Indexing feature suggestion/s (multiple fam & friends agreed it's needed)
Perhaps this feature is already in place and my indexing work is saved unknowingly when I'm unable to finish a large number of entries in a large indexing batch,- but adding a "save batch progress for later" and a "save batch progress & return to system" - buttons/options might be a good idea. Some of my friends and family feel they don't have time to index because they've experienced this problem as well when working on a batch, only to realize it's taking a considerable amount of time to complete and they have to get to bed to work the next day and they're long from being done. So a lot of work is discarded. Providing the above mentioned option I believe would break indexing down into small enough steps that more people would endeavor to do more indexing if it was available. Some additional options to field entries I feel could be helpful also. Such as adding another button next to the "Mark field as unreadable" that would work to "Mark field as partially unreadable" allowing partial text to be entered. I also think a "suggested/possible spelling" button ought to be added for difficult to read entries, aiding those who review or finish the batch later. Last of all, I wanted to thank you for the other name suggestion that pops up when only being able to read and enter either the surname or given name. Having a given or surname pop up when entering one or the other- based on a prior fully entered name- for a possible match gives the ability to compare difficult to read given or surnames when it's used in the batch somewhere already. Thank you!!
Answers
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Besides having batch autosave, I believe having a "save batch progress & finish later" button/option and a "save batch progress & return to system" button/option would help a lot. Some of my younger family and friends have felt they don't have time to index because multiple times they've dove into an indexing session not knowing the batch would take so long to complete, where they have to get to bed and work the next day. I feel if this option were available/visible more people would endeavor to index more instead of having to wonder if their work would be discarded. I discovered and have explained autosave, but who knows who else isn't aware of the autosave feature. Just a thought.
Another feature I thought would be helpful would be to have next to the "Mark the field unreadable" button option- to have a "Mark the field as partially unreadable" button option- allowing a partial entry of legible text. I do want to thank you for the given or surname popup suggestion based on a prior entered given or surname (where applicable), which helps to match difficult to read handwriting- where only the given or surname is legible. This provides a potential name match to a previously entered name and is very helpful at times. A tiny short note section in the entries might be helpful also to indicate where the name can be found more legible elsewhere in the document.
Also having a "suggested/possible spelling" option I feel would aid finishing (were a "save batch progress & finish later" to be added) as well as helping the reviewing process, by giving indexers and/or reviewers the ability to suggest and compare.
Last of all I felt an "insert entry" would be quite helpful when discovering an indexing oversight after reviewing and discovering that an entry is missing. Currently (unless I'm missing something) If I've completed 84 entries and discover there should be 85, and I overlooked entry number 52, I have to delete from 52 to 84 (since the adding an entry option only adds a blank entry to the end of the batch) and enter 52 through 85. (A "create duplicate entry" would be nice for speeding things up also where multiple entries need to be created that contain fields with identical information).
Thank you for your consideration and all you do. God Bless!
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People often feel more comfortable exiting the program using 1st icon, the arrow point left, to Return to Web Indexing. It makes them feel like they have manually saved their work. They can also click on Batch and use Back to Web Indexing. I don't think that is as safe to teach beginners, there are too many options that could go wrong, like Return Batch and they would lose their work.
There are ways to enter partial illegible text called Wildcards. Indexers will find this information in General Indexing Guidelines. But, in a nutshell, we use a ? (question mark) for one letter and an * (asterisk) for more than one letter.
So, if an indexer can't read the word Schmidt, they would index Sch?idt (meaning they weren't sure about the m), or even Sc*idt (for multiple unknown letters).
For the addition of an entry, the "insert entry" icon is the + (plus sign) - 7th from the left in the toolbar. You place your cursor in the field before the line you want to insert, click on the icon, choose "after current entry" and it adds a blank entry for you to fill in. There is never a need to delete all the entries. And in web-indexing, order doesn't matter as much. It would be okay for the reviewer to add the missed entry at the end, not optimal, but okay.
There are many ways to create duplicate entries. You can duplicate all text for all the matching fields using the copy forward tool, (6th from the right or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + (plus key), you can duplicate the previous field (7th from the right or use the keyboard Ctrl+ D), you can even duplicate a whole entry from the previous entry (5th icon from the right or Ctrl + Shift + D). If using a Mac, the Control is replaced with the Command key).
I hope that helps and you try out some of those quick tricks.
I would also direct new indexers to the video presentation: Indexing Discussion (Jason Pierson Live)
I am sure that would make them feel more comfortable about web-indexing.
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This is a slightly duplicate post from your other one which went into more detail about duplicating entry fields and adding entries. If you click on your name, you can easily read both answers by clicking on Discussions.
Your friends and family should exit the program feeling comfortable that their work has been saved! People often feel more comfortable exiting the program using 1st icon, the arrow point left, to Return to Web Indexing. It makes them feel like they have manually saved their work. They can also click on Batch and use Back to Web Indexing. I don't think that is as safe to teach beginners, there are too many options that could go wrong, like accidentally clicking Return Batch and then they would lose their work.
There are ways to enter partial illegible text called Wildcards. Indexers will find this information in General Indexing Guidelines which is the last portion of the Project Instructions. The link is Unreadable Information. But, in a nutshell, we use a ? (question mark) for one letter and an * (asterisk) for more than one letter.
I would also direct new indexers to the video presentation: Indexing Discussion (Jason Pierson Live)
I am sure that would make them feel more comfortable about web-indexing.
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