How to create a list of “ancestors with no sources”

Most genealogists begin their research without understanding the importance of documenting what they find. Adding these sources just does not seem important at the time.

Over time, most of these genealogists begin to understand the value of proper documentation, and desire to examine their family file to enter the sources they have collected.

We're often asked, "How do I create a list of ancestors for whom I have not added any sources?"

Follow these step-by-step instructions:

1. Click on the View menu, click on Master Lists, and click on Source. The Master Source List appears, giving you a list of all sources that you have added.

1. Highlight all of the master sources by a) clicking on the very first source in the list (to highlight it); b) scroll to the very bottom of the list and press the shift key while clicking on the last source. This will highlight all of the sources in the list.

1. Click on the Show List button. This is the list of everyone in your family file that has a source linked to them.

1. Select a tag number at the bottom, and click on Tag Everyone in List. IMPORTANT – before you do this, follow the two rules of tagging described in the Tagging and Searching made Easy video. Watch a preview of the video here.

1. Click Close. Click Close again.

1. Click on the Search button in the main toolbar and click on the Detailed Search tab. Enter the following for the primary search condition:
   1. Look for whom: Individual
   2. Where to look: Tag x (where x is the number of the tag you used in step 4 above)
   3. How to look: Equal to
   4. What to look for: Untagged

1. Click on the Create List button, and you now have a list of everyone in your family file that has zero sources linked to them. You may wish to tag this list so you can easily work with them in the future.