Guidelines for Submitting Files to the LAGenWeb Archives


By Jan Craven 
Updated by Sandra Tipton; Rhonda Smith; Jo B*ranch (June 2004)

Files for the LAGenWeb Archives can be sent as an attachment or in the body of the email message. Attachments should be saved as an ASCII Text File with a ".txt" extension. To do this, choose File/Save As/ ASCII DOS Text (your program may call it DOS Text or ASCII text....)

1st Line: Name & type of item (date of item), parish, state
(on some files if dates or name of item is long, I put the date of item here)
2nd line: Submitters name. (I do not put email addresses in the files. Email addresses can change too fast and it costs time to change them in the table of contents and is almost impossible to change them in the files also.)
3rd Line: Source
4th Line: Date of submission

Then the copyright notice:

************************************************
Submitted to the LAGenWeb Archives
http:/www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm
************************************************
Copyright. All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
************************************************

Example of the above:
Bio of John Doe (1935); Winn, Louisiana
Submitter: Jo B*ranch
Source: Winn Parish Enterprise
Date: 14 Jun 2004

**Next the copyright notice.
**Finally the body of the file.

TYPING THE FILE: When a file is loaded on to the RootsWeb server, it is converted to a "true type font". The font is the style of the letter in messages. This was done in Times New Roman. It is NOT a true type font, and each letter does not take up the same amount of space on the line. Courier New is a true type font and that is what I use for preparing files for the archives. The screen that you see in the archives is 68 characters wide, so by setting your computer to do that, you can prepare files that way. I just set my screen (word processor) at the top to read Courier New with a 10 pt. type and that seems to work well. There is a free program called NoteTab that is a "must have". 

1. I set my font for Courier New with a 10 pt. type and the left and right margins at 1". This works well and keeps everything within the guidelines of 68 characters wide.
2. There must be a hard return (hit the enter key) at the end of each line. Without one, the line strings out until it has a hard return. This causes folks problems in reading the files and in printing the files once they are loaded. So please make sure that at the end of each line you hit the enter key. This will make for the hard return that is needed in the text files. 
3. PLEASE do not put any TABS, bold or italic lettering, or other things of that type. All tabs have to be removed before the file can be uploaded and having them in there just costs extra time in editing. 
4. When you need to create columns, use the space bar. ** When you are creating columns and not using a true type font they will not be lined up when the file is loaded onto the archives.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jo B*ranch at: jojr@earthlink.net