* Source Short Title change?

[Calline]

Hello,

Coming back to genealogy afte 15 years, I was shocked to find I couldn't upgrade my TMG7(UK) and other software, but thanks to trial versions of TMG9 and FH7 I am playing with FH and very pleased with it on the whole.

I really love the templates with data assistants, so perfect for UK sources, but wonder if there is some way you can change the title or add a short title? When the source list just shows marriage certificate of... and doesn't even have room for both the full names it is a nightmare finding the one you want. In TMG I used a short title starting with the souce type, eg M for marriage or PR for a register entry, then the county code before the surname(s) of the principal(s). I would love to be able to do something similar in FH but using the data assistants in the templates.

Is there any way to do this please?

All advice gratefully received, although if it is complicated, be prepared for follow up queries

[tatewise]

Welcome to the FHUG.

When you refer to the Source list do you mean the Records Window Sources tab?
Drag the divider between the Source Records column header and the next column to the right to make the column wider.
If you know any of the name you are looking for then enter it in the Title/Short Title Filter box at the top.
Those two changes will reveal the entire Title and reduce the list so you can find what you need more easily.
You can also click on any column heading to sort the entries which may help bring the type of Sources you want together.

It is probably possible to modify a DEA to compose the Short Title you are talking about but that is only necessary if the above techniques are unsatisfactory.

[E Wilcock]

Mike. I think you told me that to find the source one wanted to add, it was easiest to keep the sources sorted in alphabetical order by title in the Source records index pane. One is able to do this by clicking on the title column but is there any way of keeping them ordered like that?

Why does fh7 revert every time one closes fh to sorting by record ID?
And can one remedy this?

If one tries to edit the columns by right clicking it says the first column is fixed and cannot be edited?

[tatewise]

When I close and re-open FH it always remembers the record order that was chosen last.
I have just tried sorting by clicking the Source Records, Record Id, and Generic Type column headings, then closing and re-opening FH in between each one and the order is always remembered. So there is nothing to remedy.

The first column is always the primary record Name or Title and cannot be edited or moved.
The only thing you can change is the width of the column which is remembered.

[Calline]

Hi Mike

It is probably possible to modify a DEA to compose the Short Title you are talking about but that is only necessary if the above techniques are unsatisfactory.

Thank you for explaining how things work. As my sources have always been arranged by type and geographically, it sounds as though my learning curve might be a bit steeper than originally expected, as looking at sources by county (code) is really useful for me.

[tatewise]

I'm not sure if your problem has been satisfactorily resolved or not.

You say you "love the templates with data assistants" so I guess you're using Source Templates and templated Source records.
So it should be possible to define Source Template metafields for Type, County Code, and Name.
Then the Sources tab can have columns for those fields that you can sort by.
Aso, a Query can filter by Type &/or County Code &/or Name to give you a shortlist of Source records.

[ColeValleyGirl]

Alternatively, it's possible to change the Title -- you would need to create a clone of the relevant template and then add a county code field and edit the Title template to something like:

<{Type}>< {County}>< {Principal:SURNAME} and {Principal_2:SURNAME}>, {Date}

[Calline]

Thanks for that but I think I tried that already but the DEA didn't work with it as it turned into a custom source. Maybe I did something wrong in that though.

[Calline]

You say you "love the templates with data assistants" so I guess you're using Source Templates and templated Source records.
So it should be possible to define Source Template metafields for Type, County Code, and Name.
Then the Sources tab can have columns for those fields that you can sort by.
Aso, a Query can filter by Type &/or County Code &/or Name to give you a shortlist of Source records.

That sounds as though it could answer my issue (yes been using the essential sources and DEA option) and definitely sounds a lot simpler than playing with DEAs ( head spinning already!).

Are there explicit instructions on how to do that and if so where please?

[ColeValleyGirl]

If you can wait a few months I'll have a set of DEAs ready that won't be fussy about which source template you're using...

Alternatively, after creating your custom template, remove (delete) from your project the standard Source Template Record (View > Other Record Lists > Source Templates, select the standard template which will be part of the Essential collection and press the Delete key.

Then double-click on the custom template record to open it and edit the Name to be Civil Registration Template. The DEA should now work.

(The standard template will still be available for adding to other projects).

[tatewise]

The FHUG Knowledge Base Adding and Customising Source Templates in Version 7 is a good starting point.

[Calline]

Thanks Cole Vally Girl, but I don't know whether I can wait that long

Alternatively, after creating your custom template, remove (delete) from your project the standard Source Template Record (View > Other Record Lists > Source Templates, select the standard template which will be part of the Essential collection and press the Delete key.

Unfortunately the Delete key is greyed out so I can't delete the original template from the essentials collection and the DEA doesn't work with my custom source.

Back to the drawing board

[tatewise]

The Delete KEY cannot be greyed out as it is on your keyboard!
Alternatively, use the Edit > X Delete command.

Did you start with View > Other Record Lists > Source Templates to get a Records Window list of Source Templates?
Have you selected the template you want to delete?

[Calline]

Sorry I wasn't explicit enough - the delete button is greyed out on the source template definitions - the delete key on the keyboard has no effect and there is no option to remove it from project.

Is it possible that this is due to me still using a trial version of FH7? On my version essentials source template definitions are read only.

I appreciate I might not be using the right terminology - still getting my head round the differences from TMG which I used for years.

[ColeValleyGirl]

Calline, can you post a screenshot? Using the trial version should make no difference.

You should be looking at a screen that looks something like this (but with your custom template listed as well):

Screenshot 2021-04-18 120917.png (80.72 KiB) Viewed 3318 times

If that isn't what you're seeing, you haven't used the top menu option View > Other Record Lists> Source Templates.

[Calline]

Thank you to you both for your patience.

I was obviously getting confused with the different windows that had source templates and definitions, and as you probably gathered, getting a little frustrated.

I was obviously trying to delete the essential template from the wrong screen/window and have found the other one which works.

I am now a rather happy bunny. Thank you both so much for your help, and I look forward to seeing the DEAs in the future too.

Best wishes

Caroline

[ColeValleyGirl]

It is a little complicated while you're getting used to it, Caroline, so don't worry about getting frustrated.

It will help me write an article for the Knowledgebase about replacing a standard template with a custom one.

[ColeValleyGirl]

Caroline, you will now have some sources that don't have a valid template (e.g. Marriage Sources you created from the old Civil Registration Template).

How many do you have? There's a manual method for moving them to the new Template but if you have a huge amount we will need to look at automating the change.

To do it manually:

• Open the Source Records Window.
• Select a source to which you need you need to reapply the template (these sources will be showing up as a Source without an entry in the Template column or the Generic Type Column)
• Right click and Select Add Template
• Select the Civil Registration Certificate template and then OK.
• The source will now have a template and the data will be in the right fields.

This works because the fields in the new and old source are almost identical; if you chose a very differently structured template the information wouldn't map properly from the old template to the new.