I’m contemplating what would be the best way to enter pallbearers so that I can connect each pallbearer to the decedent (e.g. as associates), but also include all pallbearers in one sentence template. Does [Pallbearer] only list all pallbearers if they’re extracted from the “Pallbearer” fact?
The only way I know of for a [Pallbearer] variable to list all the pallbearers is to create a role for the Burial fact and to share that role with all the pallbearers. Having done so, you can add the [Pallbearer] variable to the Burial fact. It would be something like <The pallbearers were [Pallbearer].>
It looks a little strange because [Pallbearer] appears to be singular, and indeed each pallbearer is a single person. But when you write the Burial sentence that way, the [Pallbearer] variable expands to list all the pallbearers.
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Thank you, Jerry. I’ve done what you suggested. On the decedent’s edit page, I see the fact now shared with the four pallbearers. However, the sentence about them being pallbearers isn’t showing on the right side of the decedent’s edit page after the sentence about the burial.
In the edit fact tool, there are roles for principal, witness and pallbearer, with the following sentences, respectively:
[person] was buried< [Date]>< [PlaceDetails]>< [Place]>.
[ThisPerson] witnessed the burial of [person]< [Date]>< [PlaceDetails]>< [Place]>.
<The pallbearers were [Pallbearer].>
Do you have an idea of what I could be doing wrong?
[person] was buried< [Date]>< [PlaceDetails]>< [Place]>.< The pallbearers were [Pallbearer].> all needs to be one sentence. It is the sentence for the principal. My intent was to add the part about the pallbearers to the original sentence for the principal. I surely didn’t make that very clear. Also, as compared to my original sentence, there does need to be a space after the left angle bracket and “The pallbearers were” so that the two sentences don’t run together in your reports.
In a super perfect sentence, you might want to add a plural switch so you can make it say The pallbearer was if there was only one pallbearer and The pallbearers were if there was more than one. But by the very nature of pallbearers, there really never is going to be only one, so this nuance is not really necessary.
Also, it’s possible or even likely that you will have pallbearers who are in your database and pallbearers who are not in your database. RM has a way to handle this situation. Which is to say, when you share the Burial sentence via the Pallbearer role, use the “name only” option if the pallbearer is not in your database. But if the pallbearer is in your database, you can navigate to the person and select them. I find that navigation process not to be totally obvious. If you run into any more questions with it, ask some more questions.
Perfect! It worked immediately. Would a similar sentence template for the principal also work for, say, marriage witnesses? Could I link those marriage witnesses to both the bride and the groom by sharing the fact?
Yes, it would work exactly the same way. Typical roles might be the minister or other officiant, best man, maid/matron of honor, bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc. You also could but would not be required to have sentences for the roles to say things like “[ThisPerson] served as the best man at the wedding of [Couple]” Because it’s a couple fact, the variable you need in the role sentence is [Couple] rather than [Person],
Thank you so much for your time and assistance.