Testing Request | Heritage Flags v15.0.4.7 — Chapter Two: The Flags Strike Back🏴⚔️

[HauntedWebby]

Or: How Scotland’s christenings got their day, the flags learned to share, and England’s white field finally found its edges.
 

Hello my Knights of the Tangled Tree! 🎉

Did you miss me?   I sure missed y'all!  I know I've been quiet, but I've been working on a couple of very large projects. So much for retirement being quiet and easy. lol

Chapter One ended with flying flags, surviving settings, and a database that finally earned its keep. Chapter Two picks up where we left off and it brought friends.

v15.0.4.7 is here. And for the first time for open testing, is v13.2.1.2, because nobody gets left behind at this table.

Grab your favorite beverage. This is a big one. 14 updates, new features, and fine tuning.

 

🧪 Calling All Testers — New Knights Welcome

This is a testing release. I need people to break things, find edge cases, and tell me what looks wrong.

If you’ve never tested a mod before, this is a great one to start with. It doesn’t change your data. It doesn’t touch your trees. It decorates a heading with a flag. The worst thing that can happen is a flag doesn’t show up, or shows up in the wrong place — and that’s exactly what I need to hear about.

What I especially need tested:

• Diagonal split on different screen sizes and templates
• The christening/baptism fallback — does it pick up the right flag for pre-civil-registration records?
• Marriage and events fallback — can you find a person with no birth/death data but a marriage place, and does the flag show?
• Print popup — is >> Print << clickable for everyone?
• v13 users — does everything work as expected on TNG 13?

Report bugs here in this thread or if you're shy you can message me directly. Screenshots are worth a thousand words. A URL to a person page where the flag is wrong is worth ten thousand.

 

⬇ Downloads

• At the bottom of this post.  
• I'll update the Wiki of Doom after testing: Heritage Flags v15.0.4.7 — Wiki page 

Install order reminder: Relation Display (if used) FIRST, then Heritage Flags. Install Heritage Flags BEFORE Simple SEO (if used).  Research tools menu dropdown fix already included.

 

🏰 Two Versions, One Kingdom

Heritage Flags is shipping for TNG 15 and TNG 13.

One of our quietest Knight, has been running Heritage Flags on TNG 13 from the beginning. He tested features before anyone else saw them, and his feedback shaped how the mod works today. The v13 backport is built, tested, and ready.

TNG 14? I don’t have a TNG 14 installation. I jumped from v13 to v15, so I can’t guarantee it works there. If you’re running 14 and feeling adventurous, let me know how it goes, but I can’t officially support it. Sorry, 14. I still love you. 💛

 

🗄 The Great Table Rename

Remember those four database tables? They had a naming problem. They were called tng_clan_hf_* but tng_ should be reserved for TNG core tables. Our mod tables should use the clan_ prefix. Just so you know what is do what in your database.

Fixed. All four tables are now properly named clan_hf_settings, clan_hf_person_flags, clan_hf_mappings, and clan_hf_local.

You don’t have to do anything. The migration runs automatically on first load after upgrading. Your data stays exactly where it is. The tables just get new, correct names. One RENAME TABLE, no data copied, no data lost.

 

💾 Your Flags Are Now Backed Up

@marcirish   Heritage Flags tables now appear in Admin → Utilities → Backup/Restore alongside all your TNG core tables. Same buttons, same workflow — backup, restore, optimize, download.

Four new rows. Four new .sql files in your backup folder. Four fewer things to worry about.

 

🖨 The Print Link Lives Again

 @geraldomeier  The flag overlay was covering the >> Print << link in the print popup. You could see it. You could hover over it. You could not click it.

Fixed. No flag, no wrapper, no min-height, no interference. The heading renders exactly as if the mod wasn’t installed. Print link works. 

The flags know when to get out of the way.
 

📖 Pre-government documentation

Our quietest Knight told me something important: in Scotland before civil registration began in 1855, there were no birth certificates. Parish records recorded christenings. If you’re doing Scottish genealogy (and I am), the christening place is often the only location data you have.

