Saturday, December 4, 2010

Webinar - Family Search Indexing

Helping Unlock the World's Records - FamilySearch Indexing for Power Users. If you’ve graduated from the basics of FamilySearch Indexing, you’re ready to learn how to simplify and increase your work without decreasing your accuracy. This class, taught by FamilySearch's Katie Gale and hosted by Legacy Family Tree's Geoff Rasmussen, will discuss a variety of ways to enhance your indexing experience with program tips, tools, and more.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010.
2:00 PM Eastern (U.S.)
1:00 PM Central
12:00 PM Mountain
11:00 AM Pacific
7:00PM GMT


Participate live or view later from their archives.  These are great lessons to help us advance in our indexing. 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Holiday Questions - Take the time to Learn.

It is time for families to get together to party and feast.  This is also the time for you to get those mystery questions answered.  When you are visiting with your aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc., don't forget to get some family history information.  Take along your camera, tape recorder, video camera, pictures of ancestors, etc.  Ask the important questions:
     1.  Get those names, date, places of anyone and everyone in your family tree.
     2.  Bring along pictures of your ancestors and talk with those that knew these people.  Get as much information about the ancestors as possible.  Find out what they did for a living, what are the names of their kids, how did they live, how did they die, etc.  Think, "What is something I really want to know about this person's life".  Those are the questions you want answered.
     3.  Take a few minutes and video those elderly in your family.  Plan some questions to help them get to talking about their life. 
     4.  If you are elderly, call your children and grandchildren around you and you tell them about life when you were a child.  Bring your history to them first hand.
     5.  Write down EVERYTHING!  Or record it somehow.  You may never get another chance to do so.
     6.  Have members of your family share memories of times in their lives that made an impression on them.

Have fun at your holiday get-togethers!  Take advantage of this time to fill in some information on your family tree.  Most of all, teach your family about their ancestors by getting them involved.  The opportunity to gather information may never be any better than this year - so make it a priority!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

NEW - Family History Lessons HERE!

I know that Family History (Genealogy) has changed so much since I began my searching.  I started when I was 11 and now I am into my 60’s.  When I started, I wrote tons of letters, made many copies of my work by hand, forgot to document anything, made incorrect assumptions, and moved forward two steps and back one.  I have learned much in these many years. 

I have worked in the Family History Center at a time where we ordered hundreds of films a year for patrons to view.  Our centers were full and all microfilm readers had waiting lists to use them.  Then the computer came on the scene.  It was a great tool for everyone.  Things at the center have changed.  Not many films are ordered, patrons drop by for shorter research stays, and the Internet has made it possible for research to be done right from home.  
When people came into the FHC, they learned how to do research one step at a time.  They asked a staff member how to start and one step led to another.  The steps were pretty simple, fill out a Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheet, order films like Census Records, and begin. 
Searching on the Internet is much the same.  Start with the same basics and take one step at a time.  One thing learned will lead to another way to search. 
I see lots of people that feel overwhelmed when it comes to genealogy.  They look at this elephant as way to difficult to even take one bite at a time.  They feel a responsibility to search for their family for a variety of reasons but get stopped before they even start.  That is why I feel I need to step in and see if I can help them.
I have taught several classes at the Family History Center but I feel there is a need to teach those that are unable to come to the center because of a variety of reasons.  I know there are lessons online in hundreds of places and reinventing the wheel is not what I intend.  My goal is to help you move from step to step using many of the tools that are already available but making it logical for YOU to find. 
Because the very first name on your records will begin with YOU and then go to your parents, immediately we each will go in a different direction.  That poses a great dilemma when trying to teach research.  Hopefully you will ask for help when needed and let us help you find the direction you should go.
Let’s begin gathering your family together.  Follow along with the lessons.  Please let me know if you have any questions along the way.  If you have them, then others probably do also.  I am squeezing these lessons into a busy schedule so please forgive me for not getting all the lessons up immediately.  This will be a work in progress.  If you need to hurry along faster, please check out the websites listed in the Basic Internet Research section.  You will find our lessons under the folder LESSONS at the top of the screen.
Our email is fhcsandpoint@gmail.com  Please feel free to write – let me know how you are doing or if you have questions.  Diane

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

CHANGE OF HOURS AT THE FAMILY HISTORY CENTER

We are changing our hours at the Family History Center in Sandpoint.  Until further notice, beginning Nov. 16, we will be open only two days a week - Tuesday and Thursday.  We will now be CLOSED on Wednesday's.  We have made this decision due to lack of staff and limited use by patrons. 

