Forwarded from listowner. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Search Too Complex Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 12:49:56 -0600 From: "Max & Carol Scott" <[email protected]> Reply-To: "Max & Carol Scott" <[email protected]> To: "FREEBMD- DISCUSS" <[email protected]> When I looked at some of the data I had uploaded to Freebmd, I found that unless I entered exactly as, for example, this: [R_]adford it was unable to carry out my search, saying too complex. I had imagined that I would be able to search as: *adford but it appears not to be the case. Can I ask, therefore, it there is any merit in entering names with [_] as the initial letter. I had taken advice on this when I started as a newbie, but now I am wondering if I should be transcribing in some other way. Any help would be appreciated. Carol Scott

A couple of suggestions which I have found to help. 1) I tried to search HARRIS , WAREHAM (Dorset) all types/all years and got the usual 'too complex' message. I solved it by searching in 10 year blocks. 2)Re Sally Maclean's comment about not picking up middle names on searches - as, I believe, Dave advised last week, if you enter the christian name + * i.e John* Smith then this will pick up any entries for John Smith entered with extra christian names. Regards Mervyn Wright --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.256 / Virus Database: 129 - Release Date: 31/05/2001

----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Mayall" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 10:33 AM Subject: Re: Search Too Comples-- An Example > Allan Raymond wrote: > > > In addition to any technical response from Dave, if we added something like > > > > "Searching for non-entered surnames across the entire database will produce a > > Search too Complex error. > > Enter a surname to get results." > > > > In our "Tip of the Day" would be sufficiently up front? > > A trifle convoluted, and not quite true. > > Searches on just an uncommon name (or on a pair of forenames) will often work. > This too complex search problem does seem to throw up some inconsistent objections. And prevents searches that previously used to work. Example surname = White and district= Eastry gives "The maximum limit for search complexity is 2500000 your search has a complexity of 3278070 " Only two criteria. The poorer alternative of specifying the county (Kent) gives a complexity of 3541140. This suggests that there are problems with searching the commonest Surnames in this way. Clearly an undesirable problem to arise. I just checked two other themes Pearce + Wiltshire is OK, although Pearce is a very common Wiltshire surname But Moore + Wilts just fails (complexity 2630430) Peter Norman

Allan Raymond wrote: > In addition to any technical response from Dave, if we added something like > > "Searching for non-entered surnames across the entire database will produce a > Search too Complex error. > Enter a surname to get results." > > In our "Tip of the Day" would be sufficiently up front? A trifle convoluted, and not quite true. Searches on just an uncommon name (or on a pair of forenames) will often work. I'll put in a new tip of the day though :-) -- Dave Mayall

I would guess this sort of debate is proper to the Discuss list and perhaps we can continue this dialogue on that list. I am sure that Dave will give a more detailed and authoritative answer, but we do have a "Tip of the Day" on the search page which quotes as below. ************** Tip of the Day Searching for common surnames across the entire database will produce a Search too Complex error. Split your search down into smaller date ranges to get results. ************** However the usefulness of the search facility is that if you search for "Elliott" marriages all years and all Districts it produces a positive result. I have just tried this to prove the point but I wouldn't think this is recommended. In addition to any technical response from Dave, if we added something like "Searching for non-entered surnames across the entire database will produce a Search too Complex error. Enter a surname to get results." In our "Tip of the Day" would be sufficiently up front? Allan Raymond [email protected] http://www.btinternet.com/~allan_raymond/Monarchies_of_Europe.htm FreeBMD - putting birth marriages and deaths on the Internet http://FreeBMD.rootsweb.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 17 July 2001 16:08 Subject: Search Too Comples-- An Example Hello, Here's a more concrete example of a search which is deemed "too complex" 1) I'm looking for all marriages recorded so far for Dec 1899 in Nottingham (no specific surnames) 2) First I request a 'count' to see how many there are 5 records match your query press "Find" to display them 3) So I press "Find" The maximum limit for search complexity is 2500000 your search has a complexity of 20228130 This is not an error. Please do not report it. I gather the initial search would try to build a table of 20,228,130 entries. 20+ million entries of what? Everyone in the master db with no surname? 4) Okay, this is not an error and I'm not officially reporting it. But it sure is a "puzzlement," and, if such searches are not allowed, don't you think this would tend to limit the usefulness of the database as a research tool? Must all searches have a surname entered? If so, why not tell folks that up front. Thanks for any insight you can provide. Rick Elliott ==== FreeBMD-Admins Mailing List ==== Need to get a fast answer to your transcribing problems? Go to the Transcribers Knowledge Base at http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/vol_faq.html ============================== Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 Source for Family History Online. Go to: http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB

