Record Submission Forms FAQ:
Q. Can I rename the file?
A. Yes. We do not recommend it however. This system is
powered by a database
and this system knows that file is created
and what the file name is. For future
purposes we recommend that the file names
remain as they are created.
*Please note
that on photos which are posted through the forms, the link to that
file is
created in the text file and emails. If you rename that file or place
it in
another directory,, you will need to make corrections in the text file
for the
new location. Also keep in mind if it goes out to a mailing list, it
will then
be a dead link.*
Q. Do I have to use the forms?
A. No. However if someone uses the forms from another
page and sends it for your county
you will receive that file in your email
account. The file is then yours you can edit it,
rename it, etc.
Q. Do I have to put a link to the forms on all of my TOC's and do I have
to use the link
which is recommended?
A. No to both. It is recommended that you do place a link
on all of the pages because
the more accessible the forms are, the more
likely contributors will use it. You can
create the link to the forms however you
wish to create them. The address is
http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/
It is recommended that you let the contributor know
they can contact you directly through your
email address.
Q. The forms are great but I still get a lot of files from people directly
through email, how
can I make contributors use the forms?
A. You can not MAKE the contributors use the forms, there
will always be those who
like to send
their records by email, in excel, word documents etc. We can only
provide the
link to the forms and suggest they might try them. Fortunately on
most of the forms you can copy/paste
into the content area and often, it is
easier to do this with files from Word, etc,
rather than trying to reformat
the file.
Q. The files which are posted for my county do not appear on that county
mailing list, is there
something wrong?
A. No. The mailing list option is totally dependant on
whether the list administrator wants
copies to be
included on their list. Permission has to be obtained from the list administrator
then it can
be set up for that list. All files which do not go to a county list will
appear
on the GADATA-L@rootsweb.com
mail list.
Q. What is the size limit and format of photos posted through the forms?
A. The photos uploaded through the forms must be smaller
than 300 kb and they
must be in .gif
or .jpg format. The forms will reject anything larger or in
a different
format. In those cases the submitter will need to email the file
directly to
the file manager.
Q. If the file is automatically uploaded why do I still get it sent to my
email address?
A. While the automation is working very successfully,
it is not error proof. You
get a copy of
the files to ensure that should the ftp not go through for any
reason you would
have a copy of those files which you could then upload. This
also gives you
a chance to look at the files, correct any errors, make changes,
or know whether
the file is appropriate or not. If changes were needed you can
make the changes
and just reload it to the rootsweb servers. This also alerts
you to the fact
that a file has been uploaded and it would be wise to verify that
it is in that
directory. You can do this by using the link created in the text file
if for some
reason the link doesn't work, you would then need to check the directory.
Once you're
certain the files are there and you've created your links to the files
on your toc
you can then delete the email and attachment or save them if you keep
backup files.
Q. Why do I get a text file and an image file when people submit photos?
A. All images have to be placed in the archive_html directory.
Due to this even though
you may have
a link to that photo on your TOC, rootsweb search engines do not search
the html directory.
For this reason a text file should be in the ftp directory for
any relating
photo images so that they can be found by the search engines.
Q. I received a photo image of a headstone but it's not in my archive_html/county/photos/
folder,
where is it?
A. Tombstone photos have been set up to go to a subdirectory
and the image would be uploaded to
archive_html/county/photos/tombstones/
the text would
be uploaded to archive_ftp/county/photos/tombstones/
Q. I have a contributor who wants to post a Jury List yet on the courts page
it asks for a single name,
where can he post this?
A. We try to have forms to cover most record types but
it's not always possible. There are two
options available.
The court form asks for two names but it doesn't care what they are so the
submitter can
enter "Jury" as first name and List as 2nd name.
The other option
is to use the History form which is set up in such a way to take most documents.
Those files
will come to you as ms files and you'll need to check those to discover
exactly what
kind of record it is and where it needs to be posted. Keep in mind, with
auto upload
if you move
the file, you will need to correct all the links.
Q. I received a cemetery file which has "partial more to come" and only had
a few names on it, what do I do?
A. The cemetery, census and marriage book forms are different
in that they allow the user the chance
to stop and
come back in later to add more or finish up. If you use auto upload for your
county
the file will
be automatically uploaded and when you get another post for that record with
more
information
just change the link on your toc to reflect the new file you may want to
reflect (partial)
on your toc
until you receive the file listed as "no more to come", you can then delete
the
old file from
the ftp folders. If you do not use auto upload you can just hold the file
until
you receive
the final "no more to come" file. If you do that, please let the contributor
know that you
will be waiting to post it when it is completed.
Q. I received a file which was just a name and single date, what do I do?
A. The archives are for "transcribed" records, except
in the case of headstones which may not
have more than
one name and date. You as the archives manager can contact the person who
submitted the
file and ask them if they could give you more information for the file. There
will be times
when you need to use your own judgement on which files are simply not appropriate
and at these
times you'll need to try and work with the contributor for a solution.
Q. I just got an e-mail about a posting and can't locate it in the
directory. How can I find it?
A. Look at the heading created --- it will say example:
Johnson County
GaArchives History .....Pension Records from CSA September 13 1901
Even though the person should have used the
Military form, they chose the History form instead.
This is a case where you may want to move
it from "history"
to johnson/military/civilwar/pensions/
and correct the links.
Q. Someone posted a cemetery/marriage book/census record to the forms and
chose "partial more to come", now
they tell me they can not get back in to add more, what happened?
A. When they submit the record as partial more to come,
to restart the record they will have
to enter the
exact name, email address and title as they entered it the first time.
You can get
this information from the previous file posted and send the information to
them. If they
still can not get in, send an email to Debra or David Crosby and they will
try to find
a solution.
Q. Someone started a census record and entered "partial more to come", they
went back in and restarted the
census but while working on it got the message that they
had to complete the survey, though they had
much more to add,, what happened?
A. The census form is set for a total of 325 lines and
it will warn them at 300 that they need to complete the
cemetery. This is done so that the cemeteries
are not added all as one enormous file but to keep them manageable.
They simply submit the census as complete,
no more to come. Then start it again as a new census and
continue adding to that one where they
left off of the previous one.
If you have other questions, comments, or suggestions please contact Debra or David Crosby