WinREG.

Welcome to WinREG, the very latest Windows based utility for entering Baptism, Marriage and Burial information from church registers for the FreeREG project.

There are currently two versions of WinREG. Version 1 and version 2. Version 1 was designed to run on early versions of Windows and is no longer in development. Version 2 is a newer version designed to run on Windows XP and Vista and is the preferred version.

Neither version of WinREG will run on Mac, or Linus etc OSs in native mode. It will, however, run as a PC application under a Windows partition on such computers if it is installed.

For information on Version 1 go to Information on installing WinREG 1

• Release of Version 2.1.40 of WinREG 2 on 2 February 2010:

• About WinREG 2
• Major Differences between Versions 1 and 2 of WinREG
• Downloading and installing WinREG 2
• Updating your .NET Framework
• Starting WinREG 2 for the first time
• Using WinREG 2
• Uninstalling WinREG 2
• WinREG 2 FAQ

General Information about WinREG 2

WinREG 2 is the very latest Windows PC based utility recommended for entering Baptism, Marriage and Burial information from church registers for the FreeREG project.

If you are planning to move to or buy a computer with Windows Vista we strongly encourage you to install WinREG 2 and avoid a number of installation and usage headaches.

We do strongly urge you to make the change to WinREG 2 if you are experiencing the IO32 fatal error condition.

Finally WinREG 2 does have a large number of interesting features that make it a better product and do encourage a transition to it by all users over time.

The WinREG 2 software was written by Mike Fry, an active transcriber. If you encounter what appears to be a bug there is a bug reporting email address under the Help Taskbar. If you run into problems using the software get in touch with either your Country Coordinator or file a bug report.

This program was developed as a Windows PC based application to assist transcribers prepare their records for submission to FreeREG. It replaces the WinREG 1 and SpeedREG which had been in use for a number of years. It is expected that users will find that WinREG 2 is more compatible with their activities as a transcriber since it was designed by transcribers and written by a transcriber. It provides a modern platform that can be improved and augmented over time.

WinREG 2 offers:-

• Once only input of heading details such as your name, email address, County, Parish and Church.
• Automatic creation of a comma delimited file ready for uploading to FreeREG.
• Duplication of an entry.
• Automatic capitalization using a modified paragraph structure for the Abode, Parish, Occupation and Notes fields where the first letter is capitalized and the rest are controlled by the transcriber. Automatic capitalization is used in the forename and surname fields
• Gives a Pick List, possible options are provided as typing progresses in such fields as sex, relationship and marriage conditions.
• Extensive data checking especially for the date field
• A variety of date entry formats including for example 16.2.1672/3 or 16 2 1672/3 or 16/2/1672/3 as well as 16 feb 1672/3. All will create 16 Feb 1672/3 in the file.
• Sorting of the entries into ascending/or descending alphabetic order which provides a powerful tool for quality control; there is an associated UNSORT command to restore the original order
• Designed for data entry with only the keyboard
• Full implementation of the Uncertain Character Format; UCF
• Special helpers for problem dates (F4) and coding an uncertain entry using the UCF (F5)
• Compatibility with standard windows keyboard shortcuts
• An integrated image viewer for displaying images of registers
• Ability to change the Place name, Church name, Source and Comments fields for the file at any time
• A Backup/Restore capability and with the ability to define a backup location
• Support for the additional marriage conditions
• Ability to over ride the standard file name
• Ability to rename a file
• Ability to add additional relationship in the Burial Relationship field
• Ability to add additional conditions for the Marriage Condition fields
• Ability to include a comma in all fields except a date
• Use the standard Microsoft copy, cut and paste keystoke commands, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-X, and Ctrl-V as well as the right click menu
• Validation of files
• Change location of both Transcript and Backup folder
• Auto-fill option for Abode, Parish, Occupations fields
• Uploading files directly to the FreeREG Server
• A Bishop's or Archdeacon's Transcripts option; permits multiple Places and Churches to be in one file
• Automatic correction of 3 problems introduced by opening and then saving a WinREG CSV file with Excel; the only problem NOT corrected is the post 1900 Microsoft date conversion. Please note this will NOT convert an Excel xls (or xlsx) file to the correct CSV format.
• and lots more to come!