This reminds me of the following (in particular numbers 3 and 4): Ten Commandments of Email 1. THOU SHALT include a clear and Specific subject line. 2. THOU SHALT edit any quoted text down to the minimum thou needest. 3. THOU SHALT read thine own message thrice before sending it. 4. THOU SHALT ponderest how the recipient(s) might react to thy message. 5. THOU SHALT check spelling and grammar. 6. THOU SHALT not curse, flame, spam nor USE ALL CAPS. 7. THOU SHALT not forward any chain letter. 8. THOU SHALT not use email for any illegal or unethical purpose. 9. THOU SHALT not rely on the privacy of email, especially from work, but THOU SHALT respect the privacy of others. 10. When in doubt, save the message overnight and reread it in the light of dawn before hitting the "send" button. Sarah ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: "Allan Raymond" <[email protected]> Sent: 14 July 2001 17:50 Subject: Re: Header alteration difficulty Allan, The answer is yes, it was saved with the extension .sca . I may be old but not yet silly and my syndicate member is neither. The action we both took was word for word out of the TKB. So....? John After you did the amendments, did you remember to rename the file by using "Save As" with the extension .sca? Please see our Transcribers Knowledge Base (TKB) Web Page at : http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/vol_faq.html#4 Allan Raymond ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 14 July 2001 10:53 Subject: Header alteration difficulty Hi Friends, One of my syndicate had a problem with correcting an error in the batch header details. I was sent a copy to see if I could solve the problem. The year had been entered as 1980 rather than 1890 and no amount of fiddling about in Notepad could either of us get an alteration that would stick. We could get a text document that reflected the changes but could not get a .sca document. Has anyone come across this before? In the end we got over the difficulty by re-entering the header details correctly as a new batch along with the first two lines of data, then saved and exited. This document was opened in Notepad as was the text document. All data bar the first two lines was cut and pasted from the text document to the new .sca document. This was saved and notepad closed down. Result was a new file with the correct header and all the data ready for uploading QED or have I missed a trick? Come on you experts tell me please!! John ============================== Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp

John My earlier response was a genuine attempt to resolve your problem, I wasn't aware that ageism was mentioned. I have just had another run at trying to resolve your problem. I typed in 1980 into SpeedBMD and this is what I got in NotePad (file name is 80B11000.SCA). +INFO,[email protected],password,SEQUENCED,BIRTHS,cp437 #,9z,Allan Raymond,TEST,80B11000.SCA,14-Jul-2001,N,N #, +S,1980,Mar,TEST,14-Jul-2001 +PAGE,1000 Allan,Raymond,Raymond,Aberayron,11b,1000 I then changed the headings in NotePad to reflect change of year to 1890 in the second and fourth lines as below and saved the files as 90B11000.SCA. +INFO,[email protected],password,SEQUENCED,BIRTHS,cp437 #,9z,Allan Raymond,TEST,90B11000.SCA,14-Jul-2001,N,N #, +S,1890,Mar,TEST,14-Jul-2001 +PAGE,1000 Allan,Raymond,Raymond,Aberayron,11b,1000 I then returned to SpeedBMD selected file 90B11000.SCA and the headings were showing as year 1890. Hopefully QED. Allan Raymond [email protected] http://www.btinternet.com/~allan_raymond/Monarchies_of_Europe.htm FreeBMD - putting birth marriages and deaths on the Internet http://FreeBMD.rootsweb.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: "Allan Raymond" <[email protected]> Sent: 14 July 2001 17:50 Subject: Re: Header alteration difficulty Allan, The answer is yes, it was saved with the extension .sca . I may be old but not yet silly and my syndicate member is neither. The action we both took was word for word out of the TKB. So....? John After you did the amendments, did you remember to rename the file by using "Save As" with the extension .sca? Please see our Transcribers Knowledge Base (TKB) Web Page at : http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/vol_faq.html#4 Allan Raymond ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 14 July 2001 10:53 Subject: Header alteration difficulty Hi Friends, One of my syndicate had a problem with correcting an error in the batch header details. I was sent a copy to see if I could solve the problem. The year had been entered as 1980 rather than 1890 and no amount of fiddling about in Notepad could either of us get an alteration that would stick. We could get a text document that reflected the changes but could not get a .sca document. Has anyone come across this before? In the end we got over the difficulty by re-entering the header details correctly as a new batch along with the first two lines of data, then saved and exited. This document was opened in Notepad as was the text document. All data bar the first two lines was cut and pasted from the text document to the new .sca document. This was saved and notepad closed down. Result was a new file with the correct header and all the data ready for uploading QED or have I missed a trick? Come on you experts tell me please!! John

After you did the amendments, did you remember to rename the file by using "Save As" with the extension .sca? Please see our Transcribers Knowledge Base (TKB) Web Page at : http://FreeBMD.RootsWeb.com/vol_faq.html#4 Allan Raymond [email protected] http://www.btinternet.com/~allan_raymond/Monarchies_of_Europe.htm FreeBMD - putting birth marriages and deaths on the Internet http://FreeBMD.rootsweb.com/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 14 July 2001 10:53 Subject: Header alteration difficulty Hi Friends, One of my syndicate had a problem with correcting an error in the batch header details. I was sent a copy to see if I could solve the problem. The year had been entered as 1980 rather than 1890 and no amount of fiddling about in Notepad could either of us get an alteration that would stick. We could get a text document that reflected the changes but could not get a .sca document. Has anyone come across this before? In the end we got over the difficulty by re-entering the header details correctly as a new batch along with the first two lines of data, then saved and exited. This document was opened in Notepad as was the text document. All data bar the first two lines was cut and pasted from the text document to the new .sca document. This was saved and notepad closed down. Result was a new file with the correct header and all the data ready for uploading QED or have I missed a trick? Come on you experts tell me please!! John ============================== Ancestry.com Genealogical Databases http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist2.asp Search over 2500 databases with one easy query!