Heritage Flags now checks places in this order:

Birth → Christening / Baptism → Death → Marriage → Events (dated only, oldest first)

Previously it was just birth and death with some fallbacks thrown in. Now the mod walks through every available place field, and only queries the database for marriage and events if the person-level fields all come up empty. Performance stays the same for the common case (birth place exists), and people with sparse records finally get their flags.

 

🚫 The Quiet Flag — Suppress Per Person

Sometimes no flag is the right answer. A person of disputed origin. A record too uncertain to assign a country. A test record you don’t want decorated.

Check Suppress flag in Edit Person → Heritage Flag Override. Save. Done. No flag renders — no place lookup, no geocode, no logo fallback. Clean heading. The person still has their override stored in the database, so you can find and undo it anytime from the Personal Overrides tab.

 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿The Diagonal Split — Two Flags, One Life

@^maikl11 and everyone

This is the showpiece of Chapter Two.

Enable Diagonal Split Flags in Settings, and people who were born in one country and died in another get both flags — birth flag in the top-left triangle, death flag in the bottom-right triangle, split along a clean diagonal.

Born in England, died in America? St George’s Cross meets the Stars and Stripes. Born in Scotland, died in New Zealand? The Saltire meets the Silver Fern.

The flags are positioned as recognizable images within each triangle, not stretched background fills. A new Split Image Size % setting (default 30%) lets you dial the size up or down from the Settings page. And a subtle CSS drop-shadow gives white-edged flags like England and Japan just enough definition to read against a white page — without adding visible borders to flags that don’t need them.

Recommended settings:

• Flag Width % = 55
• Fade Gradient = 0 (if you leave on it fades both images)
• Contain Mode Tint = 0
• Split Image Size % = 30%

Smart fallbacks:

• Same birth and death country? → Single whole flag (no point splitting identical flags)
• Only birth OR only death available? → Single whole flag from whichever resolved
• Neither available? → Falls through to the full priority chain (marriage, events, logo fallback)

Per-person opt-out: If split is enabled site-wide but you want a single flag for one specific person, check Disable split in their Edit Person override. They get a single flag; everyone else keeps the diagonal.

I might make an option for top/bottom flags that are smaller. 😊🧠😏
 

⚙ Settings Got Organized

The Settings tab was getting long. It’s now grouped into four labelled sections:

• Flag Display — transparency, width, fade, height, sizing mode, tint
• Image Source — CDN vs local, paths, extension, logo fallback
• Diagonal Split — on/off toggle and image size
• Admin Preferences — rows per page

Same settings, same values, same Save button. Just easier to find what you’re looking for.
 

📐 The Collapsed Panel

@KB71  The Heritage Flag Override section in Edit Person now starts collapsed. Click the header to open it, pick your flag, click Save — the mod shows you the result for 3 seconds, then collapses the panel automatically.

Clean, quiet, out of the way until you need it.
 

🎨 Not Just Flags — Your Heading, Your Rules

Here’s a secret: Heritage Flags doesn’t care if your image is a flag.

The Local Flags tab and Flag Mappings accept any image URL — SVG, PNG, JPG, WebP, whatever your browser can render. Map a custom code to any image you host, and that image becomes the heading banner for anyone who matches.

Some ideas people have actually done (or threatened to do):

• 🛡 Coats of arms — map clan-campbell to your hosted clan crest. Assign it via Edit Person or Flag Mappings.
• 🌄 Landscapes — a photo of the Yorkshire Dales behind anyone born in Yorkshire. A Highland glen for the Scots. The Statue of Liberty for the New Yorkers.
• ⛪ Parish churches — the actual church where your ancestor was christened, fading behind their name.
• 🧬 DNA haplogroup markers — because someone out there will do it, and I respect that.
• 🏦 Castle ruins — map a place name to a photo of the castle that used to stand there.
• 🐱 Cat photos — I won’t judge. Your site, your ancestors, your cats.

The mod handles opacity, fade, sizing, and positioning for you. Just point it at an image and let it work. Use Flag Mappings to tie a place name to your custom code, or use Edit Person to assign it to one individual. The diagonal split even works with custom images — coat of arms on one side, landscape on the other. Go wild.

