Newbie questions (exhibits; source repositories; and spouse names)

[strathglass 0]

Sorry to cram 3 unrelated questions, but they are all hopefully easy:

 

#1 - I have a family picture (parents + kids), and I am using external exhibits.

Should I go in for each family member and add the same picture as an exhibit? Or is there some better practice? Or a way to make the exhibit automatically show up for the other family members? My tests show that if I do try to add the same picture for a 2nd family member, I need to re-enter the caption information each time! Is that normal?

 

#2 - If I have a source like an email, which is not lengthy, I'd like to copy the text into the source tag in TMG7. What is the best way to do this?

I see a source can have repositories for attachments: can someone summarize how repositories are used for sources, because the help was just confusing.

I know I can add images as exhibits. I could even add the text of an email as a text exhibit.

So I just need to know the right way to do this.

 

#3 - My data is imported from FTM and mostly the female spouses do not have married names using the husband's last name:

I noticed this since when I edited some of the data for the wife's I'd get a prompt asking if I wanted to create a married name for the wife with the husbands last name.

I said OK.

Is there a way to have it do this automatically for all the wifes that don't yet have this?

 

OK, I lied: here is one more 4th question:

#4 - If I have a printout of a persons ancestors or descendants as text file or tree (and no source gedcom file etc) do you list the source type as manuscript? That was my plan, just wanted to see if that makes sense based on what others do.

 

Thanks for tolerating 4 questions!

Regards,

Strathglass

[Terry Reigel 0]

#3 - My data is imported from FTM and mostly the female spouses do not have married names using the husband's last name:

I noticed this since when I edited some of the data for the wife's I'd get a prompt asking if I wanted to create a married name for the wife with the husbands last name.

I said OK.

Is there a way to have it do this automatically for all the wifes that don't yet have this?

Yes, - John Cardinal's TMG Utility will do this for you.

[Jim Byram 0]

#1 - I have a family picture (parents + kids), and I am using external exhibits.

Should I go in for each family member and add the same picture as an exhibit? Or is there some better practice? Or a way to make the exhibit automatically show up for the other family members? My tests show that if I do try to add the same picture for a 2nd family member, I need to re-enter the caption information each time! Is that normal?

Yes. An alternative would be something line this.

 

Add a person named Family Photos. Add a tag type named Family Photo in the Other group.. For a family, the P1 is the person Family Photos and all the individuals in the photo are linked as witnesses. The image is linked to the event. You only enter the caption once.

 

#2 - If I have a source like an email, which is not lengthy, I'd like to copy the text into the source tag in TMG7. What is the best way to do this?

I see a source can have repositories for attachments: can someone summarize how repositories are used for sources, because the help was just confusing.

I know I can add images as exhibits. I could even add the text of an email as a text exhibit.

So I just need to know the right way to do this.

People do this many different ways. For example, you could enter the text as a transcription in the Comments field of the source definition. Then add the source elements for the comments to the bibliography template. The text would be output in the bibliography (once). Or the comments source element could be in the full footnote template. Again, the text would only be output once.

 

#3 - My data is imported from FTM and mostly the female spouses do not have married names using the husband's last name:

I noticed this since when I edited some of the data for the wife's I'd get a prompt asking if I wanted to create a married name for the wife with the husbands last name.

I said OK.

Is there a way to have it do this automatically for all the wifes that don't yet have this?

Use TMG Utility.

Functions / Names / Add married names

 

#4 - If I have a printout of a persons ancestors or descendants as text file or tree (and no source gedcom file etc) do you list the source type as manuscript? That was my plan, just wanted to see if that makes sense based on what others do.

I actually use the old Lackey Unpublished / Miscellaneous source type.

Full Footnote

[TITLE], [PUBLISH DATE].

Short Footnote

[sHORT TITLE].

Bibliography

[TITLE], [PUBLISH DATE].

 

I imagine you'll get some other suggestions that differ substantially from my responses above.

[Mike Talbot 0]

Sorry to cram 3 unrelated questions, but they are all hopefully easy:

 

#1 - I have a family picture (parents + kids), and I am using external exhibits.

Should I go in for each family member and add the same picture as an exhibit? Or is there some better practice? Or a way to make the exhibit automatically show up for the other family members? My tests show that if I do try to add the same picture for a 2nd family member, I need to re-enter the caption information each time! Is that normal?

 

#2 - If I have a source like an email, which is not lengthy, I'd like to copy the text into the source tag in TMG7. What is the best way to do this?

I see a source can have repositories for attachments: can someone summarize how repositories are used for sources, because the help was just confusing.

