Adding and Editing Natal Records

When adding or editing the location for a natal record, Aquila's precision timekeeping system uses the latitude and longitude to do the work for you. Enter the coordinates, and the correct local time zone, along with any historical Daylight Saving Time rules, will be automatically applied for any date, anywhere in the world. This is handled by a professional-grade global time zone atlas built into the application.

Opening the Natal Records Editor

To open the Natal Records Editor, go to the main menu and choose Edit followed by Natal Records.

Opening the Natal Records editor

Managing Natal Records

You can manage the natal records in the table as follows:

• Add a Natal Record: Click the Add button or click on the last row to select it and then click in the right-most cell of that row to enter edit mode before pressing the TAB key

Adding and editing natal records

• Edit a Natal Record: To edit a natal record, click on the row that it occupies to select the row and then click in the cell that contains the value you want to change. The second click puts the table into edit mode. To apply your edits and exit edit mode, press the Enter key or press the ESC key to cancel cell edits

• Delete a Natal Record: To delete a natal record, select the row(s) you want to remove and press the DEL key on your keyboard. If the table is in edit mode then exit edit mode before attempting to delete the row

Importing Natal Records from CSV

You can import natal records from a CSV file to quickly add multiple records:

1. In the Natal Records Editor, select Data from the main menu
2. Select Import from the menu
3. Browse to and select your CSV file
4. Click Open to import the records

CSV Format Requirements

The CSV file must contain the following six columns in this exact order:

Column	Description	Format	Example
Name	Person's name	Text (quoted)	"Robert Gordon"
Natal Date	Birth date and time	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss	2023-06-10 14:30:00
Location Name	Place name	Text (quoted)	"New York, NY"
Latitude	Latitude in degrees	Decimal number	40.7128
Longitude	Longitude in degrees	Decimal number	-74.0060
Height	Height above sea level in feet	Decimal number	33

Important notes:

• The CSV file may optionally include a header row with column names. Aquila automatically detects whether a header is present
• Text fields (Name and Location Name) should be enclosed in double quotes
• Dates must be in local civil time with the format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss (e.g., 1906-06-10 14:30:00 for 2:30 PM local time)
• The date/time represents the actual time as it was recorded locally, not UTC
• Latitude uses positive values for North, negative for South
• Longitude uses positive values for East, negative for West
• Height is in feet above sea level
• The timezone is automatically determined from the latitude and longitude coordinates

Example CSV with header:

Name,Natal Date,Location Name,Latitude,Longitude,Height
"Robert Gordon","1906-06-10 14:30:00","Texarkana, Texas",33.425511,-94.047764,285
"Marie Curie","1867-11-07 12:00:00","Warsaw, Poland",52.2297,21.0122,350

Example CSV without header:

"Robert Gordon","1906-06-10 14:30:00","Texarkana, Texas",33.425511,-94.047764,285
"Marie Curie","1867-11-07 12:00:00","Warsaw, Poland",52.2297,21.0122,350

Exporting Natal Records to CSV

You can export natal records to a CSV file for backup or use in other applications:

1. In the Natal Records Editor, select Data from the main menu
2. Select Export from the menu
3. Choose a location and filename for the CSV file
4. Click Save to export the records

The exported CSV file will include a header row and follow the same format described above, making it compatible for re-importing later.