THE FAMILY TREE CERTIFIED PROGRAMS:
TREESEEK, RECORDSEEK, PUZZILLA, AND FIND-A-RECORD

©2016 by Donald R. Snow - This page was last updated 2016-08-15.

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    WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

  1. Instructors are Donald R. Snow ( snowd@math.byu.edu ) of Provo and St. George, Utah and Linda Snow Westover ( linda.westover@gmail.com ) of Orem, Utah.
  2. These notes are online at Don's Family History Notes webpage  http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html .  Additional details and related notes are in his FREEWARE CORNER articles there. 
  3. Tips:  (1)  To have an icon on your desktop to open your browser and go directly to these notes (or any website) drag the icon from in front of the address in your browser onto your desktop.  (2)  To open a link to any website into a new tab, so you keep your place in the old website, hold down the Control key while clicking the link.
  4. Problem for discussion:  How to use the FamilySearch Certified Programs TREESEEK, RECORDSEEK, PUZZILLA, and FIND-A-RECORD to work with your Family Tree data.  These are not genealogy database management programs, but do other family history tasks. 

    5. FAMILYSEARCH CERTIFICATION OF THIRD-PARTY PROGRAMS

  5. FamilySearch -- https://familysearch.org/ -- has standards to which other programs must adhere in order to use, link to, or edit FamilyTree data; when approved they become FamilySearch Certified or Compatible programs or apps.  To use the programs you must have either an LDS Account or a FamilySearch Account.
  6. The four programs we discuss today are free, but some also have commercial versions, and all the authors accept donations -- these are four out of the 123 certified apps (as of Aug 2016) listed on the FamilySearch App Gallery page -- https://familysearch.org/apps/category/all 

    7. TREESEEK

  7. TREESEEK -- http://www.treeseek.com/ -- free website that
    1. Creates charts from your FamilyTree data or a GEDCOM
    2. Finds missing sources for vital events and US censuses
    3. Helps you edit Family Tree with quick links
  8. Quote from the FamilySearch App Gallery page -- https://familysearch.org/apps/product/treeseek/web -- "We have a wide variety of charts to view your genealogy. Whether you are looking for a fun chart, or a chart to display on your wall, or a working chart to do research, we have a chart for you! All of our charts are very easy to create. Simply login using your FamilySearch user name and password, and select the type of chart you want. We gather your data from FamilySearch and create the chart for you. All of our charts are FREE!"
  9. Types of charts include regular pedigree, fan pedigree, photo, name cloud, and Source Tracker
    1. 9 generation pedigree charts only take a few minutes to gather the data
    2. Name cloud charts show name frequencies by font sizes so the larger the font the more that name is used in your ancestors
    3. Source Tracker charts show which US censuses and vital records are shown as sources for each ancestor
      1. The Vital Events tab shows checks, if a source is tagged, and a magnifying glass, if no source is tagged, for Name, Gender, Birth, Christening, Death, and Burial for the person in Family Tree 
      2. US Census tab shows symbols according to person's lifetime and gives links for additional censuses to add, but assumes they are in the U.S. and doesn't do censuses for any other country 
  10. Charts can be saved as PDFs.
  11. To generate charts for someone else enter their PID or upload a GEDCOM
  12. Clicking on the person’s photo icon is a quick link to  their record in Family Tree.
    13.
  13. Data downloaded from FamilySearch is saved in the browser on your computer and can be viewed in an Ahnentafel chart
    1. Ahnentafel chart means a list-formatted pedigree chart, somewhat like a spreadsheet, with the numbering as on a traditional pedigree chart where the father's number is twice the child's and the mother's is twice the child's plus 1.
    2. To see your Ahnentafel chart click on your name on the TREESEEK website (upper right corner); the chart can be saved as a pdf with a screen capture or print-friendly program
    3. The format of this chart makes it easy to recognize some things that need correcting in your ancestors' data on Family Tree.
    4. Click on the portrait icon in front of your ancestor's name on the Ahnentafel chart to go FamilySearch Family Tree to edit the data there
  14. Click on the TREESEEK icon to go back to the home page from anywhere in the program.
  15. TREESEEK used to include Family History Solitaire card games with 52 cards generated, each suit named for one of your four grandparents and with their ancestors' names and photos on the cards for that suit; had 40-50 solitaire card games that you could play by moving the cards with your mouse; the 52-card deck could also be printed on card stock and used for family home evening or family reunion games; at present (Aug 2016) Solitaire has been temporarily removed from TreeSeek due to bugs
  16. Helps for TREESEEK are at  https://treeseek.com/help  and I have written more detailed information on my Don's Freeware Corner Notes page at  http://uvtagg.org/classes/dons/dons-freewarecornernotespage.html .

