Most of the chart engine’s options exist to give you fine control over a chart’s layout and content. Sometimes, though, you just want a tidy tree drawn at whatever size fits the data, without touching a single positioning control. Three options on the Layout tab of the Chart Properties panel work together to give you exactly that.
Tick Boxes with names and dates only in the Displayed Content section to draw a box around each person and replace the usual narrative text with three centred lines:
Given names are automatically abbreviated if they would not fit the box width. The text respects the chart’s style, so boxed charts still follow your chosen fonts and colours, and the life dates use the same compact date presentation as the rest of the chart.
Because this option controls both the box outline and the simplified content, the usual fact-detail settings (see Default detail) do not apply while it is on — each person shows names and dates only.
Tick Fixed width nodes in the Dimensions section to force every person to the default width set by the Default width spinner, ignoring automatic sizing and any per-person width overrides. This produces uniform columns of equal-sized boxes.
When combined with boxed mode, the default width is automatically kept wide enough for names and dates to fit comfortably.
Tick Auto layout in the Displayed Content section and Pedigree Forge will automatically optimise node positions for a more compact chart, trying out tightening and compaction moves and keeping the ones that narrow the chart.
People you have positioned manually keep their positions — auto layout works around them rather than undoing your adjustments.
Tick all three for a hands-off, uniform, boxed family tree — a tidy one-look summary of the data that needs no manual arrangement. Each option is independent, so you can equally use auto layout with the full narrative text, or boxed content with manual positioning.
For fine manual control instead, see Basic positioning and width and Auto compact spouse groups.