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Archiver > TMG > 2006-06 > 1150309677


From: "Robert Thorpe" <>
Subject: RE: [TMG] E-mail messages as sources
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:28:00 -0500
In-Reply-To: <7.0.0.16.2.20060614134643.04c5d4b8@acm.org>


> wrote:
> >I've enjoyed this thread -- there have been some
> >good ideas -- thanks! Now I have a
> >question........does everyone save every
> >email? If so - where? On the computer? In
> >paper form in a file cabinet/notebook? Would
> >love to know what you do with them....

Carol,

I save every one of my genealogical emails. Even those that are way off
topic. You never know when they will help you remember something that is
useful. And the family newsy ones are the same as old letters your ggm
wrote.

I keep all of them in one directory which I back up from time to time
during the year. In January I do a formal save. I bring the file into a
desktop publishing program, assign an email ID no. (ie: Email20060614a
for the first one I receive today.) Then I format the letters, one to a
page or one to several pages if it is long. I include the attachments
too and if it refers to an earlier email I have a "quote" line, see
Email20060612b. That way I don't have to keep the entire quoted email in
the current one. I have a style for each of the header lines, the body,
quotes, attachments, etc.

I strip out the headers; to, from, date, subject and the email number
which I have added by hand, and paste them into an excel spreadsheet. I
format them into columns and sort them by email number. Then I copy the
grid and paste it back into the desktop publishing document. It becomes
the table of contents. Most word processors and DTP programs support
hyperlinks, an index, table of contents and crosslinks, so I add those
and I finish by generating a PDF for that year. I print that out and
have it hardbound into a book, plus I have the electronic version which
is easier to refer to.

All this may seem like a pretty big chore and it does take me a couple
of days every year. But then I can cite the book for my source and the
entry is pretty easy to find.

Robert Thorpe
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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