Suggestions for Similar Records lists on Sources pages
When I am looking for additional sources to attach, I first look under Research Help on the Main Person Page. Then, I look under Similar Records for each source on the Sources page.
The old version of the Similar Records list is nicely compact and seems to have a "linked to family tree" icon next to similar records that have already been attached to somebody. So, the unlinked ones are of particular interest.
In contrast, the new version takes up a lot more vertical space, but it includes the ID of the person to whom it is attached, which is valuable because some of the similar records are attached to IDs other than the current one--some of which may actually belong to the current one and need to be re-assigned.
However, the current person gets repeated over-and-over in these lists, which takes up a lot of space and seems redundant--and also makes it more difficult to quickly see which records are not attached to anybody and which are attached to other people.
So, my suggestion is to compact these lists and divide them up as follows for each source: (1) put the ID of the current person just once at the top, and list all of the records that are already attached that person; (2) put the IDs of any other people to whom similar records are attached, along with the record(s); and (3) make it more obvious which records are currently not attached to any ID.
Below is an example, in which the first entry is unattached, but it is not quickly differentiated from the four records below it, which are attached to the Mary Katherine Goebel.
Comments
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Here is a mock-up of a clarification of the above idea, which, I think, would greatly enhance the "Similar Records" sections of the Sources page. In the following real-life example, one of the "sources" for Werner Goebel (LZV1-QXD) had seven "similar records" listed. The left column in the image below is the current appearance. The first entry is not attached to anybody in the tree, the second entry is attached to the wrong person in the tree (Werner Spillman [LTNK-V34]), and the last five entries are already properly connected to Werner Goebel.
I feel that both the first (unattached) and second (attached to the wrong person) entries get lost in the longer list of identical entries, particularly if I am scrubbing through a long list of sources for similar records. Sometimes these types of entries are mixed in the middle of a longer list, making them even more difficult to see. The generic male icon that appears for the entry attached to the wrong person also makes it difficult to distinguish from the others, and the redundant repitition of the same "attached to" entries also takes up a lot of extra space.
My idea (on the right side of the below image) is to highlight all of the unattached records in a separate sub-section at the top; followed by the records attached to other people (with their icons and IDs); and then put all of the ones that are attached to the current person at the end, but only include the icon and ID once at the top of that list.
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I agree this would be helpful.
While I'm here I'll just put in one more plug for adding a Dismiss button to all the Similar Records that are not attached to be able to remove from this list sources that are not for the current ID.
One confusing factor to throw in here. What should be done if there is no current ID? This page looks the same whether you come here from a Family Tree ID so have a reference person for the list or whether you come to the same page from searching in the historical records and were not looking at any specific person first.
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Yes, I concur with the inclusion of a Dismiss button on Similar Records like what is available for the hints under Research Help. If there is no current ID, then there just wouldn't be an "Attached to current ID section"--just "Unattached" and "Attached." Or, there could be separate headings for each ID that has similar records attached.
My "workflow" on an ID tends to be as follows (not always in this exact order):
- Under Sources, check to see if any Unfinished Attachments can be attached.
- Explore all of the "primary hints" under Research Help (and Dismiss those that are clearly incorrect).
- Back under Sources, scrub through all of the Similar Records (this is where my proposed change would make things so much easier--at least for me). I treat Similar Records as "secondary hints."
- Under Search Records, do an Ancestry search (and do a FamilySearch search if a valid record also would have been expected to show up on FamilySearch--sort of a "tertiary" level on FamilySearch).
- Enter any unique information that my mother gathered over a four-decade period in her Family Tree Maker tree of 10,000+ individuals.
- Repeat steps 1-4 until no more new records are suggested.
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