WinREG 2 Index

Major Differences between Versions 1 and 2 of WinREG

• WinREG 2 does NOT automatically save the file each time a record is added to the file. You, the transcriber, MUST save the file. To save a file there is the standard Save File option in the File Menu. There is the standard Save Button on the Taskbar. Alternatively and most useful is to key Alt S simultaneously and the file will be saved.
  You will be asked if you wish to save the file on Exit if there are new records pending for the file; say Yes if you want to keep them.
• Select the Add Record (+ sign) to start adding records to the file once the program has been started
• There is far more data checking. If you get a red ! on a field, you MUST correct the entry before saving the record in order to proceed with saving.
• The date must be correctly entered especially if it is a split year entry.
• Single click on a record to DUPLICATE it; Double Click on a record to EDIT it.
• There is capitalization using a modified paragraph structure for the Abode, Parish, Occupation and Notes fields where the first letter is capitalized and the rest are controlled by the transcriber. Automatic capitalization is used in the forename and surname fields
• WinREG 2 supports a number of keyboard short cuts. Including Ctrl S to save a record, Alt S to save a file. Review the WinREG 2 Help file for details on them all.
• When in a date field, keying the F4 function key will start the Date Helper to assist you in properly formatting a date will missing or uncertain parts.
• When in a text field, keying the F5 function key will start the UCF Helper to assist you in properly formatting a text field with uncertain characters.
• The Drop Down menu or Pick Lists CAN be used with just the keyboard. Use of the mouse is NOT mandatory. There are several ways of using. Tab to such a field. 1)Type the first character and if the correct entry appears in the field tab to the next field. 2) Type the first character and you are offered a choice of entries, use the down arrow to select the option you wish and tab to the next field. 3) Type 2 or 3 characters to reduce the options to 1 and then tab to the next field. eg in the burial relationship drop down box type either wif or wid to get the correct entry displayed.
• After editing a record you MUST key Ctrl A or select the Add a record (+) icon to recommence adding records -->

WinREG 2 Index

Installing WinREG 2 on your PC

If you have a version of WinREG 2 already installed on your computer, it is necessary to uninstall that version before installing a new version. Follow the instructions below to uninstall the current version. You should also delete the version of the WinREG 2 installer that you downloaded previously. Doing this will NOT delete your settings for WinREG 2and/or transcriptions.

To download WinREG just click on the "download WinREG" link below. The file is quite large, approximately 4 Mbytes, so it may take a while to download if you have a slow speed connection. Be patient the program is worth the time investment.

Windows will ask you to specify a folder (directory) on your hard disk in which to save the file.(You may use any folder such as c:\received files\ or alternatively you may want to save it to a c:\FreeREG\WinREG\ folder). Remember to make a note of the location. You will need to go to it later in the installation process.

The downloaded file will have a name like WinREGSetup.msi

The installation process itself is similar to any other installation process under Windows and is quite self explanatory. Select the Complete installation option when asked. (The other options Typical and Custom are for advanced users) However, you may want to briefly review the steps in the process that are explained below before starting the download.

Download WinREG 2

As noted above the installation process itself is similar to any other installation process under Windows and is quite self explanatory. Assuming you saved the file on your computer use Windows Explorer to go to the folder (directory) where you saved the install file WinREGSetup.msi. Double click on the file name and that will start the installation process and lead you through the installation process. It is self explanatory and really very fast!

Then, or if you told Windows to execute the file without saving it, the installation process then asks you to identify where the program is to be installed. The default folder (directory) for the location of the program files is provided. Just tap the Next button if you wish to use this location and we do recommend it; but you can define any directory on any drive that is accessible to your computer. (Use the Browse button to locate the location you wish to use)

Select Next and on the subsequent page, select Install. The program is them installed on your computer.

At this point you may receive a message "WinREG for Windows cannot be installed on systems with .NET Framework earlier than 2.0". If you do follow the steps outlined in Updating your .NET Framework and then restart the WinREG 2 installation process.