Tip: Images with strong, dark, saturated colors work best through the fade gradient. Light backgrounds and pale colors tend to disappear. Test in both cover and contain mode before publishing. @ajnsmits

 

🧹 Spring Cleaning

While I were in there I optimized and rechecked security:

• Removed a stale include for a config file that hasn’t existed since v15.0.4.6a
• Removed an unused variable that was defined but never referenced
• Removed dead settings-loading code that loaded values and then threw them away
• Cleaned up legacy config migration paths to only look where config files actually existed
• All of this is invisible to you but makes the codebase cleaner for future development

 

🗺 The Road Ahead

v15.0.4.8 — The Great Migration

The 490+ hardcoded place-to-flag mappings move from a PHP array to a database table. This unlocks ISO 3166-2 subdivision codes — state and regional flags resolved automatically, not just through manual mappings. A new Bulk Update tab lets you batch-apply subdivision flags for an entire country. This is the foundation for everything that comes after.

Phase 3 — Historic Flags

Era-correct flags based on a person’s dates. A person born in 1850 in what is now Germany sees a Prussian flag, not the modern tricolour. This is a companion mod that requires Heritage Places infrastructure and won’t start until v15.0.4.8 is solid.

And the Knights we haven’t met yet, the ones reading this, thinking “maybe I’ll try it.” You’re next. Pull up a chair. The flags are flying.

🏴 The flags fly because of all of you. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

LeAnna

Heritage_Flags_v15_0_4_7.zip Heritage_Flags_v13_2_1_2.zip

[Philip Roy]

Installed locally with TNG15.0.4 without a hitch, although when you choose the split flag option, it seems to ignore the transparency option for how you want things displayed? This is using Template 18.

 

[ajnsmits]

I'm using Template 17 and TNG v. 15.0.3

I installed the update on my server website and didn’t encounter any issues. Everything worked as expected, and it was a breeze.
After the update, I started experimenting with different settings. When Diagonal Split is disabled, the result looks the same as in the previous version.
So, there are no visible changes to the layout without this option.

These are my settings: Flag Width % = 10 Fade Gradient = 1 Contain Mode Tint = 0 Split Image disabled, just as it was in the previous version.

Based on your suggestion, I applied the following settings: Flag Width % = 55, Fade Gradient = 0, Contain Mode Tint = 0, Split Image Size %55

Flag Width % = 10 Fade Gradient = 1 Contain Mode Tint = 0 Split Size = 30%	Flag Width % = 10 Fade Gradient = 1 Contain Mode Tint = 0 Split Size = 50%	Flag Width % = 10 Fade Gradient = 1 Contain Mode Tint = 0 Split Size = 100%

I like all three versions, but I can’t seem to add the fade as desired.

Just an idea, I have no idea how difficult that is.

 It doesn't work with personal overrides.

[Katryne]

Hello Leanna and thank you for the new (testing) release.

The new diagonal feature means lot of testing finding the perfect settings. I love the principle and cannot decide which look is best. But it's a lot more fun than straining my eyes over old parchments.

Just 3 things—you know I always have something to say.

1 - The settings page: After clicking the green button to save the settings, I’m not sure if it went through because there’s no color change or confirmation message. And it happens so quickly that I always think it didn’t work, so I end up doing it over again two or three times.

2 -The green button to confirm the configuration is on the left. I'm used to seeing them on the right. It wouldn't be a problem if there weren't a second green button on the right side of this page. But this second button, which is used to tweak the database, is bigger and more visible, and my cursor is invariably drawn to it. Every time, I have to tell it that the validation button is on the left. (It’s not me—it’s the cursor, the scatterbrain!) Could the data base buttons be located elsewhere ?

3 - The Flag override seems not to be compliant with the diagonal feature : I had overridden my grand-pa's birth place flag, and for him the diagonal feature is no more available. It's not a problem, just an observation. I realize it would have been complicated to set up an override for each segment of the diagonal.

So far, I've only tested it on my test site: https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I5027&tree=kati

[Katryne]

Sorry Leanna, but you required comments : here is a Nr 4 😇

4 - When you look for the name of the country hovering the flag, the 1st flag in diagonal mode displays the name of the file, not of the country. And the countries names are in English, in Diagonal mode. With previous release, I got Russie and not Russia, according to the names given in the mapping secrion.

