New.FamilySearch.org finally taken down

In speaking with one of the FamilySearch team at the RootsTech Conference, I heard that FamilySearch had finally taken down the New.FamilySearch.org website two years after the introduction of the FamilySearch Family Tree program.  Here is a confirming screenshot of the notice:

The text of the notice says as follows:

After a two-year transition process, access to new.FamilySearch.org has been terminated. This includes user sign in as well as access through all public APIs (application programming interfaces). 

What's Next? 

This step allows FamilySearch to begin the final phase of the transition, which includes the transfer and synchronization all of the remaining data from new.FamilySearch.org to its replacement, FamilySearch Family Tree. This ending phase of data testing, transfer, and retesting will take approximately one year to complete. Once this phase is completed in early 2016, FamilySearch Family Tree will be the sole repository for this information, and new.FamilySearch.org will be completely shut down. 

Benefits 

Development on many highly desired features of FamilySearch Family Tree cannot begin until new.FamilySearch.org has reached its final milestone and is completely shut-off. At that point, work can begin on new features, such as:

1. Merging of gateway ancestors and other people with large numbers of associated records.
2. Highlighting and fixing data eccentricities, such as when a person appears to have been married before birth, a child is older than a parent, a child who is listed as the spouse of parent or grandparent, and so on.
3. The ability for users to change the selected gender of an ancestor.
4. The ability to see a spouse’s ancestral line by default.

Please continue to use FamilySearch Family Tree to discover, preserve, and share information about your ancestors.

This is an important step in liberating the FamilySearch Family Tree from the limitations of its predecessor. Now all we have to do is wait another year or so.

February 2, 2015 New.FamilySearch.org still online

For the last few weeks, an announcement page has appeared when you try to log in to new.FamilySearch.org stating that the website would be "turned off" on February 1, 2015.

I kept checking yesterday to see what might happen. Well, nothing happened. I checked again today, February 2, 2015 and the website is still up and running:

Maybe they are on a different calendar than I am? Perhaps, like the eight trips back and forth to Utah I took while moving from Mesa, it is just taking longer than expected. This is no big deal. But I do think about these things.

Individuals of Unusual Size -- Part Two

Because I live in the Mesa Temple District, we have had access to New FamilySearch for almost a year and a half. It was recently announced that Temple Districts in Utah and Idaho would start to be added to the New FamilySearch network. Because we were instructed to combine records and dispute incorrect information, many of us spent considerable time working through our online files and disputing and combining. It is evident that this strategy did not do what we expected it to do. First and foremost, it did not correct any of the online information submitted by others. What this activity did do, was to crash the system and make a mess of a lot of files.

As a result, I stopped disputing information and stopped combining individuals. In fact, I began taking off all my disputes. Over the past year or so, the system had definitely settled down. However, with the introduction of hundreds (dare I say thousands) of my relatives in Utah and Idaho, I suspect that we are in for another round of disputes and combining. This is likely to happen unless the Utah and Idaho folks can learn from our mistakes.

Some of the users of New FamilySearch likely never see an Individual of Unusual Size (IOUS). I happen to have a whole pedigree chart full of them. In researching the issue, I believe that the instructions contained on Document ID: 104186 in the New FamilySearch Help Center summarizes what should be the correct approach to the entire problem and particularly to the IOUS.

The Document states:

STEPS FOR CORRECTING IOUS

1. Separate out those records that clearly have been incorrectly combined. (Please do not separate records from an individual’s combined record simply because you think some of the information is incorrect. If the records are about the same individual, leave the records combined. If you separate the records, temple ordinances and research might be duplicated.)
2. Once they are separated out, a note could be added to each asking that they not be combined again, but do not combine them together and dispute.
3. Carefully check your records against those of the "correct" individual to make sure there are no errors. Do not just assume there are no errors.
4. If you find a submitter that you can communicate with, do so. If the person is a legacy contributor, you will not be able to communicate.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others when you have a particularly difficult IOUS problem.

REMEMBER: To separate records, click on either Summary or Detail at the bottom left of the Pedigree with Details page. At the very bottom, click on Combined Records to see the individual records that have been combined. On the left, all of the combinations of births, deaths, parents, spouses, and even those who "died before age 8" are shown.

As soon as the incorrect record has been separated, the erroneous information on the left will also be gone. If it is not gone, another record has the erroneous information also. Since patrons cannot access children as they separate records, it is important to be aware that you may be separating out children that belong to this family and have been attached to the wrong spouse or parent.

I would recommend this procedural approach to the entire database, not just to those IOUS files. It is a good idea also to refrain from adding any more information to New FamilySearch until you are absolutely sure your information is not already somewhere in the database. Please consider using one of the semi-automated programs that assist with finding information in the file, such as FamilyInsight, Ancestral Quest or RootsMagic.