When this is complete you are asked to finish the installation. During this phase the installer will ask if you wish to create a Program Group under WinREG for Windows (You will see that under the Windows START button in the list of installed programs), if you wish to place a shortcut on your desktop and if you wish to add the program to the Quick Launch menu to make it easier for you to start the program itself. The default of these options is yes. Lastly you will be asked if you wish to have WinREG 2 always open your CSV files, it will then create a transcripts folder under your Documents folder to make it easier for you to access your transcripts. The actual folder is located at Documents\FreeREG\WinREG for Windows\Transcripts\

WinREG 2 Index

Updating your .NET Framework

To update the .NET Framework go to the Microsoft download site, link to be provided in a few lines, Click the button Download it now under the note ".NET Framework 3.5 SP1". This will take you to another Microsoft page. Click the Download button and follow the instructions from Microsoft. Please be aware this download and installation process may take up to 30 minutes. When it is complete go back and re-execute the WinREG for Windows Installer. Now go to the Microsoft .NET Framework Download Site

WinREG 2 Index

Starting WinREG 2 for the first time

The first time the program asks you to identify your, name, e-mail address and the county you are working with. (If you have already installed an earlier version of WinREG 2 the program will use those settings.) Please make sure this is the same information that you have used when you registered as a transcriber with FreeREG. You may change this information at any point in the future by selecting the Settings/Options menu in WinREG 2.

If you are an exiting transcriber then it is essential that you follow the next step. Copy all of your previous transcription from the old transcripts folder to the new transcripts folder. This will ensure that the files are named correctly by WinREG 2 and thereby avoid problems with duplicate file names when you go to upload.

To do this go to the existing transcripts folder. It is usually stored at C:\Program Files\WinREG\Transcripts Go to the Edit menu at the at the top on the Task Bar and select the Select All option. This will highlight all your files. Then go back to the Edit menu at the top on the Task Bar and select Copy. Now go to the new transcripts folder. It is at Documents\FreeREG\WinREG for Windows\Transcripts Again go to the Edit menu at the top on the Task Bar and select the Paste option. All your files should now appear in the new Transcripts folder.

Using WinREG 2

1. Start New Project
2. Add New Record
3. Change Record
4. Save Record
5. Saving Files
6. Open an Existing Project

WinREG 2 Index

Uninstalling WinREG 2

WinREG 2 Index

Version 40 of WinREG 2 on 2 February 2010

Version 2.1.40 of WinREG2 corrects a minor bug. Specifically:

1. A small, unimportant cosmetic correction on the Tools drop-down menu, where the FreeREG Server Gateway option didn't always appear.

Version 39 of WinREG 2 on 10 December 2009

Version 2.1.39 of WinREG2 adds improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

Bugs
1. Corrected the handling of the 'brace' characters { and }.
2. Files should no longer be truncated during a failed Save process. The odd record might still be lost, but not everything from the first point of failure onwards.
Enhancements
1. Save process will not immediately overwrite the existing file. A temporary file is first written, then the existing file replaced by the temporary file.

Version 38 of WinREG 2 on 7 December 2009

Version 2.1.38 of WinREG2 adds improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

1. Allow the addition of LDS specific fields to the transcription file.

Version 35 of WinREG 2 on 31 July 2009

Version 2.1.35 of WinREG2 adds improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

1. Added automatic correction of 3 problems introduced by opening and then saving a WinREG CSV file with Excel; the only problem NOT corrected is the post 1900 Microsoft date conversion. Please note this will NOT convert an Excel xls (or xlsx) file to the correct CSV format.

Version 34 of WinREG 2 on 30 June 2009

Version 2.1.34 of WinREG2 fixed 1 bug as well as adding some improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

Bugs
1. Fixed a problem with the Date Picker and the change of decades.
Enhancements
1. Added the FreeREG Server Gateway tool to permit direct access to the FreeREG Data Server.
2. Added facilities to enable the capture of Bishops transcripts records (Bts) that are in files organized by year and not Place. This allows for multiple place and church names within the same project file.

