Family Historian User Group

The more I look at this issue the more complicated it gets...

My current set up:-
Census data is recorded as a single fact with the household entered as witnesses
Each census fact has one or 2 census images attached. I have 400 images in my database.
The image file name is of the form “CEN Woolley John RG9_Pc-1882_Fo-16_Pg-3.jpg” with Woolley John being the principle/head of household.
The title of the image is currently a truncated version of the file name
The census image could be attached to a number of census facts because the page contains a number of families I'm interested in.


The set up I would like:-
Each census entry is a separate source
The title of the source would be Year/Country/Source type/Principle/Ref eg 1861 UK Census Woolley John RG9_Pc-1882_Fo-16_Pg-3
Each source has a census image(s) attached
The title of each Image would be the same as the source ie 1861 UK Census Woolley John RG9_Pc-1882_Fo-16_Pg-3

The process is, I think, :-
Create new source
Re-title source image(s)
Attach image to source
Attach new source to Fact(s)
Delete old Census source and images attached to Fact.

I thought that Ancestral Source might be able to do the first 2 steps but it wouldn't allow the creation of just a source. Anyway with 400 to do it would take an awful long time.

So I'm assuming the only way to do this would a a plug-in or series of plug-ins but any advice/ideas would be gratefully received.

(I think I am going to go through the same process with Birth, marriage and death certificates but that's for another day....)

I think Ancestral Sources should be able to perform all the steps except the last one of deleting the old Source and unlinking Media from Facts. AS should be able to do likewise with the BMD Sources too.

The only thing you may need to accept is that AS Census recording treats each household member equally and creates a Census Event for each one rather than use Witnesses. Remember this style of Citing Sources for Census Events is more consistent with Gedcom structures, and thus more portable into the future, whereas Witnesses are not.

A benefit of using the AS style is that it simplifies all future data capture for BMD and Census sources.

If you persist with the Plugin approach you have to consider exactly what you will put in each Source Record field, and whether to persevere with Witnesses. You also have to live with not using AS in future.