Michael: I think you're dealing with two issues here. As Jenny says, if you use the SourceWriter templates you will have consistent source names because they're automatically defined. And yes, there are established standards for the formal source names--although there's some variation there, also. _Evidence Explained_ covers this well. The problem is this: If your Master Source List is alphabetized by the full formal source name, you'll have a hodgepodge of a list and by the time you have 200 or more sources, you'll have a headache trying to find anything on it. That's where the "Master Source List Name" is a lifesaver. You can use that field to add an informal or short name for the source, the Master Source List will sort alphabetically by the short name but it won't affect the formal source title.
Many of us use that field to "group" our sources in order to find them easily. In the "Master Source List Name" field you can call a source anything you want. If you begin all census source names in that field with the word "census" or with the year, they'll all sort together. I have a lot of book sources in my list but could never remember the formal titles, so I use "book" at the beginning of the Master Source List Name field for every book and that causes all of them to sort together so I can easily go to and scan down the list of books. There have been extensive discussions on the list about grouping sources, and this is also covered briefly in _EE_. If you're interested in how users group their sources, a post on that topic will bring you a lot of suggestions. Kirsten -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Berry Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 10:18 AM To: LegacyUserGroup@legacyfamilytree.com Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] consistancy in sources I am using Legacy 7. I am concerned about the Source List Name Field. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jenny M Benson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <LegacyUserGroup@LegacyFamilyTree.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 9:40 AM Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] consistancy in sources Michael Berry wrote >Is there a naming convention or pattern in naming sources. The training >video suggests: > >Country, State, County, City - date - Census - Name > >for a census, but of course there are any number of sources out there. I >don't want to make up my own system which may change from entry to entry. >This would of course result in the same type of source being listed in two >or more different ways. > >Is there a guide or list? Is "Evidence Explained" the book to get? Are you using an older version of Legacy or have you got Legacy 7. Legacy 7 has Source Templates which are based on the methods set out in E S Mills' book, so if you use the templates your Sources will not only fairly consistent but will be consistent with those of thousands of other people. I have actually found the book very helpful to use in conjunction with the templates. If you are using "old style" Sources in Legacy (ie, pre version 7) you can still write up your Sources à la Mills if you choose to do so. (The .pdf version of her book is not expensive.) Certainly having a guide like that will help you not to list very similar Sources in different ways every time you create a new one! (Several of us have been there, done that!) If you decide to create your own standard, as many people do, the important thing to remember is that your Sources must allow someone else to replicate your research, so provide enough information to enable that. -- Jenny M Benson Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
