* Data Entry, Tools & Guides

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Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by tatewise »

This thread is a continuation of William Frier's Stopping Age Count (16900) postings.

William, here is some advice that is well meant.
When reporting problems such as this, please be more specific about the characteristics in order to help us help you.
In this example, specify that the Age you are observing is in the Focus Window, and that the Death Date you are entering is in the Main tab of Property Box.
That way we would have arrived at the explanation of a solution far quicker.
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by GeneSniper »

Point taken and will be actioned Mike. To be honest I am still getting used to the names of all the different sections of FH. I would have called the Focus window the Main Page if I was asking a question, as that is the first page I see when I open FH and as the Property Box is there as well I didn't class them as separate (Although I do know they are separate). It has been a steep learning curve getting used to using a new program that was quite different to what I had used before and speaking to others while not using the description "That wee box in the bottom corner of the screen where you put your proof that some person is dead"

How I Got Here:- I had mainly spent my time doing my Tree on my own in FTM only asking one or two questions of other FTM users on a forum. I decided once I took early retirement (Not my decision) that as I had moved to FH a few years ago and pretty much had a 2 year break at the same time, that I would redo my tree and had better make sure I did it as properly as I could. I have never had to describe things as events, citations, source citations etc (although I did know what they were I just didn't have to use the names) as I was only talking to myself "first sign of madness". So I will try my best to take a bit more time when I type up a question here and be a bit more precise, it would save me so much time trying to explain in further posts what I mean by giving examples, when a better description in the first place wouldn't cause you all so much grief trying to work out what I am really asking. So please stick with me and correct me when I make a mistake, I will get there, I promise.
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by Jane »

I take it you have never read the "quick start" guide on the Help menu either then.
Jane
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by tatewise »

Yes, good point Jane, as that covers the key dialogues and their names.

It is identified in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers under the how_to:family_historian_documentation|> Family Historian Documentation Downloads and Guides.

An alternative to a long wordy description is to attach a screenshot as advised in info:forums#posting_topics|> Posting Topics.
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by GeneSniper »

Actually Jane I did, but admittedly I was more focusing (No pun intended) on the 'how to', rather than the 'what's it called'. Me Bad?
I have a copy of How To Get The Most...… as well, but again used it as a find out how to do something, if I couldn't work it out, rather than as I should have worked my way through it. My problem with the latter is that by the time I got to the end, I would have forgotten what I had learnt at the beginning, so making it a bit of a pointless exercise. I learn better doing multiple times rather than once or twice then moving on to something I may not use for several months.

I have therefor learned how to input data, asked as I have found things that have, either not made sense to me or I didn't understand how to. For instance the Entry Date saga. and this topic being another. After I have input the biggest majority of the data I have, I will then go on to find out how FH can help me to do other things to aid me with research if I haven't already learnt it during my journey. Maybe I thought that it was going to be a bit easier than I found it, but I still think most of the things I have asked on here, I would still have had to ask, as the answers came from all of you rather than from a help file. I always think if you can't find the answer in 5 minutes, ask someone who can answer it in 5 minutes (If I word the question better) rather than spend an hour or more trying to find the answer and then ask the person who can answer it in 5 minutes. You wouldn't believe how long I took trying to get an answer to this topic, before I eventually asked on here (because I had been asked if I had read this and read that too many times), then within another 10 minutes I had found the answer myself while trying out another solution I had found.
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by tatewise »

I would NOT wait until the majority of your data has been entered before exploring other tools and features.
As soon as you have a representative sample, explore the other tools then, because they way they work and present your data may suggest that you change your data entry strategies.
It would be really annoying to wait until all your data was entered before discovering you needed to make strategic changes.
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by GeneSniper »

For instance Mike?
William

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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

I'm not Mike, but I'll bite.

Are you going to use geocoding for your places? Because you can't geocode addresses, so if geocoding becomes something you want to use, you'll want to put everything in the Place field and not use Addresses; or you might to use Address but duplicate it in the Place as well. There is a plugin that will help you sort this out, but you'd be better off deciding soon).

Witnesses? Some reports don't report them -- do you know what reports you're planning to use? If the report you choose doesn't support witnesses, you might have to unzip some data entry (again, there's a plugin that could help, but better to get it right from the start).

What's your naming convention for media files, and your folder structure? it's a real pain if you run into a length restriction down the line, so best think this through early.

I'm sure Mike will have other examples :D
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by jbtapscott »

I'm sure Mike will come back with plenty of suggestions, but based on my experiences when I switched from TMG to FH, I would wholly agree with his comment. I have reworked the way I capture some data a number of time and it really can be a painful exercise!.

Just simple things like naming conventions for Source records and consistent use of various fields - eg. I always put GRO References, Census References and FMP Record Set details in the Source / Publication Information field. I only use Witnesses for witness related roles (eg Witness at a Marriage, etc) - I don't use the role for Census data (but many people do). I use Ancestral Sources for BMDB and Census input as this ensures (once I had it all set up correctly) consistency of data in FH (but, again, many people don't!). Using AS also ensures I get all the Census data in to a grid within FH that I can subsequently use on my website.

