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WikiTree Sourcer| User Guide | Release notes | Frequently Asked Questions | Wish List (enhancement requests)

FAQ

General

Why do I sometimes get asked to press another button to save to the clipboard?

This can happen when building a citation (for example) is not instantaneous and the spinning cursor is shown. In some cases, on some browsers, this can result in an additional popup asking you to press a button to save the data to the clipboard.

The spinning busy indicator typically only comes up on websites where Sourcer can't get all the data it needs from the current page HTML so it sends a request to the web server. This can happen on FamilySearch and Ancestry.

The reason for the two different dialogs/popups after creating a citation is due to the way that extensions work and it varies depending on which browser you have. For security reasons the browser has a rule that the extension can only write data to the clipboard in response to a user action. Different browsers implement this rule differently. In Chrome, if Sourcer can build the citation within a few seconds the browser typically allows it to write it to the clipboard and you get a popup with a green checkmark and text starting with "Citation saved to clipboard."

If it takes longer then new user input is required to allow the extension to write to the clipboard so you will see a popup that includes the text "Press button below to save it to the clipboard" and there is a "Save to clipboard" button. When you press this button you then get the usual popup with the checkmark.

If you then build the same citation a second time it will be faster. This is because Sourcer extension caches the results - so the second time you do it it doesn't need to fetch anything from the website and can build the citation immediately.

Site specific questions

Ancestry

When I search Ancestry why does it take me to the wrong site (and asks me to sign up)

By default WikiTree Sourcer uses the ancestry.com site. But there is an option to tell it where your subscription is:

WTS Options page: Ancestry Subscription

Browser specific questions

Chrome (and other Chromium-based browsers)

How do I install the extension

For Chrome, Opera, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi and other Chromium based browsers, install it from the Chrome Web Store.

1. Click on this link to take you to the WikiTree Sourcer page on the Chrome Web Store
2. There will be a blue button on the top right of the page. In the Chrome browser it says "Add to Chrome". For other browsers the wording may be different. Click this button.

How do I pin the extension to the browser toolbar

In the browser toolbar (usually to the right of the URL field) you should see an icon that looks like a puzzle piece. Click on this and you will see a list of installed extensions that are enabled. To the right of the extension name is a push-pin icon. This icon is solid blue when the extension is pinned and hollow great when it is not. If it is not blue then click on it so that it is.

You should now see the [1] icon next to the puzzle-piece icon. This is the icon to bring up the WikiTree Sourcer popup menu.

How can I tell which version of the extension I have installed?

Click on the puzzle piece icon to the right of the [1] icon. This shows a list of your extensions. Click the "..." next to WikiTree Sourcer. Then click "Manage Extension". The version is shown on the resulting screen.

How do I enable/disable auto updates?

Chrome automatically updates your extensions when a new version is released. You can disable auto updates but it is hacky.

If you know there is a new version and you want to update sooner than the automatic update does it you can click "Manage Extension" (see previous answer) and press the Update button near the top of the page.

After an update the extension is no longer pinned, how to fix?

If an update to the extension adds a new permission (for example if a new site is added), then Chrome my disable the extension until you grant it permission. To fix this, click on the puzzle-piece icon and see if the extension is in the "Access requested" group. If so click on the extension to give it permission.

Firefox

How do I install the extension

For Firefox install it from the Firefox Add-ons page.

1. In the Firefox browser, click on this link to take you to the WikiTree Sourcer page on the Firefox Browser Add-ons site.
2. There will be a blue button that says "Add to Firefox". Click this button.

How do I pin the extension to the browser toolbar

There should be an icon in the browser toolbar that looks like a puzzle piece icon. Click this and it should show all the installed extensions that are enabled. Click the gear icon to the right of "WikiTree Sourcer" then slick on the first item on the menu "Pin to toolbar".

How can I tell which version of the extension I have installed?

Click on the burger menu (three horizontal lines) icon to far right of the URL bar, then select "Add-ons and Themes". You should see WikiTree Sourcer on this page. Click the "..." button to the right of it and select "Manage" from the menu.

This shows you a page about the extension. One of the lines says "Version"

How do I enable/disable auto updates?

Click on the burger menu (three horizontal lines) icon to far right of the URL bar, then select "Add-ons and Themes". You should see WikiTree Sourcer on this page. Click the "..." button to the right of it and select "Manage" from the menu.

This shows you a page about the extension. One of the lines says "Allow automatic updates". The options are Default, On and Off. Default means that it uses the defaul setting for all extensions.

To change the default for all extensions...

Click on the burger menu (three horizontal lines) icon to far right of the URL bar, then select "Add-ons and Themes". At the top is a line that says "Manage your Extensions". To the right of this line is a gear icon. Click on that and a menu comes up. One of the menu items says "Update Add-ons Automatically". If this has a check mark to the left of it then the default is to auto-update. You can click this menu item to toggle the check mark.

Safari

How do I install the extension

The extension is installed from the Apple App Store. Chick on this link to take you to the WikiTree Sourcer App in the App Store.

The extension costs about $4.99 in the App Store. This is to cover the costs of developing for Mac and iOS (they require an annual subscription to be an Apple Developer and require an up to date Mac computer to develop apps).

Purchase the WikiTree Sourcer app and it will be downloaded to your device.

Then run the installed WikiTree Sourcer App. Running the app will install the extension in Safari.

How can I tell which version of the extension I have installed?

On Mac:

In Safari click "Safari" on the menu bar and select "Preferences...". In the preferences dialog that comes up click on the "Extensions" tab. This should show a list of extensions on the left hand side. Click "WikiTree Sourcer". It now shows the version on the right hand side.

How do I enable/disable auto updates?

On Mac:

Safari Extensions are associated with an App (that you buy in the App store). So they update just like any other app through the "Software Update" section of "System Preferences" on Mac

Why does it sometimes ask for another button click to save to clipboard?

Safari has a security feature that prevents extensions from writing to clipboard except in response to a user action. What this means is that if the extension does some extra work (like reading other pages) in order to generate the citation or table then Safari doesn't allow it to write to the clipboard after that work. So the extension changes the popup to ask for another button press in order to write to the clipboard.