DocTracker: A Swiss Army Knife for Digital Editions

The role of “big data” in all areas of research continues to grow. As digital publication makes possible the discovery of material that could never be profitably published in print, the need for historians who can master the new rules is greater than ever. Cubic feet of archival documents can now be organized into a format that offers quick and reliable answers to questions that, for centuries, no one even thought to ask. In this environment, use of the proper software tools can make the difference between publishing success and failure.

This live demonstration shows how the new DocTracker 2.0 can help historians meet this challenge. The demo begins with research and collection and moves through annotation, document storage and retrieval, XML tagging, and fast and accurate online publication. Also included is a look at the project management software included as part of the DocTracker package. Among the features covered: connect from DocTracker to the Internet for seamless research, fact-checking, and contact management activities; send an email direct from DocTracker and have it recorded in the log; visit a repository, photograph or scan a document with your smart phone and upload it directly to DocTracker; transcribe a document and proof it against the scanned image on the same screen, or, transcribe financial data into a spreadsheet-like interface, where DocTracker preserves the original text while converting dates and numbers to computable formats for online data searches; insert HTML or XML tags automatically with the click of a button; report on what’s been done and what remains to be done; and finally, export pages, bibliographies, glossaries, and more directly to well-formed and valid XML for immediate online publication.