We encourage everyone to work from home. Please email us if you need assistance and contact us if you need to schedule a session at a different time.

Hours Open (beginning Nov. 16)
     Tuesday and Thursday 9am - 3pm

We will be closed the week of Thanksgiving (Nov. 23, 24, and 25).  We will also be closed for Christmas from Dec. 20 - Jan. 3. 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Websites for ALL Kinds of Research - A MUST SEE!!!

Here are some fantastic websites for all kinds of researching (from a Webinar by Paul Larson Legacy Webinars):
Paul Larson wrote:  CRASH COURSE IN FAMILY HISTORY – An easy step by step illustration guidebook and comprehensive resource directory.
Some of the sites are free and some cost money ($$).  I am so excited about checking these out.  I will keep a link to this group of sites under BASIC INTERNET RESEARCH (a tab at the top of this website). 


AMERICAN ANCESTORS - www.americanancestors.org   -   $$
            Contains important and valuable resources not found anywhere else.  Over 2,400 databases containing over 135 million names, 28+million documents, artifacts, records, manuscripts, books, bibles, photos, etc.  Specializing in American, Irish, English, Italian, Scottish, Atlantic and French Canadian, African American, Native American, and Jewish genealogy.

ANCESTORY.COMwww.ancestory.com - $$
            A premium source of information – 4+ billion names, 27,000 databases, 26,000 historical records collections, the only completely indexed US Census records, US ship passenger lists, African-American historical documents, city directories, vital records, family trees, etc.
            ANCESTRY PUBLIC MEMBERS – www.ancestry.com>search>publicmembertrees
            ANCESTRY’S WIKI  - http://wiki.ancestry.com/wiki
                        Contains:  THE SOURCE – A guidebook to American genealogy
                                         REDBOOK – American state, county, and town sources
                                         And other content from Ancestry and people

DEATH INDEXESwww.deathindexes.com FREE
            A free directory of online death indexes listed by state and county:  Death records, death certificate indexes, death notices and registers, obituaries, probate indexes, and cemetery and burial records.

FAMILY GENEALOGY AND HISTORY INTERNET EDUCATION DIRECTORYwww.academic-genealogy.com
            A mega portal of key worldwide genealogical databases and resources.

FAMILY HISTORY FAVORITESwww.fhlfavorites.info
            The Family History Library’s best websites for each country + other links.

FAMILY SEARCH  - FREE - www.familysearch.org -  Free access to billions of records – Improving their infrastructure to make it easier for everyone, and eliminate duplications – digitizing and indexing their extensive records in the Granite Mt. Vault – Partnering with other libraries to digitize their records – Upgrading their catalog using new technology – Adding new searchable maps, a new wiki site, and a digital image viewer – Expanding published family histories – Over 200 digital cameras currently digitizing records in 47 countries.
            PEDIGREE RESOURCE FILE
            ANCESTRAL FILE
            INTERNATIONAL GENEALOGICAL INDEX (IGI)
            COMMUNITY TREES (new) – http://hist.familysearch.org
SEARCHABLE MAPS – http://maps.familysearch.org
RESEARCH WIKI – https://wiki.familysearch.org -  browse by country – they have the largest international data resource available.  Links to archives, births, marriages, cemeteries, census, etc. Over 40,000 articles, tutorials, and videos.  Search by Category – including ethnic groups and many different topics.  Check out the Ancestry Map showing the largest population in US. 

