<Sources>

The <Sources> option can be used to easily add Defining Source Categories as defined by the Genealogy Proof Standard (including in many cases vendor specifc GEDCOM GPS fields) as well as additional categories defined by Gigatrees. Gigatrees also allows the use of the vendor specifc GEDCOM source type fields ( _TYPE and TYPE ), to set these categories directly. Family Historian, for instance, provides convienient support for this latter field, of which I personally make heavy use. Gigatrees uses source categories to help determine Reliability Assessments. The source category will be displayed on the source index page and on each source page, and should be provided so that you and anyone else who views your tree will be able to determine the source's quality as a glance. That is, a source's quality is directly proportional to its source category.

Sources - Index
Sources - Index
Sources - Source
Sources - Source
Sources - Source - Image
Sources - Source - Image
Sources - Source - Claims
Sources - Source - Claims

Genealogists who host their family trees online will also want to set privacy flags on sources that contain copyrighted or sensitive information and then enable the <Privatize> option. When set to private, the source will be displayed, but all quoted text, notes and photos will be stripped.

Example

In the following example, you can see how easy it is to provide source categories and/or privacy flags for a list of sources.

<Sources>
  <Source> <Id> S1 </Id> <Category> original, secondary </Category> </Source>
  <Source> <Id> S2 </Id> <Category> primary             </Category> </Source>
  <Source> <Id> S3 </Id> <Category> derivative          </Category> </Source>
  <Source> <Id> S4 </Id> <Category> abstract            </Category> </Source>
                                                              
  <Source> <Id> S3 </Id> <Private>  copyright           </Private>  </Source>
  <Source> <Id> S4 </Id> <Private>  sensitive           </Private>  </Source>
</Sources>

Options

<Source>
This tag is used as wrapper to indicate the start of a new source.
<Id>
[ ]
For the purposes of basic configuration, it is the record id of the source to be modified.
<Category>
[ ]
A comma-delimited list of source categories. The available categories are: "dna", "original", "primary", "secondary", "transcript", "copy", "abstract", "research", "memoir", "derivative", "unknown", "negative".
<Private>
[ ]
This field is used to flag the source as private. The text provided in the data is not used by Gigatrees, so can be set to any string you desire.

Advanced Features

The <Sources> option can also be used to add new or modify existing sources. Generally, you would only do this to provide formatted citations for the source pages or formatted footnotes for a standalone blog. New sources can be added by providing a new unique record id. An existing source can be modified by referencing an existing GEDCOM source record id. For instance, you can use this option to add a source type to an existing source, add a reusable source citation template to an existing source, or to add source specific source citation fields to the source directly. When modifying existing sources, redefining a metadata element, such as the source title, will overwrite the existing value. Besides these very useful features, you can add a slew of new metadata fields that can be used by the source citation templates. The <Media> or <Gallery> options can be used to easily add images to new or existing source records.

Gigatrees provides a large list of source metadata fields below, however, the list provide does not include every possible metadata field described in Evidence Explained, so for specializations, it may be necessary to commandeer an element for another use. For instance if you are creating a Census template and need an element to indicate "enumeration district", you may want to use Collection since that element would not normally apply. Every element is a simple text string, so as long as your template matches your elements, the names of the elements do not really matter.

Source records can be referenced from any blog post or note field found in your genealogy database (including embedded notes) using Embedded References.

Example

<Sources>
  <MaxCitationQuoteLength>  200   </MaxCitationQuoteLength>
  <SpecialPageHandler>      false </SpecialPageHandler>
  <SpecialCitationHandler>  false </SpecialCitationHandler>
  <RemoveUnusedSources>     false </RemoveUnusedSources>
  
  <Source>
    <Id>         S1                                                       </Id>
    <Title>      1850 United States Census: Ohio, Hamilton, Anderson      </Title>
    <Category>   original, primary                                        </Category>
    <Format>     [database on-line]                                       </Format>
    <PubPlace>   Provo, UT, USA                                           </PubPlace>
    <Publisher>  Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.                            </Publisher>
    <PubDate>    2009                                                     </PubDate>
    <Details>    Images reproduced by FamilySearch                        </Details>
    <Repository> Ancestry.com                                             </Repository>
    <Original>   
      Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C. 
    </Original>
  </Source>
  
