LESSON 13 – Organising your files
Let’s face
it, doing Family History/Genealogy we need to come up with a logical filing
system that works. How many times have you had to hunt for something that you know you saved somewhere on your
computer? It can be frustrating and time consuming.
However, if
you take the time to set up a tree filing system and have a consistent way of labelling each item, then you should
be able to find anything with a couple of clicks.
This setup
by Diane Gould Hall is very close to how I’ve set up my filing system. The only
extra folders I have is for Family Group Sheets for each “family” and Convicts.
She also has a great tip for adding folders for each surname.
I suggest
you scroll down and read the comments for some answers to variations of the filing
system.
I keep my
physical files the same way.
The biggest rule is BE CONSISTENT
when naming items or folders.
After
reading Diane’s article I’m going to redo my folders and tie my items to my
Legacy Family Tree by adding the RIN number for any individuals records and the
MRIN number for marriage records. I will also use the MRIN as part of the file
name for my family group sheets. The RIN and MRIN are assigned by the program.
Perhaps your family tree program has an identity number you can use.
Example:
Old record
name: Edwards-Jones Marriage 1833
New record
name: MRIN 119 Edwards-Jones Marriage 1833
It may not
seem like much but adding a unique identifier to the file name can really help
to find a record, especially if you have lots with the same name. The
identifier can be anything you choose.
By using a
good, robust filing system, you can virtually go paper free. Most printers
these days have scanning capabilities.
NOTE: When scanning documents, it is best
to save them as PDF. PDF gives best clarity. Of course, photos should be saved
as JPEG.
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