Data Entry and Formatting Names and Locations

by James P. Terry

Learn more and this topic in the video training CD Mastering Legacy Family Tree: Names, Dates, and Places
available through the Legacy Online Store

Starting on the Right Foot

The first thing to do is check your program for the options you have set for the letter case of names and locations. On the menu bar please click Options and from the Options menu select Customize. When the Customize window opens, take a look on the Data Entry/Edit tab. There are options here that let you select how you want to have names and locations formatted:

· Letter Case of Given Names and Locations:
Initial Caps or Don’t Change What I Enter

· Letter Case of Last Name:
Initial Caps, UPPER CASE or Don’t Change What I Enter

· Apply buttons: 
The Apply buttons will apply the current format setting to every record in the file.

· Entering names in all lower case will result in automatic capitalization when you leave the field. For example, the all lower-case entry seattle, king co., washington, will be automatically formatted to Seattle, King Co., Washington, when you leave the field.

· If you have a particular case, such as Playa del Sol, where the word del is not to be capitalized, then type the name correctly using upper and lower case as required. The result will be Playa del Sol when you leave the field.

· Special case 1: With the option for initial caps set, an all lower-case entry for surnames like mcdonald and mcfadden will automatically be formatted as McDonald and McFadden when your leave the field.

· Special case 2: With the option for initial caps set, standard postal abbreviations for U.S. states and Canadian provinces will be automatically formatted to all upper case. For example, the all lower-case entry richmond, henrico co., va, will be come Richmond, Henrico Co., VA, when you leave the field. Similarly, the all lower-case entry richmond, bc, will automatically formatted as Richmond, BC.

· There are some instances when ambiguity can lead to problems. For example if you enter an all lower-case name such as pla de manlleu, it will be formatted Pla DE Manlleu when you leave the field. This is because the program expects the two-letter word de to be the abbreviation for Delaware (DE). In similar fashion la becomes LA (the abbreviation for Louisiana) and on becomes ON (the abbreviation for Ontario), etc. To resolve this problem, you must open the Master Location List and edit the location manually.

· What you see is what you get. If you make a mistake when typing click on the down arrow to the right of the field to open up the master list, where you can then click on the Edit button. Editing done from this screen is not run through the formatter.

· No matter how you type it, the last name will be formatted to all upper case when you exit the surname field.

· The Apply button will apply the current all upper case setting to every record in the file.

Surname and location fields are AutoComplete fields. As you begin typing a name or place, the program will try to complete the entry from the Master Surname List or Master Location List.

If you have entered a place name into one of the AutoComplete fields you can always click on the down arrow to the right of the field which will open up the master list where you can then click on the Edit button. Editing done from this screen is not run through the formatter. The values you enter remain exactly as you have entered it. Once a master list item has been entered Legacy will AutoComplete the item the next time you start to type in a matching item.

This has caused problems for some because it appears to them that they have no control over changing the value and the AutoComplete feature finds a matching item that was entered incorrectly. For example one user asked the following question: “When I type Ramsay, Isle of Man, it automatically changes to Ramsay, Isle of MAN. I can't seem to keep the word Man from changing to all capital letters.” This is because the first time the location was entered it was entered incorrectly. Once it's stored in the master location list it will always appear as you typed it the first time. It cannot be corrected from the location field of that screen by retyping it. If you do not want the MAN to be in all upper case you must open the master location list by clicking on the down arrow at the right of the field and then click on the Edit button and make the change and then click on the Save button.

You can also open the Master Location List by clicking View on the menu bar and selecting Master Lists / Location. You can change the case formatting or spelling of any location in the Master Location List by selecting it and clicking the Edit button. Remember, however, that a change to a location in the master list affects all references to it. Once a location has been saved to the list in its proper form, be sure combine any incorrect variations with it (see Combining Duplicate Locations below).

Clicking the Options button displays a shortcut menu where you can choose from the following options:

· Deleting a Location

If a location in the master list is not being used, you can remove it from the list by highlighting it and then choosing the Delete option. Legacy confirms that the location is not being used and removes it from the list. If one or more records are referencing the location, it cannot be removed. In this case, Legacy offers to display a list of all records currently using the name.

· Combining Duplicate Locations

When correcting misspelled place names, you may find that you end up with duplicates within the Master Location List. To remove these duplicates and clean up the list, choose the Combine option. Legacy then goes through the list, combines the duplicates and moves the links.

· Purging Unused Locations

To remove unused locations from the Master Location List, choose the Purge option. Legacy checks each name to see if it is being used. If not, it is removed from the list.

You can also open the Master Surname List by clicking View on the menu bar and selecting Master Lists / Surname. You can change the case formatting or spelling of any surname in the Master Surname List by selecting it and clicking the Edit button. Remember, however, that a change to a surname in the master list affects all references to it. Once a surname has been saved to the list in its proper form, be sure combine any incorrect variations with it (see Combining Duplicate Surnames below).

Clicking the Options button displays a shortcut menu where you can choose from the following options:

· Deleting a Surname

If a surname in the master list is not being used, you can remove it from the list by highlighting it and choosing the Delete option. Legacy confirms that the surname is not being used and removes it from the list. If one or more records are referencing the surname, it cannot be removed. In this case, Legacy offers to display a list of all records currently using the name.

 

· Combining Duplicate Surnames

When correcting misspelled surnames, you may find that you end up with duplicate names within the Master Surname List. To remove these duplicates and clean up the list, choose the Combine option. Legacy then goes through the list, combines the duplicates and moves the links.

· Purging Unused Surnames

To remove unused surnames from the Master Surname List, choose the Purge option. Legacy checks each name to see if it is being used. If not, it is removed from the list.

If you don't want to have Legacy format your names and locations when you do an import you can uncheck the box Format Names and Places (Init. Caps, UPPER CASE, etc) and then Legacy will leave the names exactly as they are found in the GEDCOM file. If you checked this option then Legacy uses the current formatting options you have set in Options, Customize.