Admin Panel Settings

The Admin Panel provides comprehensive settings to configure every aspect of your AncestryCodex installation.

Accessing Admin Panel

Access the Admin Panel from the sidebar menu (requires Administrator role):

Click Admin Panel in the sidebar
You'll see the settings dashboard with category cards
Click any card to access that settings section

Help Available

Each settings page includes a Help button in the top right corner. Click it to open detailed documentation for that section.

Settings Categories

General Settings

Site name, tagline, timezone, date formats, and maintenance mode.

Branding

Logos, favicon, colors, and theme customization options.

Privacy

Living person privacy, display names, date restrictions, and visibility controls.

Users

Registration settings, default roles, email verification, and upload limits.

Maps

Configure map providers (Mapbox, OpenStreetMap), API keys, and geocoding.

AI Services

API keys for Claude/OpenAI, place standardization, and image enhancement.

Family Tree

Default tree settings, visualization options, and display preferences.

World Clock

Dashboard world clock widget configuration for distributed families.

General Settings

Configure core site settings:

Setting	Description
Site Name	The name of your site displayed in the header and page titles
Site Tagline	A short description shown on the homepage
Timezone	Default timezone for displaying dates and times
Date Format	How dates are displayed throughout the site (e.g., DD/MM/YYYY)
Maintenance Mode	Enable to show a maintenance page to non-admin users

Branding Settings

Customize the appearance of your site:

Logo - Upload your site logo (displayed in header and emails)
Small Logo - Compact logo for mobile and collapsed sidebar
Favicon - Browser tab icon (recommended: 32x32 pixels)
Primary Color - Main accent color used throughout the interface
Footer Text - Custom copyright or footer message

Privacy Settings

Control how sensitive information is displayed:

Setting	Description
Enable Privacy Controls	Master switch for all privacy features
Show Living Names	Display names of living individuals (vs. "Living Person")
Hide Living Details	Hide birth dates, addresses, and other personal info for living people
Living Threshold Years	Assume person is living if born within this many years (default: 100)
Date Display Range	How precise to show dates: Exact (15 Jan 1920), Year Only (1920), or Hidden

Privacy Best Practices

When sharing your family tree publicly, we recommend enabling privacy controls and hiding details for living individuals to protect your family members' personal information.

User Settings

Configure user registration and access:

Allow Public Registration - Let visitors create accounts (or invitation-only)
Default User Role - Role assigned to new registrations (Viewer, Contributor, etc.)
Require Email Verification - Users must verify email before accessing the site
Maximum Upload Size - File size limit for uploads (1-100 MB)
Allowed File Types - Which file extensions can be uploaded

Maps Settings

Configure map displays for locations and events:

Map Provider - Choose between Mapbox (more features) or OpenStreetMap (free)
Mapbox API Key - Required for Mapbox integration
Default Map Style - Streets, Satellite, or Hybrid view
Enable Geocoding - Automatically convert addresses to coordinates

AI Services Settings

Configure artificial intelligence features:

API Keys

Anthropic (Claude) API Key - For place standardization (recommended)
OpenAI API Key - For image enhancement and alternative AI features

Place Standardization

AI-powered conversion of historical place names to modern GEDCOM 7 format:

Enable AI Place Resolution - Use AI to parse and standardize place names
AI Provider - Claude (recommended), OpenAI, or local Ollama
Auto-Approve Threshold - Automatically approve high-confidence matches

Image Enhancement

AI-powered photo restoration and improvement:

Photo restoration for damaged images
Quality enhancement for low-resolution photos
Color correction for faded images

Family Tree Settings

Configure default tree visualization options:

Default Tree Style - Ancestor, Descendant, or Full tree view
Show Photos in Tree - Display profile photos in tree nodes
Generations to Display - Default number of generations shown
Show Living Indicator - Display living status badges

World Clock Settings

Configure the dashboard world clock widget for families spread across timezones:

City Name - Display name (e.g., "Sydney, Australia")
Timezone - IANA timezone identifier (e.g., "Australia/Sydney")
Abbreviation - Short timezone code (e.g., "AEDT")
Coordinates - Latitude/Longitude for weather data
OpenWeatherMap API Key - Enable live weather display

Tip

Add cities where your family members live to help coordinate calls and plan events across time zones.

Saving Changes

After modifying any settings:

Review your changes
Click the Save Settings button
A success message confirms the settings were saved

Important

Some changes (like enabling maintenance mode) take effect immediately. Always test changes before enabling them on a production site.