Command B vs. typed word

sharonnorviel

https://www.familysearch.org/indexing/batch/e1accbc4-97c1-48b9-bd91-949dcd8e83a1 Share the batch code MQNT-PXH

Just curious—the indexer did not use the 'Mark the field blank', Comm B icon but instead typed the word "blank" in all the necessary fields.

When I review it and use the Comm.B icon it gives it a red arrow. When I just use my tab key it gives it a green arrow. Does this really matter as long as it is marked blank?

erutherford

When a green check appears, that means the indexer indexed the field correctly. When the red reverse appears, that mean that the indexer do not index it correctly and you have made whatever correction.

The blanks that appear in the fields are when the requested field (like a prefix) is not present. You can type blank, but I haven't seen that. The most common way to do this by either pressing Ctrl+B (Windows and Chromebook; I don't know about a Mac) or by clicking the fourth icon from the left on the toolbar.

sharonnorviel

Of course! I should have thought that through more since I have been doing this along time. It just through me for a loop because I hadn't run across the word "blank" being typed in all the fields.

Thank you, to all those who answer questions that appear on this site. I really appreciate the time you take to help all of us who ask questions!!!

Julia Szent-Györgyi

Actually, red versus green has nothing to do with correctness: the computer doesn't magically know what's right or wrong.

Red means that what you've put in the field doesn't match what the indexer put in it.

Green means that your input matches the indexer's.

In other words, the computer does not consider the typed word "blank" to be equivalent to the result of blanking the field with a button or keyboard command.

sharonnorviel

So should I have used the command B on all the typed "blank" word? I hope this this batch gets a second review—

I just now submitted it :(

Julia Szent-Györgyi

I have no idea whether the computer's right about ctrl/cmd-b versus "blank". It's possible that there's a post-processing step that makes them equivalent. (It makes sense for there to be one.)

barbaragailsmith1

Ctrl B marks the field as being blank, and in the end shows up as an empty (or blank) field when processed. If the word Blank is just typed in, then Blank stays in that field. For example, if it's in a name field, the word Blank will be in Family Search for the name because the computer can't tell that what we type in isn't a name. That's why we must use the Ctrl B or the Mark The Field Blank icon in the toolbar.

sharonnorviel

Thank you for the clarification.