Did you see the new editing toolbar on profiles, with the cite-your-source button?

+35 votes
642 views

Hi WikiTreers,

We just made some changes to the row of buttons that you see above the text editing box on editing pages.

Most significantly, there is now a "C" button with a prominent "cite your source!" next to it.

Clicking it inserts this:
    <ref>Insert reference here</ref>

It's a small thing, but it may make a big difference.

We had been planning on something more significant: a widget that helps you format sources, with the ref tags included. But when we dug into that we realized how complicated it would be. Plus, there are good tools out there already, such as the Citation Machine. There is now a link to the Citation Machine next to the editing box.

Onward and upward!

Chris

P.S. If you don't see this button on editing pages try reloading. If it still doesn't work, or you see any other problems, post here. Thanks!

in The Tree House by Chris Whitten G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
Very nice and I think this will be a great help thanks.

However, on my monitor (55 inch Samsung) it's not displaying properly.  I get a scrunched-up C with some tiny unreadable text just next, like as if there isn't enough room in the row for another button.  But it functions well.
Hi Vincent. I know what you mean regarding the scrunched-up button. Does it fix itself if you reload the page? Thanks!
No, it doesn't fix itself when I reload the page.  I shrunk and enlarged my display as well until "Cite your source" is about three feet long and still it's not displaying correctly.  :)
I noticed when I looked at it earlier that it was scrunched, but it seems to be ok now. Someone must have tweaked it.
Looks great on iPhone. Can't wait to use it!
It's a little different than the other buttons in the group (no color and rounded corners) but it's all there now!   Thanks again, this is very handy!
It may help reduce the problems with some typing errors when using inline sources.
Great stuff - indeed onward & upward :-)!
"There is now a link to the Citation Machine next to the editing box."

That's awesome!
WOW!  That's great can't wait to use it.  Sometimes I have more sources than "real story" it seems.  It does make the bio so much cleaner to use them.  You all are awesome!
I have playing with this feature and it does work well but I never had a problem with the inline sources myself so for me it is not such a big deal, but it should help a lot of others who do not understand that method.
I haven't forgotten to add the end </ref> all day.
Anne, that is good, but I put a whole inline source in the middle of another due to a problem with my keyboard and mouse and did not catch it until I looked at the end result so we still have to be careful. :)

3 Answers

+10 votes
 
Best answer
Lots of comments on this new item but don't think anyone has mentioned that NEW VOLUNTEERs may desperately need it.  It took me months to get the typing system down and I still can't get references to properly work without going to a saved doc and copy pasting it.  I see way too many folks not documenting sources at all period.  Just the gedcom stuff.

However one issue with the location of the citation (and bold, italic, etc) is that when a profile is long, one has to back up all the way to the top to click it then scroll down to see if it worked.  I like the way the templates are shown on the right side, more in the middle on the edit page.  Could these little links be put a little more central to the bio?

Probably more work that its worth, but it's still  a great way to encourage citation use.

Barb
by Living Breece G2G6 Mach 4 (45.6k points)
selected by Debra Allison
+4 votes
Chris, I just love this new feature! It makes it so much easier to add sources (I haven't yet tried the Citation Machine within the context of WikiTree though).

Is there any posibility to create a similar button for named references? Though it is easy to convert this result into a named reference, it would be interesting and very useful if one could automatically generate named references ... (thanks Liz! - I will never forget your patience in teaching me how to make them - and how proud I felt when it first succeeded ...).
by Philip van der Walt G2G6 Pilot (169k points)
+5 votes

Wow!  I have to say, Chris, this is the best since sliced bread!  I love this button!  Now, I don't even have to worry that I am doing it right.  I just push the button, copy and paste my source (for example from FamilySearch.org, "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images,  FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKXM-C98P : accessed 20 April 2016), Annie Smith in household of Henry W Smith, Rye, Sussex, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images,  findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 15, Piece/Folio 1017/11, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,455.) and save it!  Couldn't be easier.

The only thing I would change is this.  Could the text that prints on the Edit screen between the Ref tags be in a different color?  Maybe including the Ref on and off tags?  That would make it easier to see which letters are biography text and which letters are source references on the Edit screen.  When editing a bio, it is sometimes hard to see where the bio text is and where the source text is.  Not a problem on the Public View screen, of course.

Again, this is a GREAT addition.  Thanks, Sysops! 

by Kitty Smith G2G6 Pilot (638k points)
I love that colour idea. It would make things very much easier when editing.
Thanks, Kitty!

Unfortunately, Kitty and Helen, we have looked at the color idea and it's not feasible.

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