Hi Freebies, I'd like to announce that SpeedBMD Version 1.10.10 is now available from the FreeBMD web site and coordinators be warned that this is the version that new recruits will pick up. It fixes a few bugs and irritations and has some minor new productivity aids; you can find a list of the main features at the bottom of this email. Please don't all rush to install it, if you are happy with Version 1.9 then just aim to do it over the next couple of months. I say this for self protection as if there are any "funnies" in it I don't want inundating with queries. I'll put out a reminder in a month or two, when things have settled down, as ultimately it's best if we are all on the same release. The testing and beta testing went well though and the teams involved have been happily using it for a couple of months now so I'm not expecting any severe problems. Cheers Peter Cox ================================ Version 1.10 Features This version looks pretty much like version 1.9.n but a number of bugs and irritations have been removed which I won't go into. There are also a few new performance/accuracy aids........ Start Up Menu =========== F8 Change Colours. Invokes Notepad to display a file called COLOURS.TXT. Instructions are held in there on how to change the screen colour schemes. It may be useful for people with monochrome screens or vision impairment but not recommended just for the sake of change. If you select a batch from the F4 list with F6 then the batch will be opened in Notepad. Renaming a batch will no longer require a change to line 2 of the batch. Header Options ============ A new Surname Skip option - if set to Y then Tab into a new, Single Line Mode, entry will copy the surname above then jump to Forenames; N will copy the surname above then wait at the end of Surname. Single Line Mode ============ Alt F1 will display a keyboard hints list. It's not very pretty but does the job. Surname - Type 1-9 and that many characters will be copied from the previous entry. It only works when the cursor is at the start of the cell, so you can type 1-9 later if needed. If Header field Surname Skip is set to Y then Tab will copy the Surname above and jump straight to Forenames. Surname and Forenames - 0 (zero) If the field is empty then the first word of the field above is copied in. If the field so far matches the initial words in the field above then the next word is copied from the field above. Forenames - If Skip Dist in the Header is set to A then the top Pick list entry will "ghost" just like District does in version 1.9. Page Number - Space will type as ; in . This is supposed to make it easier for touch typists to build a page list. Block Mode ========= All the applicable Single Line Mode features plus..... Alt B will backfill empty cells in a column with the value in the cursor cell. If however the cursor cell is blank then the first non blank value it can find in the column will be used. Wonderful when you have 200 Smiths to enter. Alt 1 to Alt 9 will copy the cursor cell down the column that many times. Tab from an empty cell will move right. Tab from a non-empty cell will move in the direction, right or down set by hitting F8. A message at the bottom centre of the screen will remind you what the direction is at the moment. / - Its use as a "copy" key has been discontinued so it can now be used as a typed character. Alt F1 will display a keyboard hints list. It's not very pretty but does the job. Batch Saving ========== Whenever a batch is saved the message now includes a true entry count, ignoring header lines, comments etc.

Hi Friends, One of my syndicate had a problem with correcting an error in the batch header details. I was sent a copy to see if I could solve the problem. The year had been entered as 1980 rather than 1890 and no amount of fiddling about in Notepad could either of us get an alteration that would stick. We could get a text document that reflected the changes but could not get a .sca document. Has anyone come across this before? In the end we got over the difficulty by re-entering the header details correctly as a new batch along with the first two lines of data, then saved and exited. This document was opened in Notepad as was the text document. All data bar the first two lines was cut and pasted from the text document to the new .sca document. This was saved and notepad closed down. Result was a new file with the correct header and all the data ready for uploading QED or have I missed a trick? Come on you experts tell me please!! John

In message <[email protected]>, Bob Phillips <[email protected]> writes >Why can't we have 16 scale grey scans possibly in, about 70% compression, jpg. >Then we could read them. I'd wondered about something on similar lines - especially as I had some ideas [possibly wild] for trying to improve legibility. PP

Why can't we have 16 scale grey scans possibly in, about 70% compression, jpg. Then we could read them. Bob Phillips

PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE ME FROM THIS LIST NOW THANK-YOU ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 10:44 PM Subject: FREEBMD-DISCUSS-D Digest V01 #65

