Tools for using family tree/Search: Difference between revisions

You can sort the temple list at the top of the page next to the legend is the "sort by date" and a drop down arrow that allows you to sort by name. Unfortunately it sorts by given name and not surname. But it is better than no sort at all. The other thing that is available is cntl-F which will allow you to search for any name in the list. This can be useful if you are trying to find a single record.  

'''Tree Connect '''You can download this tool which allows sourcing from non-FS Internet sites, taking the information from books, Ancestry.com, the Pioneer Overland travel database, wikipedia, findagrave, and on and on.  Visit the site below.  Drag the applet to your bookmarks toolbar.   When you find a site you want to connect, make sure familysearch is open and click the button.   Tree Connect creates a Source template amd fills it in automatically. [http://recordseek.com/ http://recordseek.com/]  

'''Research History''' Create a google doc to use wherever you have access to a computer.  Use this to record what you have done researching an ancestor.  You can inlcude: where you have looked, what failed to yield results, what you found, what other places you should search, or what you need to do.  You could organize your document using those titles or by surname.  In fact, you might want to create a seperate document for each surname.  You could then go to source box, and create a folder possibly named tools.  Use the create a source to link your google doc to the source box in that folder.  If you wanted you could then attach a page with a surname to a family.  Then others would know what you have already tried.  

Much like the useful links you can use the URL (web address line) of any search results you perform on most any search engine to perform the search over again at a later date without having to remember what parameters you used. Just copy the address line from the search results as the link and create a source for it. Store these sources in a folder for saved searches. You can even record your results in the notes field of the source each time you use it. This can be very useful for those searches that produce very few results so that you can repeat them every so often as new stuff is added all the time. You can even do that with searches here on family search. (Though some search results require you to login)  

If you are having  trouble remembering where you were or you find something you simply dont have time to complete you can create a source in your sourcebox and use the notes for to do items. Other uses of this same type are to record link to a microfilm description you may want to order. Or copy the link to a person who you may want to do some work on. (The history navigation works for this too but you might not remember who it was when you look at the list).  

Due to the open edit nature of sources  that are created by users and even the notes fields on Family Search supplied sources it is probably good to make a copy of a source before you attach it to an ancestor because it is difficult to track when someone else may have made an edit to a source. Leave these clean copies unattached in a folder.  

Due to the open edit nature of sources I find that using discussions for things can have a better effect because only a data admin or the originator of a discussion can remove them from a person and only a data admin or the poster of comments can edit any information in the individual comments. Family Search has stated that discussions were not meant to be permanent records and were expected to be removed over time however until such useful tools as research logs and other less open edit features can be added I see them as a good place to hold items that help back up Sources etc.  Here are some suggestions of discussions that I like to put on my ancestors by default.  

'''Research Log:''' I post a description of the discussion as a way to record what search activities and results Ive performed on this ancestor. I then add a new comment about my search and results. I usually start by recording the results of a duplicates search.  

'''Stories''' Using Stories for some of the features of research logs or even for recording personal interviews (either formal or memories) are also a great way to document an ancestor. Future enhancements of Family Search will allow these stories to become sources as well.   

You can upload photos(or other images including documents) as further evidence of your ancestors. Futuer enhancements to these tools will allow you to separate photos from documents and create sources from them. You can even organize these images into albums and attach them to stories.  If you have a document in a foreign language, you can upload a scanned copy as a photo.  Then link the translation as a story.