TMG™ Source Elements ©MJH

Modified July 29, 2020 4:50 pm
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Michael J. Hannah, Los Ranchos, NM.

• Source element Groups are collections of multiple synonyms of source elements

Source Elements are names for data entry fields whose contents can be output as part of source documentation. All the Source Element names which are in the same Source Element Group can be considered aliases for that group. For details on which source elements I use and how I use them, see my separate chapter on Source Templates. Only when you are defining a default output Pattern (FullFootnote, ShortFootnote, Bibliography) for a Source Type, or custom modifying one specific source’s Templates for these output forms, may you add or delete variable names from a list of pre-defined Source Elements for that source. A source Template may not use more than one name from a given Source Element Group, although the same name can occur more than once in a given Template. The names of Source Elements in each dataset within a Project are supposed to be independent, and TMG will let you create a same-named Source element in one dataset which is in a different group than that same-named element in another dataset. However due to a remaining bug, TMG will be confused in the datasets as to which source group that same-named element belongs. It is safer to ensure that any custom Source Element with a given name is always created in the same Source Element group in any project or dataset. Source element names cannot be used until they are predefined (Tools>Source Elements menu) as a member of one of the 31 fixed Source Element Groups. Once it is in use by any source type Pattern or source Template, the variable name cannot be deleted or changed to different group.

Described as a bug, any source element name longer than 20 characters will cause problems, whether new or existing. Source Element names initially could be created to be as long as 30 characters, and a new source element name can still be entered up to 30 characters. Further some standard names are pre-defined longer than 20. However, the recommended max length for a Source Element name is 20 to avoid future problems with any longer name. Longer names will be truncated in many displays, sometimes to 20 characters and sometimes to 28, but neither displayed truncated value will work as the variable name in the source definition window. You must use the full, actual name to its total number of (up to 30) characters when created, and sometimes even that is not recognized! Although the list of Source Elements presents the variable names with only an initial capital, any variable name entered in a source type Pattern or source Template automatically will be converted to all capitals by TMG. Thus most documentation uses all capitals in examples for Source Element variable names.

Each Source element used in a Full Footnote, Short Footnote, or Bibliography (FF, SF, B) for a Pattern or Template automatically becomes a data entry field on the Source Definition Screen for any Source using that source type Pattern or for that one specific source Template. Though I don’t recommend it, you may add source elements for a single source or for an entire source type by clicking a blank element button on the General tab of the Source Definition. Doing this does have the advantage of limiting your choices to only those Source Element Groups not currently in use in that source or source type. However, if it is never used in any Pattern or Template, any information entered for that unused element will never print. Instead, I choose to use the automatic method of causing an element to appear on the Source Definition, even when it is for a single source, by first using the element variable name in the Pattern or Template and then returning to the General tab where the element name will now appear. That helps me remember to define it for output before I ever enter any data into an element field.

Note that choosing to use a particular source element as part of the output for a source type (e.g. PAGES, or FILM NUMBER) has the consequence that differing values for the contents of that source element can only be entered by defining separate sources in the Master Source List (e.g. a separate source for each different value of PAGES or FILM NUMBER). I prefer to “lump” into physical entities rather than “split” my TMG sources to parts of an entity. Therefore I tend to use fewer unique source definitions, and put the identification of the part of a source, such as the pages, in the individual Citation Detail and Citation Memo. However, this might produce a report with a significant number of “ibid” citations which could be reduced by subdivided sources.

These Source Element variable names are uniquely assigned to one of the 31 fixed Source Element Groups. In any one Pattern or Template, you may not use more than one variable name from the same Source Group, although the same element name may be used more than once in the same Pattern or Template. Variable names defined in the Source Element Groups are listed below according to the five categories of where their data entry field appears.

1) Those elements whose data entry fields appear on the citation screen which cites this source — citation detail and citation memo (either of which can be split into 9 segments like most memos), and citation reference. None of these elements may be included in a Bibliography Pattern or Template.

