You must choose one method by which GED-GEN obtains the information it needs to customize your family pages.
In this method you define additional "facts" about each individual you wish to customize. These facts are defined when you use your favorite genealogy program and before you export your data to a GEDCOM file. When GED-GEN processes your GEDCOM file, it recognizes these "facts" and customizes your family pages accordingly.
The other customization method allows you to maintain information about individuals and families in your GEDCOM file outside of the file itself. In this method, GED-GEN stores your customization in its own configuration file. It associates this information with the reference numbers in your GEDCOM file. These numbers are usually automatically assigned by your favorite genealogy software.
For detailed steps on using each method, see Steps for Using Custom Features below.
Each method has advantages and disadvantages.
If you use Method 1 to define facts in your family data file, they will be defined in one location. The "facts" will remain associated with the individuals in your data file no matter what changes you make.
Unfortunately these "facts" will also appear in reports that you generate within your favorite genealogy program. They may interfere with the presentation and readability of your genealogical data. They will also be contained within your GEDCOM file when you export it and share it with others. Since the facts are meant only for GED-GEN, they are not true genealogical facts and may "pollute" your data.
Once you have defined "facts" for certain individuals in your family data file, it is more difficult to change them. You must navigate to an individual, make your change, and navigate to the next individual. The stored configuration method, on the other hand, lists all individuals and you can easily make changes by scrolling through the list.
If you use Method 2 to store your configuration, any changes you make to your family data file must also be made within GED-GEN. For example if you add or delete individuals from your family data file, you must change the attributes for those individuals in your GED-GEN configuration.
Once you define customized data for the individuals in your GEDCOM file, their reference numbers must not change. For example if you customize the individual with reference number I00034, GED-GEN will process individual I00034 when it encounters that record in the GEDCOM file. However if I00034 later represents a different individual, your customization will be associated with the wrong individual. If your genealogy program generates different reference numbers each time you export a GEDCOM file, you cannot use this method. In most genealogy programs, the reference numbers will not change unless you explicitly change them.
Since the GED-GEN configuration file is tied to a particular GEDCOM file, you must use the same configuration file each time you process a particular GEDCOM file. GED-GEN allows you to maintain separate option sets for different GEDCOM files.
So which method should I use?
If you are still unsure, select Method 2 (stored configuration). This method avoids modifying your original family data file.