    17. RECORDSEEK

  17. Website -- http://recordseek.com
  18. Quote from the FamilySearch App Gallery page -- https://familysearch.org/apps/product/recordseek/web -- "Turn every website on the internet into your own personal genealogical source. With a single click, you can source a website, properly construct a source, and attach it to a profile on FamilySearch.org. Citing a record has never been easier."
  19. Provides an easy way to save links in Family Tree and in Ancestry Trees; can attach them to people or save in your Source Box 
  20. To install it on your computer go to their website and drag the green RECORDSEEK bookmarklet button onto the toolbar of your Internet browser.
  21. When you find a website to save 
    1. Highlight any text on the website you want saved in the Source Comments field 
    2. Click the RECORDSEEK button on your browser and enter your FamilySearch or Ancestry login information
    3. Edit things the way you want and click Save to form the source with the information already filled in, including the highlighted text in the Comments field
    4. Sources can be attached directly to a person and there is a Tag Source to Events button, but I find it better to click the Save Without Attaching so it's in my Source Box where I can edit it before attaching, e.g. I put the Surname, Given Names at the start of the title so I know why I save it without having to open it
    5. To edit a source in your Source Box, copy it and correct what you want, then delete the old one
    6. You can tag it to one of more events when you attach it to a person
  22. RECORDSEEK even helps in saving sources from FamilySearch Historical Records since you can highlight only part of the indexed record to save, unlike in FamilySearch where you can only copy and save the entire text page in the Comments box
  23. Helps for RECORDSEEK are at  http://vimeo.com/58752542  and  http://blog.genealogybank.com/great-family-tree-genealogy-app-tree-connect-by-recordseek.html and  https://getsatisfaction.com/familysearch/topics/link_using_record_seek 

