The Source Window

What Is the Source Window?
Source Fields
Adding, Deleting, Reordering, or Changing Fields in a Source
Default Source Fields for Source Records
Free-Form Text Field

Multimedia in Source Records
The Source Preview

Sharing Source Record
Adding a New Source Record Without Citing Anything
Editing an Existing Source Record

Navigating to Other Source Records


Sources: An Overview

Deleting a Source Record

Showing Citations to a Source
Showing People Who Cite a Source
Changing the Source Type

What Is the Source Window?

The Source window is the place to enter or edit the specifics of a source record. This window appears when...

The Source window has four sections, all shown simultaneously. Each section can be resized (by clicking and dragging in the gray area between sections) and revealed or hidden (using the small triangle buttons to the left of each section's name). The overall size of the Source window is resizable too, by clicking and dragging its lower-right corner.

section
what it does
Source Fields
Provides separate fields for different bits of information.
Free-Form Text
Contains one scrolling text field that holds up to 30,000 characters of text.
Multimedia
Lists the multimedia items (pictures, scans, etc.) linked to the source record.
Preview
Shows how the source will appear as an endnote.
Source Fields

Source Fields comprise the first section in the Source window. They may be hidden or revealed by clicking the little triangle button to the left of the title "Source Fields."

When adding a source, a collection of fields comprising the source template will automatically appear in the Source Fields section of the Source window. For example, when adding a book source, a collection of fields associated with a book will automatically appear. Similarly, if a new source for an interview is created, a collection of fields associated with an interview will appear. Simply fill in the fields with the appropriate data, and, if appropriate, enter text in the Free-Form Text field (described below).

Adding, Deleting, Reordering, or Changing Fields in a Source

Fields can be added to a source record. For example, if you're filling out a book source, you may need an extra field for a unique piece of information that's not covered in the default set of fields for book sources. Each source record may contain up to 50 fields.

To add additional fields to a source, click the Add Field button at the bottom-left corner of the Source Fields section in the Source window. A list of source fields in your family file will appear. If you don't see the field you need in the list, click the Field Settings button to add a new source field to the family file.

To remove a field from a source record, just highlight the field in the Source window and click the Remove Field button (the minus sign) at the bottom-left corner of the Source Fields section. (Or, press Command-Delete on your keyboard.) To simplify data entry, you can remove fields that don't apply to a source.

To change the order of fields in the Source Fields section, click and drag fields to the desired position. The field order in this window will determine the field order in an endnote.

Tip: Control-click an existing field in the Source Fields section to see a menu for adding, removing, or changing the selected field. Changing one field into another, in this scenario, only affects the field in the current source record; it does not change any other source records.

If the field contains a URL, this shortcut menu will also include the item Open Link (which will open the URL in your web browser).

Another Tip: Control-click the column headings in the Source Fields list to auto-size the columns.

Default Source Fields for Source Records

If you modify a particular source by adding or removing fields to your liking, and you want all new sources of the same template to appear with an identical collection of fields in the same order, click the Save Default button in the Source Fields section of the Source window. (It's the green arrow, pointing downward.)

Free-Form Text Field

Each source record has, at a minimum, one Free-Form Text field (even if no other source fields are utilized). Some people prefer recording all source information in a single free-form text field. Other people prefer a more structured approach, using different fields for different bits of information. Reunion offers both — allowing you to use free-form source records, structured source records, or both.

The Free-Form Text field appears in the second section in the Source window. It may be hidden or revealed by clicking the little triangle button to the left of the title "Free-Form Text."

This section contains one scrolling text field, holding up to 30,000 characters of text.

The font applied to free-form text is specified in the General Settings. To apply different text styles and color to free-form text, use the Text Style and Text Color menu buttons, as shown in the illustration above.

To exclude the Free-Form Text field from endnotes, check the Exclude from Endnotes button, just beneath the Free-Form Text field.

Sources such as birth certificates provide one example of a situation where this exclusion might be handy. You could capture the origin of the document (archive, file number, volume, etc.) in the structured source fields and enter the full text of the birth certificate in the Free-Form Text field. For reports, you could then exclude the Free-Form Text field (in this case, the text of the birth certificate) from the endnotes.

Sometimes you'll have lengthy notes in the Free-Form Text field and it may be unnecessary or awkward to include them in reports. The structured fields often provide enough information for the recipient to see the essence of the source record. If you mainly have free-form sources, you could use a descriptive title field in the structured Source Fields section and include only that field in reports.

Searching in the Free-Form Text Field

When the cursor is in the Free-Form Text field, you can search for text in the field by pressing Command+F or using the Edit > Find submenu from the menubar at the top. Then enter the text you'd like to find in the Find in Free-Form Text window and press Return/Enter or click the Next button. Learn more about searching for text in a note field.

Multimedia in Source Records

Multimedia items, such as pictures, photos, movies, PDF files, etc., can be linked to source records. Reunion does not copy, move, or store the original multimedia file. The original picture file does not become part of your Reunion family file. Rather, Reunion links to the multimedia file (basically, remembers its identity and location) and then reads that file when creating reports, displaying thumbnails, etc.

The list of multimedia items linked to the source record appears in the third section of the Source window. This section may be hidden or revealed by clicking the little gray triangle button to the left of the title "Multimedia."

Adding and Removing Multimedia Items in Sources

There are four ways to add multimedia items to a source record...

