* Bulk adding of media

[craigmollekin]

Hi,

Currently, I use a query to find locations that I want to add media to and then add media to each event/person one by one. Is there any way to select a location and then add media to it so that the media is added to all instances where the location is present in the file?

Kind Regards,

Craig Mollekin

[tatewise]

I don't think what you ask for is possible directly within FH but a Plugin could probably do it.

But can you amplify what you mean by "location" and what you mean by "add media".

By "location" do you mean "fields" or do you mean Places &/or Addresses ?

By "add media" do you mean create a new or link an existing Multimedia Record?

It is unusual to link the same Multimedia Record to many fields, as it suggests you perhaps should be using a Source Record and link the Multimedia to that.
Then there are ways to Copy and Paste citations easier than link Multimedia.

[craigmollekin]

Thanks for replying, Mike.

I mean I want to add media to Places. I would want to link existing media to lots of the same places at once. Although adding new media to lots of locations at once would be useful. For example, I have many marriages and baptisms occurring in Rotherham Minster. At the moment, I am having to link my Rotherham Minster photos to each and every occurrence of Rotherham Minster.

[tatewise]

My approach for such situations is to create a Source Record for Rotherham Minster and attach the Multimedia to the Source Record.
If you later want to add more Multimedia then they only need to be added to the Source Record.

Furthermore, you can include other details about Rotherham Minster in the Source Record text fields.
Also the linked Repository Record has built-in fields for contact details such as Address, Telephone, Email, Website, etc.

You then add a Citation for the Source Record to every Fact that has its Place field referring to Rotherham Minster.

This still has to be performed one by one, but you can use the Copy button on any existing Citation and quickly Paste it to each new Fact.
Also Tools > Automatic Source Citation has similar capabilities.

If you are interested in exploring this technique further then see how_to:create_locations_database_details|> Create a Locations Database of Place & Address Details.

[craigmollekin]

I'm halfway through adding my media (still many hundreds to go though), so I think I shall continue as I am. But the next stage was to begin adding Census images, so I think the idea that you've described here will be very useful for that purpose, thanks.

[tatewise]

To add Census records I strongly advise you use Ancestral Sources which greatly simplifies the task of creating Source Records, linking Multimedia, and creating Facts with Citations.
See the Knowledge Base for full details, and how it helps with other records.

Please note that the technique I described is absolutely normal for recording important documents such as Census, Birth/Marriage/Death Certificates, Church Parish Baptism/Marriage/Burial Records, etc.
It was only slightly unusual for recording Place details.

[craigmollekin]

Thanks, Mike. I have looked at Ancestral Sources in the past and it does look like a very clever piece of software. The problem is, I have already added hundreds, maybe thousands of Census entries into my Gedcom, so it re-entering the data all over again would cause me serious headaches.

[Valkrider]

Craig,

Ancestral Sources has the ability to add an image to an existing source, may be worth exploring.

[johnmorrisoniom]

I have quite often found that re-visiting old data can be beneficial.

I originally started using Sierra generations 6 for my tree.

Moved to FH at v3 (It's a lot easier to move from generations now)

I originally used method 2 with no images, because that was the way generations worked.

A few years ago, I started including images with my entries (When AS came out and made it easier). I mainly added new data, but where I overlapped with old data, I added the images (also in the process spotting connections I had missed first time around).

At the beginning of this year, I moved to method 1 recording. Again mainly adding new data, but where overlaps occurred re-entering old data (and guess what? More missed connections).

I am at present re-entering all deaths where I have a certificate Image, now that AS can do this (only 10 to go, then move on to burials). It will take me years to complete the migration to method 1, but I have found the process to be beneficial, as there is more information out there now.

So my advise is.. bite the bullet and start using AS. You won't regret it.

[tatewise]

Craig, what strategy have you used in the past to create your Census entries?
Is it basically the AS Method 1 (one Source Record per Census household), or is it Method 2 (one Source Record per Census year), or is it some other scheme?

AS has many customisation options, and may be able to mimic quite closely your current strategy.

[craigmollekin]

My method of recording Census data is very old and I adopted it when I first began researching my family tree over ten years ago. It just involves adding the address and occupation with the date as an event/description to an individual. I agree it would be better to revisit my data and convert to Ancestral Sources but just don't know if I have the stomach to do this yet But as mentioned, it might be beneficial for adding the actual Census images. Maybe I'll phase Ancestral Sources in gradually as suggested.