Census Template Editor

Census templates specify a census type, country, year, date as well as the various columns associated with the census. Ancestral Sources has templates for the currently available censuses for England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Ireland, Canada and USA. In addition to census types there are also Electoral Register templates for the UK and also the England and Wales 1939 register. You can edit these existing templates or create new templates for other census types, years and countries. If appropriate census templates are not already available, have  look on the  Ancestral Sources Knowledge Base on the Family Historian User Group website where a number of templates have been uploaded by users.

Please note that versions of Ancestral Sources before version 7, collected together all the UK census records under one country. Ancestral Sources 7 separated these templates out to more correctly reflect the differences between the census records. Ancestral Sources 7 also introduces the concept of census types to allow other 'census-like' records to be recorded, including electoral registers.

Creating or editing a census template

Type: The default type is Census but by default Ancestral Sources also includes Electoral Register and Register (for the 1939 England and Wales register) types. Users can create other types if they wish.

Region: The Region combo box is used to either select an existing country or region or to enter a new one. As the name suggests, although it is usual to enter a country, some regions have their own census. So you might, for example, decide to enter the name of an American state here.

Year: Once a country has been entered you can either select a year from the list or enter a new census year into the combo box. In some cases it may not be appropriate to enter a year here, so it is also possible to enter, for example, a range of years for which this template would apply. For example the same electoral register template may apply for a number of years.

Once the year is selected (or a new year typed in and the New button clicked) then the panels below will be enabled to allow the template to be created/edited.

Date: Enter the date of the census in the format D MMM YYYY (e.g. 3 APR 1881). The date does not have to be specified if, for example, this template is used to cover a number of dates. e.g. for an electoral register. If a date is not specified then you will need to manually type in a date on the main census screen when entering a record.

Reference Start: For some countries, the census pages have a reference id associated with them. Use this text box to specify the reference with which all entries for this particular template will start. e.g. All UK 1881 census pages have a reference starting with RG11/

Fixed Columns: Use this to specify how many columns will be fixed or frozen when this census is displayed in the grid on the main form. For most census templates the first column is for the name of the individual and therefore the fixed column value is set to 1 so that the name of the individual can always be seen even when scrolling across to later columns.

Fact: By default this is set to use default fact. This means that all individuals added to a source created using this template will be given a census fact (usually) and/or residence fact based on the option set on the Census options screen. It is also possible to specify that a template should always use a census fact, or always use a residence fact or alternatively should always use a specific custom fact. Templates that are distributed for use by others should be set to use the default fact, but users may choose their own settings here when using them on their personal computers.

Census Columns

You can add census columns (using the + (plus) icon), remove them (using the - (minus) icon) and change their order (using the up/down icons). Note that although most censuses include columns that describe the census abode (e.g. number of rooms in the house) it is sensible to just include columns that refer to the particular individual. Information about the abode can always be entered into the source text by the user if need be. To create a column you need to specify the information described below:

Column Type: The type of columns tells Ancestral Sources where data entered into this column should be saved or allows it to suggest data to be recorded in it. The column types are described below.

