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Re: Source Record Title confusion

Posted: 04 Mar 2023 13:19
by BEJ
Thanks, again, for the thoughtful replies to my post. In response to those seeking clarification of my question, I offer the following.

SOURCE RECORD TITLE & GENEALOGICAL RECORD TITLE
The confusion that prompted the query is reflected in my post’s title: “Source Record Title confusion.” The quoted section of CP help text (https://www.family-historian.co.uk/help ... ialog.html ) with which I opened this tread misled me.
Whenever you create a Source record, from a template or not, it will need a record title. This is the name by which that Source record is known within Family Historian (this record title should not to [sic.] be confused with the title of a book or document, which the Source record may itself represent).
AdrianBruce concludes that because it is found in the Source Template Definition Editor section of CP help, then the above text only applies to the Source Record Title of templated sources. This is contradicted by the help text itself which refers to Source records “from a template or not,” and goes on to make a distinction between the Source Record Title and “the title of a book or document.” However, I accept AdrianBruce’s conclusion, and chalk up my confusion to imprecise help text composition.

TITLE & SHORT TITLE
In the FH7 app, Source Record Title is labeled “Title.” This FHUG thread moved on to discuss the difference between the Title and Short Title fields, and how they were being used and displayed. While of interest, that was not my initial concern. I participated in the exchange, however.
BEJ wrote:
28 Feb 2023 19:16
My rationale for displaying both [Title and Short Title] matches the reasons stated by LornaCraig. My Short Title naming convention mimics my file/media names, offering the “who,” “what,” “when,” and “where.” …. Short Titles let me know at a glance the focus individual, family or place, the timeframe, and the type of source.
SOURCE TITLE & GEDCOM
BEJ wrote:
28 Feb 2023 19:23
My initial question was not about templates, but rather the FH7 Title field. More generally, my interest lies in the transferability of my FH7 data to other platforms I use and those used by anyone who may utilize my research. I’m attempting to clarify how the FH7 Source Record Title and Short Title are treated by GEDCOM.
My goal is to ensure that the essential information from the title of a genealogical record is recorded in a GEDCOM file exported from FH7 in a way that it is more likely to be interpreted correctly by other genealogical applications. This is especially important for templated sources because the data generated by a FH7 source template may not be understood by other genealogy software. If the “Title” field does not hold the title of the genealogical record, then where would I record the title of the genealogical record so that it is exported to other genealogical apps?

The ensuing discussion was useful. My conclusion, which still seems correct, follows.
BEJ wrote:
01 Mar 2023 14:01
What I gather from recent comments is that if one wishes to have title #2 [Verbatum or descriptive title of the source record as found] in a GEDCOM sympathetic format, then title #1 [Source Record Title] must include it. That applies to both generic and templated Source Record Titles.
REFORMATTING SOURCE TITLES
ColeValleyGirl wrote:
01 Mar 2023 18:09
So I'm confused -- in their very first posting they said 'I may need to re-do all my source titles.'

So is this still true or not?
I will still need to re-do my source titles, but I won’t go into all the details here because it seems irrelevant to the ongoing discussion. Re-doing the titles would apply both to manually-entered generic Source Record Titles (a.k.a. “Titles”) and Source Template Definitions for Source Record Titles. In the process I will ensure that the verbatum or descriptive title of the source record as found is part of each FH7 Title field so that at least that minimal information is passed on in GEDCOM exports. (Note: I edited this last paragraph about a minute after initially posting. - BEJ)

Glad to know you are all out there and willing to help!