4 replies to this topic

[ketchell]

Something I'm going to really miss as a TMG emigre is the ability to search the title/abbrev title in the source list window. For example, search "grayson" to step through all the titles with the word grayson in them. Many sources about grayson county do not begin with the word grayson county. Or maybe I'm missing something?

 

Another source list TMG feature I will really miss is that I can sort in the source list window by title, number of times cited, and source ID. I use these a lot and going out to create a report to find/check on specific set of sources is time consuming. These two sorts and the title search function made working with sources more time efficient for me. 

 

Thanks for considering. 

 

Debra

[zhangrau]

I'd also like to sort by author and on at least one user-supplied keyword (more keywords would be even better)

[Nettie]

Source List in RM

I use this a lot for searching.

Just trying to remember what is the name you gave to a source      can be an issue.

 

Have found that starting to type a possible name/source/type etc can get me to the one I am looking for.

 

I have gone thru my list many times over the last 17 years, changed titles so I can find it again.

I rename a lot of sources   using titles for types, then location or author name

Keeping the titles short.  

 

When we got the templates in version 3, If I used a template for that source, Title looks like this

Will  KY Johnson EE  means Type -State -County -template.

Gen KY Campbell Worrel EE  means  Genealogy book- State-County- Author/type- Template

EE is the template.  Why?  Elizabeth Shown Mills help create those templates with another RM user.  They did a good job, in my opinion,  with what was available at that time frame.

 

I change my titles right on the list.  There is an edit button on the top.  USE IT.  There is a merge button also USE IT.  But ????? I never do a merge without doing a printout of the source to see what is attached to it. OR use the F1  button to check the help menu... for ideas.  

 

Very seldom do I use Auto Merge.  or MultiCite.  

zhangrau  you set up your titles by author and keyword.  Each person has their own way of setting up their list.   Remember no two people are alike in their thinking.

 

Another way to do this is make a printout of the list and move it to  a spreadsheet and work with it before going back and changing titles.  Many times depending on who is attached to  each list, I do a merge.  May not work well for you but at least you see what is there.   I also do a printout of a source and put it with the copy of my source or put the printout in OneNote as a reference document. 

This may seem to be a lot, but I enjoy the way we can work with the source list to clean up sources.  

 

 Now is a whole lot better than what we had in Family Origins and early revisions of RootsMagic.  Newer programming ways has made it better. 

No software is perfect, but you have to learn how to use the software and it can be painful re learning how this one works compared to another software package. 

 

My 2 cents worth.

Nettie

[zhangrau]

 

zhangrau  you set up your titles by author and keyword.  Each person has their own way of setting up their list.   Remember no two people are alike in their thinking.

 

My 2 cents worth.

Nettie

 

Nettie, you seem to misunderstand how I use titles in the Source List. Then, what you proceeded to describe is how you use titles for your templates, not your actual sources. Unlike some RM users, I find the entire rigmarole of making, revising, and using multiple templates to be unnecessary. Almost 100% of my sources are based on either the Free-Form or Book, Basic Format. These provide enough info about the original source to allow me, and my readers, to re-find my source if there is a desire to re-check my citations. To me, that is the pure goal of a source citation.

 

As to source titles, I use the title given to the original work by the author. That's what Title means to me. Sometimes, in the case of very long titles, I truncate or abbreviate. But I DON'T use something completely different than the author's assigned title.

 

My main, working database currently has approx. 13,800 sources and 1,800 repositories. No matter how I choose to enter titles, lists that long would greatly benefit form useful search and sort capabilities.

[Renee Zamora]

Confirming this is on the enhancement request list.