Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
Paulette, This plan sounds wonderful!! I hope it all goes well with you. I need to keep this idea in mind when I next get together with my mom and my aunt. --Paula in Texas Researching: Adair Baker Beasley Benson Betz Bigley Blagrave Burton Chapman Clement Clough Coppernoll Costine Daulton Dinwiddie Doody Ellis Exline Field Floran Floyd Gates Goodale Gordon Gump Hale Harbaugh Hind Hopkins Hughes Hurdle Jones Klein Koyle Laswell McDonald Misner Passwaters Pelton Roberts Roche Ryburn Sanford Short Singer Sullivan Weller Williams From: Paulette Martinez rivo...@gmail.com To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 8:46 PM Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy Shirley, I got the idea from Cheryl Singhals. She suggested in her message to hold each picture facing the camera/recorder and to talk about it. I have since learned that the Family History Library has a oral history room available to members and non-members of the Church. It would be the ideal situation because the conditions (sound, etc..) would be perfect but I feel that a home camcorder and a tripod would do a decent job. The Hospices (non-profit, volunteers organization) of my hometown have also a oral history program. I love the idea. In a few minutes old memories can be brought back and recorded when the same information would take me for ever to put in a book form (grammar, spelling, formatting). My children have also offered to come and interview me. It would take several sessions and would create even more memories! Paulette snip Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
file is and what it contains down to the last jot and tittle. ** ** Hope this provides a different perspective for you. ** ** Greg ** ** *From:* Syble Glasscock [mailto:syble_...@yahoo.com] *Sent:* Thursday, August 22, 2013 3:56 PM *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com *Subject:* Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy ** ** I applaud you for trying to preserve the family photos and history, it sounds like you have a good start in the right directions. Syble *From:* Paulette Martinez rivo...@gmail.com *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com *Sent:* Thursday, August 22, 2013 12:36 PM *Subject:* [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy ** ** I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, but right now I am looking for a fast and easy way to organize the pictures, labels them with name, years, place, and to write what I knew and remember about my ancestors and their families while using Legacy. I need to do it right the first time. I cannot spend a lot of time learning software because, I can learn...but I can forget very fast also. I am 80, on palliative care for cancer, so time is an issue. Is there a miracle way to do it? Right now I have sorted the pictures by year/grand-parents lines and am writing in the back of each picture (in pencil 02). I will then put them in archival photo albums with intercalary typed pages of my memories/knowledge, researches finds, in addition to the habitual facts (birth, marriage, etc...). I am thinking of typing the insert in the notes of each marriage/individuals of Legacy and then print only the notes. Am I going in the right direction or is there a better way. If there is time left I will scan the pictures and make a CD to share my genealogy with my children, grand-children, nephews and nieces. Right now I want to preserve the pictures and the memories. I am hoping I am not hors-subject. I know you are all so knowledgeable. Thank you for sharing. Paulette One more question :). What do you do with facts such they divorced and witnesses testified having seen her with other men (divorce judgment in 1907). Hide the fact in consideration of the descendants feelings? Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
Having followed your thread Paulette, I am now wondering how to create an oral document. Kind Regards Shirley NZ - Original Message - From: Paulette Martinez To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 9:01 PM Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy I want to thank everyone who replied to my question. I like the idea of using oral history to document my pictures and I am looking into it. I am so glad I asked! Thank you all. Paulette On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 10:16 PM, gregory.wint...@pc-bs.com gregory.wint...@pc-bs.com wrote: Paulette: You’ve touched upon another aspect of genealogy software that I was going to bring up in a separate thread, but you’ve beaten me to the punch! J As far as I know, there isn’t a single genealogy product on the market that will manage an artifacts database alongside the data contained in records of individuals. Those products which do include some sort of direct connection are extremely lightweight when it comes to the specifics of documentation management. I don’t fault the makers of these products – it really would be quite an undertaking to include such functionality in a genealogy product. However, having to maintain your own separate repository of documentation then link it to your database can be tricky if you haven’t thought it all the way through. For my part, I use ACDSee Pro as my repository, because anything and everything that I’ve ever used to support the entries in my family tree database (it’s been FTM so far, but I’m considering Legacy now) has been digitally scanned, including ‘3D’ physical objects, such as my father’s army dogtags and war ribbons, my