TMG-L Archives

Archiver > TMG > 2005-07 > 1120497409


From: "Ken Boyce" <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Formatted Sources
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 10:16:54 -0700
References: <200572101159.519209@Terry3>


Thanks Terry
Your reply was helpful

----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry Reigel" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 7:11 AM
Subject: Re: [TMG] Formatted Sources


> On Fri, 1 Jul 2005 19:40:07 -0700, Ken Boyce wrote:
>
>> I think I understand the concept of Tags and basic data
>> entry. It's the Citations that go with the Tags that I
>> have an interest in and which I loosely called sources in
>> my posting. In particular I'm referring to the non-unique
>> repeating words (similar to field labels in Tags) that
>> form the data input to the Citation.
>
> Welcome to TMG, and to TMG-L, Ken.
>
> There are two separate aspects involved when you attach (cite) sources
> to tags in TMG. First, you create the source definition itself - that
> is, describe the source. Then, you attach it to the tag with a
> Citation. It's in the citation that you add anything specific to how
> that source supports the information recorded in that tag.
>
> When you enter information into the Add Person screen you are actually
> creating several tags - at least the Name tag, generally one or two
> Relationship tags or a Marriage tag linking them to the previous
> person, and often Birth and Death tags. The Add person only allows
> citing one source, and uses the same citation details for all the tags
> (which may not be appropriate, in which case you have to then open
> some of the tags and edit their citations.)
>
> For some background on creating Source Definitions, you might look at
> my Source Tutorial at http://tmg.reigelridge.com/source-tutorial.htm
>
>> When adding a New Person there are several sources and
>> Birth Tags that in my case are relevant for entering
>> birth details.
>
> Only one source can be cited in the Add Person screen. You need to
> open the individual tags to cite other sources.
>
>> One of these is Birth-Reg using data from
>> the BMD Index. The person unique data (which may be what
>> I think you experienced users call sourcing the source)
>> that goes with the generic (BMD) Citation is very
>> structured and on a spread sheet would have the inputs
>> labelled Year, Quarter, Reg District, Vol, Page.
>
> This gets you straight into the middle of an age-old debate in
> creating Source Definitions in TMG - the so-called "lumper" and
> "splitter" schools. According to "splitter" theory, you would create
> one source definition for the record for each person. Thus all the
> details you mention would be entered in the Source Definition itself,
> using appropriate source elements. That way, each element goes in a
> properly labeled field, and gets arraigned correctly in the printed
> notes by the output template of the source definition. Then, when you
> enter the next person, you create a new Source Definition (actually,
> I'd copy the previous one and the edit the required fields). The
> problem is, you end up with very many source definitions ("sources")
> in the Master Source List.
>
> "Lumper" theory would have you create one "generic" source definition
> for that source, and enter all the record-specific details in each
> citation. Thus you would create one Source Definition ("source") for
> the BMD Index, then enter all the details each time in the citations.
> Using this approach, there are two ways to enter the details:
>
> 1. You format the source definition so that none of the details are
> specifically called, but are expected to be placed in one location,
> usually at the end, where you use the Citation Detail source element,
> <[CD]>. Then, when you create citations to a specific tag, you add the
> details "freehand" in the Citation Detail field. Presumably you would
> want to do so in a consistent fashion, but no guideline is provided.
> If the elements are to be labeled (vol, page, etc.), the labels will
> need to be entered each time in the Citation Detail.
>
> 2. You use what is called split CDs. With this approach, you create a
> source definition that places each element of the detail exactly where
> you want it, and can include labels in the source definition itself.
> Where the detail data is to appear, you place the split CD elements,
> like <[CD1]>, <[CD2]>, etc. Then, when you create the citation, you
> enter only the data for each detail in the correct segment. For
> example, your Year, Quarter, Reg District, Vol, Page elements might
> look like:
>
> 1840||IV||London||B||231
>
> (I'm making this up - I have no idea what the values really should
> look like <g>) The double bars separate each segment of the CD.
> Unfortunately, there is no guide for entering the elements (that has
> been suggested as a program enhancement) so you either have to
> remember the order, or refer back to the Output Template of the Source
> Definition to see what's expected.
>
> An example of this approach applied to US census records can be found
> in my article at http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Sources-Census.htm
>
> There are some other linked articles on the mechanics of editing and
> creating custom source types that may be helpful.
>
> Terry Reigel
>
>
> ==== TMG Mailing List ====
> To un-subscribe from TMG-L (in MAIL mode), send a message to
> <> [to <> in Digest
> mode] with just the word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)in the text and turn off
> your signature.
>
>

This thread: