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FromThePage Blog

Crowdsourcing, transcription and indexing for libraries and archives

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Getting Started on FromThePage

Welcome to FromThePage! We’re glad you’re interested in working on historical documents.

You might want to watch the following video before you get started:

You can jump right in using the “Find a Project” link at the top of your page (once you’re logged in). Any project that needs work is there for you to transcribe. The first few pages might be uncomfortable, but just try.

The "Start Transcribing" button

The "Start Transcribing" button operates on a sophisticated algorithm:

  1. When you click the button, it will take you to the first page of the next document that hasn't been transcribed yet.
  2. If there are no completely untranscribed documents available, it will take you to the next available page of the document that hasn't been worked on recently.

Unsure or unfinished?

You can leave notes at the bottom of the page if you’re unsure of things, and other volunteers or staff members will get back to you. Some projects give you the ability to click “needs review” if you’d like another set of eyes on your transcription. Once you’re done with a page click “Done”; click “Save” if you’ve started but aren’t finished.

What to do when you see the "This page is being edited by another user!" message?

The right thing to do is move on to the next page. Crowdsourced transcription often means that there will be more than one person transcribing a document. Check out the video below to get an idea of how to continue transcribing a document that has been partly transcribed by somebody else:

Questions? Read our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Happy Transcribing!


  • Watch our transcription demo video
  • Read our FAQ page
  • Read about spreadsheet controls

Happy Transcribing!

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