{"id":13227,"date":"2026-09-22T17:25:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&#038;p=13227"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:54:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:54:49","slug":"sources-and-citations-in-version-8-for-upgraders-from-version-7","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/sources-and-citations-in-version-8-for-upgraders-from-version-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Sources and Citations in Version 8 (for Upgraders from Version 7)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction<\/h2>\n<p>Family Historian version 8 does not change the way Sources and Citations work in the way that version 7 did. Everything you did in version 7 still works, including source-driven data entry, Data Entry Assistants and <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/ancestral-sources\/\">Ancestral Sources<\/a>. What version 8 adds is a third type of source, a way to fine-tune what citations look like, and Smart Folders, which change how you look at sources rather than how you record them.<\/p>\n<p>This article assumes you&#8217;re familiar with working with Sources and Citations in <span class=\"fh\" style=\"font-size: 17px !important; line-height: 21.4286px !important;\">\u0192<span style=\"color:#73B262; font-weight: bold;\">h<\/span><\/span>7. If you&#8217;re upgrading from version 6 or earlier, read <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/working-with-sources-and-citations-in-version-7\/\">Sources and Citations in Version 7 (for Upgraders from Version 6)<\/a> first, since almost all of it still applies. If you&#8217;re a complete newcomer to Family Historian, read <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/sources-and-citations-in-version-8-for-new-users\/\">Sources and Citations in Version 8 (for New Users)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What Has Changed?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13255\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13255\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13255 lazyload\" data-src=\"\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize-768x849.png\" alt=\"Citation Window with the side panel and the Customize link\" width=\"350\" height=\"387\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize-768x849.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize-271x300.png 271w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize-927x1024.png 927w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize-136x150.png 136w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-citation-window-customize.png 1323w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 350px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 350\/387;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13255\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Citation Window with the side panel and the Customize link<\/figcaption><\/figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.family-historian.co.uk\/help\/fh8\/whatsnewin8.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What&#8217;s New in Family Historian 8<\/a> has the full detail. In summary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Free Form Sources.<\/strong> Alongside Generic and Templated Sources there is now a third type, with no structured fields: you type the footnote, short footnote and bibliography entry yourself, with bold, italic and underline if you want them. The <em>Source<\/em> button, <a href=\"#!\" class=\"cs_tooltip\" fhugtt=\"This is the menu across the top of the main Family Historian windows. The &gt; denotes a submenu\">Add&nbsp&gt;&nbspSource\/Citation<\/a>, the Citation List Pane&#8217;s <em>Add Citation<\/em> button and the Automatic Source Citation pane all offer <em>Add New Free Form Source<\/em> next to the generic and templated options.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customising citations.<\/strong> A <em>Customize<\/em> link at the bottom of the Citation Window&#8217;s side panel lets you override the footnote, short footnote or bibliography entry for a single citation (either the finished text, or the format with its <code>{Field}<\/code> codes), or the format for a single source. Uncustomised fields have a brown background, customised ones white, and there is a <em>Reset<\/em> button. Previously the only place to change these was the Source Template itself, which changed every source using it. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.family-historian.co.uk\/help\/fh8\/citationcustomizedialog.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customize Citation<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bibliographies.<\/strong> The Bibliography section of a report or book is now built from the bibliography entries of the citations it contains, and identical entries are merged. So a lumper can give one source several bibliography entries by customising its citations, and a splitter can let many sources share one. A customised bibliography entry can be blank, which drops it from the report.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Smart Folders.<\/strong> The Records Window and every record selector can show sources and citations in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.family-historian.co.uk\/help\/fh8\/sf_smartfolders.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smart Folders<\/a>, grouped by template category with the template&#8217;s fields as columns. The standard folder sets keep themselves up to date as templates change, and the Source &amp; Citation Wizard in <em>Manage Folder Sets<\/em> can build custom ones from your own templates. This is the feature most likely to change how you work: it lets a lumper browse a single census source as if it were split by year and district, and a splitter see hundreds of certificates as one collection, without touching the data.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Source Templates.<\/strong> The Source Template Definition Compare dialog has an <em>Adjust Field Order<\/em> button to bring a project&#8217;s Source Template record into line with the definition, or the other way round. See <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/adding-and-customising-source-templates-in-version-7\/\">Adding, Customising and Sharing Source Templates<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automatic Source Citations<\/strong> now apply however you enter data, including copying records or fields from the new FamilySearch Window.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Finding citations.<\/strong> There is a new Citation query type, and <em>Record Links<\/em> on the right-click menu of any record shows everything that links to it, which for a Source means its citations. See <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/finding-records-linked-to-a-source\/\">Finding Records Linked to a Source<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Export.<\/strong> The Export GEDCOM dialog has a <em>Destination<\/em> field and a <em>Non-generic Source-handling<\/em> option that copies footnote text into standard GEDCOM fields so that templated and free form citations survive the journey to other programs. See <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/exporting-templated-sources\/\">Exporting Templated Sources<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Citation Window itself is little changed; the header area above the Notes, Text from Source and Media tabs is smaller. Any <a href=\"\/kb\/kb-article\/customising-v7-to-use-v6-style-sources\/\">customisations<\/a> you made to the Source Property Box and Citation Window in version 7 are carried across when you install version 8.<\/p>\n<h2>Do I Need to Do Anything?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13272\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13272\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13272 lazyload\" data-src=\"\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog-768x694.png\" alt=\"Customize Citation dialog: the edited Footnote is white, defaults are brown\" width=\"350\" height=\"316\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog-768x694.png 768w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog-300x271.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog-1024x926.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog-150x136.png 150w, https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fh8-customize-citation-dialog.png 1147w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 350px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 350\/316;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13272\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Customize Citation dialog: the edited Footnote is white, defaults are brown<\/figcaption><\/figure>No. Your sources open in version 8 exactly as they were. The things worth trying, in rough order of payoff:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open the Records Window, choose Sources and look at the Smart Folders pane. If you use templated sources this alone may be reason enough to have upgraded.<\/li>\n<li>Next time a footnote comes out not quite as you&#8217;d like for one particular citation, use <em>Customize<\/em> rather than editing the template.<\/li>\n<li>If you have a handful of awkward sources that never fitted a template and were living uncomfortably as generic sources, consider making them Free Form.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"template":"","fh_version":[826],"skill_level":[18,17],"topic":[68,83],"class_list":["post-13227","kb_article","type-kb_article","status-publish","hentry","fh_version-v8","skill_level-advanced","skill_level-intermediate","topic-faqs","topic-sources-and-citations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_article\/13227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kb_article"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fh_version","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fh_version?post=13227"},{"taxonomy":"skill_level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/skill_level?post=13227"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=13227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}