It would be great if we had a pre-post routine we could run on new or updated profiles to catch template errors

Question

I've spent several hours fixing typos in the Find A Grave templates that could have been caught if there was a routine we could run that would check for those typos (wrong capitalizations, etc.). I've been updating profiles with FamilySearch and FindAGrave sources - trying to fill in the stories of cousins...

WT is good at catching errors in familial dates, but over the last few weeks, most of my "suggestions" have been involved with fixing typos in Templates,

I'd bet we all could generate a list of simple typos to check for before we post. (and yes I could try to run a Ctl-F on a long list of errors).

Maybe the enhanced editor could be tweaked to look for errors in Templates the way it flags missed inline reference tags?

Answer 1

If you always click on the 'Preview' button at the bottom of the bio box on the Edit tab, then typos in templates will make them come up red.

Comments

In addition to what Ros mentioned, I would consider the suggestions database to be a post-routine system.

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Actually....

I already extensively use the "enhanced editor" (and have defended it as a valuable tool to detractors), but while is does show missing "ref" tags, it does NOT show/highlight duplicate sources in references, duplicate references, or errors in Templates.

Preview will show mistakes in online sources, but only <ref></ref> errors - unless you have some super secret beta version of the editor.

I guess I'm asking for a little more functionality in the enhanced editor.

rsl

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'Enhanced editor' doesn't have anything to do with using 'preview' to review what the profile will look like after making changes.  It shows the problems with the 'ref' statements and 'templates', including Find a Grave.  

Using Preview, it showed errors 'in red' such as   {{FindaGrave|asdf}}    - incorrect capitalization

Enhanced Editing showed a problem with this that the Preview didn't show

{{FindaGrave|asdf}  - only one curvey bracket at the end,

Neither shows a problem for this, but I think you will get a suggestion for it

{{Find A Grave|  asdf  |SameAs=No}}   - capitalization of Same As and No

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What browser are you guys using? Are you using an Add-On?

On the latest basic Firefox, the only errors the "preview" shows are broken <ref> links in Bold, with language designed to help you correct the issue. Nothing is in Color and it ignores templates, especially anything inside {{}}.

A broken "name" ref without the final "/" is also ignored, except that it tries to continue the ref into the next paragraph/sentence. Template errors related to brackets just shows the template in the text.

The Enhanced editor lays out the links and lets you see the boundaries of the <ref></ref> sources, but only shows red if you mess up either the ref or /ref tags. I find the enhanced editor to be a great tool when working with lots of inline sources/references, but the regular editor using Firefox only shows that there are errors and does NOT show typos in templates, it just shows the template as if it was what you wanted.

My original question was to see if the profile posting process, that already looks at dates of relatives, and missing fields, could be enhanced to flag broken links and templates. I realize this would be an additional search through potentially large field, but in my case, would have avoided over 100 errors (due to my misreading the "FindAGrave|####|sameas=xx" instructions that led to me capitalizing sameas.

Wikitree+ seems to be able to do that search, I'd just like to see it flag errors when you go to post them, not 2 weeks later when they turn up under Suggestions.

rsl

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I am not using an add-on.  I am using Vivaldi, which is based on Chrome.  I get the 'red' with Firefox, too.

Example of when it goes red:
say you were using {{One Name Studies}}, but you made a typo and put {{One Name Studiiess}}.  The system thinks you are creating a new template, so it says (in red) Template:One Name Studiiess

You will be able to see this either after you have clicked on 'Preview' or if you save the typo and then doublecheck the profile's main page, where it will also be red.  If you want checks at the time rather than two weeks later, the solution is for you to check, check, doublecheck, and check again. The image below is taken from a Preview of my own profile.

... ... ... is a Wonderful WikiTreer.

Template:One Name Studiiess

This profile is part of the Haywood Name Study.

... was featured in a Meet Our Members Post on the WikiTree Blog!

... ... ... is a member of the Haywood Name Study.

Ros was born in Hackney, London, England, which makes her an EastEnder (although she doesn't sound like it). She has

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I had asked Ales earlier to check on the capitalization issue with SameAs because I had seen it in the Suggestions from quite a few people.  He had checked and realized there were quite a few, so he was going to see if EditBot could possibly fix it automatically

I am not using any Add-on either. I use Chrome. 

Did you copy / paste the Find A Grave template error that I said above   {{FindaGrave|asdf}}   into your browser?  I copied it into FF Browser, did the Preview and it is shown in Red, like Ros's One Name studies error above. 

I think the Suggestions were created to catch many things that were not necessarily being checked when the Profiles were actually being edited.  

I would add a tag to your question for Tech and improvements.  Not sure what else to get Tech / Admin attention. 

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When I type FindaGrave it comes up red, when I type FindAGrave, it doesn't,

When I type FindaGrave|#####, it comes up red. When I type FindAGrave and any number it doesn't

When I type FindaGrave|number|Saveas=no it comes up red, if I type FindAGrave|number|Saveas=no (or anything else) it comes up black. Until I realized that it is "sameas" I got about 100 FindAGrave errors entered, and had to go back and fix them all.

The key is that it reads the first section of the template but doesn't check the last part, I don't have a problem with typos on FindAGrave - its the rest of the template that gives everyone who capitalizes "Sameas" fits.

rsl

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I will ask Ales if he had made the change to have EditBot check for 'sameas' capitalizing.

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That is great - even if I've already changed most of mine.....

Thanks

FWIW - the preview does show typos in Templates in red, but only up to the pipe "|" - it does not run any kind of check on the rest of the data between the "{{}}"

I rarely screw up the main category, its the following data that gets me at times - I also do a lot of copy and paste between spouses (for children and residences) and fun foul of people not in the original genalogical books that I'm using.

rsl

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Message sent with this G2G included!!  He could have gotten sidetracked and he had Roots Tech, also.  I know when he looked he said there were a lot of them with capital letters.

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If you make a mistake in template name capitalisation, EditBOT corrects that every day.

On the other hand template parameters are not corrected automatically, since they are not reported by wikitree as an error.

We have a general rule that almost all named parameters are always in lowercase. That way you can always know.

After a quick look, there is over 500 mis capitalised sameas parameters. I will see if I can correct that automatically.

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Thanks Ales for everything you do!

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Thanks Ales - someof us work on multiple computers, and typos are always an option with different key boards.

rsl

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EditBOT corrected that change. I hope there will not be many new ones.

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Thanks Ales. I think people will probably continue to enter it wrong unfortunately.  Hopefully people will realize those changed in their Feed

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Thanks for your work Ales - making the Editbot do the QC will definitely help those of us who don't read the doc completely.

For the future, it would be great if the routine that makes an erroneous catagory looke beyond the first pipe "|" - the sameas error is not displayed as red, at least on my system, regardless of others claiming that it does.

making the editbot go through and do the change will make everything easier, even though I spend an afternoon fixing all of mine.

rsl

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The template possibilities are very limited and it can't be easily done. But people will learn in time what is correct.

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The complexities of the templates are why some of us don't use more than one or two - I still am not sure about the 2 "unit" fields in the military service template, and usually get one or two of them wrong a week. At least the military folks catch them and fix them.

But there are people out here that are used to upper and lower case being the same thing in search engines so they don't realize that the WT Templates are case sensitive.

Which further highlights the magnificent job you guys do to try to clean up the database so we "regular" folks can do our research, updates, and all.

Thanks for what you are doing for the community, we probably don't say that enough.

rsl