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Mark the index person

Mark the person for whom the genogram is drawn, such as a client or an identified patient, so that the chart shows whose family it describes.

1 min readChecked 16 October 2026Open in the editor

The index person is the individual whose family the genogram describes, for example a client, an identified patient or the student who is completing an assignment. McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry (2020) draw this person with a double outline, and the editor also fills the symbol in yellow. A chart has at most one index person, and the focus button in the bottom strip centres the view on that person.

Demonstration in the editor
This demonstration runs in the editor on a copy of a sample family. It does not change your own chart.

Procedure

  1. 1

    Click the person for whom the genogram is drawn.

  2. 2

    Click the crown button, Make index person, at the top of the side panel. The symbol gains a double outline and a yellow fill.

  3. 3

    Press 1 at any time to select the index person and centre the view on them.

Tip

Clicking the crown for another person moves the mark to that person. Clicking the crown of the current index person removes the mark.