2) Those elements associated with (only) the primary repository that is linked to this source on the Source Definition Attachments Tab. The Repository Reference is entered on the Repository Link Entry Screen when the repository is linked. The remaining repository data fields are entered on the Repository Definition screen — Repository Name-Other, Info which is the combination of address fields, and a Memo (which can be split into 9 segments like most memos).

3) The source Comments (also called the source Memo) group, whose data entry field appears on the Supplemental tab of the Source Definition (and can be split into 9 segments like most memos).

4) The source Title group, which is a data entry field that always appears on the upper part of the General tab of the Source Definition screen.

5) The other 22 source element groups, whose data entry field appears in the lower part of the General tab of the Source Definition screen only if a variable name from that group is defined in an output Pattern for that source type or Template for that source.

You can use one variable name from any number of all these groups in a source Pattern or Template, with just one limitation — there is only display (and therefore entry) room for 141 data entry fields for the 22 possible element groups in category 5 — as can be seen on the Source Definition General tab.

Five of the Source Element Groups (Author, Compiler, Editor, Subject, Second Person2) are designed for entering names of people. Entering an integer as the value in any one of these elements implies a person ID number from this dataset and will be expanded to that person’s Primary name.3 Use of the ID number will cause automatic name part selection/ordering of this referenced Primary name. You can only enter one such ID number in a people element.4 If a people source element begins with an integer, anything following that integer (e.g. a colon to try to refer to a different dataset or semicolon to designate multiple people) is stripped and ignored, and the link is set to the one person whose ID number is the initial integer. (If you wish to enter data that begins with an integer in one of these Elements, precede it with an empty sensitive data field, e.g “{}101st Infantry”). If you do not enter an ID integer5, then enter the full name of the person or names of multiple persons as described below separated by commas and semicolons.

These five “people” element groups “should” be entered with multiple names each separated by semicolons with the two parts of each person’s name separated by a comma (e.g. “surname, given; surname2, given2; …”). Any comma in a people source element will trigger automatic selection/ordering of what parts of each name will print in what order for the three source output types. The absence of any comma will prevent selection/ordering. As examples, TMG will select and order the parts of the names as: “Given Surname and Given2 Surname2” or “Given Surname, Given2 Surname2 and Given3 Surname3” for full footnotes, “Surname and Surname2” or “Surname, Surname2 and Surname3” for short footnotes, “Surname, Given and Given2 Surname2” or “Surname, Given, Given2 Surname2 and Given3 Surname3” for the bibliography.

Warning: Entering a person with a middle initial which has a trailing period in a “people” element may cause duplicate punctuation in the Bibliography. Whether entered in the element as “Surname, Given M.” or referenced by ID number, the middle initial trailing period will always print as text in the Bibliography. If the Bibliography output template includes punctuation (e.g. a period) following the “people” element, both the middle initial trailing period and the template punctuation will output. Cleanup in the word processor may be needed. For this reason I choose not to enter trailing periods for middle initials.

If the name is desired to be entered as sensitive data you must enter the braces carefully in these people elements. Note that Second Site never outputs any data marked sensitive, there is no option to do so. You must use a double set of braces for each name, with the break immediately before the comma, and a space after the comma, so the automated name part selection/ordering in TMG reports will work whenever you print sensitive data. For example, {Hannah}{, Michael Jon} will give “unknown” in TMG reports when sensitive data is not printed, but will select the appropriate parts in the appropriate order when such data is printed in TMG reports.6 If you wish to avoid this automated selection/ordering to get exactly what you want, you could enter the name as text in the unique output templates for that single source. Alternatively you could double enter the name in two different source elements. Although Subject is a “people” group, some have suggested using the expected comma structure for name entries in one of the other “people” group elements, e.g. Author, but also enter the name again in Subject without commas. You can then adjust the templates for that Source Type to use whichever of these two elements will produce a closer match to a specific desired output style for names.

