{"id":13238,"date":"2026-09-23T10:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/?post_type=kb_article&p=13238"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:49:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:49:06","slug":"free-form-sources","status":"publish","type":"kb_article","link":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/kb-article\/free-form-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Form Sources"},"content":{"rendered":"\u0192h<\/span><\/span>8 adds a third kind of source, alongside generic and templated. A free form source has no structured fields apart from its title: you type the footnote, short footnote and bibliography entry yourself, exactly as you want them to appear in reports. For how the three kinds compare, see Sources and Citations in Version 8 (for New Users)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When to Use One<\/h2>\n

Free form sources suit people who already have a citation style they like, or citations written out elsewhere, and do not want \u0192h<\/span><\/span> to assemble the text for them. They also suit sources that do not fit any template. What they cannot do is anything that depends on structured fields, such as changing the look of many citations at once by editing a template or a preference.<\/p>\n

Creating a Free Form Source<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Citation Window for a free form source<\/figcaption><\/figure>Wherever you can add a source, Add New Free Form Source<\/em> is offered alongside the generic and templated options: on the Add Citation<\/em> button in the Citation List pane of the Property Box, the Source button on the main toolbar, Add > Source\/Citation<\/a> and the Automatic Source Citation pane.<\/p>\n
    \n
  1. Choose Add New Free Form Source<\/em>. The Citation Window opens.<\/li>\n
  2. Give the source a title. This is what you will see in lists of sources.<\/li>\n
  3. Type the footnote as it should appear in a report. Bold, italic and underline are available.<\/li>\n
  4. Add a short footnote and a bibliography entry if you want them. Either can be left empty.<\/li>\n
  5. Add the citation details for this particular fact, such as the page or entry, as you would for any source.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The side panel of the Citation Window shows the footnote and bibliography as they will appear.<\/p>\n

    Customising Citations<\/h2>\n

    A citation to a free form source can be customised in the Customize Citation dialog, for example to change the footnote for one citation only. Unlike generic and templated sources, a free form source cannot be customised at the source level, since its text is already whatever you typed. For customising citations to generic and templated sources, see Customising Citation Output<\/em> in Sources and Citations in Version 8 (for New Users)<\/a>, and Customize Citation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Exporting<\/h2>\n

    GEDCOM has no place for free form sources. When exporting, leave Non-generic Source-handling<\/em> in the Export GEDCOM File dialog set to an option that includes Prioritize compatibility<\/em> (the default); the citation text is then copied into standard GEDCOM fields so that other programs receive it. See Exporting Templated Sources<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","fh_version":[826],"skill_level":[17,16],"topic":[83],"class_list":["post-13238","kb_article","type-kb_article","status-publish","hentry","fh_version-v8","skill_level-intermediate","skill_level-newcomer","topic-sources-and-citations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_article\/13238","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=13238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fh_version","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fh_version?post=13238"},{"taxonomy":"skill_level","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/skill_level?post=13238"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fhug.org.uk\/kb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=13238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}