  <Source>
    <Id>         S2                                                              </Id>
    <Title>      Military Release of John Lovel                                  </Title>
    <Category>   transcript                                                      </Category>
    <Publisher>  ?                                                               </Publisher>
    <WebsiteUrl> https://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kycampbe/johnlovelsoldier.htm </WebsiteUrl>
    <Section>    Drawer 150                                                      </Section>
    <RecordDate> 1778 or 1779                                                    </RecordDate>
  </Source>
</Sources>

Options (all fields are optional)

<MaxCitationQuoteLength>
[ 200 ]
When sources are referenced, quoted text from that source will be display in a tooltip, limited in length by this value.
<SpecialCitationHandler>
[ false ]
Enabling this option simply swaps the NOTE record TEXT and NOTE fields. The GEDCOM standard only allows one TEXT field per NOTE record, and many NOTE fields. If you, like I, use multiple NOTE fields to add source text, for instance by page number, and then use the TEXT field to add additional source notes, then you will want to enable this option.
<SpecialPageHandler>
[ false ]
By default, the Source pages will display citation text by page number when page numbers are provided. Page numbers are taken from the source references PAGE fileds found in your GEDCOM file. Gigatrees also supports adding page numbers to any source NOTE or TEXT field using one or more special _PAGE fields. This provides an easy method for aligning source reference page numbers to the appropriate citation text in the Source record. Enabling this option will display the Source in sections delinieated by the source record's special _PAGE field rather than by the source reference's PAGE field.
<Source>
This tag indicates the start of a new source.
<Id>
[ ]
The unique record id of the new or existing source.
<TemplateId>
[ ]
<FullCitation>
[ * ]
This template it to be used whenever a full source citation is required, namely on the source pages. It can be entered using the source template syntax, or as free-form text. This is convenient for use with many online source providers like Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org where they often provide free-form source citations for you.
<Footnote>
[ * ]
This template it to be used whenever a footnote is required in a blog post. It can be entered using the source template syntax, or as free-form text.
<ShortFootnote>
[ * ]
This template it to be used whenever a subsequent footnote is required in a blog post. It can be entered using the source template syntax, or as free-form text.
<IbidFootnote>
[ * ]
This template it to be used whenever a ibid. is required in a blog post. It can be entered using the source template syntax, or as free-form text.
<SourceType>
[ ]
<Category>
[ ]
A comma-delimited list of source categories. The available categories are: "dna", "original", "primary", "secondary", "transcript", "copy", "abstract", "research", "memoir", "derivative", "unknown", "negative".
<Jurisdiction>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Collection>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Author>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<SuplAuthor>
[ ]
Source metadata (supplemental author).
<Title>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Subtitle>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Volume>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<PageRange>
[ ]
Source metadata (range of pages in the volume or collection, i.e. pp. 2-20).
<Format>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Section>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<PubPlace>
[ ]
Source metadata (publication place).
<Publisher>
[ ]
Source metadata (publisher's name).
<PubDate>
[ ]
Source metadata (publication date).
<WebsiteOwner>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<WebsiteTitle>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<WebsiteUrl>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<AccessDate>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<RecordType>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<RecordTitle>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<RecordPageRange>
[ ]
Source metadata (range of pages for the record, i.e. pp 4-5).
<ItemOfInterest>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<RecordDate>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Details>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<RepositoryLocator>
[ ]
Source metadata (repository address/code, etc.).
<Repository>
[ ]
Source metadata (repository name).
<Original>
[ ]
Source metadata (original data).
<WebsiteCreator>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Media>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Edition>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<SuplRole>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Creator>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Compiler>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<DatabaseTitle>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Periodical>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<SocietyInfo>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Series>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Remarks>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Annotation>
[ ]
Source metadata.
<Private>
[ false ]
Enable to hide the source when the <Privatize> option is enabled.

Additional Options

Another method for adding source metadata is to use a source note ( NOTE ) record field. When a source note begins with a colon ( : ), Gigatrees will expect it to contain name:value pairs delimited by semicolons ( ; ). If the name matches one of the above listed Source options, it will be added as though it was configured as above. Unrecognized names can still be added, and will appear on the source page, but cannot be used in templates. Once the name:value pair has been added, it will be stripped from the source note record field. This method for adding source metadata may be useful for users who want to do so using their database editor, as source note record fields are generally easy to add or edit. It can be especially useful for Ancestry.com users who edit their source record directly as shown below.

Ancestry.com Source Record
Ancestry.com Source Record
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