Glenny, There are two fundamentally different approaches that I've seen people recommend: 1. The FileYourPapers approach which uses a marriage as the key filing unit. (Just be careful about locking in the numbering you may use - that's an important detail, but no reason to abandon the principle proposed). This allows all papers relating to a family to be grouped together and makes for a "readable file", but has a higher overhead to maintain. The key point is to file by marriage, not by individual. This approach is good if you want to use your paper files for general reference.
2. File by document type A simpler approach (i.e. requiring less filing overhead) is to file by document type, as Cathy does, giving each document of a given type a unique number, and referencing it via the File ID in Legacy. This works best if you are using Legacy as your primary reference tool and just need to keep original copies of papers for occasional reference. I started out with 1, but for the same reason as Cathy, have moved partly to 2, so mine is now a hybrid system. For my main lines only I keep a file per marriage, but now number each marriage file with the RIN of the Husband (rather than MRIN) which you can automatically copy to the User ID field, so it won't get changed if you need to re-arrange your Legacy database. In this file I only keep a family group sheet plus specific vital records (and similar documents) for those individuals.I can use this info to discuss with relatives when they come round. Other documents which may be referenced by more than one family, I now file by type. There are some long threads discusiing these issues in the archives that you may care to search for. There is no one best approach - you need to come up with what works best for you and then refine it as you understand your needs better and as they evolve over time. Cheers, Rob On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 12:16:17 +0800, Cathy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Glenny and others, > > I don't use Clooz (far too much data entry) but do use the Clooz system > for filing paper by type. I then add the code number to the relevant source > in Legacy (either Master or Detail as the File ID number). > > I'd never file anything much if I filed by family as I'm hopeless at cross > referencing and would rather not file more than one copy of each piece of > paper. Many papers I want to file refer to more than one family and often > more than one surname. If I filed by surname or family/marriage, I'd have > to copy these pages (from letters and family trees from others to census > sheets where unrelated families lived near enough to be on the same page). > > My solution. > It may not make a nice display file and double as a family book - but I can > find everything quickly and don't have heaps of papers waiting to be filed > as I did before I settled on this system. > > Cathy > > At 06:37 31/03/2005, you wrote: > > >What filing systems do all of you use for your documentation? > >\ > >I have been looking at what Legacy recommends. I have used the Clooz > >systems (or have started to) in the past and find it intensive!! > > > >Any comments here? > > > >I really aprecaite all of your comments. > > > >Glenny > > Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: > http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp > > To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ > > To unsubscribe please visit: > http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp > Legacy User Group Etiquette guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