FAMILY TREE –FREE - http://new.familysearch.org – It will eventually include capabilities to link “public documents” with each record – It has the option to dispute and provide alternative lineages with notes and proof documents.  It will soon be open to everyone (now currently open only to LDS) – This will revolutionize family history research collaboration, and be a boon to tracking and sharing your family roots.  This will combine all info into one place so everyone can work on it together.

FAMILY TREE CONNECTIONwww.familytreeconnection.com  - $$
            A growing collection of unique data indexed from a variety of secondary sources, such as:  high school and college yearbooks, Masonic rosters, club and society member lists, insurance claims, church directories, orphanage and soldiers’ home residents, prisoner logs and much more…not available elsewhere.

FIND MY PASTwww.findmypast.com  - $$
            A UK site containing over 550 million family history records and key UK databases.  Free to search pay to view.

FOOTNOTEwww.footnote.com  $$
            Collections include:  Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, &II, Vietnam War, the Great Depression, interactive 1860 and 1930 census images, African American history, Native Americans, historical newspapers, naturalization documents, and city directories.

GEN CIRCLESwww.gencircles.com – FREE
            Over 90 million names.  You can pair names in your pedigree with those in their database.

GENEALOGY BANKwww.genealogybank.com $$

GENEALOGY WISEwww.genealogywise.com 
            A new web site that combines social networking with tools and resources to research and share family history, and collaborate with others.
            They make it easy to discover exciting details about your ancestors:  over 1 billion names, over 4,000 newspapers (1690-today), over 275,000 historical books, pamphlets and documents (pension records, land claims, military reports), and over 130 million obituaries and death records.

GENEA NEThttp://www.geneanet.org/ – FREE but $ for advanced functions without commercials
            Over 390 million names – French website, contents:  UK, Germany, France, Holland, Spain, and Italy.

GEN SERVwww.genserv.com  - $$

GODFREY MEMORIAL LIBRARYwww.godfrey.org  $$
            A private library that houses over 200k books and periodicals, much of which is not available elsewhere – including: state and local histories, international resources, family histories, biographies, records by religious organizations, church records, funeral records, cemetery records, military records, maps, and hand-written material.

HERITAGE QUEST ONLINEwww.heritagequestonline.com    (or see your local library website – you will need your library card) – also available at LDS Family History Centers free.
            US Census 1790-1930, over 24,000 family and local histories, the PERSI index to 2.1 million articles, Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land warrants, Freed-man’s Bank records, and US Congressional records.

HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHShttp://lib.byu.edu/dlib/historic_photos
            Over 30,000 historic photographic collections.

KINDRED KONNECTIONSwww.mytrees.com  - $$
            Over 370 million names;  build your own family tree online with pictures.

LIBDEX – www.libdex.com - FREE
            Links to 18,000 libraries worldwide

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS – AMERICA’S STORYWWW.AMERICASLIBRARY.GOV
            One of the world’s premier collections of genealogical and local historical publications.

LINKPENDIUMwww.linkpendium.com
            A huge directory of over 9 million worldwide genealogy links categorized by locality.

MOUNTAIN WEST DIGITAL  LIBRARYhttp://155.97.12.155/mwdl
            A central search portal for 300k digital resources (text, photos, video, audio) from universities, colleges, libraries, museums, and historical societies in the mountain west.

NATIONAL  ARCHIVEShttp://www.archives.gov/   UK NATIONAKL ARCHIVES www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
            The nation’s record keeper.  A treasure trove of records and documents to trace your family roots.  Access to more than 85 million historical records, photos, and maps.

NATIONAL COLLECTION OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHYhttp://aerial.rcahms.gov.uk - FREE
            More than 10 million European aerial reconnaissance images from WWII (overlaid with modern satellite images)

NEWSPAPER ARCHIVEwww.newspaperarchive.com -  $$
            A large historical newspaper database online.  You can search every word in tens of millions of newspaper pages between 1753-present.

ONE GREAT FAMILYwww.onegreatfamily.com  $$
            Over 200 million names – allows everyone to one huge, shared database.

