I uploaded two different images but WikiTree thinks they are the same URL

Question

The marriage record has the URL

https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2451/40355_267286-00300?pid=4534838&backurl=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D2451%26h%3D4534838%26tid%3D%26pid%3D%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3Dmqz46%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=mqz46&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true#?imageId=40355_267286-00156

The membership record has the URL

https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2451/40355_267286-00300?pid=4534838&backurl=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D2451%26h%3D4534838%26tid%3D%26pid%3D%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3Dmqz46%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=mqz46&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true#?imageId=40355_267286-00300

Comments

I clicked on each link, they both took me to a login screen with no info.  Sorry :)

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What was the message you got when uploading? (or attempting to upload). I am presuming you downloaded the images from Ancestry, and saved them with different file names?

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Hi Lianne,

I did download the two different images and saved them with different file names. One was for Thomas H Norman and one was labeled Kreps/McCallister. The message I got was something like, "you have downloaded another image that appears to be the same as file XYZ. If this is the case, add the current profile ID to the image you are uploading."

Something like that; I don't have the message in front of me. I tried it multiple times and when I checked the two URLs they were slightly different; the final 3 or 4 numbers at the very end were different. I am still relatively new at this; perhaps I am not doing it correctly.  

Also, I am not sure that I am entering the source URL correctly in the "Source" section of the profile. The guide says to use brackets [ ] for URLs. Sometimes I have entered the title of the document as Ancestry has listed it, with Ancestry's page number, assuming that people without access to Ancestry might wish to know what kind of document it was, rather than a URL they couldn't access. What is your advice?

Thanks so much!!

Answer 1

Those are two different URLs and they take me to different images. When I link to these kinds of images in WikiTree, I try to truncate the URLs to remove all of the information about what I was searching for.

In this case, it looks like you found one record in an Ancestry search result, and you found the other one by paging through the microfilm, but the base URL on Ancestry doesn't change when you do that. Ancestry doesn't want to make it easy to save links on sites like WikiTree!

When you've navigated to a different image (not the one that was in your initial Ancestry search result), I think you can overcome the linking problem by keeping the beginning of the URL and the "imageId" section at the end. The URL https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2451/40355_267286-00300 gets you the register list and  https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2451/40355_267286-00300?imageId=40355_267286-00156 gets you the other record -- and if you're feeling brave you can truncate the second URL to https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2451/40355_267286-00156

Comments

Ellen, what a helpful answer! You are right, though, in your comment, "--and if you're feeling brave you can truncate the second URL..."

I get all sorts of fluttery feelings in my stomach when I read that! I guess I just have to try it. After all, if it doesn't work, I can delete it!

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Uh Oh. I tried this and I still get the same error message. Maybe I will do the search for Thomas Norman and see what happens.

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Hmm... I just tested the URLs in my answer, and they took me to two different images. 

If I understand you correctly, you are trying to download the images from Ancestry to your computer, and Ancestry is telling you they are both the same image. If that's what's happening, my guess is that the Ancestry download process looks only at the ID for the first image you accessed (the one that turned up in your search result). Ancestry really doesn't want its customers to be able to take control of the information we find on Ancestry.

Answer 2

Its not WikiTree that thinks they are the same. The two URL's you've posted are actually the same (except for the trailing image ID numbers, which appears to only control the zoom level). Perhaps you've mistakenly copy-pasted the same URL by accident.

Technically, you're not actually "uploading" anything. You are only providing links to resources that are on an external system (Ancestry)

But personally, I would find it more useful to link to the indexed record (which includes a source citation, as well as a link to the image), rather than linking to the image itself. That way its more clear what we're looking for in the image.

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2451&h=4534838&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=mqz46&_phstart=successSource

But I would also include the citation, so that others who don't have access to this paid resource can possibly find the same resource elsewhere:

"Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Collection Name: Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records; Reel: 358"

 

Comments

Those trailing ID numbers actually identify the specific image on the microfilm.

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Thank you Ellen, for reiterating what Dennis said. I understand it better now.

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Thank you Dennis for explaining the problem so clearly! I also realized that since the images I downloaded are from Ancestry, some people would not be able to access them.

I am afraid my skills are kind of rudimentary and I don't know how to access the same files from another place. Ancestry has been my "go to" resource because of that. Sorry!

When you say an indexed file, I am presuming you mean one that someone has read and transcribed all the names from, so that one can search on that name? I often find records by browsing through a document that is not indexed (that I know of) and find my relatives that way. When I search for them, I don't always find the information, even though I know it's there. I would appreciate guidance on that. If this is too much for the G2G forum, please feel free to email me off-site.