We’ve noticed a few encouraging trends in recent indexing newsletters. First, articles that focus on indexing training are consistently popular. Many indexers are concerned about navigating the indexing program and entering data correctly in order to provide accurate indexes. Second, volunteers have an increasing desire to help, motivate, and encourage other volunteers through the comments they post. On average 6,000 new indexers sign up each month, and many of them have questions. Thank you for your concern for accurate indexes and your desire to assist others!
Below you will find four comments and four training articles from recent indexing newsletters. In the words of Plato, “Twice and thrice over, as they say, good is it to repeat and review what is good.” We hope these tips and tricks will help you in your work.
- “Thank you, thank you, thank you for clarifying the ‘Image Type.’ I could see reasoning for both blank and no extractable data but didn’t know what FamilySearch’s definition was.” Article: How do you know which Image Type to choose?
- “Several indexing fields come with 10 rows automatically. When the list has fewer than 10 people to index, use these keys to mark the remaining rows blank: Ctrl+Shift+B. However, some will have more than 10 names scroll down the image, and count how many rows you may need. Review the article as to the various ways you can add rows.” Article: Indexing Training Tip: Adding and Deleting Rows
- “I make sure to read the field help section for what I am indexing. Some of them say to type what you see. Others specifically say that if the place is misspelled, spell it correctly.” Article: Helpful Reminders for FamilySearch Indexers and Arbitrators
- “Hi all. I just spent a very enjoyable four hours arbitrating a bunch of marriage records—man were they hard to read—well done indexers.” Article: Where Do I Go for Help?
While we realize that instructions and guidelines are not perfect, we are grateful for those of you who continue to index and try to strengthen the community. Now that we have shared a few comments and ideas, we’d like to know what training tips have been most helpful to you. Please share what you know as a comment below, and add a link if you can. Send your tips to us via email at fsindexing@familysearch.org.
Thanks for taking the time to help the indexing community!