More later

Contributing to the Pedigree Resource File

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has long maintained an online database called the Pedigree Resource File (PRF). This is a user contributor file to which all are encouraged to contribute and upload files. The uploaded files have been published on a series of CDs (now DVDs) essentially in the format they are contributed. An Index of the uploaded files is contained on the FamilySearch.org Website.

With the introduction of New FamilySearch (NFS), some of the files contained in the PRF were incorporated into the huge NFS database. In a NFS Help Center document, "Understanding How Information from Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File, and the International Genealogical Index Was Added to FamilySearch" the Church said:

• Information that was published in Ancestral File, including corrections, will appear both as it was originally contributed and as it was later merged and displayed in Ancestral File. You will see notes and sources if they were provided in the original contribution. In addition, information and corrections that were never published in Ancestral File are also included.
• Many contributors provided the same information multiple times to the Pedigree Resource File. They often did this to provide additions and corrections. These multiple contributions have been combined in FamilySearch. If information changed, you will see the most recent version of the information. You will also see notes and sources if they were provided in the original contribution.
• Information from the International Genealogical Index has also been added to FamilySearch. You can correct the genealogical information but not the ordinance information.

There are currently over 140 discs of PRF files. But Document ID: 102740 of NFS states that the PRF was only loaded into NFS up to disc 85. This Document goes on to state:

Although all of the Pedigree Resource File discs have not been added to the new FamilySearch, you may still submit to the Pedigree Resource File through www.familysearch.org. It is a great research tool that can be purchased by anyone from Distribution Services.

Unresolved is the issue if future submissions to the PRF will be incorporated, in the future, into NFS. Also unresolved is the issue of the future of the PRF.

Update on Ancestral Quest 12.1

I must admit that my first impressions of Ancestral Quest 12.1 were rather negative. But, after looking extensively at the program and working through all of Incline Software's online tutorials, I a majorly impressed with the program. I would be glad to recommend it to anyone, and especially, to those who have access to New FamilySearch.

The program tutorials are excellent and easy to follow. With the information from the tutorials, I was able to obtain a more accurate view of how the program was supposed to work and why. Initially, I thought the the interface with New FamilySearch was somewhat cumbersome, but have completely changed my mind. It does take some effort to understand, but the implementation of the program is very solid and had a real relationship to how you will have to clean up your files with New FamilySearch.

One real benefit of the process of synchronization is the fact that you also regularize and clean up your own database. Although for some, the mass of information, accurate and inaccurate, in New FamilySearch can be overwhelming. Ancestral Quest 12.1 gives the user a consistent and rational interface allowing the user to stand back from the New FamilySearch data and actually get something accomplished.

My perception is that the search engine used in the program is more efficient than any of the other options. I found many more hits on possible duplicates in New FamilySearch than I had previously seen or found.

The program itself, apart from the synchronization with New FamilySearch, has a very familiar feel given Incline Software's roots in the development of Personal Ancestral File. Although there the comparison stops. The features of Ancestral Quest go way beyond those limited features in Personal Ancestral File.

Overall, this a program that bears serious consideration as a contender for your personal use. I am supposed to teach this program, beginning on Monday, March 2, 2009 at the Mesa (Arizona) Regional Family History Center and it is a good thing that I got way into the program before I began teaching, in more ways than one.

Certain search requests have negative impact on New FamilySearch

In a recent announcement from John Vilburn of Ohana Software LLC, users of FamilyInsight were notified that certain search requests can have a negative impact on performance of the New FamilySearch system. The effect of this disables all access from third-party products, including FamilyInsight. The FamilySearch team is investigating this problem and expects to have a solution in place in the near future.

As an interim measure, Ohana has added some safeguards to FamilyInsight to help alleviate this problem. They indicate that it is essential that everyone who is using FamilyInsight update to the latest version (2009.1.23.0 or later). To see which version you have, open FamilyInsight and go to the Help menu on the menu bar and click on About FamilyInsight.

To get the latest version, go to www.ohanasoftware.com and click on the Download button on the bar at the top.

If you need assistance with this please contact Ohana Software at support@ohanasoftware.com or go to www.ohanasoftware.com and click on the Live Support box in the left column to chat
with a support representative.

Thanks to Ohana for the alert.

Updates to New FamilySearch

As of January 12 and 13, 2009 the Help Center on New FamilySearch published 135 new articles with changes and additions to the instructions for the program. The releases of the program were in June 2007, November 2007, February 2008, May 2008, August 2008 and the last one in November 2008. These changes to the Help Center seem to be clarifications of existing issues and previously issued instructions.

If you have had a problem with New FamilySearch in the past you may wish to re-visit the Help Center. When you do a search, click on the advanced search function. In the advanced search window you can choose to search articles published within the last week or month or six months or year. Depending on how long it has been since you last looked for help, so you can chose to search that time period.