grandmother’s reading glasses, etc. ACDSee is a first-rate product for photo management, so the ability to enter metadata into the header of the digital file and have the interface assist with an organized display is wonderful. Gone is the need to rely upon clumsy operating systems subject to the whims of Cupertino and Redmond: photo metadata has been standardized for a long time and there are countless imaging management applications which adhere to the system. This means that I no longer have to deal with that awful directory/file system that has never been revised since the days of DOS. Instead, all I have to do is create volumes (labeled simply 001, 002, 003, etc.) and can use generic filenames (10001.tif, etc.). All of the information about the file – including extensive captions – in included in the header (meaning it goes wherever the file goes) and is displayed in ACDSee. In short, I have built a complete digital library that currently contains nearly 10K digital files. In my genealogy software, I simply refer to the members of the archive by the labels I’ve used for the files: there is no need to know anything else. Then, where the physical items are stored, I have a simple labeling system that corresponds to that of ACDSee. Thus, I can place a dogtag next to a photo next to a high school diploma next to a marriage license – it doesn’t matter. I retrieve by search engine and filename, not by ‘type.’ Once you really get down to it, if you attempt to organize the images by concept, you’re going to run into a lot of trouble. So many artifacts have multiple uses that it’s basically impossible to come up with a system that you can be consistent in without a lot of interaction and micro-management. For example, you would normally believe that an obituary is simply a death notice, so you might create some sort of ‘Obituaries’ folder. Fine. However, the type of physical artifact that an item is pales in comparison to the way that it is utilized in your database. As you know, obits can contain a great deal of information – beyond the death of the subject. I have used obits as sources for births, marriages, locations, and a host of other data elements. Yet, if I were to file the item away as an obit, I would have to make sure that the item type (at least) were a part of my citation information stream. By being able to cite the item directly, however, the type of citation becomes simply a way of understanding how the information was originally derived: no document has an intrinsic confidence level. I’ve heard it said that the reason that the software developers don’t go full out and create functionality in their products that manages digital files is because there still seems to be a lot of controversy in regard to the ‘authenticity’ of a digital source. Many genealogists still believe that a digital image does not comprise a ‘true’ source, so there is no reason to expand the role of the genealogy software into management of these items. I can respect this viewpoint, but that hasn’t stopped me from creating my own database. In the old days, there was a lot of verbiage associated with records because without it, locating
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
Shirley, I got the idea from Cheryl Singhals. She suggested in her message to hold each picture facing the camera/recorder and to talk about it. I have since learned that the Family History Library has a oral history room available to members and non-members of the Church. It would be the ideal situation because the conditions (sound, etc..) would be perfect but I feel that a home camcorder and a tripod would do a decent job. The Hospices (non-profit, volunteers organization) of my hometown have also a oral history program. I love the idea. In a few minutes old memories can be brought back and recorded when the same information would take me for ever to put in a book form (grammar, spelling, formatting). My children have also offered to come and interview me. It would take several sessions and would create even more memories! Paulette On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 1:50 PM, Shirley Richardson shirleyr...@clear.net.nz wrote: ** Having followed your thread Paulette, I am now wondering how to create an oral document. Kind Regards Shirley NZ - Original Message - *From:* Paulette Martinez rivo...@gmail.com *To:* LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com *Sent:* Wednesday, August 28, 2013 9:01 PM *Subject:* Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy I want to thank everyone who replied to my question. I like the idea of using oral history to document my pictures and I am looking into it. I am so glad I asked! Thank you all. Paulette On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 10:16 PM, gregory.wint...@pc-bs.com gregory.wint...