When you edit a citation, you can see both the source information and the details of the page or record you used. Changes under Master Source, such as a corrected book title, appear in every citation of that source. Changes under Citation Details, such as a corrected page number, appear everywhere you have used that particular citation. Quality lets you assess how the evidence supports the person or fact you are working on.
Open the citation
From Edit Person, open Sources for the person, family, or fact and select the citation. This route also lets you assess the evidence for that particular use.
From the main Sources page, find the source, click its Citations count, and select a citation. This route manages the saved citation without selecting one particular use. Quality is therefore unavailable here.
Check the source type, source name, and citation name in the editor header. When editing from Edit Person, also check the item whose citations you opened.
Correct the citation fields
1.Choose the citation-fields control below the header.
2.Expand or locate Citation Details and edit the specific item, page, entry, or other detail supplied by the source type.
3.Change Master Source only when the correction applies to every citation of that source.
4.Review Footnote, Short footnote, and Bibliography below the fields. Look for missing location details, duplicated page information, or text placed at the wrong level.
For a free-form source, enter the page, record, or other specific reference in Specific item under Citation Details. The formatted source text is entered directly. For a templated source, RootsMagic assembles the reference from the template's fields. Field names and the number of citation-detail fields depend on the source type.
If you need to cite page 91 instead of page 24 for a new fact, make a copy of the page-24 citation and change the copy. Changing the original citation would change the page number for everyone who already uses it, even if you made the change from just one person's window.
Rename the source or citation
Click the pencil at the upper right of the heading to change the source or citation name, or to enter a reference number for your own filing system. Use a source name that helps you recognize the book or collection. Use a citation name that helps you recognize the page or record, such as a page number and the name of the person mentioned.
These names are filing labels. To change the title or details printed in the footnote, edit the corresponding content fields. Optional reference numbers can identify where you filed a paper or digital copy.
Enter text and comments
Choose the text/page control. Source text and Source comments belong to the source as a whole. Research notes and Detail comments belong to the selected citation.
Research notes can contain a word-for-word copy (transcript), a summary (abstract), or your explanation of the record. Use Detail comments for questions or observations about it. Open the larger editing area beside a text box if you need more room.
Everyone using this citation will see the same research notes and comments. If your explanation concerns only one person's Birth fact, put it in that fact's note. Use Quality to assess how the citation supports that particular fact.
Add media, WebTags, or a repository
Choose the links control. Use the source section for attachments concerning the entire source and the citation section for attachments concerning the specific cited item.
For example, add a book's title-page image to the source and a scan of the cited page to the citation. Add a website link (WebTag) to the source for a collection's home page, or to the citation for the particular record. Check whether you are adding it under the source or the citation before continuing.
Repositories belong to the source. A repository records where the material can be found; it is separate from the citation's page or record reference.
Inspect where the citation is used
Open Citation Used in the links section to see every person, family, and fact using this citation. Source Used shows everyone using any citation of the source. Check these lists before making a correction if you are unsure who it will affect.
Citations counts how many different citations you have saved for a source. Used counts how many times they have been added to people or facts. For example, one census citation might support five people. It is still one citation, but it has five uses.
Assess the evidence or make a separate citation
For evidence assessment, open the citation from the relevant item in Edit Person and choose the Quality/star control. See Citation quality.
To make a citation you can change separately, choose Copy selected citation on the Sources page, or Memorize and then Paste copy in Edit Person. You can change the copy's page or record details without changing the original. Both still refer to the same source, so correcting the book title changes it for both. See Using Sources and Citations.
