As a Mac user I am new to RootsMagic and have been following the webinars and then having a go with my own file. When adding a new source using a template or free form and the data entry window opens I only see the top sections. The footnote section at the bottom when the Footnote, short Footnote and Bibliography should appear are missing. Does anybody know what I may have done to cause this ore how to put it right?
It’s hard to know what the problem is for sure without seeing a screenshot of your RM when you encounter the problem. But a good guess is that the Footnote sentences are really there, but they are scrolled off the bottom of the Edit Person screen.
Linda1,
You are not doing anything wrong. With the last update, RM decided to remove that section from the Master Source Screen and now it only appears on the Citation Screen. The reasoning was that because you can “Customize” this area, you should only be able to see it at the Citation Level with all fields populated. They said customize feature was causing problems from that Screen. I said, "Don’t put that link on that Screen. Their reasoning also was “You don’t need it on the Master Source Screen if you do not have any Citations to it.”
I had argued for its presence there during beta and that is how it showed up. I have continued to argue for its return to the Master Source Screen, and it is being considered. My reasons for wanting it there are threefold. I am a sever splitter of Sources, and as such, very few of my Citations have any details beyond a page number. I customize ALL of my Source Templates, and I often enter Sources in Batches before adding any Citations.
When designing Templates, it is very useful to have the Template Formatting live on the Master Source Screen. Now to do my testing I have to create a phony Citation, then move from the Source to the Citation Screen to see my inputs on the Source Screen.
Additionally, once a Template is debugged, when I go to use it to create a Citation, I can not see how the Template is ‘filling out’ to confirm I am entering data in the correct format. Not having this capability is a MAJOR setback from RM7.
Thirdly, I had developed a work flow in RM7 where I would enter a batch of sources, then go through and create data sheets that went into binder sleeves with the source document back to back on the other side of the sleeves. One of the items I would include on this page is the Footnote reference citation. When I was creating these pages in Microsoft Work, it was so easy to just copy and paste the footnote from the Source listing in RM7. That is no longer possible in RM8.
Hopefully, it will reappear there soon.
Best,
Paul
After reading Paul Harris’s reply, I agree totally with his analysis. RM8 is extremely antagonistic towards source splitters.
I have been trying to come up with a way to remain as extreme source splitter. One of the problems I have had if I build sources from the Sources tab is that the footnote sentence is not built at that point. And it doesn’t even help if I build a new Source from the Edit Person screen. I can’t see the footnote sentence being built as I add data to the template at that point, either.
There are several reasons that being able to see the footnote sentence being built is important. One reason is obviously to see that my data is going into fields in such a way that the footnote is being built correctly. But an equally important reason is that I create source names by copying and pasting from the footnote sentence that is being built. And I can’t copy and paste from a footnote sentence that is not there. So I have no good way at present to build source names.
I think I would be willing not to be an extreme source splitter anymore - and I would actually prefer not to be an extreme source splitter anymore - except for two things. And the two things are really the same thing. In RM8’s lists of citations, it only shows you the source name and not the source + citation name. And in RM8’s lists of media tags for media tagged to citations, it only shows you the source name and not the source + citation name. The Slide-in Workflow helps a little with this problem, but not enough.
I think that for a list of citations, if RM8 is only going to show you the source name or only going to show you the citation name, that the obvious choice is the citation name. A list of citations is after all a list of citations and not a list of sources. The trouble is that citation names are often pretty meaningless without the source name, just a page number for example, or something like that. But the reverse is equally true. Source names are often pretty meaningless without the citation name. You really need both.
I don’t understand how users that express delight with RM8’s sources and citations deal with this problem. And Bruce’s Webinar certainly didn’t shed any light on how to deal with this problem. If somebody that’s delighted with RM8’s sources and citations knows how to deal with this problem, please share your solution with the rest of us.
After reading Jerry Bryan’s reply, I agree totally with his analysis. I was fine with the Footnote Window on the Source Screen. If RM were to put it back there, but remove the link to customize it, that should solve their issues as well, and we would all be happy.
Best,
Paul