PRO GENEALOGISThttp://www.progenealogists.com/genealogysleuthb.htm  (where the pro’s go)
            UNITED STATES GENEALOGY SLEUTH = Links to US web sites that professional genealogists use daily when conducting US genealogy research (see also the International Genealogy Sleuth).

RANDOM ACTS OF GENEALOGICAL KINDNESSwww.raogk.org
            A global volunteer organization that will look up courthouse records, take pictures of tombstones, etc. and email them to you at no cost.

ROOTS WEBwww.rootsweb.ancestry.com  - FREE
            A free genealogy community providing an environment for learning, collaborating and sharing – Contains: huge transcribed records, extensive interactive guides, numerous research tools for tracing family histories, over 31,000 mailing lists, more than 132,000 message boards, and a surname list of over 1.2 million names.
            ANCESTRY’S FAMILY TREES – http://wcrootsweb.ancestry.com  FREE public trees



VITAL RECORDSwww.vitalrec.com  - Free to search $ to order
            A comprehensive resource for locating vital records.

WEB TREEwww.webtree.com  FREE
            A free service for publishing family trees in GEDCOM format for sharing and easy access.  (Also search hundreds of thousands of family trees.

WESTERN STATE MARRIAGE RECORDS INDEXhttp://abish.byui.edu/specialcollections
WORLD HISTORYwww.worldhistory.com
            Provides historical context around places, people, and events.  Helps you better understand the historical context of your family history.

WORLD VITAL RECORDSwww.worldvitalrecords.com - $$
            Provides access to thousands of genealogy databases:  Everton publishers, Quintin Publications, Archive CD Books Australia and Canada, Gould Genealogy, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Ellis Island, Genealogical Publishing, Find My Past, Godfrey Memorial Library, Find a Grave and Family Search.

UNITED STATES VITAL RECORDShttp://genealogy.about.com
            How and where to find birth, death, marriage, divorce, and adoption records.

US GEN WEBwww.USgenweb.org – FREE
            This free sprawling, all-volunteer site is packed with how-to tips, queries, and records such as censuses, tombstones, family group sheets, cemetery surveys and marriage indexes for every US state and virtually every county.

He said that perhaps 90% + of all family history records are not yet available on the Internet.  It is all a work in progress.

EVERYTHING LISTED HERE AND MUCH MORE IS AVAILABLE IN HIS BOOK OR IN HIS E-BOOK (WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THESE SITES).    Check out the Legacy web site for details on how to purchase the book or download the e-file.

I have not checked these out so please let me know what you find, how they worked for you, which ones you like best and please let me know if there is a problem with any of the links.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

No More Classes this Year!

Just a reminder that there are no more classes this year.  Please call the Family History Center if you need specific help and wish to come in or email us with your questions.  Be sure to check out the different tabs on this website for links to many helpful places online.

Hours:  Tuesday and Thursday - 9am-3pm
            Wednesday - 12 noon - 8pm

Phone - 208-263-3327 (FHC hours only)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sign Up to do Indexing

Indexing for FamilySearch is a service to all who are searching for their family.  You can help, whether you are LDS or not.  If you want to help yourself and others, if you have time to spare (even a little), if you want to make a difference, if you want to feel good about doing something very good, then you should try Indexing.

YOU CAN HELP. No special skills or fixed time commitments are required. Volunteer when you can. Just register, sign in, and follow a simple process:
  1. Select a “batch” of records to download to your computer.
  2. Enter the requested information (names, dates, events, etc.) in the corresponding spaces.
  3. Submit your completed index to the online system.
So how do you get started?  First, make sure you have the program JAVA downloaded onto your computer (it is free). 
  1. Click Download Now to download the Indexing program installer.
  2. Run (open) the Installer to set up the Indexing program on your computer.
  3. Click the new desktop icon to run the Indexing program.
  4. Follow instructions to create a new FamilySearch Account (if you don't already have one).
  5. Sign in and begin indexing!
It's fun, addictive, and helpful to all so why not give it a try.  Let me know if you have any questions or problems -  FHCsandpoint@gmail.com.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Webinars - A New Way to Learn Online

Hi everyone!  I got an email from Legacy Family Tree which is a company that has a variety of programs available - one being a genealogy program called Legacy.  As you know, I use Roots Magic but being the director of a Family History Center, I also have other programs available at the center and Legacy is one of them.  Anyway, I got this email from them today discussing their Legacy Webinars that are coming up and also ones that have recently played.  I wend to the site and was quite excited about the classes that they offer.

