Family Historian User Group

FEATURE:
Every new Source Record will have custom Default Values for each data Field depending on the Source Record Type

SCENARIO:
When creating a Source Record its Fields often need to be populated with default Values depending on Source Type
e.g. Source Type = Birth Certificate or Marriage Certificate or Death Certificate
     Text From Source field needs heading Labels for a transcript of the Certificate
     Author field needs to be GRO in the UK
     Repository field needs to be FindMyPast usually

PROBLEM:
At present all such Field Values have to be entered manually, which is tedious and leads to inconsistencies between similar records

MY SOLUTION:
Create a dummy Source Record for each Source Type containing the required Default Field Values
Copy and paste the corresponding Fields from the dummy Source Record to the new Source Record

WISH LIST SOLUTION:
Allow the Source Record defaults for Field Values to be customised for each Source Type
When a Source Record is created and its Source Type entered, its Fields will be populated with Values from the appropriate Source Record customised defaults
One way of implementing this would be to link each entry in the List of Source Types to a Source Record
The Fields in this linked Source Record would define the customised Default Values
Also any Field deleted from this linked Source Record (such as Short Title) will also be omitted from the newly created Source Record
A similar technique would work for most other Record types

REFERENCES:
The following Wish List entries are related to this request
102 Define custom fields for Sources
351 Template when adding records
354 Automatic Repository in new source

http://www.fhug.org.uk/wishlist/wldispl ... lwlref=462

ID:4582

tatewise's wish-list request above is probably the most clearly described ever, and it is certainly commendable that reference was made to existing Wish-List items.

However, I think it's worth pointing out that the excellent Ancestral Sources already provides most of the requested functionality (and more, e.g. links to relevant individuals' events) for sources of type 'Census'. Indeed there are about 30 different census templates provided, with facilities for users to modify and add their own. Future versions of Ancestral Sources will, in due course, include input of data from birth, marriage, and death certificates.

Thanks to PeterR for his compliments.

I am an avid long-term user of Gedcom Census, and have just started using Ancestral Sources, which at present only supports 'Census' sources, but promises much more. The fact that there is a demand for Ancestral Sources somewhat supports my Family Historian Wish List request. I would far prefer all these features in one program, rather having to hop from one to another. (Why doesn't Nick Walker work with Calico Pie and develop Ancestral Sources as a Plug-in for Family Historian? What a fantastic product that would be!)

Although Ancestral Sources may help plug some of the Family Historian deficiencies, the concept of Default Records still has merit. Rather hidden at the bottom of my request I suggest a similar scheme for MOST Record types. This would allow a batch of Individual Records to be created with for example a default Surname, Flags, Attributes, Submitter, etc., or a batch of Note Records to be created with default heading labels. Furthermore, I have several more Source Record types than Birth, Baptism, Marriage, Death, Burial & Probate that are to be supported by Ancestral Sources. All these other Source Record Types would benefit from a Default Records scheme.

The concept of Default Records would be switched on and off just like Automatic Source Citation. The user gets the defaults when wanted, but disables them otherwise, and can change the default values whenever required.

Re Wish-List item 351:
I use a home-made Plugin called 'Clone Any Record' which I have installed in the Tools menu. I can then create a dummy record of the required type which will be the template for my new records. I add whatever fields, values, and links I need to the template. I then select the template-record in the Records Window and click on 'Clone Any Record' in the Tools menu. Job done!

PeterR ~ Yes, Plugins can now fix many Wish List entries. Why not publish your Plugin in the Plugin Store?

It would seem to offer an alternative solution to the recent posting Ability to change/omit default Keywords.

Clone Any Record has been added to the Plugin Store.  I typically use it to clone the following Source record:
Then I can change the Title and add the relevant transcription to Actual Text.

I find it most convenient to use from the Tools menu, so that the Plugins dialog isn't in the way.