The Source Template Field Definition Dialog is used for viewing and editing the definition of a particular field within a source template definition.
| Field Name | The field name. This must be unique within the source template definition. |
|---|---|
| Code | This is the code used to reference the field within source
template formats. The code is generated
automatically for you by Family Historian, from the field name. |
| Type |
The field type. The possible
values are:
Text is the all-purpose default, if no other field type is indicated. The Name type is used for names. The Place type field is used for all references to places. The Address field is used for addresses. It is recommended to use a Date type field for all dates, even if the required type of date is much simpler than a Family Historian date can be. For example, if field is needed to store a year in, it should be given a suitable name (e.g. 'Year') and the field type should be specified as Date. The Repository field type is used for all references to a repository. Ordinary generic source records can only be linked to at most one repository, but there is no limit to the number of fields that can have Repository type. Each such field will be a link (an optional link) to a Repository record. So one further advantage of source templates is that it provides a mechanism which allows Source records to be linked to multiple repositories, if this is a requirement. The Enum type is similar to the Text type, in that any text can be typed into an Enum field. The difference is that an Enum field has a little black triangle at its right side. If the user clicks on this, they will be shown a convenient list of commonly-used possible values for the field, which they can select from. Suppose, for example, that a field is needed to store a country name. The dropdown list could contain a list of commonly-used country names, but the user could also type in the country name, if the one they needed wasn't in the list. The list of possible values for the dropdown list, is specified in the Prompt field (see next). The URL type is also similar to the Text type. URL fields are intended to be used for storing web page addresses (e.g. https://www.family-historian.co.uk). For this reason, URL fields have a little 'go-to' button to the right of the field. If the user clicks on this, the specified web page will displayed in a web browser. The user can also access the web page by by double-clicking on the field. |
| Prompt |
For all field types except Repository and Enum (discussed
below), use this field to display a helpful prompt indicating how
the field should be used. Whatever text is entered here (if
any) will display in the field when empty. With the Repository field type, the Prompt field is not used. It can be treated as a second description field if required. With the Enum field type, the Prompt field is used but has a different purpose. It is used to specify a list of possible values to form a dropdown list. A vertical bar character, '|', is used to separate the dropdown list values. For example, if you wanted the dropdown list to have 3 values: apple, pear, banana, the prompt text should be specified like this: apple | pear | banana
Leading and trailing spaces are ignored. If a list value should include a vertical bar or the escape character (\), these must be 'escaped' by putting the escape character in front of them. So, for example, if you wanted "C:\My Documents" to be a value, you would need to enter it as "C:\\My Documents". |
| Description |
Optional description of the field. |
| Citation-specific |
Tick this box if the field is part of the citation-specific
details. Leave it unticked if the field is part of the
Source record. For example, if the Source record is a book,
details such as 'Author' and 'Publisher' are likely to form part
of the Source record; whereas the specific page number you are
referring to, and perhaps also the Volume of the book, would
typically be viewed as citation-specific details. So for the
latter two fields, the box would be ticked. |