>>To all transcibers, >> >>My syndicate have moved from printed material onto handwritten scans. >>Allocations started about a fortnight ago and around 300 have so far been >>assigned. >> >>I have noticed that the transcibers response to the change of work divides >>into three, first, the smallest group who have responded to the the change >>and seem to be enjoying the additional challenge it presents, a second but >>also small group whose response and work rate has not changed and the third >>largest group whose work rate has slowed significantly or who have taken >>fright and stopped transcribing. >> >>So the kite I am flying is to ask whether we would serve the project and >>volunteers best by forming one or more specialist syndicates made up from >>those who prefer transcribing from hand written material? >> >>Come on transcribers what are your views? >> >>John > >I have just finished transcribing 49 hand-written pages (Dec 1845 >Births, from 1845B4-A-H-0002.tif to 1845B4-A-H-0050.tif) in 12 days. >The condition of the original index pages before being photographed >vary considerably. The ink has almost disappeared over large areas >of the initial pages of the A - H volume. A UV lamp would be >required to decipher the writing. Other pages are in such a good >condition that a page (40 entries) can be transcribed with no >uncertainties in a few minutes. The quality of most pages lies >somewhere between these limits. > >A contributory factor to the quality of the scan is the condition of >the microfilm. Virtually all films appear to be scratched to a >greater or lesser extent. The narrowest scratches cut up the >characters whilst the broadest ones can erase whole characters. > >I print out every transcribed page and check every line against the >original indexes in the FRC, London, so that my transcriptions have >hardly any uncertainties. Over 26 pages each with 40 entries the >number of corrections/additions per page varied from 1 to 50 with a >mean (average) of 12.1. I haven't yet checked the last 20 pages. > >I wouldn't be happy to upload pages with a large number of >uncertainties, which would be the case if I was unable to check and >correct my transcriptions in this way. I'm not surprised that >transcribers are put off by these scans of films of hand-written >pages in which both paper and film media are often in less than >ideal condition. > >One solution might be to set up a special London FRC Syndicate whose >sole task would be receive transcriptions from other syndicates for >checking against the original hand-written indexes in the FRC. Even >if enough members could be found for such a syndicate there would be >a considerable printing load on each member. To avoid this perhaps >the transcripts could be laser-printed centrally and hard copies >distributed by post. > >-- >Regards >Dick Jones >Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. U.K. <[email protected]> Apart from transcribing entries for my own research, all my FreeBMD stuff has been scans from the printed books. But as I'm in London, I'm quite liberal with _'s and *'s when transcribing from the scans. I know that I can very quickly generate a printout of all entries in all of my .sca files which contain a _ * or ? and whenever I'm at the FRC can look up them up in the books. It's easy to modify uploaded files, and the next database update will make the amended entries available. Having said that, some of the books are prints from film, and sometimes these have exactly the same blur/dirt/scratch so we're no further forward. So I don't double check all my entries at the FRC, I just double check those I've put _ * ? within. Mark Hattam

>To all transcibers, > >My syndicate have moved from printed material onto handwritten scans. >Allocations started about a fortnight ago and around 300 have so far been >assigned. > >I have noticed that the transcibers response to the change of work divides >into three, first, the smallest group who have responded to the the change >and seem to be enjoying the additional challenge it presents, a second but >also small group whose response and work rate has not changed and the third >largest group whose work rate has slowed significantly or who have taken >fright and stopped transcribing. > >So the kite I am flying is to ask whether we would serve the project and >volunteers best by forming one or more specialist syndicates made up from >those who prefer transcribing from hand written material? > >Come on transcribers what are your views? > >John I have just finished transcribing 49 hand-written pages (Dec 1845 Births, from 1845B4-A-H-0002.tif to 1845B4-A-H-0050.tif) in 12 days. The condition of the original index pages before being photographed vary considerably. The ink has almost disappeared over large areas of the initial pages of the A - H volume. A UV lamp would be required to decipher the writing. Other pages are in such a good condition that a page (40 entries) can be transcribed with no uncertainties in a few minutes. The quality of most pages lies somewhere between these limits. A contributory factor to the quality of the scan is the condition of the microfilm. Virtually all films appear to be scratched to a greater or lesser extent. The narrowest scratches cut up the characters whilst the broadest ones can erase whole characters. I print out every transcribed page and check every line against the original indexes in the FRC, London, so that my transcriptions have hardly any uncertainties. Over 26 pages each with 40 entries the number of corrections/additions per page varied from 1 to 50 with a mean (average) of 12.1. I haven't yet checked the last 20 pages. I wouldn't be happy to upload pages with a large number of uncertainties, which would be the case if I was unable to check and correct my transcriptions in this way. I'm not surprised that transcribers are put off by these scans of films of hand-written pages in which both paper and film media are often in less than ideal condition. One solution might be to set up a special London FRC Syndicate whose sole task would be receive transcriptions from other syndicates for checking against the original hand-written indexes in the FRC. Even if enough members could be found for such a syndicate there would be a considerable printing load on each member. To avoid this perhaps the transcripts could be laser-printed centrally and hard copies distributed by post. -- Regards Dick Jones Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. U.K. <[email protected]>