As I say, it really is (or can be) a major job if, having input a large amount of data you subsequently decide that "no, I want that data in a different field / format, etc".
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by Gowermick »

There is a good reason for reading any manual from front to back. Sure you’ll not remember most of it, but down the line you’ll want to do something, and your brain will tell you “wait, didn’t I read something about that in the manual?” This will then prompt you refresh your mind, knowing it’s in the manual somewhere. :D

In the case of FH, it will also help familiarise you with the terms needed, when you search the FAQ
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Re: Stopping Age Count

Post by pwe »

The earlier versions of FH included a manual which used a tutorial format. I found that very helpful and worked through it section by section making sure that I fully understood. This feature does not seem to be part of the version 5 manual which is a pity.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by tatewise »

Peter, if you are referring to "Getting the Most From Family Historian" then I believe that both the V5 free download and the V6 bought paperback mostly use a tutorial format. The V5 needs tutorial GEDCOMs to be downloaded, but V6 uses the Family Historian Sample Project. See how_to:family_historian_documentation|> Family Historian Documentation.

William, the sort of tools & features to review before entering all your data include:
  • ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources as already mentioned, and offers standardised & customisable data entry styles.
  • Workspace Windows: Focus, Records, Diagram, Media, Report, Book, Query, Map, Web Search, but the three most significant are Media, Reports & Map that have already been highlighted.
  • Several Plugins and Queries rely on Source Citations with the highest Assessment Quality being listed first, i.e. for Birth events the Birth Certificate is higher than a Census or Death Certificate. One such particular Plugin is Lookup Missing BMD Records.
  • Which types of Source Citation will use Method 1 and which Method 2. See glossary:sources|> Source Records.
  • Might you want to export to other genealogy products such as online trees at Ancestry, FindMyPast, ZoomPast, or website builders such as GedSite or TNG, where certain styles in FH enhance the features in the other product.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by GeneSniper »

Right folks get your answering and shooting down caps on, as I have a few questions from your suggestions.

Helen
1 Geocoding- Don't think that will be happening any time soon, most of my family over the spread of 100 years were miners who were born and lived at collieries that no longer exist, houses and streets. and the 150 years before that stayed in villages with about 4 streets. So unless geocoding works on non existent maps it could be a wasted exercise.
2 How do I find out what reports don't use witnesses? is it a case of just trying them all, seeing if they use them and then see if I will use them?
3 Already found a way of naming files and folders that I quite like on here.

Brent
1 You say you have reworked the way you capture your data a number of times> How will I know I have got it right? You must have thought you had it right every time you changed it, so what will make me any different
2 Don't go down the source record route, that caused me no end of grief on here.
3 As for what data goes where, don't go there either.
4 Now Website, yes but maybe a bit further down the line. So all you techies what are the pitfalls to avoid re data input if I am thinking about going down that route?

Mike L
I have already decided to start over and go through Getting The Most of..... and have a look at the Knowledge Base on here.

Mike T
1 AS, I have tried it a couple of times now and not sure I like it, but I will be having another look although I notice some tutorials are missing on the Knowledge Base. But you guys and gals will keep me right. (See question I have below)
2 Re plugins that require highest assessment quality being listed first. Not sure I understand what you mean here. Do you mean that it is something that can be changed when you are adding more source citations (and best done at the time) or that source citations have to be input in a specific order?
3 Method 1 or 2, will check the knowledge base link you put up.
4 Online trees, will only give them enough information to make use of their hints, Website builders (See Brent 4)

Now for the AS question, hoping a simple yes or no is all that is required for this. I start using AS and input say 20 new individuals and all the Sources and Citations that go with them, if I decide it's definitely not for me and uninstall AS does all the information AS installed stay in FH?
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by Gowermick »

AS is simply a (very good) tool to assist you getting data into FH. Once data is in FH, AS can safely be removed. It will not affect data already there.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by Valkrider »

William

I don't think anyone has mentioned YouTube yet. This is a good source of tutorials for some aspects of using Family Historian and Ancestral Sources. As well as reading the book it may well be worth watching some of these. This link takes you to some of them.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

Geocoding- Don't think that will be happening any time soon, most of my family over the spread of 100 years were miners who were born and lived at collieries that no longer exist, houses and streets. and the 150 years before that stayed in villages with about 4 streets. So unless geocoding works on non existent maps it could be a wasted exercise.
It can use Historic maps...

plugins:help:map_life_facts:leaflet_maps#details|> Details
How do I find out what reports don't use witnesses? is it a case of just trying them all, seeing if they use them and then see if I will use them?
glossary:standard_reports#standard_report_types1|> Standard Report Types
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by tatewise »

Geocoding ~ In FH each Place holds its historic details AND its Standardised modern details that will auto-geocode. Also you can manually geocode each Place but can only differentiate down to street level if the street address is in the Place field.

