Here’s the next in my series of bite-size Quick Tips. Click on the Quick Tips tag for my other Quick Tips. Because I tend to write longer posts, I wanted to provide a quick-to-read (and quick-to-write) high-impact post every couple of weeks. This one has saved me a lot of time in the past when I’ve let unprocessed files pile up.
Grab a URL when you download a document
When I’m researching mindfully, I process a document as soon as I download it, before I move on to anything else. (And by that I mean create a sort citation, glean all the information from the document and add it to my genealogy software.) But as I revealed in a recent post about my backlog, sometimes the reality is that downloaded documents languish before being processed. (I do always change the filename as soon as I download, though.)
One thing I’ve trained myself to do if I realize I’m not going to have a chance to process a document on the spot is to copy the URL of the document and paste it into the metadata of the file so that I can easily see the document online again. Often I want to look at the context of the document, so I want to look at the website, not just the image I downloaded.
To accomplish this on my MacBook, I copy the URL from the website first. Then, after I’ve renamed the file, I right (or control) click on the filename and select Get Info. (Or, as a reader pointed out to me, I can just click on the filename and press Command+I!) That pulls up the information pane. I simply paste the URL into the Comments section. When I finally get around to processing it, it’s very easy to copy and paste the URL into my browser to see it again.
I think, but I’m not positive, that the same thing is accomplished in Windows by right-clicking on a file, selecting Properties and then clicking on the Details tab. If I’m wrong about that, please correct me in the comments!
There are some documents where the URL is not as essential. For example, in Australia, we have the commonwealth Electoral Rolls. If one of the big firms does not continue with holding the rolls, they can easily be found. The more obscure the source location, the need to have the URL is greater.
I also tried Rclicking on the file in Windows, and clicking on details. I could not see how to add comments, even though I did see a Comments section on Photos, but not on PDFs.
Thanks for testing that out in Windows, John. I got those instructions by googling. So perhaps this is a Mac-only tip!
I agree that the more obscure the source location the handier having the URL is. But even for easy-to-find documents, it only takes a few seconds (on a Mac) to paste the URL. That’s less time than it would take to find it again.
Thanks for commenting!
If I’m looking at a document and find a lot of others that may be applicable to my research, I copy the links and email them to myself so I can work on them later.
Leslie, that’s a great system if it works for you. I’m curious: Where do you store the emails? For me, I’m better off putting them in Evernote because I don’t have a system to keep track of emails like that. But certainly an email folder would take care of it. Thanks for your comment!
A tip I learned from Elizabeth Shown Mills: those incredibly long URL’s in Ancestry can generally be shortened to the first question mark. (You might want to test it out.) Using metadata makes sense but I prefer to include it as part of a good source citation for an on-line source. The format is generally (https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/quick-tip-4-grab-a-url-when-you-download-a-document/; accessed 15 Aug 2020). I have always used iData (which is about to be not supported but is a nice little sortable database you can export to a spreadsheet) or just a spreadsheet would work. Also, concerning naming, I give each document/source an index number (GSD0XXX for “Genealogical Source Document’, HP0XXX for ‘Historic photo’) and keep a more detailed analysis in iData or Evernote.
Marilyn, thank you so much for sharing! I always shorten the Ancestry URL to the question–I should have mentioned that in this post and I really appreciate your pointing it out. When I shorten a URL like that, I always test it before copying it into the metadata. I also include the URL in the source citation. This tip was just what I do before I’ve had a chance to create the source citation. Once I have, I replace the URL with the citation (which includes the URL).
It’s interesting that you create an index number rather than a descriptive file name. Thanks for sharing. I love that there are so many ways to organize our genealogy. The important thing is to do it the way that works for you!
I am just reading this blog post. Thanks for the great tip on adding the URL to the document. I see that you can also add tags in this way. I have been working with a Mac for 10 years but I seem to know so little. I always take care of documents right away because I am afraid if I don’t I won’t remember what I needed to attend to later. How do you keep that straight if you have a backlog?
I don’t file documents into the ancestor’s folder until I’ve processed it. But your habit of processing right away is an excellent one!
I have 4 master folders corresponding to my parents and my wife’s parents. I also have 4 more folders corresponding to the the above in a master folder called ‘Documents for Processing’.
As an example, I go to a family history centre and download a number of Electoral Roll images. They are transferred to the appropriate folder in Documents for Processing, and then shifted to appropriate master folder folder.
That sounds like a great system that works well for you! Thanks for sharing how you do it.