Alternate presentation formats for citation of general images and headshots?

By History-Hunter on Tue, 01/21/2025 - 12:35

Forums

While I would like to reference headshots and images that are not linked to "events" or "attributes", my software does not provide the ability to do so. This is likely a widespread issue and relevant to other genealogists and family historians, as the current GEDCOM 5.5.1 doesn't actually have provisions that support it. In short; many programs require an image to be attached to source via an event or attribute. They cannot handle citations attached directly to images. This is why census images and the like are not an issue, but headshots are a problem.

This means it is not possible to employ the predefined software reports and link this category of images via super-script reference numbers to typical footnotes/endnotes, as is the standard. However; this deficiency should not preclude including the standard content of a citation in an alternate form, but rather just the way it is presented.

When one cannot include a reference for an image in the standard way, are their other "genealogically-accepted" ways of presenting the required information?

Submitted byEEon Tue, 01/21/2025 - 18:24

History-Hunter, how are "headshots" a more-problematic source than a census image or a photograph from an archive?  I'm not at all certain that I understand your question. It sounds as though you are attempting to force  less-than-agile software to do something it was not designed to do; but that would be an issue to address in a forum that relates to your specific software. 

After posting, it became more clear on how to describe the issue. Most genealogical software is exactly that. It is suited for documenting just lineage research and not for storing the auxiliary information that one tends to want to collect for family history. This is especially true in applications which rigidly adhere to the GEDCOM 5.5.1 standard. As a consequence the products do not always have all the data structures and routines needed to store, retrieve and display the family history information. They do tend, however, to be excellent at handling what they call "facts" (events and attributes). eg. birth, marriage, death census etc. Unfortunately; information that cannot be tied to a persons' life-events or personal attributes can often be difficult or even impossible to cite.

I was considering trying to put the "family history" citations in notes, which most software can handle. Unfortunately; I'd need to use an abbreviated form of an EE style and wondered if you had any suggestions.

However; I now that there is really no forum that might lend itself to that discussion.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond.