This page contains sample files of transcriptions in various formats and some important notes for your reference. The notes and sample files were originally put together by Lynda Mudle-Small.

• Sample files - These files are provided in several formats, see below

• The spreadsheet files are provided in MS Office Excel format & Open Office.org format. The MS Office Excel files will open in newer version of Works if you right click on the file and choose 'open with'.

• The Word Processor files are provided in MS Office XP (.doc) format and Open Office format. They are also provided in .rtf format which should open in most Word Processor programs including Wordpad provided with windows.

• If you have any problems with these formats please contact the OPC Co-ordinator  and I will produce them in any file format you need (telling me which Office Suite or program you use)

• SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSCRIBING CENSUS - Word XP/2002 (.doc)    .rtf (most programs inc. Works)   Open Office

• PARISH DATA SAMPLE - Excel XP/2002   Open Office

• SAMPLE CENSUS   - Excel XP/2002   Open Office

• NOTE: If your browser is capable these will open in it, if you want to save the files, right click and choose 'save as'

Important Notes

• Please remember to add source i.e. for census the full reference - HO107/xxx folio/page or RGxx/xxxx folio/page
  You don't need to use the HO107/xxx or RGxx/xxxx on every entry, you can put that at the top and put the folio/page next to the entries

• For Parish registers it varies; if you have transcribed them from fiche at the Dorset History Centre provide the reference which will be along the lines of MIC/R/0000 for the fiche then RE/0/0 for the section of the fiche. For LDS each fiche should have a reference number. Any other sources just put what you know at the top of the transcript.

• For other records, the DHC reference, LDS reference or as before, if you're not sure add the information you know at the top and I'll sort it out.

• For Parish Register transcriptions or Bishops Transcripts can you please check with the examples on how to add dates, this is quite important as this can be the most fiddly to format for the web pages.

• SURNAMES in capitals

• Forename/s and SURNAMES in separate columns

• *** for unrecognised letters

• ? if you are not sure of the whole word or name

• [illegible] if you can't make it out at all

• please avoid using ditto or Do if you can - Excel will guess for you if you've used that word or name before, I do appreciate however that some programs don't do this.

• Naming files - please can you put the parish in the file name; for census put the year then parish; for census - 1861Weymouth.xls or 1861_weymouth.xls; for parish registers or BT's - Weymouth1822-1832  weymouth1822_1832   WeymouthStMary1822_1832. Mostly I can figure out which parish it is by the information in the document or by the transcribers name but there have been times when I've had to do lookups to figure which parish.

• If you have any problems or questions contact me on the above address

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