Maximizing Use of TMG
Lessons Learned (Discussion by
Meeting Participants)
After a program from Suzanne
LeBlanc Ottawa TMG Sept 2013
John Frank moderator December 2014
If you had to go back, what would you do
differently in TMG?
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Enter sources immediately
Negative source information
Join RUG sooner
Enter sort dates
Enter simplified sources that export better to
other programs
• Decide naming conventions
If you had to go back, what would you
do differently in TMG?
• Style sheets for entering data(such as
punctuation, abbrev. etc)
• Get Second Site earlier
• Create custom template for consistent source
data entry
• Include captions on your exhibits
With your experience now, what do you
consider important from the start?
• Avoid split CD’s (Citation Detail can be split
into 9 segments using ||, like Memo) and
embedded citations to give easier export
• Verify imported data from the previous
program
• Plan to export your data (publish) from the
start, both hard copy and the Web
• Tap into the experience of more experienced
users
If you started out using TMG by migrating your
data from another program, what tasks would
you do first?
• Clean up Place data because that is the basis
for everything
• When migrating data, know what source
standard was used in the original program
• Clean up data before importing into TMG
• Import a small database with different setting
to obtain the desired result
What have you had to go back and redo?
Should this have been set up carefully at the
beginning?
• Practically everything
• Memo size was a problem when importing
• You need a good understanding of sentences
in TMG when you start to publish
• External vs internal exhibits
If you are using Second Site, what would you
do differently in TMG to improve SS?
• Make sure that you put captions on your
exhibits
• Pay attention to your sentence structure
What recommendations would you
make on handling images?
• Make external images in TMG
• Use “save for web” if that option is available
• Use additional tool to manipulate image for
the desired result
• Label image with TMG ID if it is an individual
What recommendations would you make on
handling sources?
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Be consistent
Be diligent
Use Evidence Explained
Make sure you can find it again
Not too many advanced features so that it
exports more completely
• Use the citation memo to show what data was
found in a particular source
Is it necessary to consider how data is
structured in TMG so that data can be exported
(into another program, etc?)?
• No, make use of the features of TMG. Any
other program should be able to accept the
data
• Use fields of TMG as intended