> In the two programs I'm most familiar with - gramps and phpGedView - > blank surnames end up in either (gramps) an unlabeled "name" or in > an "unknown", umm, collector. The only time a blank surname becomes > a problem is when there's insufficient information to distinguish > between Mary and Mary and that's not usually a problem because > they're married to/partnered with a different man or their kids' > names are different or they're from different places. That's to > say, there's some point of discrimination. As well, each has > received a different "I" number at the time of entry. Admittedly, it > ain't perfect but it works without recourse to brackets, braces, em > dashes, multiple question marks or acronyms. > > Bob Melson <amia9018@mypacks.net> That's true of most programs I'm familiar with. I once tried Family Tree Maker, however, and it did not seem to display or print the record numbers that could be used to distinguish such people, which was one of the reasons I stopped using it. I wonder how many of the people who have problems with this are users of FTM? -- Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk Steve Hayes <hayesmstw@hotmail.com>