* Sources, Citations and Methods

[tatewise]

OK, but that is not what that Huge source citation list (7392) topic is about.
It deals with how Source Citations are listed in Reports under the Sources section.
Typically one Source record will have multiple Citations, and often all identical.

The default Report option is to list such identical Source Citations only once.
Then its reference number will appear as a superscript against each Fact, etc, that uses that Source Citation.

If the Report option is not ticked, then every single Source Citation is listed each with a different reference number.
That reference number will appear as a superscript against the one Fact, etc, that uses that Source Citation.
In this case the Sources section of the Report can become huge with lots of identical entries; hence the topic title.

[dbridge276]

@tatewise

that's the situation I am finding with reports I generate for others, the sources & Citation list at the end is way too long.
I am trying to get my head around what I have done wrong over the years and the quickest and easiest way to correct the situation.

Hence the (dumb) questions I have been asking as I am finding suitable solutions.

What I haven't found is a guide on here yet to help guide one through correcting excessive sources/citations.
It's clear to me from the answers I have been getting that all the necessary tools probably exist in this forum.

But in which order does one use them to correct the situation I (and maybe others) find themselves in.

Yes, I am sure there are different situations people get themselves into so a different approach may be needed for each.

I probably need someone with the requisite knowledge to look over my FH project/GDCOM to see what fixes are needed.

[tatewise]

OK, so I assume that the Report > Options > Sources tab Combine Identical Citations for Same Source is ticked?

In Reports, whether the Sources list is "way too long" depends on how thoroughly your Facts have Citations. So if every Fact has one or more Citations then the Sources list will be long. That is not a bad thing, but shows how well you have researched your family history.

What is less desirable is where supposedly identical Source Citations are not combined when using the Combine Identical Citations for Same Source option. That can only be due to minor differences in those supposedly identical Source Citations.

Are you mostly using Method 1 'splitter' Source Citations? i.e. One Source record per BMD Certificate, etc.
If so, is the same Source record listed multiple times in the Sources list of Reports?
If so, then each Citation must have different values in its fields. Is that the case?

If you are not sure, then produce a sample Report saved as a PDF and attach it to your reply, using the Attachments tab below.

[arthurk]

Does the topic Sheer number of sources! (15823) have anything useful?

Several of us put forward our thoughts on shortening the list of sources in reports, and as usual there was a range of opinions covering both Method 1 and Method 2. Most of us probably ended up just as convinced as before that we were already doing things the best possible way, but you might just pick up a few ideas....

[dbridge276]

@tatewise
@arthurk

Thanks guys for the replies, I haven't been in here for a few weeks and have only popped my head in today quickly.

I won't get the time to check out your replies fully until mid July, so will reply properly after that.