Tuesday's Tips provide brief how-to's to help you learn to use the Legacy Family Tree software with new tricks and techniques.
Options: Sources (Beginner)
Previous articles in this series:
Customize Legacy
Options: General Settings
Options: Data Entry
Options: Data Format
Options: Date Defaults
Options: Dates
Options: Locations
The next section in the Customize Legacy menu is Options > Customize > 7. Sources
7.1 Source Entry System (ff)
If you mostly use the SourceWriter System for your citations then choose that. If you use mostly the Basic Source System then choose that. If you use a mixture then choose Ask which system to use when adding. When you go to add a source you will get a popup asking which one you want to use for this source. If you choose one of the other two that style source will always pop up automatically.
7.2 Master Source Defaults (ff)
Every Master Source allows you to add extra information in the Text field and in the Comments field. The options in Option 7.2 allow you to include or exclude globally whatever you have written in those fields. You can also manage this one at a time as you add a new Master Source. If you choose one of the global options you can click the Apply button and it will change it across your entire file.
The last option, Master Sources default to: applies to Basic Style Sources only. Published puts your titles in italics and Unpublished puts them in "quotes." This option simply defaults the screen to one or the other when you enter a new source. You can easily change it when you are entering it. This just saves you some clicks if most of your sources are one type or the other.
7.3 Source Detail Defaults (ff)
The previous options applied to Master Sources. The options in Option 7.3 apply to the Source Detail. These are pretty self-explanatory. Do you or do you not want to include sources? Do you want the detail to print for your Basic Style sources? Do you or do you not want to print your text and comments? The Master Sources have Text and Comments fields but so does the Source Detail screen.
The last two options, Default to source is Verified and Default Surety Level are optional. These options are for people that like to "rate" and classify their sources regarding how reliable they think that they are. Again, these options are here to save you a few clicks if all of your sources are mostly verified and most of your sources have a certain surety level. You can always change them when entering.
7.4 Source Clipboard – Prompt for Detail (ff)
If you have this set to ON, the Detail screen will automatically pop up whenever you add a source. I have mine turned OFF because I normally paste a source to multiple fields and I won't be changing the Detail so I don't need it to pop up. However, this can be a good thing when you are using the same Master Source for several people and you need to change the Source Detail. You don't want to accidentally forget to change it when you go to the next person.
7.5 Source Clipboard – Capacity (ff)
This one is easier to explain by referring you to Loading the Source Clipboard with 5 Sources vs. Saving Loaded Clipboards.
7.6 AutoSource (ff)
This is a very useful feature. Let's say you import a gedcom from somewhere into your main file, you might want to source every entry with WHERE this information came from (online genealogy site, your cousin Mary, etc.). I highly recommend that you do this. The reason I have the Prompt turned off is that I know to do this, I don't need the Prompt to remind me (there is an option on the import screen).
7.7 Source List Name (ff)
This one only applies to Basic Style Sources. When you enter a Basic Style Source you give it a name (you do this with SourceWriter too) and that name is what you see on your Master Source List. Normally you name your source in such a way that you can find it again on the Master Source List so that you don't accidentally enter the same Master Source twice. Since I have a very specific naming convention for my Master Source List I do NOT want that name to print as part of the source citation. However, there are people that use the Source List Name advantageously as part of their citation. This is just something you will have to play with to see how you want to use this.
7.8 Citation Formatting (ff)
This too only applies to Basic Style Sources. If the footnote is identical to the one above it, Ibid. will print instead of repeating the footnote. This is a standard of the Chicago Manual of Style which Evidence Explained is based on.
7.9 RTF Citation Style (ff)
This one affects reports that you export as an RTF file so that you can edit your report in an external word processor such as MS Word.
Linked citations, which can be either footnotes or endnotes, automatically link the citation superscript numbers in the text to the source citation at the bottom of the page or at the end of the report. If you double-click a citation number when you have the report loaded into your word processor, you are taken to the linked citation text.
Unlinked citations simply show a superscripted number in the report text where you are citing a source, and the actual source citations are at the end of the report. There is no automatic linking between the citation numbers and the citation text.
The advantage of linked footnotes or endnotes is that you can quickly jump to a citation from the citation number. The disadvantage to the linked citations is that it is impossible to combine duplicate citations and thus you can end up with citation after citation that are identical. Unlinked duplicate citations, however, can be combined by Legacy before creating the report output. This can save a lot of space. The disadvantage of course, is that there is no linkage between the citation numbers and the citation text, and you can only produce endnotes – not footnotes.
7.10 Citation Placement on Event Sentences (gbl)
This option controls whether you want the superscripted footnote number directly after the event or you want it to appear at the end, after any attached notes for that event. I personally want it at the end after everything that I have written about that event.
Next time we will be looking at Options > Customize > 8. View.
Find tech tips every day in the Facebook Legacy User Group. The group is free and is available to anyone with a Facebook account.
For video tech tips check out the Legacy Quick Tips page. These short videos will make it easy for you to learn all sort of fun and interesting ways to look at your genealogy research.
Michele Simmons Lewis, CG® is part of the Legacy Family Tree team at MyHeritage. She handles the enhancement suggestions that come in from our users as well as writing for Legacy News. You can usually find her hanging out on the Legacy User Group Facebook page answering questions and posting tips.
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