SourceWizard helps you create a source and citation or find one you have already entered. Start with a description of the material, a web address, or citation text. RootsMagic suggests ways to proceed; you choose the source or template and check the information before saving.
Open SourceWizard
From the main Sources page, choose Add > Add using SourceWizard. This creates records in your source collection. To connect a citation to evidence in your tree, start from the person, family, or fact instead.
In Edit Person, open Sources for the person, family, or fact you want to document. Click Add with SourceWizard. When you finish, the citation is added to that person's or fact's Sources list. See Adding a citation for the steps.
Describe what you have
Enter information in SourceWizard's single entry field. You can enter a source type, such as family bible or book; recognizable words from an existing source; a URL; or a complete citation copied from a website or another document.
Read each suggestion's action as well as its name. A result may create a new source using a template, reuse a source with a new citation, reuse an existing citation, or create a free-form source from pasted text. These actions have different results. Choosing an existing source does not necessarily mean choosing an existing citation.
If you recognize the correct source in your database, reuse it. If its saved citation describes the same page, entry, or record you consulted, reuse that citation too. If the source is right but the page or record differs, create a new citation under that source. See Reusing sources and citations.
Start with a source type
1.Enter a description of the material, such as book.
2.Read the suggested template descriptions. Choose according to what you consulted, rather than the fact you are documenting: evidence of a birth could come from a book, a certificate, or an interview.
3.Select the appropriate new-source suggestion. For example, Basic Publication (Book) provides fields for a book and the particular item you are citing.
4.Enter the bibliographic information and citation details. Describing the type of source does not fill in its author, title, or publication information.
5.Read the citation preview, click Save, and enter names for the source and citation as described below.
Start with a web address
Paste the URL into the entry field and inspect the suggestions. A website can contain many kinds of material: a database, a separately credited article, an image of a document, or a simple page. Select the template that describes the item you actually used.
Check the entry form for missing information. Supply the titles, creators, dates, address, and specific item requested by the chosen template. A suggested template is not a guarantee that RootsMagic has retrieved or verified the contents of that page. Compare your finished citation with the record you viewed.
Start with a complete citation
1.Copy the citation text supplied by the record provider or your existing document and paste it into SourceWizard.
2.If the appropriate suggestion is to create a free-form source, select it and review the text placed in Footnote.
3.Check Short footnote and Bibliography separately. These serve different purposes; do not assume a pasted full citation is suitable unchanged for all three.
4.Put information about the whole source, such as a book's title and author, in Master Source. Put the page, household, or entry in Citation Details. You can then cite another page without entering the book again.
5.Save and name the records. Then add a transcript, record image, or WebTag where useful.
For example, if a pasted citation contains the publication details of a book followed by a page reference, keep the book information in the source and the page reference in the citation. Check the preview to avoid printing the page twice. If the pasted text describes a more complex online record, retain the details needed to locate both the record and the version you consulted.
Use Help me choose
Choose Help me choose when you are uncertain about the type of material. Answer the questions about what you consulted. Use Back if an answer leads to a description that does not fit.
For a complete family-history book, select A publication and then A whole book or similar item. A separately authored chapter can need a different choice from the whole book. Read the recommended template's description and choose Use Template to open the entry form.
Help me choose is also available when selecting a source type manually. You do not need to design a custom template to use this assistance.
Complete and save the entry
Master Source describes the whole source, such as a book. Citation Details identifies the page or record you used. Read the Footnote, Short footnote, and Bibliography previews below the boxes you filled in. Correct anything that is missing or appears twice.
Click Save. When creating a source and citation, RootsMagic asks for a Source Name and Citation Name. Both are required filing labels; suggestions from the template can be changed. Use names you will recognize in a list. Optional reference numbers can match your own filing system.
If you began in Edit Person, return to the selected item's citation list and confirm the citation is attached there. If you began on the Sources page, the new records still need to be linked to the appropriate person, family, or fact. See Adding a citation.
If the suggestions do not fit
Try a more specific description or use Help me choose. To select from the source-type list directly, use the manual entry route described in Adding a source. Free Form is available when you want to enter the three formatted versions yourself.
If a suggested source looks similar to yours, check its details before choosing it. You may have used a different edition or collection and need a new source. Changing an existing source to describe different material would also change the citations you already made from it.
If the citation is missing from a person's facts after saving, check where you started. Creating it on the Sources page alone does not attach it to a fact. Use Cite existing from the intended fact to select the saved source and citation.