In my list of source templates I identify the source groups that are in use by the source elements within that template using the following abbreviations listed alphabetically in the table by abbreviation. The abbreviation is also noted in parentheses at the head of the description of each source group below. The ‘#’ indicates a people source element.

In the lists below, ‘*’ indicates my personal custom variable name additions. An ‘#’ indicates this is a people source element, as described above. My notes show that if you import a GEDCOM file that has source records, the GEDCOM defined subfields of [TITL], [PUBL], [PAGE], and [TEXT] are automatically imported from these source records and prefill the four source element groups Title, Publisher, Citation Detail, and Citation Memo described below. For a one-page list of my elements by group, see my Source Element Table. See also my discussion on the Book (Authored) source template.

How a Source Element variable name is displayed on the Source Definition data entry General tab screen indicates its usage in one or more of the output Pattern or Template sentences defined on the Output form tab. A name enclosed in <conditional brackets> means its only uses are <conditional>.7 An Initial uppercase letter means the element is Required in at least one Pattern or Template sentence and therefore “something” will print for this element. If no value is supplied for a required element, it usually will output the word “unknown” followed by the all lowercase name of the variable (e.g. “unknown bible title”). Beyond aiding in data entry by having a meaningful data field label, this automatic output for an empty required field is another reason to define a custom variable name. If the element name is all lowercase letters, this element is not defined or used in any Output tab sentence for this defined source or source type so anything you enter is not defined to be output anywhere.

Creating new custom names in these groups will not change the label of the text entry fields, but it will change the text for “unknown”. Since these elements are not part of the Source, the Source Definition previews on the Output form tab will always simply show the templates for these elements. Since a source can have only one entry in a Bibliography but could have multiple citations each with different citation data, these elements are not meaningful and should not be used in the Bibliography template.

While Citation Details and Citation Memos both can be split, I do not commonly use this feature in my Source Templates. A custom name does not provide access to either the split citation detail or split memo features. For example if CITE is an alias custom element name for CD, the variables [CITE1], [CITE2], etc. do not exist for those split parts. Note that for both a split CD and CM there must always be an appropriate placeholder character for any empty split part as described for sentence empty split memo parts, otherwise a remaining TMG bug will cause the wrong split text to be output for a later split variable. The wrong split text being output due to lack of placeholders in any subfield, including the first, seems especially to affect CD and CM.

Any empty split Citation Detail part prior to the last entered must contain the appropriate placeholder character as described for sentence empty split memo parts. Warning: if the option to split Citation Detail is used, only CD1 is exported to GEDCOM. If this element or a split part is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “unknown detail” regardless of the name of the element. However the Citation Preview from the Citation screen will simply show the element name in brackets, e.g. [CD] which indicates it is unconditional.

Any empty split Citation Memo part prior to the last entered must contain the placeholder character as described for sentence empty split memo parts. If this element or split part is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “unknown comment” regardless of the name of the element. However the Citation Preview from the Citation screen will simply show the element name in brackets, e.g. [CM] which indicates it is unconditional.

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “unknown referrence” regardless of the name of the element. However the Citation Preview from the Citation screen will simply show the element name in brackets, e.g. [CREF] which indicates it is unconditional. See also some suggestions for the usage of this field.

Creating new custom names in these groups will not change the label of the text entry fields, but it will change the text for “unknown”. A custom name does not provide access to the split memo feature.

While its TMG Group name is “Repository Info” I always use the variable REPOSITORY ADDRESS as I find it more representative of the data entered in this Group. Although it has multiple Place fields which define a Master Place Record and that record can be assigned a Place Style and a separate local Short Place template, this assigned style affects only the repository’s field labels. Which fields will output depend upon the TMG Report Definition options for Places, but the actual fields output are not always obvious. If the Report Definition option for Places is set to “Use selected place fields” for all Places in that report, only the selected Repository fields will output. If the report’s Places option is set to use the Short Place template for all Places in that report, the project’s default Short Place template will be used even if the Master Place record assigned to this repository has a separate Short Place template defined. Finally if the report’s Places option is set to “Use Short Place field” for all Places in that report, the Place Style output template for this Place entry is ignored. In this case the fields to be output will be only those currently selected in the report for the option “Use selected place fields” even though that option is not currently selected.

