Family Historian User Group

This is my first posting and I'm not sure if this is the right forum; although my problem became apparent after using Ancestral Sources, it's something I want to do in FH, but I think I can't. Anyway...

I use method 2 in Ancestral Sources and this gives me the option of storing a transcript of a census entry as a linked note. I can find these as linked notes in FH via the records pane, but especially as there are a lot of these I would prefer to go to the relevant note via the source pane - in particular the 'text from source' box would do nicely. But it doesn't allow a link. I end up with a number of individuals referred to in the text from the census page, so I don't really want to duplicate the text as a local note. (I know - I probably shouldn't start here, but I ended up this way via a previous family tree program).

So - is there a way of using linked notes in the 'text from source' box? If not, an easy way of finding the right note? I'm using v4.1.

Thank you

Brian

ID:6213

The first question really is 'Why have you chosen to use Method 2 if you want to keep transcripts of Sources?'.

You sensibly do NOT want to duplicate transcripts either in Note fields or Citation Text From Source fields.
The only way AS Method 2 supports a single copy of the transcript is in a Note Record linked to the Fact.

The Note Record can be linked to the Citation (which is what the Source pane really is), but only via the All tab.

AS advises that if you want to keep transcripts then use Method 1 because then the transcript is placed in the Text From Source field of the Source Record dedicated to the Source Document, and Multimedia images of the document can be linked to this Source Record.

I use method 2, as well.
There is an option to directly record the transcript straight into the text from source field instead of a linked note. This is the way that I use AS.

Brian said he does NOT want to duplicate transcript text, and putting it in the Citation Text From Source field will duplicate the transcript text in every Citation linked to the Census related Facts.

I realise you are on V4, but you could in V5, write a query to find all the Notes linked to Census Source Citations and list them for the currently selected individual (you can't currently detect the current fact in the FH Lua API).

In V4 you could use the View>Record Links and I think you should see the notes linked to the citations.

One other way of finding the linked Note Records is to open the Notes tab of the Individual's Property Box.
This will list all the Note Records linked to that Individual's Census Facts, but does not identify which Census is linked to which Note.

Is it just me?  I find that the Notes tab of the Individual's Property Box does not include either Note Fields %INDI.CENS.NOTE2% or Note Records %INDI.CENS.NOTE% linked to Census Facts.  This is why I wrote the V5 Plugin Notes List for Individual.

Thank you very much for your replies.

I had not realised that All enabled me to see the notes - that's a help, thanks tatewise. (and the answer to your question of why not use method 1, is that that is how my database grew before I switched to FH.  If I could now change - easily - I might, but I don't think I can without a lot of re-typing)

Also, tatewise, if I look at the notes tab, I don't see the linked census notes, just notes about the individual I have put in directly myself- is this what PeterR is saying?  I will look at PeterR's plugin to see if that will help.

Jane - writing queries seems a sledgehammer to crack a nut (if I may be so bold).  Enabling linked notes in the 'source from text' box would be simpler from my point of view (although perhaps not from the developer's!)

Anyway - thank you all for your responses.  I can now stop hunting for something that isn't there.

Brian

baw said:
Jane - writing queries seems a sledgehammer to crack a nut (if I may be so bold).  Enabling linked notes in the 'source from text' box would be simpler from my point of view (although perhaps not from the developer's!)

I think Jane was just offering you a work-around, knowing that the development you require is unlikely to appear in the next year or two (as version 5 has only recently been released). The plug-in of Peter's will only work in version 5.

(and the answer to your question of why not use method 1, is that that is how my database grew before I switched to FH. If I could now change - easily - I might, but I don't think I can without a lot of re-typing)

I had thought in the past about possibly adding a facility to AS to convert existing method 2 sources to method 1 sources, but am unlikely to get time for a year or two. It would need to recognise common citations by comparing the source, transcription and/or Where-in-source and then generate a new source with the citation text in it and then unlink the citations from the previous source to this new source. It wouldn't be fool-proof but it might work where subsequent editing hasn't made these duplicate citations different. Perhaps something for someone with more time to develop via a plug-in?

Sorry about my advice regarding the Notes tab - I was wrong - only whole record linked Note Records appear there.

If you switched to AS Method 1 sooner rather than later, then firstly it solves your problem from now on, secondly there will be less to convert from Method 2.

The conversion can be done piecemeal using AS Method 1 to supplement each old Citation with a new Citation, and then delete the old Citation.

As Nick says, a Plugin may the neat answer eventually, but there are a number of parameters that it would have to cope with.