Family Historian User Group

Does anyone have any suggestions as how best to refer to emails as sources? Also, any suggestions as to the best way to save emails locally on a PC - I'd prefer not to leave them on hotmail, gmail, etc, but to have them filed on my own system.

ID:4815

All I do is to copy to whole email in as a source and attach any 'attachments' as media items.

To save an email on my computer I just save it in pdf format and file it as any other file.  It maintains the formatting of the message and I can attach it to FH as required.

I suspect from your post that you use Web-mail via your browser to access Hotmail & Gmail. Many people do.

The best way to get E-mail onto your PC is to use an E-mail Client such as Windows Live Mail (the replacement for Outlook Express) or if you don't like Microsoft then Thunderbird. Both are free downloads, just Google their names + 'download', then download and install.

The E-mail accounts need to be setup, so Google for Windows Live Mail + Hotmail setup and you will find lots of solutions.

Hotmail will probably need to use the HTTP protocol.
Gmail can use POP3.
In both cases the settings can be arranged to not only download all your mail to your PC, but also leave copies on the server. That way you can still access all your Web-mail from any PC via a browser such as IE.

The E-mail messages on your PC can be exported as plain text, or you can copy & paste into a word-processor and save as RTF, DOC, or PDF.

If I want a copy of an email (I do use Webmail) I just copy and paste it into a Word document, then add any date or other stuff that needs to go with it. In this way, if there is a followup message I can continue in the same document to the natural conclusion of the exchange.

I have no problem copying from Webmail.

Anne

Presumably it would also be possible to print the web mail thread straight to PDF and then attach that.

Thanks for the replies - gives me something to think about.

I actually use Outlook to collect my mail. My main PC at home links in to an Exchange server at work using cached exchange mode, so I can download work emails to my home PC if I'm working from there. I also have the Outlook Hotmail connector configured to copy mail down to the PC leaving a copy on the server so that I can also get to my hotmail on my laptops (or from work) using a web-browser.

My main concern was being able to retain the email message as a source document that I could use as the basis for citations in FH, and for that I preferred to be able to file the emails on my locally attached drives. I've also been looking at some of the evidence-based links posted elsewhere and realise that I need to tighten up on my recording of sources so that conclusions made on the basis of the information provided can be properly documented, particularly where there is conflicting information.

Printing the message contents to a PDF file is probably the technique I'll use, once I've decided on a appropriate directory structure to hold the files. Then to post/support a native PDF viewer request in the FH wishlist [grin]

David

I use the free screen capture programme called 'FastStone Capture' which allow me to draw a box around anything and save it as an image file (jpg) and then I can view it in the Multimedia etc.
John

I often use the Snipping Tool supplied with Windows Vista, just draw round the item and save as .jpg and link as you would any media file.

I had though of screen capture - but this has one significant problem, and that is where the email contains attachments.

My objective is really to retain the email, and attachments, as a single source object. The only way I can see to do this is to create a directory structure such that each email is contained within it's own folder, with any attachments extracted to the same folder. The email text becomes a 'top level' source, and any citation referring to that email can can include a note to the effect that it was accompanied by supporting evidence in the form of attachments. Where the attachment is cited, then this should have a reference to the location of the email from whence it came.

This might be tedious, but it does help in those situations where evidence to support a particular fact might originate from several different sources. When creating a case to support a specific conclusion on the basis of information received, the supporting evidence can be accurately identified.

It is possible using Outlook to save an email complete with all its attachments as a single file in Outlook Message Format (*.msg).  However, you would always need to use Outlook (or equivalent software if any exists) to read the *.msg file in future.

In cases where an email and one or more of its attachments provide evidence for several separate, possibly unrelated, Facts, it may be preferable to store the email and each attachment separately.  That way each such multimedia file can be attached to each relevant Source record in FH, rather than attaching the whole lot to more than one Source, or having a single Source supporting multiple Facts.

Have a look at ABC Amber Outlook Converter

http://www.processtext.com/abcoutlk.html

I use the version for Outlook Express to save any old emails that I might want to keep, but not have to use OE to open them.

It saves the email text into a Word document, with all attachments in a sub folder, and with hyperlinks to them in the document. You can do one email at a time, or lots of emails into one Word doc, with an automatically generated index page (again hyperlinked).

It might be a bit overkill for you, but the idea might lead you somewhere useful.

Thanks for that link David, it seems just like what I want[grin]