If your output is to Second Site, it also handles a Repository Address differently than other places. In the settings for Data // Places, a Repository Address will always output the specific Place Levels selected. As far as I can tell, the settings for Place Format and Use Place Style have no affect on what levels are output for a Repository Address.

While separate data entry Repository Address Place fields exist, separate Source Element variables do not exist for these separate fields, nor is there a way to define such variables.

REPOSITORY MEMO, REPOSITORY MEMO1, REPOSITORY MEMO2, REPOSITORY MEMO3, REPOSITORY MEMO4, REPOSITORY MEMO5, REPOSITORY MEMO6, REPOSITORY MEMO7, REPOSITORY MEMO8, REPOSITORY MEMO9, RM, RM1, RM2, RM3, RM4, RM5, RM5, RM7, RM8, RM9

Any empty split Repository Memo part prior to the last entered must contain the appropriate placeholder character as described for sentence empty split memo parts. If a split memo part is unconditional but no text is entered, the appropriate “unknown” text will output using the name of the element.

Creating new custom names in this group will not change the label of the text entry field, but it will change the text for “unknown”. Because this field is restricted to 25 characters I typically must abbreviate this entry. For example, I do not put commas in FHL film numbers, and since I include the [REPOSITORY] I do not put “FHL” in front of the Repository Reference film number. I created [REPO CALL NUMBER] for the purposes of its “unknown” text, but don’t currently use it.

Some special characters entered in this field can cause problems when output by Second Site. See the discussion of HTML Code Characters. Creating new custom names in this group both changes the label of the text entry field and the text for “unknown”. A custom name does not provide access to the split memo feature. For example, my defining [ANNOTATION] in this group does not automatically define [ANNOTATION1], etc. Manually defining custom names [ANNOTATION1], etc. in addition to [ANNOTATION] also does not work, as these all simply become new unique aliases for [COMMENTS], which if the data is split will only output the first part.11 Although [M1] etc. are legitimate, I prefer to use [MEMO1] etc. in my templates to avoid my confusion with the identically named Tag memo variables.

COMMENTS, MEMO, MEMO1, MEMO2, MEMO3, MEMO4, MEMO5, MEMO6, MEMO7, MEMO8, MEMO9, M, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8, M9, *ANNOTATION

Any empty split Memo part prior to the last entered must contain the appropriate placeholder character as described for sentence empty split memo parts. If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “unknown memo” regardless of the name of the element or split part.

Creating new custom names in this group both changes the label of the text entry field and the text for “unknown”. I created [NEWSPAPER] so that it can be unconditional and produce “unknown newspaper”. Also note the possible automatic duplication in [SHORT TITLE] of this text.

[TITL]12, BIBLE TITLE, BOOK TITLE, COMPILATION TITLE, JOURNAL TITLE, *NEWSPAPER, NEWSPAPER TITLE, TITLE

While there are 23 Source Element Groups in this category, only 14 fields are available for data entry on the General tab of the Source Definition screen for input for any source template so all 23 cannot be used. The order that the Source Element Groups will appear on the General tab of the Source Definition screen (regardless of whether an alternative variable name is used from within that group) is the order that follows, e.g. the first group in this list that is used will appear first, the second one used second, etc. Creating new custom names in these groups both changes the label of the text entry field and the text for “unknown”.

SHORT BIBLE TITLE, SHORT BOOK TITLE, SHORT COMPILATION TITLE13, SHORT JOURNAL TITLE, SHORT NEWSPAPER TITLE14, SHORT TITLE

If this element is conditional and no text is entered for this specific element, the entire conditional phrase with this element will not output. If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, you may not get the “unknown” text. If there is text entered in a Title element, TMG will automatically construct a Short Title using the Title and possibly shorten/truncate the text of the Title and delete short words like “a” and “the”. Second Site also will use the Title text if it exists for an unconditional empty Short Title but without truncating. If there is no text entered in either the Title or Short Title, then both the unconditional Title and Short Title will output their appropriate “unknown” text.

