Family Historian User Group

I have been trying to set the Autofill for the Source Title fields:


by changing the Options in the 'Method 1' Settings (I have shown Baptism here as an example but I wish to do the same in all the options, i.e., Birth, Marriage, Census, etc.)


With very few exceptions, my Source Title will be the same as the name of the Image file that I will attach. So, for example, if the attached image is "Baptism Record - ANDREWS, Herbert Wynford.jpg", I want the Source Title to show "Baptism Record - ANDREWS, Herbert Wynford". If the Image file is "UK Census 1939 - Wales, Nelson, 63 Shingrig Road.jpg", then I would like the Source Title to be "UK Census 1939 - Wales, Nelson, 63 Shingrig Road".

Unless I am missing something, I cannot find how to add in the Data Reference for this. I know that I can use FH Functions as well as the supplied Data References, but I wouldn't know which one to use, if there is one anyway.

At the moment I just Copy & Paste in the Source Title, which isn't a great inconvenience, but this means whenever I change one of the following fields (Place, say), I get the warning that the Title may change and I have to click No, which isn't the end of the world, but is a bit repetitive.

Is there a way to achieve what I want - to fill the Source Title with the Image File Name? Thanks in advance for any help.

No this isn't possible. Where is the image name coming from? Presumably you are typing that in at some point before linking in AS? So it seems to me you might be approaching it from the wrong direction. Rather than renaming the file first, let AS name the file using the image template you want to use.

The way I do it is to just select the image file with whatever meaningless name it has when downloaded from Ancestry/FindMyPast and then when I select it in AS to copy into my project I have the 'Rename file to match title' ticked. The multimedia record that is created and the file name are then automatically set by the image template in AS and then the source name is set by the source title template.

I generally rename the media files for consistency and then leave the media record to inherit that name. As far as getting the source record name to be something consistent you may need to get familiar with the AS features for templating titles. I use this one for census sources long title, which ends up as Census or National Register, but you can do all sorts of things using them.

=IF[=AND[=EQUALS[{SOURCETYPE}%Register]%=EQUALS[{YEAR}%1939]]%National %]{SOURCETYPE} {YEAR} {PLACE.SHORT} {KEYPERSON.FULL}

Gives
Census 1911 Worksop George Chapman
or
National Register 1939 Uppingham John Arthur Burnham

You could perhaps set up a title template to give something akin to what you're looking for.

Similar for other source types such as this I use for Births/Baptisms/Deaths
{SOURCETYPE} of {KEYPERSON}, {DATE.DAY.ORD} {DATE.MONTH.FULL} {YEAR}, {PLACE} ({ADDR})

and
{SOURCETYPE} of {KEYPERSON} & {SPOUSE}, {DATE.DAY.ORD} {DATE.MONTH.FULL} {YEAR}, {PLACE} ({ADDR})
for marriages.

ChrisRead wrote: ↑

06 Nov 2022 17:13

I generally rename the media files for consistency and then leave the media record to inherit that name. A

But that must take some effort to actually rename it in a consistent way. Why not let AS do that for you?

Well actually It's at the point of downloading the image from whatever sire I'm using that I have to pick the directory and I usually click an existing file to get part of the name right and the change the year (if needed) and add the name. Been doing it so long it's not a chore any more. Also, some of the default names on download are horrendous, and I like to be able to find a particular file outside of FH at times, so it works out for me. I can understand other approaches, such as one huge folder of all media, but not for me.

NickWalker wrote: ↑

06 Nov 2022 16:44

No this isn't possible. Where is the image name coming from? Presumably you are typing that in at some point before linking in AS? So it seems to me you might be approaching it from the wrong direction. Rather than renaming the file first, let AS name the file using the image template you want to use.

Thanks for replying Nick.

My workflow means that the image file is already named consistently to what I want it to be, and want the source to be. Most of them are of the form "Document Type - SURNAME, Forenames", for example "Baptism Record - ANDREWS, Herbert Wynford", and these are easily archived using the code "Baptism Record - {KEYPERSON.SN.CAPS}, {KEYPERSON.GN}". This is the same for birth and death certificates too.

For marriage, I prefer to have my direct relative named first, and then their new spouse. That's tricky in AS as it seems the male as being the KeyPerson and the Spouse as Female (I believe), so where my relative is male the formula works, but when it is a female, the names are the wrong way round (for me).

My Census entries are "Country Census Year - Place Name/Address", eg "UK Census 1921 - Wales, Bedwas, 13 Church Street", mainly so that they sort properly in lists - however the place name in FH will be Bedwas, Monmouthshire, Wales.

