FAMILYSEARCH FAMILY TREE:

THE FUTURE OF NEW FAMILYSEARCH

©Copyright 2013 by Donald R. Snow
Sections of the Class Notes This page was last updated 2013-01-18.
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Users Group Home Page or Don's Class Listings Page .
    WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

  1. Instructor is Donald R. Snow ( snowd@math.byu.edu ) of Provo and St. George, Utah.  These notes are posted online at http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .  Tip: holding down the Control Key while clicking on a link in these notes opens the link in a new tab so you don't lose your place where you were.
  2. Classes coming up
    1. Sat 2013-01-19 10 am-noon -- FamilySearch Family Tree: The Future of New FamilySearch -- Q&A -- St. George East Stake Center Relief Society Room
    2. Wed 2013-02-06 1-2:30 PM -- Letter Collections in Family History Using Erastus Snow's Family Letters As An Example -- Link to Personal Letters of the Erastus Snow Family -- at FH Update Class, St. George
    3. Wed 2013-02-20 1-2:30 PM -- Sources:  Documentation From Start to Finish -- at FH Update Class, St. George
    4. Fri 2013-02-22 7:20 PM -- Evernote, PhraseExpress, and ResophNotes: Freeware Note Programs to Help With Your Family History -- at Family History Expo - St. George, Utah
    5. Sat 2013-02-23 11:20 am -- Letter Collections in Family History Using Erastus Snow's Family Letters As An Example -- Link to Personal Letters of the Erastus Snow Family -- Link to Personal Letters of the Erastus Snow Family -- Presentation at Family History Expo - St. George, Utah
    6. Thu 2012-03-21 1:45-2:45 PM -- Organizing and Presenting Your Photos: Picasa and Other Freeware -- at RootsTech 2013, Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
      7.
  3. Today's class is on "FamilySearch Family Tree" (FS FT), the new program the LDS Church is developing to show our genealogical and temple data.  It replaces "new FamilySearch" (nFS) which will be made Read-Only in a few months and removed completely when FS FT has all the features needed and bugs fixed.

    4. TRAINING AND HELPS FOR FAMILYSEARCH FAMILY TREE (FS FT)

  4. 1-hour video about plans for FS FT by Ron Tanner, Project Manager, at RootsTech Feb 2012, Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah -- Now archived at  http://web.archive.org/web/20120920013056/http://www.rootstech.org/  (left column near bottom)
  5. Good videos and lessons at -- https://familysearch.org/tree-training -- Sign in with an LDS or FamilySearch Account (see below) to see all of them; includes Online Courses (short videos introducing FS FT), How-To Videos, Guides and Manuals, Handouts on Advanced Topics, and Webinar Classes.  You can read and download a pdf FSFT Users Guide, FSFT Reference Guide, FSFT Quickstart Guide, a Moving Info from nFS to FSFT article, and more.
  6. FamilySearch is also posting FS FT training videos on YouTube -- good 12-minute video is  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WyKsJzaNBE .
  7. George W. Scott's FS FT Manual -- http://usingfamilysearch.com/documents/FamilyTree.pdf

    8.   LDS AND FAMILYSEARCH ACCOUNTS

  8. FamilySearch Document ID 111396 describes the sign up procedure for an LDS Account (for LDS members) and a FamilySearch Account (for non-LDS) -- https://help.familysearch.org/publishing/519/111396_f.SAL_Public.html -- To get an LDS account you need your LDS membership number which is on your temple recommend and on your Individual Ordinance Summary from the Ward Clerk.  It also helps to have an email address.
  9. You can get to the Create Account website from  https://familysearch.org/  by clicking on the Create Account box or else the Sign In box (upper right-hand corner) or click Here
  10. Your LDS Account gets you into other Church websites including  FamilySearch Indexing , ward and stake websites at http://www.lds.org , and https://new.familysearch.org/ .
  11. With your LDS account you can generate a helpful 9-Generation Pedigree Fan Chart of the genealogy data the Church has for you -- go to  http://www.createfan.com/  and follow the directions; the chart helps you see where there are "holes" in your genealogy data that the Church has; the chart can be downloaded and even printed, if you want. You can generate fan charts for anyone in FS by going to http://www.treeseek.com , signing in with your LDS Account, and using the person's PID (Personal Identifier Number from FS FT) 
  12. It helps to keep a local copy of your information with the correct, verified data and sources, so you always know what is correct, even if the online information gets changed.  If you don't already have an electronic genealogy database at home, there are ways to download several generations of your FamilySearch data without having to type it all in yourself.
  13. To see your genealogy data in the new FS FT format go to  https://www.familysearch.org , sign in with your LDS or FamilySearch account (upper right hand corner), and click on the "Family Tree" button which now appears next to the FS logo; the FS FT format is "bow tie" with descendants to the left and ancestors to the right.

