Did you know you could reorder the columns?


I recently opened a review image set and the columns didn’t match the order they were in on the image.

A bit of background…  When I review I often go up and down columns vs. across the entire record.  The main reason I do this is I have found for images with large numbers of records I can better determine if there are missing records, and the second reason is preference.  I am used to looking up and down the page and I am a creature of habit. 

When I saw that the Surname and Given Name columns needed to be changed I did a quick click and grab and moved the Surname so it was now the first column.  Then the horror of wondering if others knew they could do this hit me – having used the keying tool now for 9+ years things come second nature to me and I forget that you don’t all live in my head and just know these things.

So, how do you move the columns? Click on the column you want to move and “grab” it (keep the left side of the mouse pressed down) then shift it to the position you want it in.  Such a small thing that can make a big difference.

Happy keying!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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September 22nd, 2017
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Andrew Gabb
Posted on:
September 22, 2017 at 8:18 pm

This is a good point, Anna, and very important for new keyers.

“I recently opened a review image set and the columns didn’t match the order they were in on the image.”
I can’t remember a project where they did! Or at least a case when the default order was the order I needed. But that’s understandable.

In most of the projects I’ve worked on, it’s *essential* for me to reorder the columns. Without doing that my accuracy and efficiency – as a keyer or reviewer – would be much worse.

In some projects, such as Australian Gazettes, I need to change the order every 10 minutes or so, as the record types change. It only takes a few seconds.

If I don’t do that I suddenly find I’m keying surnames as given names and vice versa, or I have to go back through the text to find the date or location or something.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
afechter
Posted on:
September 25, 2017 at 11:36 am

Good points Andrew. During testing we try to find the order that fits the majority of the forms but there are projects that are more diverse.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Jamie Stott
Posted on:
September 27, 2017 at 3:21 pm

Wow! I’ve been keying/arbitrating since 2010 and I did not know this

I arbitrated a batch of the Fife School Admissions and it was so much easier, especially the dates which are “backward” for us in the U.S.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Andrew Gabb
Posted on:
September 27, 2017 at 6:09 pm

You can also change the *width* of the fields, so you can make them wider (eg Given Names) so that you can see more text, or narrower (eg Day) so that you can see more fields at one glance.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Jane Crisman
Posted on:
October 18, 2017 at 8:54 pm

This is a wonderful idea, and I was eager to try it! Alas, it doesn’t work for me. Maybe it’s because I’m still on Windows 7 (PC). I’ll try it every now and again and see if it works – it would save me a lot of eyestrain! Thank you!