Normally I download or scan an image, name it to what I want it to be, open AS and the first thing I do is add the image. Then I complete the rest of the details. It's no real bother to copy and paste the name from the file dialogue box, but I just wondered if I was missing something.

ChrisRead wrote: ↑

06 Nov 2022 18:27

Well actually It's at the point of downloading the image from whatever sire I'm using that I have to pick the directory and I usually click an existing file to get part of the name right and the change the year (if needed) and add the name. Been doing it so long it's not a chore any more.

Thanks for your suggestions Chris. I will look further into the functions, but I really need access to the filename to be able to manipulate it. I have a similar workflow to yours, but I quite often process the download in photoshop to highlight the person that page relates to (example attached), and I rename the file at that point.

satyricon wrote: ↑

06 Nov 2022 19:37

For marriage, I prefer to have my direct relative named first, and then their new spouse. That's tricky in AS as it seems the male as being the KeyPerson and the Spouse as Female (I believe), so where my relative is male the formula works, but when it is a female, the names are the wrong way round (for me).
My Census entries are "Country Census Year - Place Name/Address", eg "UK Census 1921 - Wales, Bedwas, 13 Church Street", mainly so that they sort properly in lists - however the place name in FH will be Bedwas, Monmouthshire, Wales.

Ah OK, it makes sense why the AS source title templates can't help you in this case.

Thanks for explaining.

Nick

This relates back to something I asked about last winter (or was it the previous one) when I was doing a lot of stuff and playing with AS auto-text and title templates. The .SHORT for places and addresses only grabs up to the first comma, which is fine for a lot of things, but IIRC I asked about a function or keyword that essentially asked to be given a specified part of the place/address. So, being able to specify the section(s) between commas, (numbered 1 for equivalent of .SHORT and 2 etc. for the subsequent sections depending on numbering from 0 or 1), or even a first section and last section specification to allow multiple consecutive comma separated sections. Assuming a person has been pretty rigorous in their place and address specification, they can be sure about what they are expecting to get. Personally I did a consolidation to ensure all places are three parts city/town, state/county/region, country and addresses are the same, but additional first part is the address or equivalent. I could then customise title and other templates knowing what to expect if I want a specific sub-section. It's only really for the more intrepid users who have gone as far to start customising AS, but from a selfish perspective I could use it in some templates.

There will be a function you can use to do this in the next version Chris.

I wanted a thumbs-up but there isn't one

What, like this

NickWalker wrote: ↑

06 Nov 2022 22:13

There will be a function you can use to do this in the next version Chris.

I look forward that as I record place names in source titles as eg Kent Dover Priory Road. The {PLACE} being 1, Priory Road, Dover, Kent, -, England. Currently I have taken to using the 'Other'. Could the {OTHER} be similarly split. I would find that very useful.

The new function will extract any part of a comma separated list. e.g.:

=COMMAINDEX[0%A,B,C] would return A
=COMMAINDEX[2%A,B,C] would return C

So you could have =COMMAINDEX[0,{PLACE}] or =COMMAINDEX[1,{OTHER}], etc.

You're a star Nick, just how I'd have done it. I better go remind myself where I wanted to use it as it's been a while and wouldn't want it to go to waste.

satyricon wrote: ↑

07 Nov 2022 00:33

What, like this

Well I never, it's not in the smilies list. Where's that hiding?

Well I never, it's not in the smilies list. Where's that hiding?

I'm a bit of a cheat Chris ... press Windows Key & Full Stop and you get a whole list of smilies you can use ... not sure how it works if you're not on Windows though

NickWalker wrote: ↑

07 Nov 2022 08:17

The new function will extract any part of a comma separated list. e.g.:

=COMMAINDEX[0%A,B,C] would return A
=COMMAINDEX[2%A,B,C] would return C

So you could have =COMMAINDEX[0,{PLACE}] or =COMMAINDEX[1,{OTHER}], etc.

Brilliant

NickWalker wrote: ↑

07 Nov 2022 08:17

The new function will extract any part of a comma separated list. e.g.:

=COMMAINDEX[0%A,B,C] would return A
=COMMAINDEX[2%A,B,C] would return C

So you could have =COMMAINDEX[0,{PLACE}] or =COMMAINDEX[1,{OTHER}], etc.

Sorry the final example was wrong (thanks David for pointing this out). my example should have said:

The new function will extract any part of a comma separated list. e.g.:

=COMMAINDEX[0%A,B,C] would return A
=COMMAINDEX[2%A,B,C] would return C

So you could have =COMMAINDEX[0%{PLACE}] or =COMMAINDEX[1%{OTHER}], etc.