Because of the automatic text for this element its most common usage in Source templates is by constructing them as follows:

• In the Full Footnote make Title unconditional, and put Short Title in a conditional “cited as” phrase.

• In the Short Footnote use only an unconditional Short Title with no Title element.

With this usage the “cited as” phrase will only output if text is entered for Short Title, but either the Title text, or the Short Title text if it exists, will output in the Short Footnote.

This group title is misleading in its element names and aliases. All of the “* Title” names should appear in quotes before the full Title in italics in the Bibliography entry. Further their names can be useful when the element is empty for its “unknown” name, and for their automatic Short names. However, a true Subtitle should be entered as part of the [TITLE] element immediately after the Title text separated by a colon. Since a true Subtitle is often not included in a Short Footnote one can simply not include as part of the Short Title text so does not need its own element group. I created [PRE TITLE] for the generic use of some text I wish in quotes before the Title where one of the aliases do not seem to apply.

ARTICLE TITLE, CHAPTER TITLE, ESSAY TITLE, *PRE TITLE, RECORD TITLE, REGISTER TITLE, SUBTITLE

SHORT ARTICLE TITLE, SHORT CHAPTER TITLE, SHORT ESSAY TITLE, SHORT RECORD TITLE, SHORT REGISTER TITLE, SHORT SUBTITLE

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, you may not get the “unknown” text. If there is text entered in a Subtitle element nothing will be output, which may cause strange output. A shortened Subtitle will not be constructed. Only if there is also no text in the Subtitle, then both the Subtitle and Short Subtitle will output their appropriate “unknown” text.

I originally created [CHURCH] as a separate element of [SECOND LOCATION] to use for various church record source types, but have now moved it here due to my decision to create a geographically sorted bibliography. Templates often treat the church as the “author” of the source and it needs to occur in different places in FF and SS than in the B.

#, *CHURCH, FAMILY INFO, HOUSEHOLD, NAME OF PERSON, SPOUSES’ NAMES, SUBJECT, TESTATOR

I created [TRANSCRIBER] for use in the Interview source type since [INTERVIEWER] was already in the Second Person element group. I also created the element [PERSON TYPE] to enter as text what should follow the use of this element to indicate the type and number of people identified in this element, e.g. compiler, compilers, translator, translators, transcriber, transcribers, etc.

As this field can be used for a variety of types of people, I also created the element [PERSON TYPE] to enter as text what should follow the use of this element to indicate the type and number of people identified in this element, e.g. interviewer, interviewers, recipient, recipients, translator, translators, etc.

#, APPLIED TO, INTERVIEWER, PHOTOGRAPHER, PRESENT OWNER, READER, RECIPIENT, SECOND PARTY, SECOND PERSON, SHIP NAME, TRANSLATOR

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “n.d.” with no spaces regardless of the name of the element.

[ARRIVAL DATE] I use in the Passenger List source type. I created [CENSUS DATE] for use in my generic Census source type. [DATE OBTAINED] I use in various certificate source types to document obtaining the data, whether getting the actual certificate, or viewing the data in the source.

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, contrary to the Date element the appropriate “unknown” text will output using the name of the element.

ADDRESS, AUTHOR ADDRESS, COMPILER ADDRESS, INFORMANT ADDRESS, JURISDICTION, LISTSERVE, LOCATION, *LOCATION DB

I defined [LOCATION DB] to use with my custom Electronic Database Source Type for those databases whose content was completely focused on data associated with a specific location. It is only used in the Bibliography template, placed first, and its locale parts are entered largest to smallest to cause the entry to sort geographically. It needs to be in this group rather than Second Location since the standard element [URL] in that group is already used in this Source type.

I originally created [CHURCH] as a custom alias of this element to use for various church record source types, but have now moved it to be an alias of [SUBJECT]. [JURISDICTION BIBLIO] and [LOCATION BIBLIO] are used when I desire to sort the source entry geographically in the B, so need to separately enter the entire location with the locale parts from largest to smallest which is the reverse order from [JURISDICTION] and [LOCATION]. [LOCATION DETAIL] is used when I want only some portion of the location detail to come before [LOCATION] in the FF and possibly not in the SS, but want it after in the B. [ENTRY PORT] was created for a similar reason to [LOCATION DETAIL] for use in my Passenger List source type. I created the [INTERVIEW LOCATION] element name as a memory aid for use in my Interview source type.

Generally I only use the standard element [URL] in Bibliography templates. If it is a “split” source, then it is the specific URL for that source and that URL is not duplicated in either the footnotes or Citation Detail. For “lumped” sources, it is the URL of the main page of the site, and will not be duplicated in the footnotes. For those sources the full specific URL either will be entered in the Citation Detail, or be created by combining the main [URL] element and the trailing specific fragment of that URL in the CD within the Source Templates using sentence formatting codes. Note that if your output is to Second Site, that program’s automatic handling of visible text which looks like a URL requires careful consideration.15

AUTHOR E-MAIL, *ENTRY PORT, *INTERVIEW LOCATION, *JURISDICTION BIBLIO, *LOCATION BIBLIO, *LOCATION DETAIL, RECIPIENT ADDRESS, SECOND LOCATION, URL

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “n.pub.” with no spaces regardless of the name of the element.

If this element is unconditional but no text is entered, TMG will output “n.p.” with no spaces regardless of the name of the element.

I use [RECORD GROUP] as a generic element for text to follow the Title and Volume which more precisely identifies the title or some portion of the overall source. I use it in the Full Footnote and Bibliography templates but intentionally not in the Short Footnote template.

I currently have no Source Type which I use whose templates include this element group.

Since I am a “lumper” and seldom use this element group, I created the element [PSEUDO PERSON] to aid in linking Source Pseudo People to a Source Definition.

As a general rule I choose to use the Repository Reference for this type of information. Thus I currently have no Source Types which use the File Reference or File Name element names. Therefore I created the element [PERSON TYPE] in this element group to enter as text what should follow the use of the elements [AUTHOR] or [COMPILER] or [SECOND PERSON] to indicate the type and number of the people identified, e.g. compiler, compilers, editor, editors, translator, translators, transcriber, transcribers, etc.

CALL NUMBER, FILE NUMBER, MANUSCRIPT INFO, NUMBER, RECORD INFO, RECORD NUMBER, REGISTER

As a general rule I choose to use the Repository Reference for this type of information. However I do use the [FILM] element in my generic Census Source Type.