Version 2.1.33 of WinREG 2 fixes a number of bugs as well as adding some improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

Bugs
1. Fixed a double-dating error generated in the Date Picker dialog. The correct double-date was not always generated.
2. Fixed an date entry problem that would reject some otherwise acceptable dates.
3. Fixed the cause of some exceptions when using the Image Viewer. Selecting any of the Image drop-down menu entries without a selected image would cause a crash.
4. Circumvented a Microsoft error that causes problems with the vertical splitter in the Image Viewer.
5. Circumvented a Microsoft error that may cause use of an Auto Fill field to crash the program.
Enhancements
1. Changed the general operation of the Backup procedure. Now a lot simpler in use.
2. The Image Viewer should now retain the magnification factor from one image to the next, and across successive executions.
3. Date validation errors are now identified with a message under the exclamation mark.

Version 2.1.32 of WinREG 2 was released on 4 May 2009. This fixes a number of bugs as well as adding some improvements requested by transcribers. Specifically:

Bugs
1. In a 3-part date, if a differing number of spaces separated the day from the month, and the month from the year, an error would be signalled. Fixed.
2. The Automatic Notification of an available Update has been restored.
3. The Batch Validation procedure of dates is now identical to that for a keyed date.
4. A small problem with the validation of leap-year days has been corrected for all acceptable formats (separators).
5. An error whereby the file contents could be truncated if the program was closed during the middle of saving the contents has been fixed.
6. A problem introduced in version 2.1.30 that causes a crash following the use of the User Settings function has been identified and fixed.
7. Fields that were invalidated had their colours changed to white text on a red background. After correction, this change wasn't being reversed.
8. The Installation folder on the My Information tab of the Options dialog was showing the wrong folder. Corrected
9. A bug, possibly present since 2.1.29, has been found that results in a corruption of the Pick Lists storage file. The program has been changed to identify when the file has been corrupted and recreate it.
10. Corrected a minor bug in the operation of the fields on the Data Entry tab of the Options dialog.
11. When it crashes, the program should now give the user a chance to save any pending work.
12. A problem with the validation of dates that incorporated a suffix as part of the day (st, nd, rd and th) has been fixed.. The program will no longer crash.
13. The MRU list did not always work correctly. Files that were not in the default Transcripts folder would not be found when selected from the MRU list. Fixed.
14. Modern years (2000 and after) are now allowed.
Enhancements
1. Added an Autofill option for all Abode, Parish and Occupation fields. As well as being able to type the first few letters and then select from a list, the user can also right-click on the field and select from the full list.
2. Upon entering a date field in a new record, the previously entered date will be presented as the starting point for the new record.
3. The program supports the standard clipboard commands of Ctrl-C (Copy), Ctrl-V (Paste) and Ctrl-X (Cut)
4. Allowed the user to select where the transcription files are stored after installation. This functions like choosing the Backup Folder.
5. The program now defaults the installation location to C:\Program Files\FreeREG\WinREG for Windows\
6. User Settings display now contains the MyUserConfigPath string showing where to find the user.config file.
7. Changed the Data & Backup Folders dialogs so that an alternative disk can be used as the new destination.
8. When the Backup & Data Folders are changed, the program now moves all files and subdirectories and their contents to the new destination folder.
9. Removed any existing restrictions on what characters may be typed into a text field.

Bugs
1. Commas now allowed anywhere that they make some sense i.e. not in dates, but are allowed in the so-called 'header' fields.
2. Capitalisation in Forenames and Christian names was inconsistent and is now fixed.
3. A minimum size restriction on the main window has been relaxed.
4. A minor problem that caused a crash when setting up the first-time user details were entered incorrectly has been fixed.
5. A potential problem with a comma within the first 3 characters of a place name was affecting the generated filename and has been fixed.
6. A lot more work has been done on the way in which date columns are sorted. Nearly complete. Information logged about combinations that don't currently sort properly.
Enhancements
1. Quoting of all fields that can take a comma has been implemented.
2. Added the ability to add user values for Burial Relationships and Marriage Conditions (separately for Bride & Groom).
3. Added a right click menu for the record in the Data window. Only contains a Delete Record item for now. You can now right-click on a record and then delete it.
4. Added persistence for the various PickLists - Sex, Burial Relationships and Marriage Conditions.
5. Added the ability to edit the contents of the Burial Relationships and Marriage Conditions Picklists.
6. Added basic code to validate all the dates in a loaded file. Primarily of use in editing previously converted files with WinREG

Bugs
1. Leap year problems for the years prior to 1752 have been fixed.
2. Column sort on Register Number was not totally correct. Now fixed.
3. Column sort on Dates was incorrect. Now makes a lot more sense.
4. The updating process is now more under control of the user. Updates will no longer be installed automatically. Instead, the user will be notified that there are new updates, and given the opportunity of deciding when to install them
5. Revised installation process now works for Win2000, XP, Vista/32 and Vista/64 systems
Enhancements
1. File name numeric suffix now limited to 99.
2. User can now edit the Place name within the file details along with the Church name, source and comments.
3. User can now, within certain limits, rename a file at the file system level.
4. User can now override the 3-character placename part of the file name at the time the file is created.
5. Added a Shell Extension for transcription files. Hover the mouse over an icon for a transcription file and see some summary details.
6. Added some 'demonstration' menu entries to the context menu for a transcription file.
7. Added an extra Properties sheet for a transcription file.
8. Users can now use ¼ (Alt-0188), ½ (Alt-0189) and ¾ (Alt-0190) in the Burial Age field

Bugs
Enhancements
1. Image Viewer column widths now retained from run to run.
2. Image Viewer, second splitter position retained.
3. Placenames. When creating a new file, better patterns used for those starting with 'St', 'Co' or the cardinal compass points of North, South, East and West.

Bugs
1. Enhanced processing of dates involving leap years and split years (Decade changes, and months 11 and 12 when using the dd nn yyyy/y format)
2. Capitalization following the use of the UCF
3. Image viewer position remembering after minimization
Enhancements
1. Help documentation has been added.
2. Automatic checking for and installation of new versions on a pre-defined schedule set by the user.
3. Right click on a field provides copy, cut and paste options, except in drop-down lists.
4. Tool tips hover time increased and can be changed by the user.
5. Age field accepts 34y10m2w2d3h where h is hours, d is days, w is weeks, m is months and y is years.
6. Permit use of UCF missing character _ in the day and year of a date field.
7. Permit a date entry with a spilt year and an uncertain month eg 1 * 1666/7 or just a split year. 1666/7.
8. The last 5 transcriptions files used are remembered and displayed in the Open Existing Project from the Files Menu.
9. Image Viewer always on top may be turned off.
10. Added the Alt-I hot key for showing and hiding the Image Viewer

Bugs
1. File damage by fast project switching and closing a project while the file was being written have been corrected
2. UCF formats from WinREG 1 and direct user input now processed correctly
3. Date checking now catches Sept and full months
4. Place names with just 1 and 2 character are no longer permitted
5. Place names starting with St. and Co. are processed appropriately
6. The age field now accepts ages with 10m and 11m such as 4y10m and 4y11m
7. The Sliver font is now loaded
8. The burial template is added
Enhancements
1. Image Viewer
   • The Image Viewer is always on top
   • The file name of active image is now displayed in the Image Viewer Title bar
   • The column of file names in the Image Viewer can be sorted
   • The Image Viewer now accepts Tiff files
2. New date formats are permitted such as 16.2.1672/3 or 16 2 1672/3 or 16/2/1672/3
3. The comma as well as all permitted special characters may now be used in the Abode, Parish, Occupation and Notes field.
4. Drag and drop to a new position of all sub windows including the Date helper and the UCF aid are remembered
5. Window stretching is remembered for the main Data Entry window and the Image Viewer
6. The creation of Desktop and Quick Launch shortcuts can be selected by the user at installation
7. The option to have WinREG 2 associated with the file extension for CSV files is provided at installation.
8. Empty columns are given minimal column width in the data display window
9. WinREG 2 will now check for the existence of a newer version and ask you to install

WinREG 2 Index

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