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Replace names with numbers in Clinical mode

Clinical mode replaces every name with a number on the canvas, in the key and in exported files, so that a chart of a real family can be shared without naming anyone.

2 min readChecked 16 October 2026Open in the editor

Clinical mode acts on the canvas and on exported files in different ways. On the canvas, it replaces each name with a number, such as Person 1, and hides the details written under each symbol. Notes, text and the names of groups remain visible on the canvas. In PNG, SVG and PDF files, Clinical mode removes considerably more, as the section below describes.

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

    Switch on Clinical in the bottom strip. Each person on the canvas is now labelled with a number.

  2. 2

    If the bottom strip does not show Clinical, click View and select Clinical mode on the What is drawn tab.

  3. 3

    Check the key on the canvas. Its title changes to Family genogram, and the line beneath it states that names are replaced by numbers.

  4. 4

    Click Export. The header of the export menu reads “Names replaced by numbers”.

  5. 5

    Select PNG image, SVG vector or PDF.

Tip

People are numbered in the order in which they were added, and the numbers are the same on the canvas and in exports. Deleting a person changes the numbers of everyone added later, so keep any list that matches numbers to people outside the editor.

Note

The JSON project file holds the real names even in Clinical mode. Do not submit or share it if the chart describes real people.

What Clinical mode removes from exported files

In a PNG, SVG or PDF file made in Clinical mode, each person is identified by a number and the chart is titled Family genogram. Notes and text placed on the canvas are left out, as are conditions together with their shading, occupations, background details such as religion and education, and custom fields. Groups are renamed with numbers, such as Household 1.

The symbols, the lines and the years of birth and death remain. Backgrounds also keep their titles, so a background whose title names the family should be renamed before the file is shared.