* Repository - Custom ID

[Ruth_W]

Hopefully, a quick question.
What is 'Custom ID' on the list of repositories and how would you use it?

[mjashby]

Ruth,

It's a standard GEDCOM Tag which basically allows a user to create their own 'alpha-numeric' reference system for individuals in their family tree, if they want to. You can Just ignore it if it's of no interest/use to you, which I suspect most users do.

Mervyn

[tatewise]

Most of the various record types, Individual, Family, Source, Repository, etc, allow a Custom Id, which as Mervyn says, lets you define your own identification reference codes as an alternative to the Record Id number.
He mentioned Individuals but it applies similarly to any type of record.
It is a standard feature of GEDCOM that FH fully supports. Use it or ignore it as you wish.

BTW: I know it does not apply to Repository records, but some users put the Ahnentafel number in the Custom Id and then supplement that with letters for spouses and children. When sorted by Custom Id the Individual records are listed in ancestral generations.

[Ruth_W]

Thanks. I hadn't thought about the Gedcom tag, but suspected it might not be something that I needed to use.

[Gowermick]

I am one of those mike referred to, as I use a custom ID based on the ahnentafel number of my tree root.
It serves two main purposes
1. It indicates which branch of my tree the person resides in, and at a glance, I can see who is our common ancestor (useful for DNA purposes)
2. Being fixed, I can reliably use it in the filename for the various documents associated with the individual.
.