A Webinar is a seminar on the web - simple!  You sign up to participate or can also attend in person.  There are many neat things about participating in a webinar and one is that you can ask questions live and the speaker can address your question with an answer to EVERYONE live!  People sign up from all over the world so it gets really exciting.

Anyway, when I went to the site, I clicked on a class that had already happened but they had a link where I could listen to the webinar only I could not participate as the webinar was at an earlier date.  I listened to the one on Blogging.  It was a lesson for beginners.  Most of the people listening and participating in the webinar had never set up a blog for themselves and some had never even heard about blogs.  The instructor explained in very easy steps how to begin a blog and all of the little ins and outs of blogging.  It was very informative.

There are a couple of webinars scheduled - on Oct 23 is Evidence Analysis, Oct 27 is New Family History Technology, and on Nov. 3 is Organize, Share, and Publish Your Digital Photos with Heritage Collector Suite. 

Some of the past webinars that you can listen to are:  Blogging for Beginners with DearMYRTLE, Sharing Genealogy Electronically, Helping Unlock the World’s Records – An Insider’s Perspective on FamilySearch Indexing, and Mapping Software for Genealogists (this requires Windows Media Player to view it).

There is no charge to watch or participate in the webinars.  You will need to register to get the live webinar but you may watch the previously recorded webinars at any time free of charge and without registering.  They have some very interesting topics available and are here to help us all with researching our ancestors.  Give it a try.

Ports of Entry

I know that a lot of people have family that came to the US through a variety of Ports of Entry.  Cyndi's List has a good connection for finding those ports.  Check out her website under Ports of Entry to see if you can locate your ancestors.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

US GENWEB Project

The US GENWEB Project is such a helpful website.  It is a FREE site that provides links to a variety of the state's genealogy websites.  It is organized by state and county.  Each state looks somewhat different but is all within the outline of the US GENWEB project.

The sites are maintained by volunteers seeking to offer sites for FREE.  This link opens you to the "About Us" portion of the site.  Check it out to get a better feel of what is available.  Be sure to check out the other tabs to get further information about the project.

When you are ready, click on your stateAt the state home page, take a moment to check out what is available on this site for your state.  Different states may offer different things so do not assume one page is the same as another. 

Then find where the list for the counties is located and click on the county you are researching.  Check out what kinds of information are available for your county.  These sites can offer you some wonderful information - actual cemetery listings, marriage information, birth, death, obituaries, and much more. 

Remember, these sites are prepared and maintained by volunteers.  You will find that some areas may say things like "up for adoption" - this means you can actually help if you are so inclined.  If not, you will have to wait until someone steps up and decides to volunteer their time to help.

I strongly suggest that you check out this site when working in the United States.  You will be so excited when you start finding your family.  Let me know how you are doing!

US GENWEB PROJECT

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Got a Basic Computer Question? Here are the Answers!

I found this wonderful website to answer lots of those questions about the things you need to know when using your computer.  It is actually written in an easy format.  I was impressed - I think you will be too!  There is something for everyone.  They teach you things as easy as cleaning the ball on your mouse to how to install a sound card and ALL the things you need to know in between.  This Basic Computer Skills site is one you HAVE to check out.  There are pictures and simple explanations on everything.  It is going to be one of my favorite spots that's for sure.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

15 Minute Family History

Some members of the Family Search team have come up with this great grouping of places to help with getting you going on your family research.  You can download this as a PDF file or just click on the links and get started.  We will be discussing most of these links in future postings but here it is in one location for easy access.  It is called 15 Minute Family History.  You may get hooked and spend more than 15 minutes but it is a quick start way to begin researching. Have Fun!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Beginning German Research

While preparing for the Internet class tomorrow, I ran across this blog by the Church which posted this article on doing Beginning Research in Germany.  I have not used it because I am not doing German research at this time but I thought those of you who are beginning might find some help.  Check it out and let me know.