Reports ~ Only Narrative Reports include Fact Witnesses but there are other limitations in Reports such as omitting some of the less popular and rarely used Note and Citation entries.

Ancestral Sources ~ Is only a data capture tool front end to FH and it holds no data itself. But it does have many customisation options and useful tools for managing the style of your data entry and keeping it consistent.

Citation order ~ Yes, you can change the order of Citations as you enter them or after using AS. Some Plugins and Queries only check the first Citation against each Fact and expect that to be the highest Assessment Quality entry. So when checking Birth events needing further research, any with a Birth Certificate Citation listed first will be skipped.

Websites ~ An important aspect of uploading data to public websites is the privacy of living people. So use of the Living and Private flags and [[private notes]] in square brackets are best entered as you go along. The Export Gedcom File Plugin has a section for each product and the how_to:exporting_gedcom_with_multimedia|> Exporting a Family Tree with/without Media goes into the details.

You-Tube Videos ~ All the [kb]|[/kb] videos are listed in glossary:animated_tutorials|> Animated Tutorials, and all the Calico Pie ones are referenced in how_to:family_historian_documentation|> Family Historian Documentation.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by GeneSniper »

Helen

You gave me a link to The Standard Report Types, what am I supposed to look for as I read them that tells me if they use witnesses?
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by tatewise »

You click on each one in turn and read about their characteristics, which tells you about Witnesses (in first sentence), etc, etc.

Also just experiment with them in FH.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by GeneSniper »

Mike T,

Thanks for the advice, I have a few further questions below.

Reports-
other limitations in Reports such as omitting some of the less popular and rarely used Note and Citation entries
What ones (is there a way around it) and is this something I should worry about just now as I input the data?

Ancestral Sources- That describes well what AS actually is and sounds as though it is a very good for data input. As I said I will be giving it another try once I have work my way through How to Get The..... , I was maybe a bit overwhelmed by getting it to do what I wanted but will be better armed once I have even better knowledge of FH.

Citation Order- Thanks for that, I presume how to change the order will show up when I work my way through How to Get The.... and the Knowledge Base.

Websites- Thanks for that, if I recall FTM used to make all entries Private unless there was nothing in the Died field/death event and had a Private tick box, so that information was not shown on Ancestry if ticked. That was why I used to put DECEASED in the Died field. I may be wrong on that, but am quite sure it is right. Re flags and [[Private]] I will take a note and once I find out how to, I will remember to put them in as I go along. I presume FH removes the Living flag once I create a Death event?
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by GeneSniper »

tatewise wrote:You click on each one in turn and read about their characteristics, which tells you about Witnesses (in first sentence), etc, etc.

Also just experiment with them in FH.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Mike I had clicked on quite a few of them while having a quick look and as luck would have it all the ones I picked never mentioned witnesses. I just went back there just now and the first one I picked had it in the first line as you said. Thanks again Mike and Helen.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

I presume FH removes the Living flag once I create a Death event?
No, you have to do it manually.

There is a a plugins:help:clean_living_persons:clean_living_persons|> Clean Living Persons Plugin that can be very useful when publishing your data -- just remember to run it on a COPY OF YOUR PROJECT as it deletes data.
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by GeneSniper »

Bold and underlined, that's very ominous sounding. Sounds like advice from someone who may have forgot once :D
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

No, but only because it's shown that way in the instructions I have written for myself on how to produce my website ;)
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Re: Data Entry, Tools & Guides

Post by tatewise »

Reports ~ Regarding limitations in Reports, the point is that most displays in FH (except for the All tab) are filtered summaries of the underlying data. That applies to the Main and Facts tabs of the Property Box, the Focus Window, the Diagrams, and most Reports. So if you start using a new data structure, such as a Death Date of "Deceased" as in Stopping Age Count (16900), then review how that appears (if at all) in the various displays, including the Reports you like to use. As was pointed out, the use of "Deceased" had an impact in the Sentence Template used by Narrative Reports.

Ancestral Sources ~ I seem to recall that when experimenting with AS originally you said you ticked all the options, and that may have had undesirable effects. It would be better to initially return to the default settings as per ancestralsources:ancestral_sources_tutorial_configure_initial_settings#reset_ancestral_sources|> Reset Ancestral Sources. Also don't overlook ancestralsources:getting_started|> Getting Started with Ancestral Sources and review the customisations that may allow AS to be tailored to your needs.

Citation order ~ You can change the order of Citations and many other items via up/down black arrows in the associated dialogues.

Websites ~ The use of the Living and Private flags and [[private notes]] in square brackets not only impacts Websites, but also what is included in Diagrams and Reports. See how_to:report_options:privacy|> Report Options ~ Privacy Tab.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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