  1. Drag and drop a multimedia file from the Finder onto a source record listed in the Sources sidebar.
  2. Drag and drop a multimedia file from the Finder into the Multimedia section of the Source window.
  3. Click the Add button (the plus sign) at the bottom-left corner of the Multimedia section of the Source window.
  4. Click the Tools button (the hammer icon) at the bottom-left corner of the Multimedia section of the Source window and choose Add Items from the Media Tools menu.

Here are four ways to remove selected multimedia items from a source record in the Source window...

  1. Click the Remove button (the minus sign, just below the multimedia list).
  2. Press Command-Delete on your keyboard.
  3. Click the Tools button (the hammer icon) at the bottom-left corner of the Multimedia section. Then choose Remove from the Media Tools menu.
  4. Or, Control-click the item in the list and choose Remove.

The Media Tools Window

The Media Tools appear when clicking the Tools button (hammer) near the bottom left of the Multimedia list in the Source window.

The Media Tools menu has the following items...

Tip: A shortcut for seeing the Media Tools features is simply Control-clicking an item in the Multimedia list.

Revealing Multimedia Files in the Finder

To reveal a multimedia item in the Finder, select the item in the Multimedia section of the Source window. Then do one of the following...

  1. Click its file path (located near the bottom of the Multimedia section).
  2. Click the Tools menu button and choose Reveal in Finder. (Note: this menu item will be disabled if the original multimedia file is missing.)
  3. Or, Control-click the item and choose Reveal in Finder.

To edit a multimedia item (for example, to trim a movie or lighten a picture), double-click the file in the Finder or drag-and-drop the file onto the appropriate editor app icon.

Opening Multimedia Items in Sources

The easiest way to open a multimedia item — display a picture, play a movie or sound, open a PDF file, etc. — is to double-click the item in the Multimedia section of the Source window.

You can also select an item in the Multimedia list, click the Tools button and select Open in Preview. Or, Control-click an item and choose the same command.

Similarly, to open all of the items currently linked to a source, choose Open All from the Tools menu, shown above. Or, Control-click any item and choose Open All.

Sensitive Source Multimedia Items

To designate a source multimedia item as sensitive and thereby omit it from reports, check the button in the Sensitive column (the column on the far right in the Multimedia section of the Source window — with this icon at the top).

Missing Multimedia Items in Sources

If a red question mark icon appears in the list of multimedia items linked to a source, it means that Reunion can't find the original image file. In this case, you should repair multimedia links. Learn more.

Source Preview

The last section of the Source window is the Preview. This section may be hidden or revealed by clicking the little triangle button to the left of the title "Preview."

The Preview shows how the source record will appear in a report, as an "endnote." Learn more about endnotes here.

When examining the preview, certain fields may appear with styled text. For example, italicized titles in quotation marks, as in the example above. This is because the settings for each source field include the option to automatically apply style to the content of a source field and to enclose the field in quotes. Learn more.

The endnote preview does not include the citation detail field, if any exists.

In endnotes (in reports, and in the preview) the contents of the Free-Form Text field will begin on a new line.

Source Window Features and Tips

Sharing a Source Record

To email, print, or copy a source record (all fields combined — essentially, what is shown in the Preview section), click on the Share Source button at the bottom right of the Source window. When you click the Share Source button, a menu will appear with three options...

Note: This is not to be confused with copying and pasting a citation from one field to another, which is explained here.

Another way to copy the text of a source record is to select a source in the Sources sidebar, click the Tools button in the bottom bar, and choose Copy Text of Source.

Navigating to Other Source Records

When a Source window is open, there are three ways to navigate to other source records...

Creating a List of Citations to a Source Record

When a Source window is open, look in the bottom-right corner for a button called Show citations to source x.

Clicking this button will open the Citations list, showing a list of all citations to the current source record. Learn more.

Note: The Sources sidebar provides another way to show all citations to a source record. Learn more.

Adding a New Source Record Without Citing Anything

Typically, new source records are created in the context of citing your sources. For example, while entering new people into the family file, you may be transcribing names from a family Bible or some other source. As you transcribe the first name from the Bible and desire to cite your source, you add a new source record for the family Bible.

If you prefer, you can create new source records at any time — not necessarily as you're about to cite a source. For example, when you obtain a pile of books and you want to make a new source record for each book prior to transcribing data from the books. To create a new source record...

  1. Click Sources in the Sidebar list.
  2. addClick the Add Source button in the bottom bar.

The details of each new source record are entered in the Source window, described above.

Editing an Existing Source Record

There are several ways to open an existing source:

  1. Click Sources in the Sidebar list and double-click a source record in the Sources sidebar.
  2. Put the cursor into any name, event, or fact field and notice the list of source citations beneath the data entry fields. Double-click one of the source citations in the list.
  3. In any note field, click a superscript source number in the notes, and the source citation will appear beneath the notes. Then click the source citation.
  4. In the family view, type: sx[Enter] to open source number x. For example, to open source 24, type: s24[Enter]. These are known as letter key shortcuts.
Tip:
If the Sources sidebar is showing and you want to open a source by number, simply type #x into the search box of the sidebar, where x is the number of the source you want to see.

Pasting In the Source Window

Because the Source window is multifaceted, the Edit > Paste menu item can do different things. Assuming something has been copied into the Clipboard, here's what to expect...