The spreadsheet transcription feature allows projects with structured data to be transcribed as accurately as possible. Past projects on FromThePage that used the spreadsheet transcription feature include the 1850 Missouri Slave Census and the Jeffersonville Land Office Receipts.
The following video will walk you through the process of navigating a spreadsheet transcription project and teach you the spreadsheet controls on said projects.
- Tab: Selecting the Tab key will move the cursor to the next horizontal cell.
- Enter: Pressing the Enter key will move the cursor to the next vertical cell.
- Ctrl + Enter: Pressing Ctrl + Enter will add a newline/carriage return within a cell.
- When format doesn’t match: red highlight appears (i.e. 6/12 for age)
- Cell widths resize to fit entry/heading text
- Resize: Drag the header to make the column narrower or wider.
- Add row: Right-click and select either "Insert row above" or "Insert row below".
- Ctrl + C: Pressing Ctrl + C will copy text.
- Ctrl + V: Pressing Ctrl + V will paste text.
- Ctrl + Z: Pressing Ctrl + Z will undo the most recent action.
- For ditto marks: Encourage transcribers to use “copy and paste”.