ok, i have arrived on this thread now. i am sorry for posting my 'happy day' on the 'home base.' i am still learning, and have requested that moderation move the post to here as Dana suggested. sorry for the wrong forum site.

Peace,
Pam.

Several things are making me happy today:

1. For the past couple of weeks I've been working on and off (in fits and starts as the mood takes me) on transcribing two ledgers containing summary details of all General Regimental Courts Martial held against British soldiers and militia between 1811 and 1825. Each record goes across two pages with several predefined fields filled in. I've been putting them into an Excel spreadsheet, with various fields to show what kind of crime (desertion, theft, violent, sexual) and against whom (civilian, comrade, regiment/king's yards), along with transcribing in full the details of the charge and sentence as it appears in the text.

It's laborious work. And I can only do it for a little while before I want to let my eyes close. But today i realised I had done just over 200 records :) It's starting to look like a useful document. Yey. I am hoping that I can get a few more done tomorrow and maybe start picking up the pace a bit now and get some momentum gathering.

2. Mum's totally loving her new I-pad. She got up this morning, made herself a cup of tea and some toast and then went back to bed and sat up watching comedy programmes on BBCIplayer. She is totally revelling in it. I am sooo glad I got everyone on board for that gift. Not that they took any real persuasion lol.

3. I have, it would seem, made a new friend in the Cellar!

Are you going to use a pivot table to summarize the data? That would really only work if there are a limited number of repeating values in a given data field (like you've listed for crime and whom). Also, have you made drop-downs for the common data (i.e. validation), so you don't have to type it each time? That also helps reduce errors and variation in spelling.

I haven't created dropdowns, but it does an auto type when I get so far into the word if it's a word or hrase I have already used.

The trouble is that there isn't really a consistency within the source material. There are repeating patterns, but for instance, the same regiment might be listed as 33rd Foot, or 33rd Regiment of Foot, or theymay appear as 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment of Foot, etc. Likewise trials may be held at Sunderland, or at Sunderland Barracks. Or they may be held at Uptown Camp Jamaica, or just Jamaica.

Similarly, the sentences can be written differently: so, three months solitary confinement and put under stoppages, or three months in solitary confinement & put on stoppages. Where I am transcribing, rather than adding a 1 to a column (crime types and against whom, guilty, acquitted) I am trying to be exact. I may end up rationalising them at the end, at which point dropdowns would be useful. Until I know what else I am going to come across, and what permutations of regimental and company names, I think I have to just type :p

Yeah! I now have 2 friends on here. TY pensive pam for the add

I fixed my computer! I love it when I learn how to do something new and save some money.

Was it the power switch?

Great stuff Glatt. What was amiss?

It was the power supply. Replaced it and it works!

I want thunder snow.

Wow, he is old! and gets around a bit.....

Someone sent me an anonymous invite to the secret forum! Awesome!

*schtum*

If i dont get a secret invite to the secret forum i bastard well invented I will be very upset...


Very upset

Dana, you did it wrong. You should have started a new whole thread about how upset you are to not get invite to secret forum you invented.