Here is a link to the Blog http://blog.beta.familysearch.org/

Thursday, September 16, 2010

EXPLANATIONS - BASIC COMPUTER

One of the most important things to understand is knowing how to do some basic computer functions.  As I teach classes, these few commands seem to be the ones most misunderstood.  I hope these simple explanations will help you better understand how to execute these functions. 


These functions can be used in almost any program.  Remember that Right Mouse is Your Friend.  If you learn these simple commands, they will assist you in a variety of ways.  You can drag and drop a variety of things like pictures, sayings, files, etc. to new locations such as from one program to another, from one file to another, from one drive to another, etc.  You can do the same thing with copy and paste.


Practice using these functions on unimportant items until you understand how easy it is to do them.  By the way, there are always a variety of ways to do almost every command and this is only one way.  If you have learned another way and if it easier for you, then continue using that method.  Only change if it will make it easier for you.


NOTE:  A caution, if you are moving files or important documents, you may want to do Copy/Paste instead of Drag and Drop.  You can always go back and delete the original file after you make sure the file is safe in its new location.

Highlight – To highlight an item (word, saying, file, picture, etc.) put the cursor at the beginning of the item and with your finger depressed on the left side of the mouse, move the cursor over the desired item until there is a colored film over the entire item – this is highlighting.  From here you will do something else with the item such as copy/paste, delete, drag/drop, etc.  You can remove your finger from the mouse and the item will remain highlighted.

Copy/Paste -  Highlight an item – using your mouse, depress the right side to display a variety of functions.  Select the Copy function.  Your computer will now copy the highlighted item into it's memory.  Now go to a new location and with the left side of your mouse, depress the mouse to put the cursor into the new location.  Depress the right side of the mouse to show the functions, select Paste.  This will put your item into the new location.  (Note:  The item will still remain in the original place as you only copied the item but it will now also be in the new location.)  Another command for Copy is using Control C and another command for Paste is using Control V.  Some items may not copy and paste in any other way so try this method for those difficult items.
Cut/Paste – Do the same as with Copy and Paste only select Cut as the first function.  Note: When you cut an item, it will delete the item from the original location.  Do this only if you know you no longer wish for it to be in the new location.  If you do not immediately move it to a new location, it may delete forever.  If you Paste it to a new location, you will now have it only in that new location.
Drag and DropHighlight an item.  Depress the left side of the mouse to Grab the highlighted item.  Now Drag it over to a new location and let go of the left side of the mouse or Drop it into this new location.
Delete – To easily delete an item, first highlight the item then depress the right side of the mouse to reveal the functions.  Select Delete or Cut if delete is not available.  This will remove the item.  You can also highlight the item then select the delete button on your key board.  This will accomplish the same thing.
Rename – This is mostly used for renaming documents, pictures, folders, etc.  Highlight the item (the original name).  Depress the right side of the mouse to reveal functions.  Select Rename.  The item will then show with the cursor in the original name box and most often the original name will be highlighted.  Type in the new name.  You will note that the original name that was highlighted will disappear.  If you have clicked into the box and caused the highlighting to disappear, you can use your delete or backspace buttons to erase the original name or you can highlight and delete the original name.  Bottom line, you need to remove the original name and add the new name.  

You can modify the original name by clicking into the original name, put the cursor where you want to modify and begin to type.  For instance, you may want to change the original name of a picture to explain more of the picture.  If the original name was "Mary", you may want to add what she was doing so you can modify the title of the picture by clicking into the name (follow directions for renaming) then put the cursor where you want to change - in this case it would go behind Mary.  Type in the correction,  "Mary at the beach 2010".  This will now be the new name. 

