* Entering Media for citations

[cyberbillp]

I'm kinda confused, in need of advice. I don't have any trouble adding media and linking them in various ways. But I'm wondering what is the BEST way to do this in the long run. For example, I read this tutorial here:
ancestralsources:tutorial:census:add_multimedia_image|> Ancestral Sources Tutorial ~ Enter Census ~ (2) Add Multimedia Image

And I've done that with a few census images and birth certificates.

First I added those document images using the media tab in FH6, then in AS, I added them to a citation (via the "Link existing image already in file" radio button), and in the citation media note I pasted in the original source link (ala' familysearch for example).

Back in FH6, I see the image is added as a Source Record Media.

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Is this the best way to do this?
I get the feeling the FH6 media gallery is going to get huge as I add dozens of census images etc. Is it better to NOT add images into FH6 first, and instead add them as a file into AS when making the citation? Would that have added them as "Citation Media", and is that the correct way of doing it? Is Citation Media handled differently and does it show up in the Media Gallery (I think that is undesirable, but I could be wrong).

I guess the main thing I'm asking, is:
What is Citation Media and how is it different from Source Record Media and how is it managed in FH6 and how should I organize it, if it all?

I've searched help for "citation media" and read about media records and source records but it didn't really clear up "what is citation media" and how to create it versus Source Record media.

[tatewise]

Yes, it can all get a bit bewildering initially, but you are going in the correct direction.

Firstly, AS does not have any special magic or local data. Everything ends up in FH.
It simply adds data to FH just like you would manually, but reduces much of the tedious repetition.
It does not make any difference whether you add Media records to the FH 'gallery' before or within AS.
AS has the options to Link new image or Link existing image to cater for both cases.

You will end up with thousands of records of Individuals, Families, Sources, Media, Places, etc, but that is what FH is good at managing. Yes, you will accumulate huge numbers of Media files for all the documents, and that is OK too. Just remember to maintain good backups. All Media, however entered, and whatever attached to, will go into the FH 'gallery'.

Media can be attached to your data in many positions. The BEST position depends on what it is and what methods you follow.
It also depends partly on what Diagrams and Reports you wish to produce.
The main advice is to be consistent.

The BEST position to attach photos of people is to the Media tab of Individual or Family records.
The BEST position to attach photos of places is to the Media tab of Place records.
The BEST position to attach documents depends on your Source recording strategy.
If you are a Method 1 'source splitter' then attach them to the Media tab of Source records.
If you are a Method 2 'source lumper' then attach them directly to the Citations or the Facts.
For more on the difference between Sources and Citations and Method 1 v Method 2 see glossary:sources|> Source Records which is one of the topics in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers.

To help manage the large amounts of data, you are advised to use consistent record naming styles, and search keys.
AS helps with record naming via its Title Templates.
Sources can also be categorised by Source Type and Media by Keywords.

[gwilym'smum]

Hi, I'm probably not helping as I'm not technical with where things end up in the workings of a program but the way I am able to find any census fairly easily is to assign my own file name. 1841 censuses start 'X4 (Name of head of household) census 1841, Christian name'. 1851' X5 (as before)', 1861 X6 and so on 1901 starts Y01, 1911 Y11 and 1939 Y39. This puts all the censuses at the end of the Media file, the surnames are in order with in the census year and can easily be found. Hope I haven't lead you in the wrong direction but it works for me
Regards Ann

[tatewise]

Yes, that is the kind of record naming convention that helps.

To complete the picture, the default Source title templates in AS for UK use the following:
1841 HO107 Surname & Given name of head of household
1851 HO107 Surname & Given name
1861 RG9 Surname & Given name
1871 RG10 ...
1881 RG11 ...
1891 RG12 ...
1901 RG13 ...
1911 RG14 ...
1939 RG101 ...
which if sorted into title order all come together near the beginning of the records list.
If you wish, the reference number can include the usual folio numbers.
Also the Source Type will be Census that groups them together.
Similar conventions apply for other countries.

The same names apply to Media records & files, and the files are often saved in a Census sub-folder inside the Media folder of the Project.

[LornaCraig]

As Mike has said (his post arrived as I was typing this), the Media folder can be divided into sub-folders to aid organisation. For example you can keep images for different census years in different sub-folders, photos of people from different branches in separate sub-folders, photos of places in another, images of birth certificates in another etc. My Media folder currently has 57 sub-folders. I work by first putting a census image into its appropriate sub-folder, then using AS to create the census entries and source record with linked image. AS can 'remember' where to look for particular census years when you ask it to add the image.
FH itself could cope perfectly well if they were all in one huge folder, but I like to be able to locate files fairly easily using Windows Explorer as well.

[cyberbillp]

Thanks for the great replies!

It's going to take me a bit to digest (Read/Learn/Test/Refer back to this post and redo) but I think this is going to really help a lot. Thanks!