In message <[email protected]>, Tony Meighan <[email protected]> writes >Hi, > > >Can anyone recommend any downloadable programs that will assist in de-speckling >scanned pages, I am having major problems reading most of my 1890 >marriages. >They appear to have been typed through a muslin sheet or blotting paper :o) Can you give a link to one? I've had a look at an 1890 marriage scan and it looked fine to me. PP

Hi All I am in John Slann's Syndicate and am in possibly a unique position in that I know another tranny, we joined together. When doing typed/printed her rate was prodigious at least 350 a day. Since starting find the maze centre - sorry, hand written I don't think she has finished one sheet of 40. Last night she told me she spent ages doing 12 lines, she was fed up. She downloaded one of my pages and was shocked at how easy mine were. She had no standard for what was acceptable and what was not. Also there is no doubt that the more hand written one does the easier it is but if the first you get is bad then the experience is not there and you never get the experience. The quality of the scans, 1846M1, is poor. All suffer from light at the top to very dark at the bottom; it is unusual to be able to transcribe the last line. A lot of the scans show bad scratching of the original which no amount of rescanning will cure. Maybe John's suggestion of a syndicate of Martyrs is the only solution. Bob Phillips ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Slann" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 10:06 AM Subject: Kite flying > To all transcibers, > > My syndicate have moved from printed material onto handwritten scans. > Allocations started about a fortnight ago and around 300 have so far been > assigned. > > I have noticed that the transcibers response to the change of work divides > into three, first, the smallest group who have responded to the the change > and seem to be enjoying the additional challenge it presents, a second but > also small group whose response and work rate has not changed and the third > largest group whose work rate has slowed significantly or who have taken > fright and stopped transcribing. > > So the kite I am flying is to ask whether we would serve the project and > volunteers best by forming one or more specialist syndicates made up from > those who prefer transcribing from hand written material? > > Come on transcribers what are your views? > > John > > > > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB >

In message <[email protected]>, John Slann <[email protected]> writes >To all transcibers, > >My syndicate have moved from printed material onto handwritten scans. >Allocations started about a fortnight ago and around 300 have so far been >assigned. > >I have noticed that the transcibers response to the change of work divides >into three, first, the smallest group who have responded to the the change >and seem to be enjoying the additional challenge it presents, a second but >also small group whose response and work rate has not changed and the third >largest group whose work rate has slowed significantly or who have taken >fright and stopped transcribing. I've finished 2 sets of handwritten scans since my syndicate is out of printed scans and I'd say I'm in the 2nd group - might even be in the 1st. >So the kite I am flying is to ask whether we would serve the project and >volunteers best by forming one or more specialist syndicates made up from >those who prefer transcribing from hand written material? > >Come on transcribers what are your views? I'm happy enough to have a try with whatever I'm given. PP

Hi, Can anyone recommend any downloadable programs that will assist in de-speckling scanned pages, I am having major problems reading most of my 1890 marriages. They appear to have been typed through a muslin sheet or blotting paper :o) Bleary eyed, Tony in Australia.

To all transcibers, My syndicate have moved from printed material onto handwritten scans. Allocations started about a fortnight ago and around 300 have so far been assigned. I have noticed that the transcibers response to the change of work divides into three, first, the smallest group who have responded to the the change and seem to be enjoying the additional challenge it presents, a second but also small group whose response and work rate has not changed and the third largest group whose work rate has slowed significantly or who have taken fright and stopped transcribing. So the kite I am flying is to ask whether we would serve the project and volunteers best by forming one or more specialist syndicates made up from those who prefer transcribing from hand written material? Come on transcribers what are your views? John