With these simple tools, you will be able to save lots of time.  If you are making a flier and need multiple copies of the same thing (on one page), just use the copy/paste to fill up your page.  If you want to move files from your hard drive to a flash drive, you can use copy/paste or drag and drop and move entire files in one shot.  You can move pictures around in a presentation with the drag and drop.  You can delete all of those unnecessary files with the delete function.  You can organize all of your files with renaming and a combination of all of these commands.  Once you learn these simple commands, you will not even realize how often you use them...it will become second nature.

One comment from me...I teach a lot of people that are afraid of the computer.  I do understand their fear but it is like anything else.  You just need to take a few minutes to learn the basics.  Do not try to understand the entire computer - I don't understand the entire computer.  Just take your time and learn one thing at a time and use it!  Eventually you will master that one thing and then you can move on.

Please let me know if there is something that you do not understand and would like to know more about.  If you have these questions, then others do also.  Let's help each other by letting me (and others) help you.  There is no question too insignificant.  We all have to start somewhere.  Some of us know more about some things than others.  I am always going to my son-in-law or daughter-in-law to ask for help.  I am here to help YOU so please ask.  You can comment to this posting or send me an email.  Don't just sit there wondering how to do something...ASK! Please Ask.  That's why I set up this blog - to help YOU!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Removing LDS Information from Roots Magic Reports

If you are printing a report (like a family group sheet or a pedigree chart etc.) and do not want the LDS ordinances to show, follow these simple steps to prepare your reports for printing.

Directions supplied by Roots Magic Forum

There are a couple of options for hiding LDS information.

   **  Do Tools > File Options and then unmark the LDS Support checkbox (note:  make sure ALL of the
          LDS boxes are unchecked).  This will turn off displays like the temple and BEPS in the status area.  (This may do the trick but if you need more do the next step)
  1. Do Lists > Fact Type list, then select and edit the 6 LDS ordinance fact types (LDS Baptism, LDS Endowment, etc).  You can turn off where each of these fact types will print (group sheets, narratives, individual summary, and lists).
Note: that turning these options off will not keep any LDS ordinances in a person's edit screen from displaying (just like there isn't an option to hide Jewish, Catholic, or other categories of facts entered for a person).  RootsMagic will always display all data entered for a person.

Another option: IF you only want to remove the LDS detail, to generate a report, you can GEDCOM to a new database without the LDS info, run the report, and then delete the new database.
Note:  When you have competed printing the reports without the LDS information, go back into Tools, File Options and click in all 4 LDS boxes to restore the view of the LDS information.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Right Mouse is Your Friend (Copy/Paste and Drag/Drop)

When I teach basic genealogy classes, it always comes about that patrons do not know and understand how to do many functions on their computer that would be helpful in their genealogical work.  I always end up with a basic computer class to help teach some of these skills. 

Some of the most important functions to use when doing genealogy are:
     1.  Copy and Paste
     2.  Cut and Paste
     3.  Delete
     4.  Insert
     5.  Save as (especially for pictures)
     6,  Rename
And many more.

My favorite expression is "RIGHT MOUSE IS YOUR FRIEND".  When you look at your mouse, you generally see three parts - the left side (which is the side used to do almost everything), the center wheel (which will allow you to scroll up and down your document), and the right side (which gives short cut functions).

When you are in a program, you generally have a variety of ways to access or perform functions.  Most often you can go up to the Menu Bar and find ways to alter your document.  There are generally icons somewhere on the program that will also allow you to do the same thing.  The easiest way would often be to just use your mouse to assist you.  Remembering that the RIGHT MOUSE IS YOUR FRIEND, click on the right side of your mouse to see what commands are available.

Many times you will need to HIGHLIGHT words, folders, or whatever you wish to work on before you click on the right side of the mouse. 

So if I wanted to copy and paste something, I would first highlight the item by placing the cursor over the beginning of where I wish to highlight then keeping the left side of the mouse depressed, I then would slide the cursor over the item to be highlighted. 

