What is transcribing?

What is transcribing? It is recording the names, dates, and other information from each gravestone image onto a form on the BillionGraves website.

For more detailed information about transcribing, click HERE.

The Option to Transcribe Your Own Photos 

After you have taken photos at a cemetery and you then click the "upload" button on your smartphone or tablet, a pop-up will appear to ask if you would like to transcribe your own photos. If you want to transcribe your own photos, tap YES. 

If you choose to transcribe your own photos, you will have 14 days to complete the task before your pictures will go into the general queue for anyone to transcribe.

If you do not want to transcribe your own photos, then when the pop-up appears during upload, tap NO. Then other volunteers will transcribe the photos you have taken. 

Our technical staff has made great strides to ensure that you can transcribe your own photos. These can either be an automatic transcription method which is the default or a manual transcription method depending on how you would like to do these. 

After your photos are uploaded from the app, to manually choose which photos to transcribe do the following:

#1 Log in to BillionGraves.com.

#2 Click on View My Profile

"My Images" will show up at the top. 

#3 Click on the thumbnail photo for the cemetery of your choice. (DO NOT click on the cemetery name or you will be taken to the cemetery page.)

This will open up your album of individual photos.

#4 Start with the first thumbnail photo of a gravestone. Click on it. *Note: The pencil in the left-hand corner means that the record has not yet been transcribed. No pencil means it has been transcribed.Click on a thumbnail with a pencil. 

A transcription window will open with the thumbnail photo you selected.

#5 Transcribe the record.

#6 Click Save.

Here is where this is automated. Once you click save....Click Next...

 Another one of your photos will appear in the transcription queue.

#7 Transcribe and save again. Click Next. 

You can keep going and the website will automatically choose for you defaulting to the automatic method OR...

To continue doing this manually choose which photo you would like to transcribe,you can go back and forth between the two tabs you currently have open on your web browser for both the Album Page and the Transcription Page.

Directions for manual transcription

Follow directions from Step 2 to Step 7 above. 

#8  Instead of clicking "next",  Click on the Album Page open in your web browser. Choose another image with a pencil. Transcribe. Click Save. Toggle back and forth between these two open tabs. 

Repeat. Each Time Choosing a different image with a pencil. 

#9 Refresh the page to reflect your last transcription. This will remove the pencils in the album, and enable you to see what has been done

Step 2: 

Step 3: 

Step 4:

Step 5 & 6: 

Step 7: 

Step 8:

Step 9:

Do you have specific questions? Click HERE to create a ticket, these will go to our Free Ticket desk

BG+ users with questions, please click the Orange Help Button and Contact Us to fill out your priority ticket.