• Age: Assuming the user has the appropriate options set, then for any individual selected, Ancestral Sources will where possible fill in the age of the individual at the time of the census. When the entry is saved the age of the individual will be written to the census fact that is created. It may also be used to estimate a birth date for the individual if the option to create birth facts is selected. When creating or viewing an Age column in the template editor, you will see an Age Includes Month check box. This can be ticked to indicate that this census expects an age to be given in years and months, for example, the 1921 England and Wales census.
• AgeNextBirthday: Similar to the age field but is used for censuses where the age of the person on the next birthday is specified.
• AgeRounded: Used in the UK 1841 census where individuals over the age of 15 were supposed to have their ages as recorded rounded down to the nearest age divisible by 5.
• BirthDate: Assuming the user has the appropriate options set, then for any individual selected, Ancestral Sources will where possible fill in the date of birth of the individual at the time of the census.
• Gender: The options for the Gender column type are set in the List Items (see description further down this help page) using the appropriate keys. When an individual is selected Ancestral Sources will record the gender of the individual (if known) in this column.
• Generic: This is the column type to use for columns that don't match any of the other column types. Using the Local Note option it is possible to specify where this column will be recorded. Most generic columns are not set to record anywhere unless the user chooses the Auto Source option on the main screen to create a transcript of the census in the source text. However, it is possible using the Local Note option to have the contents of the column recorded in the local note for the census or occupation fact created for the individual. As the name suggests, if the Record even if no data recorded option is ticked the data will be added to the census or occupation note (with just the column title) even if no data is entered into the column by the user. It is also possible to specify options for the user to choose using the List Items (see description below). The Census Options screen also includes options as to how the generic columns should be handled. Note that the Local Note option can also be used with other non-Generic column types if required.
• Marriage Condition: With this column, Ancestral Sources will suggest the marital status of the individual. This information is not saved anywhere unless the user chooses the Auto Source option on the main screen to create a transcript of the census in the source text. The possible marital conditions should be specified in the List items (see description below) using the associated keys.
• Name: Ancestral Sources will fill in this column with the name of the chosen individual. This information is not saved anywhere unless the user chooses the Auto Source option on the main screen to create a transcript of the census in the source text.
• Nationality: Assuming the appropriate option has been selected, the data entered into this field will be recorded in an individual's GEDCOM Nationality fact.
• Occupation: Ancestral Sources will fill in this column with an appropriate known occupation of the individual. Other occupations for the individual will be listed if applicable. The data entered into this column will be recorded in an individual's GEDCOM Occupation fact.
• PhysicalDescription: Commonly used for census columns that request information about disabilities. Assuming the appropriate option has been selected, the data entered into this field will be recorded in an individual's GEDCOM Physical Description fact.
• PlaceOfBirth: Used to record the place of birth of an individual. Ancestral Sources will fill this in where possible using the birth fact information for them. The entry recorded may be recorded within a birth fact for the individual if the option to create birth facts has been selected.
• Relationship: Ancestral Sources will fill in the relationship of each individual to the first individual selected (head of household). This information is not saved anywhere unless the user chooses the Auto Source option on the main screen to create a transcript of the census in the source text. The possible relationships should be specified in the List items (see description below) using the associated keys.
• Religion: Assuming the appropriate option has been selected, the data entered into this field will be recorded in an individual's GEDCOM Religion fact.

Column Title: This is a long title and should match the title used on the original census form. This title will appear as a 'tool tip bubble' if the user points at the column name on the main screen.

Short Title: A short title used as a display name for the column on the main screen.

Minimum Width: Specifies the default width of the column in pixels, e.g. 30 for a narrow column, 150 for a wide column.

AutoText Visibility: Template creators can optionally specify that a column will be hidden if there is no data to display in the column. For example the Disability column on UK census records is usually empty. This option could be used to reduce the width of the source text tables generated by Autotext. This option is not set by default on any built-in templates that are included with Ancestral Sources. The Autotext census empty columns setting on the General Settings - Source Text options page specifies whether this template setting is used (the default setting), or whether all empty columns will always be hidden or always shown.

List Items: For some column types it is possible to specify different options that the user can choose from a drop-down list. You can edit this list by clicking on the Edit List button or in some cases fill the list with default values by clicking on the Set Default button. See the help page for Census Template List Editor for details. 

Buttons at the bottom of the form

Save: This saves changes made to the template. The template is saved to the Settings.xml file which by default is within the user's documents folder under Ancestral Sources\Settings.

Delete: Removes the template from the settings.xml file

Copy and Paste: You can copy the template being viewed and paste the template into a different country and year. This allows you to start a new template with a number of the columns already in place which can then be amended as required.

Cancel: Cancels any changes made to the template

Export: You can use this option to export templates to another file usually so that these can be passed to other individuals. e.g. a user who created templates for the French census could export these for others to use. See the Census Template Export help page.

Import: This can be used to import templates from another file, perhaps those exported by another user. See the Census Template Import help page.

Reset: This can be used to reset templates to their installation settings. You can choose to reset all templates or individual templates.  See the Census Template Reset help page.

Close: Closes the template editor form.