Handwriting helps
I notice that there is a Handwriting help tool at the top of our Indexing batches - but it is too small to see. We also don't have enough of a variety to choose from. We also notice that there are no numbers that are listed in this tool. Perhaps it would be useful to make a link to pages that have more information on Handwriting help including the ones for numbers.
The same is also true for the International Characters tool. It would be more effective to have a link or an option to make these increase their size so we can see them better. Or a better tool such as having the instructions on how to download an International Characters tool onto our toolbars.
Comments
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Hi @KlaRees . Here are a couple of JPG files I created that may be of help. You should be able to print them. The International Characters one will nicely fill a page in portrait mode, and the handwriting examples one looks good in landscape mode. But remember that for deciphering handwriting, your best help is right there in the document you are trying to read - look around for words you can read to help interpret letters and words that you are struggling with. Good luck.
Also, if you're not already a member, consider joining the Indexing Chat Group:
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You will still need to select the international character from the table presented on the screen, but with the help of the file I posted perhaps reading the characters accurately might be easier.
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Thank you for your help, John!
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You're welcome!
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Totally! That's what I was logging in to say, too! Too small, too limited, not appropriate to the time period the record is from....... If I'm in the 1600s, the way they made the letters is far different than from the 1800s.
I recommend having an extended, far larger handwriting pool to refer to, and based on century. I would be happy to help even.
Yes, and numerals, too.
Thx!
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@WilmethAnnCarol2, handwriting varies by place and language, not just by time, so the "Handwriting Help" tool within the indexing interface cannot possibly keep up. It's a topic with a wider audience anyway, so the wiki might be a better place for it.
The Research Wiki currently has 22 pages marked with the category "Handwriting" (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Category:Handwriting). The pages vary widely in usefulness: "How to read and write cursive" is little more than a stub with no working links, while "Italy Handwriting" has a bunch of images and a link to a tutorial (at BYU -- the link at the beginning of the page, to FS, doesn't work). Also, not all of the relevant pages have been appropriately categorized: for example, "Germany Handwriting" exists, but has not been added to the Handwriting category. (If I remembered how, I'd add it, but I have too many different flavors of markup in my head right now.) (Edited to add: figured it out! "Handwriting" category has been added to the "Germany Handwriting" article.)
Anyone can gain editing rights for the Research Wiki, so if you have the time and inclination, you could help clean up and spruce up this corner of it.
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