Endnotes
1. Even if you define every possible source element in an output Pattern or Template, the General tab will only show Title plus the first 14 from category 5 in this order: Short Title, Subtitle, Short Subtitle, Record Type, Author, Subject, Compiler, Editor, Second Person, Date, Second Date, Location, Second Location, Publisher. Even if the elements are entered last to first but you use all possible element groups, you will only get these first 14. However, I believe the 14 element groups defined by my Miscellaneous custom source type) are sufficiently generic, meaningful (to me), and give the greatest flexibility for Patterns and Templates. These elements are Title plus this set of 14: Subtitle, Record Type, Author, Subject, Second Person, Date, Second Date, Location, Second Location, Publisher, Publisher Address, Series, Edition, Volumes. 2. Previous versions of TMG Help did not list all five of these “people” groups, but as of Version 8 all five are now identified in “Source Definition: General”. Note that “Publisher” is not a “people” group and thus does not allow an ID number although it is often a person’s name. 3. If you enter an ID number, the Primary name (Title Given Surname Suffix), is output in both Full and Short Footnotes. While only the Surname “should” output in Short Footnotes to match what would occur if the name was entered as text, a remaining bug will cause the full Primary name to output. The Bibliography will output Surname first followed by the rest of the name after a comma (Surname, Title Given Suffix). The name will be displayed using all four of the fields described, regardless of the Name Style assigned to the Name tag, or any Preferences setting I have tried. Using an ID number allows the filter conditions in a List of Sources report to search either based on the number (e.g. using the filter field “Author ID#”) or on a specific part of the Primary name (e.g. using the filter “Author-ID… // Given Name”). In other words, even if only the ID# is entered the Given Name filter will work. 4. For display purposes, the ID number will be replaced in the Source Definition screen with the Primary name of the individual followed by their ID number in parentheses, but name parts will both display and output as described in the previous footnote. 5. If you do not enter an ID number, for filter conditions in a List of Sources report on any of these five “people” groups you must use the appropriate “-Other” filter field (e.g. Author-Other). 6. If a name is sensitive within a set of names, then be sure to include the appropriate semi-colon and comma in the separate sensitive parts for the surname and given names, e.g. Surone, Giveone{; Sursens}{, Givesens}; Surname3, Given3 With sensitive off it will output as only two names in the three forms appropriate for the three output templates, but with “Show sensitive data” on in the TMG Miscellaneous Report Options, it will output as three names in the three forms appropriate for the three output templates. In Second Site the sensitive name will never output as that program has no options to output any sensitive data. 7. The TMG HELP explicitly states that “Conditional brackets and variables cannot be nested” and implies that only one variable may be included within a single set of conditional brackets. However, just like conditional sentence variables, it can be shown as an undocumented feature in the final Version that if multiple source element variables are included within a single set of conditional brackets, the text within the brackets is only output if all variables within those brackets have value. Many TMG users have come to rely on this feature, and Second Site includes this feature. Note also that multiple instantiations of the same variable cause that entered text to be output multiple times. 8. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group. 9. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group. 10. An alternate spelling of this element “CITREF” existed historically in a very early version of TMG and exists as a custom element in some sample datasets, but that spelling is now obsolete, is not referenced in TMG Help nor in the default list of elements. If you wish to use this spelling you must create it as a custom element name. 11. However, using both [ANNOTATION1] and [ANNOTATION2] in the same output Pattern or Template does not give an error for using two elements from the same group, but it just duplicates the first split part on output. 12. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group. 13. This standard element name is longer than the maximum 20 characters mentioned above. In most lists it will show truncated as simply “Short Compilation” or “Short Compilation Ti” but the entire element name must be entered as the variable name. 14. This standard element name is longer than the maximum 20 characters mentioned above. In most lists it will show truncated as simply “Short Newspaper” or “Short Newspaper Titl” but the entire element name must be entered as the variable name. 15. See my special FindAGrave source templates as examples of careful use of this URL element for Second Site output. 16. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group.

Endnotes

1. Even if you define every possible source element in an output Pattern or Template, the General tab will only show Title plus the first 14 from category 5 in this order:

Short Title, Subtitle, Short Subtitle, Record Type, Author, Subject, Compiler, Editor, Second Person, Date, Second Date, Location, Second Location, Publisher.

Even if the elements are entered last to first but you use all possible element groups, you will only get these first 14.

However, I believe the 14 element groups defined by my Miscellaneous custom source type) are sufficiently generic, meaningful (to me), and give the greatest flexibility for Patterns and Templates. These elements are Title plus this set of 14: Subtitle, Record Type, Author, Subject, Second Person, Date, Second Date, Location, Second Location, Publisher, Publisher Address, Series, Edition, Volumes.

2. Previous versions of TMG Help did not list all five of these “people” groups, but as of Version 8 all five are now identified in “Source Definition: General”. Note that “Publisher” is not a “people” group and thus does not allow an ID number although it is often a person’s name.