@pc-bs.com wrote: Paulette: You’ve touched upon another aspect of genealogy software that I was going to bring up in a separate thread, but you’ve beaten me to the punch! J As far as I know, there isn’t a single genealogy product on the market that will manage an artifacts database alongside the data contained in records of individuals. Those products which do include some sort of direct connection are extremely lightweight when it comes to the specifics of documentation management. I don’t fault the makers of these products – it really would be quite an undertaking to include such functionality in a genealogy product. However, having to maintain your own separate repository of documentation then link it to your database can be tricky if you haven’t thought it all the way through. For my part, I use ACDSee Pro as my repository, because anything and everything that I’ve ever used to support the entries in my family tree database (it’s been FTM so far, but I’m considering Legacy now) has been digitally scanned, including ‘3D’ physical objects, such as my father’s army dogtags and war ribbons, my grandmother’s reading glasses, etc. ACDSee is a first-rate product for photo management, so the ability to enter metadata into the header of the digital file and have the interface assist with an organized display is wonderful. Gone is the need to rely upon clumsy operating systems subject to the whims of Cupertino and Redmond: photo metadata has been standardized for a long time and there are countless imaging management applications which adhere to the system. This means that I no longer have to deal with that awful directory/file system that has never been revised since the days of DOS. Instead, all I have to do is create volumes (labeled simply 001, 002, 003, etc.) and can use generic filenames (10001.tif, etc.). All of the information about the file – including extensive captions – in included in the header (meaning it goes wherever the file goes) and is displayed in ACDSee. In short, I have built a complete digital library that currently contains nearly 10K digital files. In my genealogy software, I simply refer to the members of the archive by the labels I’ve used for the files: there is no need to know anything else. Then, where the physical items are stored, I have a simple labeling system that corresponds to that of ACDSee. Thus, I can place a dogtag next to a photo next to a high school diploma next to a marriage license – it doesn’t matter. I retrieve by search engine and filename, not by ‘type.’ Once you really get down to it, if you attempt to organize the images by concept, you’re going to run into a lot of trouble. So many artifacts have multiple uses that it’s basically impossible to come up with a system that you can be consistent in without a lot of interaction and micro-management. For example, you would normally believe that an obituary is simply a death notice, so you might create some sort of ‘Obituaries’ folder. Fine. However, the type of physical artifact that an item is pales in comparison to the way that it is utilized in your database. As you know, obits can contain a great deal of information – beyond the death of the subject. I have used obits as sources for births, marriages, locations, and a host of other data elements. Yet, if I were to file
[LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, but right now I am looking for a fast and easy way to organize the pictures, labels them with name, years, place, and to write what I knew and remember about my ancestors and their families while using Legacy. I need to do it right the first time. I cannot spend a lot of time learning software because, I can learn...but I can forget very fast also. I am 80, on palliative care for cancer, so time is an issue. Is there a miracle way to do it? Right now I have sorted the pictures by year/grand-parents lines and am writing in the back of each picture (in pencil 02). I will then put them in archival photo albums with intercalary typed pages of my memories/knowledge, researches finds, in addition to the habitual facts (birth, marriage, etc...). I am thinking of typing the insert in the notes of each marriage/individuals of Legacy and then print only the notes. Am I going in the right direction or is there a better way. If there is time left I will scan the pictures and make a CD to share my genealogy with my children, grand-children, nephews and nieces. Right now I want to preserve the pictures and the memories. I am hoping I am not hors-subject. I know you are all so knowledgeable. Thank you for sharing. Paulette One more question :). What do you do with facts such they divorced and witnesses testified having seen her with other men (divorce judgment in 1907). Hide the fact in consideration of the descendants feelings? Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
I'm sorry to hear of your medical status. We barely avoided that bullet recently on a relative's 4th bout with the Big-C. I know exactly how tired you are. So, believe me when I suggest you're trying to bite off more than you can chew alone. If you belong to a religious group of any flavor, ask your youth counselor for help, or get some Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts involved! NOW! You need one to scan or photograph the pictures. Any old order, and probably a number is better at this stage (Photo_0001.jpg for instance) because it allows clarity. Carefully print that number on the back of each photo as it's taken. You need one to run a cam-corder of some variety, even his/her smartphone, while you talk about each photo after it has been copied. Be sure you turn the photo toward the camera at least once while you're talking about it. Meanwhile, perhaps an adult can work with you to get the data into Legacy and attach the images and media. If you're still up to it, now you can or someone can for you transcribe those oral memories to be printed with each photo. Actually, if they've used their smartphone, you could simply burn the talks and the images onto a DVD to be given your heirs and one to the local Historical Society. (Who might, BTW, be willing to transcribe the talks?). As for the details of the divorce hearings? I would simply say they divorced and say when and where. The fact that you gave the when and where should be clue enough to