I know I can add images as exhibits. I could even add the text of an email as a text exhibit.

So I just need to know the right way to do this.

 

#3 - My data is imported from FTM and mostly the female spouses do not have married names using the husband's last name:

I noticed this since when I edited some of the data for the wife's I'd get a prompt asking if I wanted to create a married name for the wife with the husbands last name.

I said OK.

Is there a way to have it do this automatically for all the wifes that don't yet have this?

 

OK, I lied: here is one more 4th question:

#4 - If I have a printout of a persons ancestors or descendants as text file or tree (and no source gedcom file etc) do you list the source type as manuscript? That was my plan, just wanted to see if that makes sense based on what others do.

 

Thanks for tolerating 4 questions!

Regards,

Strathglass

 

Others have answered questions #2-4, nicely.

 

My recommendation for #1: For family group pictures, I keep a single image copy with the Mom as a TMG seconday image, whether she is in the picture or not. (OK, sometimes, I keep it with the Dad, depending on the focus, such as Dad's 80th birthday party)

 

For each person's Pimary Image, I prefer an individual portrait picture, as well as for Mom. If you do not have one, crop that person from the group picture (resize if necessary) and use it as that person's Primary Image.

 

For question #4, you might consider the Interview source type.

 

Best wishes,

Mike Talbot

[Michael Hannah 0]

#1 - I have a family picture (parents + kids), and I am using external exhibits. Should I go in for each family member and add the same picture as an exhibit? Or is there some better practice? Or a way to make the exhibit automatically show up for the other family members? My tests show that if I do try to add the same picture for a 2nd family member, I need to re-enter the caption information each time! Is that normal?

Concerning the option to create a custom tag, possibly called Image, and attaching the photo as an exhibit to that tag. If you create it in the "Other" tag group, as Jim suggested, then such tags require assigning a Principal to it, such as the Mother as Mike suggested. However, if you create the tag in the "History" group then tags in that group do not have Principals, only Witnesses, so you don't have to (often arbitrarily) decide who is primary. As for the Caption, yes that is normal since you are attaching the photo to different people/tags and each Caption may wish to emphasize some different point for that attachment.

#2 - If I have a source like an email, which is not lengthy, I'd like to copy the text into the source tag in TMG7. What is the best way to do this?

I see a source can have repositories for attachments: can someone summarize how repositories are used for sources, because the help was just confusing. I know I can add images as exhibits. I could even add the text of an email as a text exhibit. So I just need to know the right way to do this.

First, there is seldom a "right" way, it really depends on how you want the information to output. If you do not want the transcription to output, you could attach the text as an exhibit to the Source itself. Or, you could create a separate custom tag, perhaps called Transcript, attach the transcription as an exhibit to that tag and link it to the people mentioned. Or, if the information is only about a single event concerning one person, you could simply attach it as an exhibit to the tag associated with that event. Or, there is the concept of creating "pseudo" people, such as Jim suggested with the photo. For some sources I create "pseudo" people for the source, and then assign tags to that "person", such as a Transcript tag. Or, there are a whole lot of other ways to do this, and the "right" way is the one that produces the output you desire.

#3 - ...the female spouses do not have married names

Others have pointed you to the TMG Utility.

#4 - If I have a printout of a persons ancestors or descendants as text file or tree (and no source gedcom file etc) do you list the source type as manuscript?

Again, there is no "right" source type to use since the specific TMG source type you do use is not visible to anyone but yourself. You can start with most any source type and then tailor it to your needs so that it will produce the citation output you desire. What source type you start with only matters in how much "tailoring" you need to do. Some are "pre-tailored" to work well for certain sources so it is simply less extra work to use them. For the "right" way to produce citation output, there are numerous standards, often depending upon where/how you intend to publish. For a commonly accepted standard for genealogy citations I would recommend "Evidence Explained" by Elizabeth Shown Mills, which is available from the TMG store (and currently 25% off). I usually check that reference work and choose the source type that most closely produces the output that seems recommended by that work.

Thanks for tolerating 4 questions!

No problem, answering questions is the purpose of the Forum. But in future you might want to simply create four separate postings with separate titles, it helps others in the future when they have the same question and search for it.

 

Hope this gives you ideas,

[strathglass 0]

Thanks all so much for the valuable answers.

Good point Michael about using separate threads for each question, I'll do that in the future.

From your input I've decided on solutions for each of the issues I raised!

(FYI, I don't really like the pseudo person approach, so for the family photo I will probably try the ideas of Mike or Michael).

 

I am left with two questions - however I'll post those in new separate threads!

 

Regards, Strathglass

[Michael Hannah 0]

Glad we could give you ideas