Give highlights a chance!


We made some improvements to our highlights with the most recent release of the keying tool.  We made some changes on the “back end” that we hope will improve their accuracy in highlighting the desired fields.  

We’d like to ask you to please pay special attention to the highlights over the next couple of days and give us feedback if you’ve noticed any improvement. Our internal testing showed they were more accurate- but there is nothing like getting hundreds of contributors looking at thousands of different image sets! 

As you look at the highlights, please take note and provide feedback on how close they are to the field they are highlighting. If it is off, please move it to the correct location and note if it stays “on track”.  We’d love to get your feedback over the next week so we can continue to improve this part of the tool.

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Reader Comments

Just finished a set of NYC Naturalization indexes. The highlighter worked quite well. My only suggestion would be adding the ability to ‘free rotate’ images. Many of the index cards in these sets are crooked, and it would certainly be helpful if we could straighten them out. The highlighter would also be able to maintain the correct position.

Just finished a set of Andrews cards. The highlighter is useless for these cards because so much is handwritten and not in the same place. Turn ’em off for these images.

N Cal Naturalization Indexes: highlighter covered the entire card.

I am working on the Jacksonville Telephone Directories and the highlights aren’t working half the time. If you put in Mrs then the last name then the highlight disappears and so does the directory. It will shoot up to the upper left side and only show the corner of the page. If you tab to input the next person the page comes back with the highlight in the correct place. It’s annoying.

Just finished the Illinois indexes. the highlighter is off, I constantly have to adjust everytime.

How I agree with Gretchen 1. Sometimes angle of image is a real head and neck turner. free rotate would be a boon

highlight covers 2/3 of the page on directories.

On NY originals it defaults to the last date on the page… which is almost never the applicant’s signature. The applicant signature date is usually the first or second date on the page

Doing NYC Naturalization, highlight worked well. If I need to adjust it will stay in the right place thru the card. Don’t care for it on Back Of Card-covers most of the card.

Highlites for JAX directory don’t work. Bounces all over the places, especially now that we are entering spouse names. You need a mechanism for moving the highlight and having it then move from that point. In other words, be able to establish a new base. So I turn it off.

It’d be great if we could turn highlights off and they’d stay off from image to image. I key a lot of postcards and biographical dictionaries and Until they can magically zoom to where the data is, which could be anywhere on the page, they just get in the way.

Using them on the Illinois Nat Index and they worked well. When they were “off” moving them worked for the rest of the set. It did not bother me that the cards are sometimes off centre and the highlights weren’t.

My only adverse comment is that when the image was of poor quality the high lighter made it next to impossible to read anything whatever colour used.

I’m working on Illinois Naturalization Records and have noticed problems with the highlighting function – much worse than previous. Highlight does not track and at times I see more than one record at a time – half of one and half of another.

The highlights on Illinois naturalization records have been off quite a bit. My screen has been popping to the next card before I finish all entries. Clicking corners worked better for me.

There’s still no highlighter at all when keying a second or subsequent section on ANDREWS. Would greatly appreciate one as I’m constantly dragging the card down as it pops back to the top each time I tab to the next box….VERY, very frustrating.

Working on the Jacksonville directories and it is useless once again. It was working not too bad for me before this last revision. Once again it jumps all over. Tried resetting the position – kept going back to the place it was before resetting. Closed it and reopened the page and the highlighter was in the correct place. Works right for approx 5 names and by the time I get to 8 it is way down the page. Turned it off and left it off.

I would agree with Gretchen about the NYC Naturalisation indexes especially about rotating the images. The highlights on NYC Naturalisation indexes seem to have got worse with the highlight boxes being too large for the entries

The highlights are useless for the Jacksonville City Directories. The highlight eventually seems to move a slightly different amount than the actual spacing for each line. Also, vacant entries and entries that take up more than one printed line as well as headings throw it off. I know you can drag the highlight to the correct place and it will track from that point, it’s not worth the effort.

Another problem is that the keying area now takes up more vertical space. I like to show several recent rows to keep track of where I am but now there is hardly any room on my screen for the image which requires that I frequently have to scroll up the image.

Highlights appear to work OK for Ill Naturalization indexes except where more than one record appears in the image or if the image is crooked.

Working with the Jacksonville Directories the highlighter jumps around so much that I simply can’t use it. I can re-set it to the proper place and it jumps back to wherever it was before. Some of the images are two columns to the page, and some are three columns–the highlighter usually sees the two column set up. With entering spouses and deceased spouses, the highlighter gets way ahead after five or six entries. There is no taming of the wild highlighter, so I turn it off. The highlighter for arbitrating Jax Directories makes it very difficult, an improvement would be the capability to shut it off in arbitration too. Now you have the choice of using A’s highlights or using B’s highlights; I’d like the non-use of highlights as an additional option.

I instensely dislike the highlighter, old or new version. I work on the Ohio State Directories and it does not line up with the pages, entries, and ‘jumps’ around a lot. I just turn it off when I open a set, and merrily key away. 🙂

Sheri

Working on Andrews cards – hate the highlighter as it goes back to the top of the card when I move to the next field to be entered. VERY frustrating and annoying. Have to turn it off for each record entry.

I am working on S Cal Nat Indexes. The card just will not adjust to the info to be keyed. I’m so sorry that you had to reclaim 3 unkeyed images. I am having eye surgery during November and the first of December. Maybe my accuracy will become better after my lense implants.

I am having difficulty getting my screen to go down far enough to be able to write in the relevant details. The header is ok but that is all. Is it my pc or is it the sets please?

The highlighter doesn’t work with the Andrews cards or Perth Tax & Rent records – I turn it off.