See Adolphe's page : https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I603&tree=kati  when hovering, there is  FR-TO / Russia

and compare with his brother's Alfred page : https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I1188&tree=kati when hovering, you see TOURAINE

and his daughter Xenia, her flag is called Russie and not Russia : https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I3018&tree=kati

[ajnsmits]

Hello, I see that the copy button on the local flags page isn't working. I'm not sure if this was also the case in the previous version.

[HauntedWebby]

Thank you all for the feedback. I will dive in on each comment to see what I can do.  

Each template will display things slightly different. I'll run through them all the out of box templates to figure out the differences.

[HauntedWebby]

🔧 Quick Patch — Tooltip Fix, Save Confirmation, Copy Button, Fade on Split 🔧

Thank you @Philip Roy, @ajnsmits, and @Katryne Four reports in, four fixes out. This is why testing matters.  🎉

This is a two-file patch, not a full zip. You'll need to replace two files in your existing Heritage Flags folder.

What's Fixed

🏴 Split flag tooltips now show proper names (Katryne #4)
Custom mapping names like "TOURAINE" now appear when hovering, instead of raw codes like "FR-TO". Both the birth and death flags resolve their tooltip independently. Custom mapping notes first, built-in country name as fallback. Exactly how the single flag path already worked.

✅ Save Settings now confirms right at the button (Katryne #1)
A green ✓ Saved message now appears directly next to the Save Settings button, right where your eye is. No more wondering if it went through. Stays visible for 4 seconds, then fades. Errors persist until you try again.

📋 Copy button on Local Flags tab works again (ajnsmits)
The copy button for the Global Local Flag Path was failing on some setups because navigator.clipboard requires HTTPS or a secure context. Added a fallback method that works on HTTP sites and older browsers. You'll see "Copied!" on success or "Failed" if something truly unusual is going on.

🌫 Fade gradient now applies to split flags (ajnsmits, Philip)
The fade was intentionally removed from split flags in the initial release because it was washing out the images. Two testers asked for it back and you're right, it should be a user choice, not mine. The existing Fade Gradient setting now controls both single and split flags. Set it to 0 for no fade, or dial it up to taste. No new setting needed.

How to Apply This Patch

This is not a full zip — just two changed files. Here's the process:

1. Uninstall Heritage Flags v15.0.4.7 via Mod Manager
2. Upload the two new files to your /Heritage_Flags_v15_0_4_7/ folder on the server, replacing the existing ones:
   • heritage_flags_v15_0_4_7.cfg — goes in your mods root (same level as the folder)
   • clan_hf_admin.php — goes inside the /Heritage_Flags_v15_0_4_7/ folder
3. Reinstall via Mod Manager
4. Test — hover your split flags (tooltips), save a setting (confirmation), try the copy button on Local Flags, and adjust your Fade Gradient

Your settings, mappings, and overrides are all in the database, nothing is lost by uninstalling and reinstalling.

By Design (Not Bugs)

Personal override + split: If you set a specific flag override for a person, they get that single flag, not a diagonal split. An override means "show THIS flag" and splitting it with the auto-resolved death flag would contradict that intent. If you want the split back for that person, set their override to Auto.

Keep the reports coming! You're making this better with every screenshot. 🚀

LeAnna

clan_hf_admin.php heritage_flags_v15_0_4_7.cfg

[Philip Roy]

That solved the issues that I was having

I confess I didn't read you release notes because of how long they were...but I just spotted...

Quote

And a subtle CSS drop-shadow gives white-edged flags like England and Japan just enough definition to read against a white page — without adding visible borders to flags that don’t need them.

I looked at my local test site and was convinced it wasn't working...but I see that it is...just. I'd suggest that it needs to be less subtle. Perhaps (sorry to say this) another user option settings? I'd be more than fine with the drop-shadow being darker as it's still hard to see a white flag has any sort of border IMHO.

[Katryne]

Everything is perfect now, you are perfect, LeAnna, thank you.

I get a small issue on my sites, with svg files that are too small. Not in size, but in file weight : I can see them on my computer (on my TNGs,they are local, not cdn), but invisible online. Have a look on this page : https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I5530&tree=kati 

I just noticed this for Québec (ca-qb.svg :835 octets) I had not seen this on my main site, for I have no birth in Québec, only deaths..