    14. FAMILYSEARCH FAMILY TREE

  14. Purpose of FS FT -- Get the data correct, have collaboration among us, do the temple work, and prevent duplication of research and temple work
  15. Navigation in FS FT
    1. Move your pedigree in FS FT by just clicking and dragging it around the screen
    2. Change the size of the pedigree on the screen by holding down the Ctrl key and rolling the mouse wheel or by clicking on the plus or minus signs "+ or -" (upper left hand corner)
    3. Show additional generations up or down on any line by clicking the "Expand Tree" arrows 
    4. See basic information about a person by clicking on his or her name to open their "card"
    5. See all the information about a person by clicking "View Person"on their card
  16. Can include links to photos and images in FS FT and will be able to include them right in FS FT eventually; beta test is presently underway for adding images and stories; at present you can post your photos and stories elsewhere and link them in FS FT -- see paragraph on Sources below
    17.
    WORKING IN BOTH FS FT AND NFS

  17. Changes made in FS FT will show in nFS if that operation was permissible in the older database; for example, if you delete data you didn't submit in FS FT, it will NOT be deleted in nFS since you can't delete data you didn't submit there; also some operations are not permissible in FS FT since they couldn't be done in nFS, e.g. combining some entries
  18. Can keep two windows open, one showing your data in FS FT and one in nFS, so you can see and work in both views
  19. nFS will be Read-Only as soon as possible since it is causing many problems with FS FT.

    20. EDITING DATA

  20. Easier to edit in FS FT and you can edit things you didn't submit yourself
  21. But only make changes in FS FT that you have documentation (sources, proof) for in your home database, so it will be "worthy of all acceptation" (D&D 128:24)
  22. In the View Person from the "card" there is a box with the list of changes -- can restore anything from past, if needed
  23. Click "Watch" on a person's card to receive email notifications of changes made to a person, except for temple work completed 
  24. Can correct relationships in FS FT -- husband-wife and parent-child
  25. Solving problems of wrong combining in nFS -- see Knowledge Document 106612  and  https://getsatisfaction.com/familysearch/topics/new_improved_message_in_records_of_more_than_one_person

    26. SOURCES AND USING MY SOURCE BOX

  26. Sources for documentation in FS FT are down near the bottom of the "View Person" screen from their card
  27. The hope is that with good sources cited the data will stabilize and people won't change it without good reason.
  28. Sources can now include links to webpages, e.g. Fold 3 has free Memorial Pages for individuals where you can post photos, images, and data and link them in FS FT -- http://www.fold3.com/ -- Examples:  photos of my mother and father are posted on Fold3 and linked in FS FT -- see PID's KWZC-D6V and KWZC-D6F
  29. To add sources directly to a person click "Add Source" on individual record and fill out the form -- the Notes part is so you can include the information in the source so it will always be available
  30. My Source Box is a place to store sources and links you find that you might want to use later -- See information about source boxes at  https://familysearch.org/blog/familysearch-featuremy-source-box/
  31. To add a source via My Source Box, put the source in My Source Box and then attach it to the person
    1. Find a record
    2. Add it to the Source Box
    3. Attach it to pertinent individuals
    4. Tag it to show what data the record supports for that individual, i.e. name, gender, birth, christening, death, or burial
    5. Sources in My Source Box alphabetize by title, so it may help to name them "[Surname, Given names] - [Title]"
    6. Can form folders and subfolders in MySource Box to organize your sources, e.g. for locations, surnames, record types, Sources Completed, Sources Still To Attach, etc.
    7. After attaching a source to someone
      1. Can remove it from My Source Box, if you want -- this does NOT remove it from any persons, only from your Source Box
      2. Or can move it to a folder called something like Sources Completed or Sources Attached
    8. Can edit sources in My Source Box by clicking on the source > Copy > [make changes] > Save -- then remove the original version
    9. Can have My Source Box open it in another browser tab so you can see the sources you have, but add sources to the people in the tab with FS FT open
      10.

    TEMPLE NAMES SUBMISSION

  32. Helpful video lesson on which names you can submit for temple work on the FS FT Training website mentioned above or directly at -- http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Local_Support/Consultant/Temple_Policy-Name_Submissions/player.htm
  33. Can now print and edit your temple names Family Ordinance Request (FOR) in FS FT

    34. CONCLUSIONS

  34. FS FT is a major step forward and will be the only way to see and edit your data "soon"
  35. May be helpful to correct simple things and find and entering sources and links for your ancestors until all the bugs are out of FS FT
  36. When finished with a work session, be sure to sign out of SF FT, if you are in a public place like the FH Library, since others can use your log in
    37.
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