Kathy: Whether you use the aka field or an alternate name event may depend on use(s) intended for your database. If you intend to produce a book, report, or web page you should check out how Legacy handles the two options and use the one that reads best. A "purist" would list an aka only if the individual actually used more than one name. At the other extreme, some would list every spelling variation from all records for the individual as aka's in order to have those versions appear in the Name List for convenient reference as they research. I post my GEDCOM at RootsWeb and want it to be found in searches so I sometimes add an alternate name that isn't supported by the records simply because many other posters use that version and I want my file to come up in searches for that spelling.
It would be nice if Legacy had separate fields; one for true aka's and another for alternate spellings, but that probably isn't likely to happen. Kirsten -----Original Message----- From: Kathy Meyer [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 11:39 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Alternate Name vs. AKA Event yes, that makes sense and I would like the answer to that as well; the aka/alternate name is one of my big issues. So many people are known by different names or different spellings and I'm not sure of the best way to fully utilize both of these options; or if they have any other use aside from simply storing those alternate spellings for viewing as needed. Kathy Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
