Question

what is the point of the <ref></ref> in the Sources?

In the bio portion what we put in is what shows (other than links. formatting commands of course).

Why is the same not true with sources?

Answer 1

The <ref></ref> tags are used to create footnotes. This makes it so that the footnote in the text and the source in the sources section are linked to each other.

Take a look at this profile for an example of some simple footnotes. The first footnote appears after the sentence giving the date and place of his marriage to his first wife. You can click the footnote to jump down the page to see the source info for this fact.

I hope that clarifies things a little!

Answer 2

In order for the <ref> stuff </ref> to show you need to put <references/> after it.

Example - the footnote shows where the word references is

== Bio ==                                  
<ref> stuff 1 </ref>                      
== sources ==

<references/>

Example - You put a <ref> stuff2 </ref> in the sources section and it will only show as a [#] because the  <ref> </ref> is after <references/>

== Bio ==

== Sources ==

<references/>

<ref> stuff2 </ref>

Answer 3

Hope this helps I put examples

Adam was a farmer. According to the 1900 census for Sarah who was living with their son Josiah they were the parents of 13 children of whom 5 survived to adulthood.(Year: 1900; Census Place: Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1397; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0016; FHL microfilm: 1241397.)

in the ( ) is the source for the comment without the ref tags

and that is how it would show on the bio

 

below is with the ref tag

Adam was a farmer. According to the 1900 census for Sarah who was living with their son Josiah they were the parents of 13 children of whom 5 survived to adulthood.<ref>Year: 1900; Census Place: Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1397; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0016; FHL microfilm: 1241397.</ref>

Below is how it would show on the bio

Adam was a farmer. According to the 1900 census for Sarah who was living with their son Josiah they were the parents of 13 children of whom 5 survived to adulthood.^[2]

^{then under sources header}

Sources

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Death and age on tombstone
2. ↑ Year: 1900; Census Place: Greene, Clinton, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1397; Page: 18A; Enumeration District: 0016; FHL microfilm: 1241397.

 

You do not need to put the <ref> and </ref> under the sources header by placing them in your bio sections they appear under the sources

 

Comments

Thanks, all.  I think I'm finally beginning to get it.  So when we're doing a merge, comgining bios, etc., what are the guidelines for getting everything together so that the right sources go with the relevant information.  Is this clearly explained somewhere onWikitree Help??

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Sometimes it is best to explain by example. Can you post an example of a merged profile that needs the type of editing that you are concerned about?

 

There may already be a WikiTree Help file that explains post merge editing, but if not, here is what it might say about footnotes and sources:

 

After a merge, you may see something like this:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1660<ref>ABC</ref>

=== Birth ===

:: 1660<ref>XYZ</ref>

 

This should be changed to:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1660<ref>ABC</ref><ref>XYZ</ref>

 

If, instead, you see something like this:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1661<ref>ABC</ref>

=== Birth ===

:: 1664<ref>XYZ</ref>

 

Change it to:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1661<ref>ABC</ref>

:: 1664<ref>XYZ</ref>

 

The above example is an oversimplification. Many footnotes include an 'S#'. 

 

Maybe a better example, after the above edits, you may see:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1660<ref>[[#S1|S1]]: Page 521</ref><ref>[[#S2|S2]]: Page 123</ref>

 

This syntax automatically connects it the correct source, which is shown in the post merge file:

 

== Sources ==

<span id='S1'>S1</span>: ABC

== Sources ==

<span id='S2'>S2</span>: XYZ

 

The connection is maintained even if the post merge profile is a big mess. To clean up the profile, simply copy all this source information together into one section:

 

== Sources ==

* <span id='S1'>S1</span>: ABC

* <span id='S2'>S2</span>: XYZ

 

WikiTree does a good job at maintaining a different 'S#' for each source. I have never seen two different sources having the same 'S#'.

 

If a source is duplicated, with two different S-numbers, they can be combined by deleting the duplicate source and changing the S-number in all the appropriate footnotes. This is a real pain and not necessary, but it does make a cleaner profile.

 

You can also hide these S-numbers and make a better profile:

 

=== Birth ===

:: 1660<ref>[[#S1|ABC]]: Page 521</ref><ref>[[#S2|XYZ]]: Page 123</ref>

== Sources ==

* <span id='S1'></span>: ABC

* <span id='S2'></span>: XYZ

 

As a side note: Often, a profile will use the term "Source: " repeatedly throughout the profile. I use the Search-and-Replace of my text editor to remove all instances of the term "Source: ". AFAIK, this term is redundent and is never needed.

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Thanks, that's helpful, though I did not understand this sentence:

"You do not need to put the <ref> and </ref> under the sources header by placing them in your bio sections they appear under the sources."

 

Pat

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When the ref tags are used in the bio they appear under the Sources Header

I ahve noticed some also using them Under the 

== Sources ==

and they are not needed there

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I still don't understand -- sorry to be so dense!!

Pat

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I think it should have said ""You do not need to put the <ref> and </ref> under the sources header. By placing them in your bio sections they appear under the sources."

Answer 4

The help section explains the use of <ref></ref> and <references/> here

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Footnotes

Comments

Aha!  so the <ref>s have only to do with footnotes?  It all becomes much more comprehensible knowing that!!  Thanks!

Pat

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be sure to check out this as well:

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Sources_Style_Guide