* Lumped Source Splitter plugin - new version for testing with enhanced processing of templated sources

[Mark1834]

The Lumped Source Splitter plugin was designed originally for generic sources such as those typically imported from FTM, where all sources are lumped. Templated sources imported from RM via GEDCOM were added by user request, but the plugin has not been updated since the much more reliable and comprehensive direct import was added to FH.

It is clear from comments in this forum that projects imported directly from RM are now its main application, and this update provides significant enhancements for that scenario, as well as improved handling of templated sources in general.

Previously, the plugin treated sources as purely generic or templated, and did not support “hybrid” sources where traditional “Publication Info" and Where Within Source” fields are used in conjunction with template fields to improve compatibility with other apps. It now does.

Previously, when a templated source was split, each new split source was linked to the same template as the original lumped source, and given a hard-coded title containing up to three of the citation field values. While this achieved its aim of removing the duplication inherent in FH lumped source citations, it did not fully exploit the properties of templated sources. In this new version, splitting a templated source generates a new template, where all of the citation fields are moved to source level. Any existing matching template is used automatically. In addition, the citation fields are added to the Source Title Format definition of the template, and all new source titles are derived from this directly, not hard coded. Where the lumped source does not have a Title format defined (as in RM imports, as RM does not support this feature), a format is created automatically from the template name and the existing source level fields.

These changes give far more flexibility for the user to create and modify their own preferred title formats, and all linked sources are updated automatically using the separate Refresh Source Record Auto Titles plugin.

Previously, when multiple sources were selected for splitting, the plugin paused between each source to explain what it was about to do and await user confirmation to proceed. This can be inconvenient when splitting large numbers of sources. Now, all selected sources are processed automatically, and a summary report table generated before closing the plugin.

Run times for large projects have been speeded up considerably by use of more efficient coding.

The plugin’s main application is with newly imported projects, so in order to simplify future maintenance and provide maximum exploitation of new FH7 tools, backwards compatibility with FH5/6 has been removed, and the plugin now runs only in recent versions of FH7.

Additional checks within the plugin to address flaws in the GEDCOM transfer of RM data have been removed, as they are no longer required.

The plugin help pages have been updated for this prototype version, so over to users to try it out. As ever, please test it on a copy of your project first, particularly as this plugin updates your project data, rather than just reading it.

The prototype version attached here will be deleted if it is replaced by a later copy to address any bugs that arise in testing, or by the end of July at the latest, by which time the finalised version will be in the plugin store, and continued use of this prototype will give a prompt to upgrade to the store version.

[Mark1834]

No issues were raised by users, so the draft plugin above has been deleted and the plugin store updated with the latest version.

A significant change in the new store version (1.4) is that citation level notes are no longer considered when determining citation equivalence. That maintains a better distinction between data that pertain to the actual citation (any Where Within Source details, citation level template fields, attached media, text from source) and data that relate to how that citation is applied (citation notes, assessment). This avoids creating multiple sources that differ only by their note field.

A reminder that if you want to continue using the new version of the plugin, the version 1.3 prototype expires at the end of July and will prompt you to upgrade to the released version if used beyond that date.