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- Both are essentially just text documents, with no predefined content or structure.<\/li>\n
- Both use the same new Rich Text Editor.<\/li>\n
- Both can be linked to an unlimited number and combination of other records, such as Individuals, Families,
Sources<\/glwrap>, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Differences Between Notes and Research Notes<\/h2>\n
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- Notes are always blank when created, although Autotext can be inserted in the Rich Text editor after creation.\u00a0 Research Notes can be created directly from an Autotext template.<\/li>\n
- Research Notes are omitted from the majority of standard \u0192h<\/span><\/span> Reports, which are generally about the subjects of your research, not the research process itself. They are only included in Reports specifically about Research Notes, such as the ‘Research Notes’ report and the ‘Record Details – Research Notes’ report.<\/li>\n
- Notes and Research Notes are displayed on separate tabs in the Records Window.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Creating a Research Note<\/h2>\n
Research Notes are created in a number of ways:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
<\/p>\n- \n
- Select \u00a0Add Note from the Notes tab of the Property Box of another record (this create a Research Note linked to the record in the Property Box)\n
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- or, Select Add > Research Note<\/a> from the main \u0192h<\/span><\/span> menu<\/li>\n
- or, Right click in blank space in the Research Note tab of the Records Window and select Create Research Note<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
All these options present a list of available templates to choose from, plus the option to create an empty note.<\/p>\n
Once the initial note is created, you can edit it as normal.<\/p>\n
Research Note Templates<\/h2>\n
Research Notes can have any format you want, but the standard templates (shown below) come with a number of standard labelled text fields. ( Labelled text is text that appears in a single paragraph outside a table, prefixed by (e.g.) \u201cStatus: \u201d (the label). )<\/p>\n
The standard labelled fields are: Title, Type (values: Log, Task or Plan), Date, Description, and Status (values: Open or Closed).<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/em>The\u00a0available templates are managed in the same way as any other \u0192h<\/span><\/span>7 autotext, via the Tools > Manage Autotext…<\/a> menu.\u00a0 The Manage Autotext<\/em> Window is shown below with the Research options expanded, and these are the available standard templates for new Research Notes.<\/p>\nNew Autotext templates can be created for Research Notes in the same way as any other Autotext<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Records Window Display<\/h2>\n
The Notes tab of the Records Window displays five fields by default; Research Notes (the Title, or the text of the note if no title is specified), the Record Id, the Type, Date and Status fields, the number of Links to other records, and when the Note was last updated. You can filter the display on Title, Type and\/or Status.<\/p>\n
The image below shows the default Records Window layout for Research Notes, along with one freshly-created example of each pre-defined format. The “Type” of each note is highlighted, and the contents of the Records Window display match the values in the individual records. (If you inspect the column configuration, you will see\u00a0that the Type column has been pre-configured using the techniques described in Customising the Records Window<\/a> and the GetLabelledText()<\/strong> function to return text following the ‘Type: ‘ label, and the same technique has been applied for the Date and Status labels.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nThe next image shows the same Research Notes with other fields completed, and Date and Status columns follow the same format. You are not restricted to the pre-defined labels, and in these examples we have created a new field called Priority: and tabulated it in the Records Window display.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nNote 1: Functions such as =GetLabelledText()<\/strong> have two significant restrictions when used to define Records Window fields in this way. What follows the label must be normal text. It must not be a hyperlink, and must not be within a table, although formatting such as bold or italic text is permitted.<\/p>\n
Note 2: There are no special fields associated with the Research Note, and all data are represented as text (or Rich Text).\u00a0 As a result, the dates as written here can only be sorted in alphabetical order, not chronologically. This is not particularly useful, but unfortunately there are no options in the Records Window configuration for a text date to be read as a true date field. One workaround is to store the dates in year-month-day ISO format, for example 2021-03-31 for 31 Mar 2021, as alphabetical and chronological sorting produce exactly the same sequence.<\/p>\n
Linking to Other Records<\/h2>\n
There are two methods of linking a Research Note (or a Note record) to other records:<\/p>\n
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- Standard links from another record to a Research Note (using the Add Note command in the property box of the relevant record). These are links that are compliant with the GEDCOM standard and so identical in structure and behaviour to the links between all other record types.<\/li>\n
- Links from a Research Note to another record, embedded in the body of the note, using the Add Link button within the Note Window. These are links that can only be made between rich text fields (including Notes\/Research Notes) and all record types, and are not GEDCOM compliant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Although both types of link are bi-directional, they are not symmetric, so the two methods are not equivalent. Which you choose has consequences for the visibility of the link, and for the results returned by queries (discussed in more detail shortly).<\/p>\n
Comparison of Link Methods<\/h4><\/summary>
Consider a standard link, created from an Individual to a Research Note via Add Note; and an embedded link created from a Research Note to an Individual via Add Link:<\/p>\n
- or, Right click in blank space in the Research Note tab of the Records Window and select Create Research Note<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- or, Select Add > Research Note<\/a> from the main \u0192h<\/span><\/span> menu<\/li>\n
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- Notes and Research Notes are displayed on separate tabs in the Records Window.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Research-Notes-3.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Research-Notes-4.png\")
<\/strong><\/em>The\u00a0available templates are managed in the same way as any other ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Research-Notes-1-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Research-Notes-2-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/helpv6\/propertybox_10.png\")
to locate the linked record in the Record Window and drag it from the Record Window into the Note).<\/p>\n