Once it is highlighted, I then release the left side of the mouse (highlighting will remain) and depress the RIGHT side of the mouse.  The functions to COPY, CUT, DELETE, etc. will appear.  I will then select to COPY the item. 

I then move the cursor to where I would like the item to appear (which will be a new location or can even be in another program) and depress the left side of the mouse to insert the cursor to that location (note:  You can move around using the left side of your mouse and not worry about losing the copied item because the item is held in the memory until the new function of paste or delete or whatever is selected).

I then click on the RIGHT side of the mouse again and select PASTE.  The copied item will then be inserted into the new location.  (note:  By copying, the original item is still in the original location as well as now in the new location.  If I used CUT, the item would no longer be in the original location.)

I would use this same idea, "RIGHT MOUSE IS MY FRIEND", to do a variety of functions.  If you are in a program and can not remember how to do something or where to find a specific function key, remember the phrase RIGHT MOUSE IS YOUR FRIEND.  Click on the right side of the mouse and see if what you are looking for is there...more ofen than not, it will be.

Monday, September 6, 2010

How to Open a Flash Drive or Another Drive

One of the problems I see with newbies to genealogy is that they have problems with computer skills.  Hopefully I will help you to feel a little more comfortable in trying to do some of these tasks that are necessary for genealogical research.

A must have when doing genealogy is to have a Flash Drive (Thumb, Jump or whatever you want to call it Drive - portable drive).  These are small yet hold vast amounts of information.  They are so easy to store - just slip it in your pocket, purse, backpack, wallet, key chain, etc.  If you get in the habit of working off of a flash drive, you can always have your files right at hand whether you carry around a computer or not....this is your computer in a way.  This little flash drive can hook up to any computer and allow you to access YOUR information. 

There are a wide variety of styles and sizes (meaning how much information they will hold).  You will probably want one that is 1-4 gigabytes - that will hold tons of information, pictures, and documents.  They are quite reasonable in price also. (These flash drives can be purchased at almost any discount or electronics store or on the Internet.)

- Insert flash drive (thumb drive) into the USB port on your computer.  Most newer computers have these ports in easy to locate positions...in front or on the sides of lap tops.  Look around.  It is the little rectangle port that will fit the smaller protruding part of the flash drive.  If you have an older computer, you may need to look in the back.  You might also need to buy a multiple port which will expand your one port into several allowing you to use several  devices using USB ports at the same time.



- Go to START (or desk top) – then My Computer and double click on the desired drive  -
A window will open showing the different plug in divices on your computer (see right side of picture).  This is where you will need to know if you want in your C drive, your disk drive (A, B, D, or other), or into your flash drive (which will be allocated by a letter drive - like E).

Double click on the drive you want to open.

You will now be able to access your flash drive. 

Now you really need to understand FILES on your computer to help you maneuver around to find what you are looking for.  Check out "HOW TO ORGANIZE FILES" to help you better understand what to do when you do get to the drive you want. 

* NOTE: Always close down your flash drive before you disconnect it from the computer.  To do this, look at the bottom right corner of your computer.  Find the little icon for your flash drive.  Click on the icon to open it up.  It will ask if you want to close, say yes (sometimes all you have to do is click on the link to shut down the flash drive).  Once you have shut down the flash drive, you may remove the flash drive from the USB port.  Failure to shut down the flash drive before removing may result in the loss of information or destruction of your flash drive.

Note:  You should always make back ups of your information.  Do not trust that one flash drive will be enough.  It can be easily destroyed just as a cd/dvd or even the crashing of your hard drive.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

WELCOME!

Hopefully you will be able to find some answers to your questions as you begin your journey into your family history.  I hope to be able to help you.

I know that tons of questions arise when starting anything so I am sure that you may find that you need further explanations or help.  Please feel free to email me or make comments to any of the topics covered.

Some topics we will cover are:
1.  Getting started doing your family history
2.  Basic Computer skills
3.  Basic research
4.  Using a computer program to organize your information

I know there will be many other topics along the way but this should get us started.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment