Transcribing source documents — capturing the information they contain — is valuable even in the age of online images. A transcript ensures you have understood the document, and makes the information available to family members who may not be able to read old handwriting.
Source text can be entered in the Source Text section of the Sources panel. The text supports rich formatting (bold, italic, tables). Click the pencil icon above the text box to open a fuller editor — see Rich Text Editor.
Many standard genealogical sources use common forms — censuses, certificates, parish registers. Rather than creating tables manually, Pedigree Forge provides built-in source templates. Select a template from the Template drop-down (e.g. "DEAT1837" for a GRO death certificate from 1837 onwards).
Clicking the pencil icon then shows a structured form matching the document layout. Fill in the fields and click Close to save.
Transcripts created this way can be included in reports, producing well-formatted output that mirrors the original document structure.