, reduce the generation count, increase generation widths, or try a fuller circle. Regenerate after changes and inspect the result at its intended print size. Use Large-format charts for printing and export guidance.