the interested to pursue it (g) without being in-yer-face to their children's descendants. IMO. Remember to rest lots and EAT! Especially if you're not hungry. Cheryl Paulette Martinez wrote: I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, but right now I am looking for a fast and easy way to organize the pictures, labels them with name, years, place, and to write what I knew and remember about my ancestors and their families while using Legacy. I need to do it right the first time. I cannot spend a lot of time learning software because, I can learn...but I can forget very fast also. I am 80, on palliative care for cancer, so time is an issue. Is there a miracle way to do it? Right now I have sorted the pictures by year/grand-parents lines and am writing in the back of each picture (in pencil 02). I will then put them in archival photo albums with intercalary typed pages of my memories/knowledge, researches finds, in addition to the habitual facts (birth, marriage, etc...). I am thinking of typing the insert in the notes of each marriage/individuals of Legacy and then print only the notes. Am I going in the right direction or is there a better way. If there is time left I will scan the pictures and make a CD to share my genealogy with my children, grand-children, nephews and nieces. Right now I want to preserve the pictures and the memories. I am hoping I am not hors-subject. I know you are all so knowledgeable. Thank you for sharing. Paulette One more question :). What do you do with facts such they divorced and witnesses testified having seen her with other men (divorce judgment in 1907). Hide the fact in consideration of the descendants feelings? Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
Paulette, may I suggest that you contact your nearest Family History Center and ask them to get some Family History Consultants involved with helping you. I know they will do it with pleasure. Take care On 22 August 2013 13:36, Paulette Martinez rivo...@gmail.com wrote: I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, but right now I am looking for a fast and easy way to organize the pictures, labels them with name, years, place, and to write what I knew and remember about my ancestors and their families while using Legacy. I need to do it right the first time. I cannot spend a lot of time learning software because, I can learn...but I can forget very fast also. I am 80, on palliative care for cancer, so time is an issue. Is there a miracle way to do it? Right now I have sorted the pictures by year/grand-parents lines and am writing in the back of each picture (in pencil 02). I will then put them in archival photo albums with intercalary typed pages of my memories/knowledge, researches finds, in addition to the habitual facts (birth, marriage, etc...). I am thinking of typing the insert in the notes of each marriage/individuals of Legacy and then print only the notes. Am I going in the right direction or is there a better way. If there is time left I will scan the pictures and make a CD to share my genealogy with my children, grand-children, nephews and nieces. Right now I want to preserve the pictures and the memories. I am hoping I am not hors-subject. I know you are all so knowledgeable. Thank you for sharing. Paulette One more question :). What do you do with facts such they divorced and witnesses testified having seen her with other men (divorce judgment in 1907). Hide the fact in consideration of the descendants feelings? Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
I applaud you for trying to preserve the family photos and history, it sounds like you have a good start in the right directions. Syble From: Paulette Martinez rivo...@gmail.com To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 12:36 PM Subject: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, but right now I am looking for a fast and easy way to organize the pictures, labels them with name, years, place, and to write what I knew and remember about my ancestors and their families while using Legacy. I need to do it right the first time. I cannot spend a lot of time learning software because, I can learn...but I can forget very fast also. I am 80, on palliative care for cancer, so time is an issue. Is there a miracle way to do it? Right now I have sorted the pictures by year/grand-parents lines and am writing in the back of each picture (in pencil 02). I will then put them in archival photo albums with intercalary typed pages of my memories/knowledge, researches finds, in addition to the habitual facts (birth, marriage, etc...). I am thinking of typing the insert in the notes of each marriage/individuals of Legacy and then print only the notes. Am I going in the right direction or is there a better way. If there is time left I will scan the pictures and make a CD to share my genealogy with my children, grand-children, nephews and nieces. Right now I want to preserve the pictures and the memories. I am hoping I am not hors-subject. I know you are all so knowledgeable. Thank you for sharing. Paulette One more question :). What do you do with facts such they divorced and witnesses testified having seen her with other men (divorce judgment in 1907). Hide the fact in consideration of the descendants feelings? Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