In the mod mapping tab, the Québec file is not displayed :

What can be done about this ?  So far, out of my 154 flag files, only Quebec is playing hard to get.

 

ca-qb.svg

[ajnsmits]

Hallo Leanna,

To test the mod, I first created a database backup within TNG, including all tables. 
I then deleted the database schema on the Heritage Flags page. During this process, I was asked twice if I was sure I wanted to do this. As I had a backup of my tables, I was certain and deleted the schema.
I then performed a restore of all tables. In doing so, I discovered that the four tables were not included in the backup. After installing the mod, these tables were present again, but a second restore did not bring back any content.
So I had lost all my flags, which I had been warned about, but I wonder if this is really the intention.

Of course, I had first created a database backup using phpMyAdmin, but still?😉

With a normal restore – i.e. without deleting the database schema – it works fine.

 

[Philip Roy]

Pretty sure that the backup feature in TNG only backs up the default TNG database entries (happy to be corrected as I don't use this feature) and not tables created by any mod. The process to update the mod did not include/need the steps you followed. As LeAnna stated…

Quote

Your settings, mappings, and overrides are all in the database, nothing is lost by uninstalling and reinstalling.

Unfortunately you went a step further and deleted database entries. I would recover the tables for the mod from the backup you said you made with phpMyAdmin beforehand.

[ajnsmits]

Of course, I got everything back straight away; it was just a test, nothing more. The mod tables are definitely included in the backup. Only the ‘remove database schema’ button deletes the tables. But because there’s an ‘install database schema’ button next to it, you’d think you have to remove them first and then reinstall them. Why is that green button there anyway, because the tables are also created when the mod is installed.

[Philip Roy]

I’m totally confused sorry. You say…

Quote

The mod tables are definitely included in the backup.

But previously said…

Quote

In doing so, I discovered that the four tables were not included in the backup

Re…

Quote

But because there’s an ‘install database schema’ button next to it, you’d think you have to remove them first and then reinstall them

Why? As far as I can tell, using that button has no impact to existing data, so removing the tables isn’t needed in an update. The prompt when you click that button even says it…

Edited April 25 by Philip Roy

[geraldomeier]

Hi Leanna 

Thank you for the latest version of Heritage Flags. 

I can confirm that printing now works on my two templets 12 and 18. 
The settings in Heritage Flags survived the updates of Heritage Flags on both servers. 
I regularly save all tables (every few days) After the update to Version 7, when saving the Heritage flag tables (basically saving ALL tables), I had no error on the server with template 12, but on the server with Template 18 there was an error: 
 

But after going to Admin / Misc / Heritage Flags, and clicking on INSTALL DATABASE SCHEMA, I could run the Tables Backup without problems. 
I have not tested the Restore function in Utilities >> Back up, Restore & Optimize Table Data though.  
I just wanted to give a quick feedback, maybe more to come after some time...

Have a good weekend ! 

Gerald 

[ajnsmits]

OK Philip, I must be doing something wrong; I’ll stop testing for now to avoid any confusion.

[Katryne]

Hello ! On my test site where I test this new HF release, I do not see the previous data tables backup (no date) and I cannot save either the data tables via the TNG tool. When I try to launch a backup, it gives this error message :

 Ne peut ouvir le fichier /homepages/1/d813290445/htdocs/geneakatbeta15/backups/tng_addresses.sql. (=cannot open the file ...)

And the table structure table cannot be restoresd (no more file available) nor saved : 

Ne peut ouvir le fichier /homepages/1/d813290445/htdocs/geneakatbeta15/backups/tng_tablestructure.sql

I did not tweak the data base buttons within Heritage Flags settings. I see the 4 new tables in the list, when trying to backup. (within TNG admin)

 

[HauntedWebby]

🔧 Quick Update + New Option Coming

Thank you all for the testing, the feedback has been fantastic.

First, the fix: @geraldomeier found that if you ran Backup All before visiting any Heritage Flags page after upgrading, TNG threw an error because the tables hadn't been created yet. Updated CFG attached, the backup now gracefully skips the Heritage Flags tables if they don't exist yet. Uninstall, replace the CFG, reinstall.