    24. PUZZILLA DESCENDANTS VIEWER

  24. Website -- https://puzzilla.org/ -- Helpful tutorial videos on their webpage
  25. Puzzilla has free and premium versions that 
    1. Show graphical plot with missing cousins
    2. Link to Family Tree
    3. Shows filtered targets of "sweet spots" for research
  26. Quote from FamilySearch App Gallery page -- https://familysearch.org/apps/product/puzzilla/web -- "The Puzzilla Descendants Viewer is a combination of free basic services plus subscription premium services that help researchers see descendants in FamilyTree using compact symbols that reveal patterns of incomplete research and other work in collateral-lines. Names and details appear as you move the pointer over the symbols. Premium Services, available by subscription, provide hints, sources, possible duplicates, incomplete ordinances, search and other functions to help evaluate the quality of the research in the tree and add evidence to make it stronger." -- we will only discuss the free version here
  27. Sign in on the Puzzilla website with your FamilySearch account and it starts generating a symbolic diagram of your pedigree with further back generations in larger circles; hovering cursor over a dot shows who it represents, birth and death years, PID, and three options: View Descendants, View Ancestors, or View in Family Tree.  The first two generate new diagrams starting from that person and the third takes you to that person in Family Tree; further generations up or down are drawn in larger and larger circles surrounding the root person; the View in Family Tree takes you to FamilySearch and shows you a fan chart with the person in the middle
  28. Coding of dots is as follows
    1. Square blue = males
    2. Round pink = females 
    3. Yellow boxes = person died young, so probably no descendants
    4. Grey boxes = person was born less than 110 years ago, so you would need permission to do temple work
    5. Other = your cousins born more than 110 years ago
  29. All descendants of your ancestors are your cousins (or siblings) -- researching cousins is also called descendancy research
  30. Patterns to look for in the diagrams
    1. People with no siblings -- the original 4-Generation Pedigree Program of the LDS Church was only for ancestors, not families, so there are many people in FT with no siblings; check for siblings in FT, but not linked, or not in FT at all; check census and other records; add and link them and check for duplicates; for LDS temple work, if they are your relatives, there is the more-than-110-years-since-birth rule for no permission needed
    2. End of descendant lines -- most people who lived past youth married and had children; check for marriages and children in FT, but not linked, or not in FT at all; check FT, censuses, etc., and add and link them to complete the work
  31. Choose an ancestor and click View in Tree, then Descendants View; FT shows up to 4 generations of descendants; right hand side shows icons for Problems Noted, Search Records, and other things; will automatically search censuses, vital records, and other sources so you can find possible spouses, siblings, and descendants
  32. For records that seem to extend the family, be sure to verify that they are correct before merging or adding; also check for duplicates by the Possible Duplicates button and by doing searches for their names and other data, since Possible Duplicates doesn't find them all
  33. Premium version of Puzzilla has additional features, one showing possible duplicates of your cousins 
  34. Helps for Puzzilla are at  https://puzzilla.org/training ,  https://puzzilla.org/faq , and  http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2013/12/puzzillaorg-is-now-tree-access.html 

    35. FIND-A-RECORD

  35. Website -- https://www.findarecord.com/en/ --
  36. Free website that
    1. Creates interactive task list for Family Tree
    2. Allows you to view ancestors, descendants, or cousins and problems
    3. Focus on a specific line
  37. Quote from FamilySearch App Gallery page -- https://familysearch.org/apps/product/find-a-record/web -- "Discover research opportunities with Find-A-Record Research Assistant. It generates different types of research opportunities such as finding missing information, finding missing people, finding sources, and fixing problems. It also guides you through the research process and tells you how to update your ancestor's information in the Family Tree."
  38. You select how many generations up and down to check; change the PID to work on a different line
  39. Their home page says "3 Minute Genealogy" and most of the problems it finds can be done in a few minutes
  40. It finds logical problems, data lacking, sources missing, standardization of places and dates needed, and problems to clean up; the task list it creates is called Research Opportunities
  41. Clicking on a task will give more information about the problem and give suggestions; when records are needed, it gives links to websites
  42. You can turn on or off any of the various kinds of tasks to concentrate on just one type at a time -- types of tasks are Sources, Persons, Relationships, Problems, Cleanup, and Ordinances, and each of these has subheadings; for example, under Sources, you can choose to see only people with Record Hints
  43. It does not do the tasks, but shows you what is needed and by clicking on the PID it takes you to the person in Family Tree to evaluate the problem and make the correction
  44. When you have fixed an issue, click on Fixed and that task is removed from the list
  45. If no source is tagged for an event, it shows a task, even if the source is there, but just not tagged to that event; hence, start by checking and tagging sources already there
  46. Filters allow you to focus on various combinations of ancestors, descendants, and cousins
  47. Very helpful for finding corrections needed and helping you go there to do them

    CONCLUSIONS

  48. These are four very helpful programs for working with and editing the data on FamilySearch Family Tree.
  49. See the FamilySearch App Gallery -- https://familysearch.org/apps/category/all -- for more than 100 additional certified programs webpage and more are being written all the time 
Return to the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Home Page or Don's Class Listings Page .