BYU has a scanner that will scan all the pictures at one scan per second or faster to a thumb drive. You could identify the back, then keep them in the same order so that you can display front and back together while you add the details in whatever way works. The BYU scanning is free, and probably someone at your local Family History Center would know of a way to get them done. Or you might find such a scanner at your location, knowing such machines are available. Carl I have inherited from my sister a box of old unmarked family pictures going back to 1900. I am the elder of the family and the only one left with the undocumented memories. I know I should scan the pictures, Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyusers.com/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup@legacyfamilytree.com/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
RE: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy
Paulette: You’ve touched upon another aspect of genealogy software that I was going to bring up in a separate thread, but you’ve beaten me to the punch! ☺ As far as I know, there isn’t a single genealogy product on the market that will manage an artifacts database alongside the data contained in records of individuals. Those products which do include some sort of direct connection are extremely lightweight when it comes to the specifics of documentation management. I don’t fault the makers of these products – it really would be quite an undertaking to include such functionality in a genealogy product. However, having to maintain your own separate repository of documentation then link it to your database can be tricky if you haven’t thought it all the way through. For my part, I use ACDSee Pro as my repository, because anything and everything that I’ve ever used to support the entries in my family tree database (it’s been FTM so far, but I’m considering Legacy now) has been digitally scanned, including ‘3D’ physical objects, such as my father’s army dogtags and war ribbons, my grandmother’s reading glasses, etc. ACDSee is a first-rate product for photo management, so the ability to enter metadata into the header of the digital file and have the interface assist with an organized display is wonderful. Gone is the need to rely upon clumsy operating systems subject to the whims of Cupertino and Redmond: photo metadata has been standardized for a long time and there are countless imaging management applications which adhere to the system. This means that I no longer have to deal with that awful directory/file system that has never been revised since the days of DOS. Instead, all I have to do is create volumes (labeled simply 001, 002, 003, etc.) and can use generic filenames (10001.tif, etc.). All of the information about the file – including extensive captions – in included in the header (meaning it goes wherever the file goes) and is displayed in ACDSee. In short, I have built a complete digital library that currently contains nearly 10K digital files. In my genealogy software, I simply refer to the members of the archive by the labels I’ve used for the files: there is no need to know anything else. Then, where the physical items are stored, I have a simple labeling system that corresponds to that of ACDSee. Thus, I can place a dogtag next to a photo next to a high school diploma next to a marriage license – it doesn’t matter. I retrieve by search engine and filename, not by ‘type.’ Once you really get down to it, if you attempt to organize the images by concept, you’re going to run into a lot of trouble. So many artifacts have multiple uses that it’s basically impossible to come up with a system that you can be consistent in without a lot of interaction and micro-management. For example, you would normally believe that an obituary is simply a death notice, so you might create some sort of ‘Obituaries’ folder. Fine. However, the type of physical artifact that an item is pales in comparison to the way that it is utilized in your database. As you know, obits can contain a great deal of information – beyond the death of the subject. I have used obits as sources for births, marriages, locations, and a host of other data elements. Yet, if I were to file the item away as an obit, I would have to make sure that the item type (at least) were a part of my citation information stream. By being able to cite the item directly, however, the type of citation becomes simply a way of understanding how the information was originally derived: no document has an intrinsic confidence level. I’ve heard it said that the reason that the software developers don’t go full out and create functionality in their products that manages digital files is because there still seems to be a lot of controversy in regard to the ‘authenticity’ of a digital source. Many genealogists still believe that a digital image does not comprise a ‘true’ source, so there is no reason to expand the role of the genealogy software into management of these items. I can respect this viewpoint, but that hasn’t stopped me from creating my own database. In the old days, there was a lot of verbiage associated with records because without it, locating, retrieving, and placing the artifact in question would be very difficult. With the miracle of modern technology, however, a good database product with a solid search engine is all you need. Your repository software becomes a sort of ‘secretary’ who knows where each and every file is and what it contains down to the last jot and tittle. Hope this provides a different perspective for you. Greg From: Syble Glasscock [mailto:syble_...@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2013 3:56 PM To: LegacyUserGroup@LegacyUsers.com Subject: Re: [LegacyUG] Photos, book and Legacy I applaud you for trying to preserve the family photos