Coming next: Several of you mentioned that the diagonal split looks great on some templates but not in most others. A top/bottom stacked layout might work better in those cases. I'm working on adding a layout option so you can choose between diagonal and stacked. More on that soon.
 

@Katryne two things on your Québec flag and your backup issue. 💛

The Québec flag: I checked your ca-qb.svg file, the SVG itself is perfectly valid. The reason it shows on your computer but not online might be your web host. Some hosting providers don’t know how to serve .svg files unless you tell them. Try adding this line to the .htaccess file in your TNG root folder:

AddType image/svg+xml .svg

If you’re not sure how to do that, let me know and I’ll walk you through it step by step. It’s one line at the bottom of one file and it won’t affect anything else on your site.

Also double-check that the filename on your server matches the code in your mapping exactly. I noticed the file is called ca-qb.svg but the mapping shows ca-qc if those don’t match, the mod won’t find the file. Québec’s ISO code is ca-qc, so the file should be ca-qc.svg.

Your backup error: The error message you saw (“Ne peut ouvrir le fichier … tng_addresses.sql”) is about tng_addresses that’s a core TNG table, not a Heritage Flags table. This means your TNG backup folder might not have the right permissions or might not exist on your test site. Check that the backups/ folder exists inside your TNG directory and that it’s writable. This one isn’t Heritage Flags playing up, it’s TNG needing that folder to be ready. If you need help checking, just ask. 😊 I have the same problem with Bookmarks, I don't use them so the back up throws the same error if I Select All.
 

Keep testing, keep reporting! You’re all making this better.

LeAnna

heritage_flags_v15_0_4_7.cfg

[Katryne]

Actually, the Quebec flag issue has been resolved; the file name was indeed with "qc" and not "qb." My fault. Thanks, Hawk Eye.

And I also fixed my backup function—it was just a folder naming issue.

[HauntedWebby]

🏴 Stacked Split Is Here — Choose Your Layout

Knights, the split flags just got a second option.

The Diagonal Split Flags setting is now a three-way choice:

• Off — single flag, same as always
• Diagonal — birth top-left triangle, death bottom-right triangle
• Stacked — birth flag top half, death flag bottom half, clean horizontal divide

The stacked layout gives each flag its own rectangular space. Some templates and some flags just look better this way. Try both, see which one suits your site.

If you already had split set to “Enabled”, it automatically maps to “Diagonal” nothing breaks.

New option, the Flag Border Shadow is now a configurable setting under Flag Display. Crank it up if white-edged flags are disappearing on you, or set it to 0 if you prefer clean edges.

If you already uploaded the previous chat fix for the backup, it's in this new zip. No need to do both.

New zip, same install process; uninstall, upload, reinstall. Updated zip attached.

Keep jousting. ⚔️

LeAnna

Heritage_Flags_v15_0_4_7.zip

[HauntedWebby]

9 minutes ago, Katryne said:

Thanks, Hawk Eye..

I've done so many times it's just natural to look for it now  HUGS!

[Katryne]

Perfect, as usual and I love the stacked option (I did not say stock options). Though, I do not see the shadow effect that I wanted to try. I put its settings to 1.0

https://geneakat.chauvigne.info/getperson.php?personID=I546&tree=kati

[HauntedWebby]

45 minutes ago, Katryne said:

I do not see the shadow effect

I use the principal of the shadow effect, but it's not a drop down shadow. It's only a line that you can determine how bold it is.

A private message asked if a horizonal stack is possible.  I'm looking into it. 

[Katryne]

Good idea : an horizontal stack would take less space and leaves less blank space.

Thanks for the shadow explanation. I see it there in action :

[Philip Roy]

It's all working well, thanks! I confess I still wish for a much darker border around a white flag, but I can live with it. I have a niece born to an English mum and Kiwi dad, but born in the USA. I hadn't looked into personal overrides at all (she probably doesn't want the stars and stripes on her profile), but I love the simplicity of how to change it! I guess if she complains, she'll have to pick which flag...or I make up an NZ/UK combo image (I'm only displaying birth flags)?

Thanks heaps. No bugs spotted in this test version!