Changes to the New FamilySearch Website

For the first time since February, New FamilySearch has announced some significant changes to the Website. First, and most important, the number of combined records for any one individual has been increased to 150. The previous limit was 85. This has a big impact on the Individuals of Unusual Size (IOUS) for the pioneer or legacy families. The increase in the limit allows more of these individuals to be combined and thereby decrease the potential for duplication of Temple ordinances.

New FamilySearch also announced the following:

The computer program RootsMagic 4 is now certified to both reserve ordinances in the new FamilySearch Web site and print Family Ordinance Requests. For more information, please visit http://www.rootsmagic.com/fs/. (RootsMagic 4 is available in English only.) For the current status, please contact the affiliate directly, or go to http://www.familysearch.org/eng/affiliates/index.html”.

There are a number of corrections, clarifications and additions to the User's Guide to the New FamilySearch. Here is the list of updates from the Church's announcement:

The user’s guide contains the following corrections, clarifications, and additions:
• It now clarifies how and when the system displays information about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including those who were excommunicated or who requested that their names be removed from the records of the Church. This content is also included below.
• It now explains what happens when you use the new FamilySearch Web site for someone else who has not registered to use the system. This content is also included below.
• It now explains how adding records of living people can add duplicate records to the system and provides some recommendations on when to do it. This content is also included below.
• Information about assigning ordinances to the temple has been corrected and clarified. Before the February 2009 release of the new FamilySearch Web Site, when you assigned ordinances to the temple, the ordinances would remain available in the system for other users to reserve until a temple actually received the ordinance to do. Now the system immediately lists assigned ordinances as “In progress,” which The New FamilySearch Web Site and Family Tree Project May 2009 1 means other users can no longer reserve them. This correction did not get made in the February 2009 user’s guide. The revised instructions are also included below.
• It now contains guidelines for solving problems related to ordinance cards. These guidelines are also included below.
• It now clarifies what information you should take to the temple if you need to seal living persons to deceased spouses, children, and parents. These guidelines are also included below.
• Chapter 1 of A User’s Guide to the New FamilySearch now includes information about the Family Tree. See the new user’s guide for this content.

There are so many new changes that I don't have time to cover them all in this post. I will discuss all of the changes in future posts, hopefully in the next day or so.