Add a source

In order to specify a source for your data, you must first add a source record. In Edit mode, click the Source tab, click New, and enter the details in the appropriate fields. You can specify the repository where the source is to be found, but to do so you must first have created a repository record. (In Edit mode, click the Repository tab, click New, and enter the details in the appropriate fields.) When you have entered all the details, click Add to save the information.

In the Individual or Family datasheet, in Edit mode, you can now specify the source of your data by clicking one of the small buttons labelled 'S'. The button in the bottom left of the Main page, adjacent to the label 'Source', is intended to specify a general source for the individual or the family record. The button adjacent to the Surname field in the individual datasheet specifies a source for the name data, and similarly, the remaining buttons specify sources for the fields to which they are adjacent.

Clicking on any of the buttons labelled 'S' opens the Source Citation datasheet on the right hand side of the display, replacing the individuals list. You can now specify the source for your data by clicking the small button to the right of the Source field: a list of Source records will appear, from which you can make a selection. You can enter additional information in the remaining fields to specify a particular reference within the given source. If you do not specify a source record, you will not be able to save this data.

The information you enter in the Source Citation datasheet will form part of the record for the individual or family, and to save your data, you must click the Save (or Add) button on the left hand side of the display. If the Source Citation datasheet closes before you have clicked the Save button, your data will be preserved, but you will need to save it before switching to another individual, family or other record - you will be prompted to do so.

In this way, you can link the same source record to different items of information for different individuals and families, and you can enter additional details in the remaining fields in the Source Citation datasheet which are specific to the particular case. For instance, you might enter as a Source record "1881 Census, England and Wales": it is likely that there will be a number of different items of information for which this will be the source, and you can specify in the Source Citation datasheet the particular census reference, and in the Text field quote actual text from the census at that reference.

Because the information in the Source Citation datasheet is linked to specific data, depending on which of the buttons labelled 'S' was pressed to open it, it will usually close automatically if you click in any of the fields in the pages on the left hand side of the display. You can also close it by clicking the small button at the bottom right of the display.