# Alternate Name use in sentence **URL:** \ **Category:** RootsMagic\ **Tags:** feature-request, issue\ **Created:** [October 19, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438 "2026-10-19T07:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tstrickland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/tstrickland/32/7122_2.png) [@tstrickland](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/tstrickland)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/1 "2026-10-19T07:05:01Z")
When entering a person’s alternate name, I choose the Name Type. But, no matter what I choose, the sentence always results in “…was known as…” thanks to: ```auto [person] was also known as [Desc]< [Date]>. ``` It should be noted, the [Desc]\< [Date]\> part of that sentence never has ANY affect, as noted in a previous post I made some time ago, which @rzamor1 has added to be fixed. However, wouldn’t it be nice if the sentence changed based on the selection from Name Type? I’d love to be able to simply use: ```auto [person] used [AltName]< as [NameType:A]>. ``` Can we have that added as a feature-request? ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/rootsmagic/original/2X/e/e9535dc621ae3609429a5cb563642071af8f3d67.png) ---
**Author:** ![MadDog](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/maddog/32/313_2.png) [@MadDog](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/MadDog)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 9:40am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/2 "2026-10-19T09:40:25Z")
> [@tstrickland](#): > > the [Desc]\< [Date]\> part of that sentence never has ANY affect They are **not** enabled fields in the default Altername Fact. In case this wasn’t pointed out. But designing your own fact you can enable those fields 🙂 and make your own sentence structure. ---
**Author:** ![kfunk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/kfunk/32/68_2.png) [@kfunk](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kfunk)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/3 "2026-10-19T11:44:13Z")
> [@tstrickland](#): > > However, wouldn’t it be nice if the sentence changed based on the selection from Name Type? No, not really! The name type isn’t relevant to the sentence. No matter what type you choose, they were still ‘also known as’ in some context or the other. ---
**Author:** ![kevync1985](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@kevync1985](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kevync1985)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 2:05pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/4 "2026-10-19T14:05:30Z")
wondering if it related to GEDCOM needs ? not sure if someone know just a thought… ---
**Author:** ![rzamor1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/rzamor1/32/8_2.png) [@rzamor1](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/rzamor1)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/5 "2026-10-19T14:21:42Z")
Confirming request has been reported to development. ---
**Author:** ![nkess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@nkess](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/nkess)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/6 "2026-10-20T04:00:05Z")
@tstrickland as Mad Dog said, you can always change the sentence to something like this and put a check mark in description-- but you still have to enter what kind of name type it is under description-- not going to happen automatically ( at this point) [Person] used AltName as NameType: \<[desc]\>. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/rootsmagic/original/2X/c/c732c7dbe277695e95b3f54a0af5462bad1550b6.png) ---
**Author:** ![kevync1985](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@kevync1985](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kevync1985)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/7 "2026-10-20T12:41:20Z")
Agreed MadDog suggestion is good work around in meantime – otherwise @tstrickland you would have to wait to WHEN & IF that occurs in future version ---
**Author:** ![tstrickland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/tstrickland/32/7122_2.png) [@tstrickland](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/tstrickland)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/8 "2026-10-20T18:37:07Z")
> [@kfunk](#): > > The name type isn’t relevant to the sentence. No matter what type you choose, they were still ‘also known as’ in some context or the other. I was thinking along the lines of: > John Smith was also know by the nickname Jack. or > John Smith sometimes used an alias of Jeremiah Johnson. or > Mary Contrary was also known by her married name Mary Broomhilda. The type of alternate name could certainly be used to modify sentences much the way Associations does today. ---
**Author:** ![tstrickland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/tstrickland/32/7122_2.png) [@tstrickland](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/tstrickland)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/9 "2026-10-20T18:38:06Z")
> [@kevync1985](#): > > wondering if it related to GEDCOM needs ? not sure if someone know just a thought… Pretty sure the sentences in RootsMagic have no part in GEDCOM records. But, am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![tstrickland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/tstrickland/32/7122_2.png) [@tstrickland](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/tstrickland)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/10 "2026-10-20T18:38:37Z")
> [@rzamor1](#): > > Confirming request has been reported to development. Thank you again, @rzamor1 ---
**Author:** ![tstrickland](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/tstrickland/32/7122_2.png) [@tstrickland](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/tstrickland)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/11 "2026-10-20T18:42:46Z")
> [@nkess](#): > > @tstrickland as Mad Dog said, you can always change the sentence to something like this and put a check mark in description-- but you still have to enter what kind of name type it is under description-- not going to happen automatically ( at this point) > > [Person] used AltName as NameType: \<[desc]\>. > > ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/rootsmagic/original/2X/c/c732c7dbe277695e95b3f54a0af5462bad1550b6.png) That only works, as he mentioned, _if the user creates a whole new custom AltName fact_. The current one does not allow users to put a checkmark in Description. You can see in the screenshot below, ‘_Use description field_’ is grayed out as is ‘_Use place field_’. ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/rootsmagic/original/2X/f/fcf38506c00dfb69ee576e27d6b076158ccb8112.png) ---
**Author:** ![kevync1985](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@kevync1985](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kevync1985)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/12 "2026-10-20T18:54:29Z")
> [@tstrickland](#): > > Pretty sure the sentences in RootsMagic have no part in GEDCOM records. But, am I wrong? I thought GEDSITE uses them for example but not sure ---
**Author:** ![Vyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/da6949/32.png) [@Vyger](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/Vyger)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/13 "2026-10-20T19:21:12Z")
> [@tstrickland](#): > > The type of alternate name could certainly be used to modify sentences much the way Associations does today Whilst I no longer use Rootsmagic as my primary genealogy program I have 20+ years experience. The simplified key here is that Name Type is not available in the sentence language whilst it is available in the database. I remember similar problems with Witness Roles. ---
**Author:** ![kevync1985](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@kevync1985](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kevync1985)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/14 "2026-10-20T22:46:03Z")
> [@Vyger](#): > > The simplified key here is that Name Type is not available in the sentence language whilst it is available in the database. I remember similar problems with Witness Roles. Witness Roles are recognized through GEDCOM in many cases – but many ignore them ---
**Author:** ![Vyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/da6949/32.png) [@Vyger](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/Vyger)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 10:02am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/15 "2026-10-21T10:02:44Z")
> [@kevync1985](#): > > Witness Roles are recognized through GEDCOM in many cases – but many ignore them It appears you misunderstood my previous which referred to the internal workings of Rootsmagic and nothing to do with Gedcom. The Alternate Name Type is contained in the database but it is not selectable within the sentence language. I may be wrong on this as I have lost my previous excellent familiarity with Rootsmagic so happy to be corrected. What I remember in V7 was that the Witness :Role variable was also not picked up by the sentence language. What I needed to do back then was define a modified sentence for each Shared hard coding their actual Role. Obviously that was superfluous as the Role already existed. I remember I also didn’t have the option to add Witness Roles, Alternate Name Types, Given Names and Family related data like Spouse name to the People View. Rootsmagic is now on version 12 so I would hope the Role thing and other issues have since been overcome. Again nothing to do with Gedcom. ---
**Author:** ![kevync1985](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3be4f8/32.png) [@kevync1985](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kevync1985)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/alternate-name-use-in-sentence/16438/16 "2026-10-21T10:22:39Z")
> [@Vyger](#): > > What I remember in V7 was that the Witness :Role variable was also not picked up by the sentence language. What I needed to do back then was define a modified sentence for each Shared hard coding their actual Role. Obviously that was superfluous as the Role already existed. sorry I was misunderstanding sentence allows you to do this within RM (and it wall also go to GEDCOM if needed) ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/rootsmagic/original/2X/d/d1ca6447f6af8585636139eed96505f7792f9e41.png) if you want to find only “SON” specific roles then to my knowledge that is possible. You can find any is shared and not principal etc