3. If you enter an ID number, the Primary name (Title Given Surname Suffix), is output in both Full and Short Footnotes. While only the Surname “should” output in Short Footnotes to match what would occur if the name was entered as text, a remaining bug will cause the full Primary name to output. The Bibliography will output Surname first followed by the rest of the name after a comma (Surname, Title Given Suffix). The name will be displayed using all four of the fields described, regardless of the Name Style assigned to the Name tag, or any Preferences setting I have tried.

Using an ID number allows the filter conditions in a List of Sources report to search either based on the number (e.g. using the filter field “Author ID#”) or on a specific part of the Primary name (e.g. using the filter “Author-ID… // Given Name”). In other words, even if only the ID# is entered the Given Name filter will work.

4. For display purposes, the ID number will be replaced in the Source Definition screen with the Primary name of the individual followed by their ID number in parentheses, but name parts will both display and output as described in the previous footnote.

5. If you do not enter an ID number, for filter conditions in a List of Sources report on any of these five “people” groups you must use the appropriate “-Other” filter field (e.g. Author-Other).

6. If a name is sensitive within a set of names, then be sure to include the appropriate semi-colon and comma in the separate sensitive parts for the surname and given names, e.g. Surone, Giveone{; Sursens}{, Givesens}; Surname3, Given3 With sensitive off it will output as only two names in the three forms appropriate for the three output templates, but with “Show sensitive data” on in the TMG Miscellaneous Report Options, it will output as three names in the three forms appropriate for the three output templates. In Second Site the sensitive name will never output as that program has no options to output any sensitive data.

7. The TMG HELP explicitly states that “Conditional brackets and variables cannot be nested” and implies that only one variable may be included within a single set of conditional brackets. However, just like conditional sentence variables, it can be shown as an undocumented feature in the final Version that if multiple source element variables are included within a single set of conditional brackets, the text within the brackets is only output if all variables within those brackets have value. Many TMG users have come to rely on this feature, and Second Site includes this feature. Note also that multiple instantiations of the same variable cause that entered text to be output multiple times.

8. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group.

9. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group.

10. An alternate spelling of this element “CITREF” existed historically in a very early version of TMG and exists as a custom element in some sample datasets, but that spelling is now obsolete, is not referenced in TMG Help nor in the default list of elements. If you wish to use this spelling you must create it as a custom element name.

11. However, using both [ANNOTATION1] and [ANNOTATION2] in the same output Pattern or Template does not give an error for using two elements from the same group, but it just duplicates the first split part on output.

12. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group.

13. This standard element name is longer than the maximum 20 characters mentioned above. In most lists it will show truncated as simply “Short Compilation” or “Short Compilation Ti” but the entire element name must be entered as the variable name.

14. This standard element name is longer than the maximum 20 characters mentioned above. In most lists it will show truncated as simply “Short Newspaper” or “Short Newspaper Titl” but the entire element name must be entered as the variable name.

15. See my special FindAGrave source templates as examples of careful use of this URL element for Second Site output.

16. This portion of a GEDCOM Source record is preloaded by automated import into this group.

I am not affiliated in any way with TMG™, its company Wholly Genes, Inc., or its primary author Bob Velke, nor with John Cardinal, author of several TMG after-market programs. I am simply a satisfied user of these software packages and have constructed these documents to aid me in their use.

If others find these documents useful, so much the better. I do not warrant in any way that they are accurate or useful, and any use of them is at the user’s own risk.

These documents were composed with Adobe^® Framemaker 2019^® using its hyperlink and "Save as HTML" conversion features.

A	Author #	L2	Second Location	RT	Record Type
C	Comments	Pb	Publisher	Sj	Subject #
Cp	Compiler #	P2	Second Person #	SbT	Subtitle
Ed	Editor #	Pg	Pages	ShSb	Short Subtitle
En	Edition	PL	Publisher Location	ShT	Short Title
FN	Film Number	RA	Repository Info	Sr	Series
FR	File Reference	RM	Repository Memo	T	Title
D	Date	RN	Record Number	Vm	Volumes
D2	Second Date	Rp	Repository	Vr	Version
L	Location	RR	Repository Reference