Category: organization

The file size of your book can get very large when you have a lot of pictures in it. And when the file is huge it can slow down your computer a lot and make editing drag on and on. If you are struggling with this then consider splitting the book into chapter files where each chapter (or two) are individual files. While you are editing them you can call them whatever you want, but I have a suggestion for when you are ready to take the book to the publisher. By putting numbers at the beginning of the name of each file they will be sorted into the order of how they appear in the book.  Use two digits for the numbers (i.e.: 01Titlepage, 02Preface, 03 Chapter one, etc.) to keep the first nine chapters in order on the top of the list.

Chris Stevenson   cs@sgenealogy.com

That is a great question that I am asked quite frequently. There are several different ways to organize the material in your book. (Just as every person is unique, each book should be unique.) The layout and design of your book, where you put the pictures and the way you organize the information, is part of the creativity & uniqueness of your book. If you don’t know where to start, you can get ideas from looking at other printed histories from family, friends or genealogists and see which style you like best. If you find a layout that you like then use the same one, otherwise you can do it any way you would like. Don’t think that you have to make your book look just like other histories, unless you like it. Go ahead and get opinions and advice from others, but most importantly, don’t be afraid to do it the way that you would like.

Here are some common ways to organize your history. For personal histories, chronological order is frequently used. For genealogical histories the two most common are: 1) Start with the oldest ancestor and work your way to today. Or 2)Start with you, then your parents, then your grandparents, etc. If your history is about multiple cousins of the same generations, the two most common ways are: 1) Alphabetical order; or 2) Put them in order by families in birth order.

Pictures and documents can be placed in groups or scattered throughout the book. I prefer to put the pictures throughout the book, close to where they are talked about in the text. If you are going to print some pictures in color, you can save some money by combining the color pictures on the same page, but other than that feel free to put the pictures and documents where you would like to have them.

Remember, make it your way.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com

The hardest part of writing a book is gathering all the information and pictures. You will be collecting a variety of things, including documents, pictures, and hundreds of facts and stories. If you have a system to organize and track this information as you go along the process of writing will be much smoother. The information that you gather is much too important to lose or have to spend hours looking for again. There are many good ways to organize your data so you can easily find it again. The way that works for me is to use file folders in a filing cabinet and folders on my computer to organize the information as I gather it. I usually label the folders with names, surname first, and then alphabetize them. There is no one right way to do it, but file your information and keep things in a way that makes sense to you. A good tip is to make a good master list or index of what you have collected and where it is located so you can quickly find it again. If you spend a few minutes staying organized, you will save hours and hours of time (not to mention the frustration you will avoid) when you are writing your history. Find a system that works for you and then work the system. Here are some links to different organizational systems: genealogy.about.com Eliminate Genealogy Clutter Book

Some days “change” seems like a bad word. It seems to me that things are changing at a faster and faster rate. Don’t get me wrong, I like the changes and the convenience of the newer software programs and the easier to use devices. I’m glad that smart people are figuring out how to make my life easier. The problem is not only learning the new programs (I understand that they are called apps now) and devices but converting all the old files to the new formats. (You may have guessed that I am going to focus on computer file changes for this blog.) Every now and then I need to look at an old file that I used years ago. The information is still valuable and it will save me a bunch of time if I can open the file and modify it instead of retyping the file. For word processing files, most of the time I am able to open the file and convert it to my latest version. For instance, years ago I used WordPerfect for word processing. I have hundreds of files in WordPerfect file format. Today I use Word 2007. If I need to open a file that is in WordPerfect 5.1 format, Word won’t do it. I first have to open the file in WordPerfect 9.0 and save it in that format, then I can open it in Word. My worry is, someday my future computer might not allow my WordPerfect to work with the operating system, so I won’t be able to access the information. The exact same problem could happen with my genealogy program. If I have a data file that is from PAF 2.31, I might not be able to open it in RootsMagic which is what I am using now.

The solution is to migrate the files with you as you move forward. I know that it may seem like a waste of time and you might be thinking that you will never need the file again. If that is the case, then delete it. But if you think that there is a chance of needing it, then set up a routine for changing all 0f the files to your newest version of software. My suggestion is to do this every time you get a new computer or each time you get new software. After you get used to using the new program or computer, then plan a time to methodically go through all of your old files to delete them or convert them. This is an investment in the future. Especially if you have gathered information for years for a family history that you want to eventually publish. If you are like most people who bring in their old program files to us and ask if we can still open them because they can’t, then you will be very happy that you spent the time moving the old to the new.

Chris Stevenson cs@sgenealogy.com www.sgenealogy.com

The hardest part of writing a book is gathering all the information and pictures. You will be collecting a variety of things, including documents, pictures, and hundreds of facts and stories. If you have a system to organize and track this information as you go along the process of writing will be much smoother. The information that you gather is much too important to lose or have to spend hours looking for again. There are many good ways to organize your data so you can easily find it again. The way that works for me is to use file folders in a filing cabinet and folders on my computer to organize the information as I gather it. I usually label the folders with names, surname first, and then alphabetize them. There is no one right way to do it, but file your information and keep things in a way that makes sense to you. A good tip is to make a good master list or index of what you have collected and where it is located so you can quickly find it again. If you spend a few minutes staying organized, you will save hours and hours of time (not to mention the frustration you will avoid) when you are writing your history. Find a system that works for you and then work the system. Here are some links to different organizational systems: genealogy.about.com Eliminate Genealogy Clutter Book