I also understand that the Las Vegas Temple District went live with New FamilySearch this week. There is still no announcement on when Utah and Idaho will be added.

New update to FamilyInsight

According to OhanaSoftware, changes were made to the New FamilySearch Web site recently that make it necessary to update to the 2008.12.9 or later version of FamilyInsight for some searches to work without crashing. Users are urged to use the "Check for Updates" tool in the Help menu bar of FamilyInsight to update to the latest version of FamilyInsight. Updates may also be obtained by going directly to the OhanaSoftware Web site. The latest version appears to be 2009.1.5.0 of FamilyInsight.

This issue points up an important fact of life for computer users, especially those using Web based applications, like New FamilySearch and Family Tree, upgrades happen constantly. Computer systems are not like buying a non-electronic appliance. It is not like an electric razor or a drill, the Internet is constantly changing and your software, an ultimately your hardware needs to evolve along with the changes. Unless you keep your programs up-to-date, you may wake up one morning and find that the program no longer works.

By the way, the changes to FamilyInsight are more than cosmetic. The startup menu is more informative and several other changes have been made that make the program easier to use.

New FamilySearch Affiliate Ancestral Quest

Incline Software, LC, dating from 1994, is one of the oldest genealogical software companies still publishing under the same name. It currently produces two premier tools, Ancestral Quest, one of the first Windows genealogy programs available, and PAFWiz, an add-on utility for Personal Ancestral File 5 (PAF), which is one of the family tree programs derived from earlier versions of Ancestral Quest. This direct relationship between Ancestral Quest and Personal Ancestral File, Version 5 makes for an easy transition from PAF to a much newer and more useful program. To quote from their company history:

Over the years, Incline Software™ has aligned itself with various other companies in an effort to market Ancestral Quest. From fall of 1995 through fall of 1997, Ancestral Quest was also sold by Infobases, Inc. (and later by an affiliate of Infobases, Ancestry, Inc.) From the fall of 1998 to the fall of 2000, Incline Software partnered itself with The Hope Foundation.In 1999, with some strategic help from The Hope Foundation, Incline Software helped The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints develop its Windows version of Personal Ancestral File® (PAF). Ancestral Quest, (including programs derived from Ancestral Quest), has become the most widely used genealogy software program in the world.

Importantly, Ancestral Quest Version 12.1 is the first complete data base program to synchronize data with the Family Tree of New FamilySearch. As such, Ancestral Quest is certified by the FamilySearch to access and update the Family Tree database of new.FamilySearch.org. To further quote their Web site, "it is also a FamilySearch certified PAF add-in, which means that a user of PAF 5 can use AQ 12.1 to synchronize his/her local PAF database with the Family Tree of new FamilySearch. So whether you use AQ by itself, or want to use PAF with AQ as an add-in, you will be able to synchronize your data with new FamilySearch." What is more important, the working released version of the program is available right now in December, 2008.

Like many genealogy programs, Incline Software's Ancestral Quest has a free trial offer. The free download is fully functional for 60 days and then will revert into a "Viewer" mode until you purchase a registration key.

One interesting feature of Ancestral Quest is that the program automatically looks up information available in Ancestry.com and shows you the number of related records available. Of course, if you don't have a subscription to Ancestry.com, this feature is some what useless. What is probably most important about the program is that it has the "look and feel" of Personal Ancestral File and if you are moving into a new program and have little experience with other lineage linked data base programs, Ancestral Quest can provide one of the least painful transitions to much more useful program.

New FamilySearch Affiliate RootsMagic

New FamilySearch has recently made public an affiliate program allowing third-party software developers to write programs that work in conjunction with New FamilySearch. There has been some measure of uncertainty as to whether or not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon or LDS) was going to continue to support its free software program Personal Ancestral File (PAF). The PAF program has not been updated since version 5.2. With the introduction of New FamilySearch affiliates, it certainly appears that there are no plans to upgrade PAF, although there continues to be substantial support for the product.

One of the recommended products in the affiliate program is RootsMagic. I usually purchase and install all of the serious genealogy software on my computer and use it to determine if it is truly useful or not. I am pleased to report that nearly all the software I use is very useful and RootsMagic is no exception. It comes particularly highly recommended for its implementation of citations.

In looking into the history of the product, quoting directly from the RootsMagic Web site:

Founded in 1986, RootsMagic, Inc. is a publisher of family oriented software, with headquarters in Springville, Utah. RootsMagic’s product line includes its flagship genealogy software RootsMagic, Family Reunion Organizer, and Daily Journal which is sold under the Broderbund label. In addition, RootsMagic, Inc. also hosts Family-Reunion.com, the world’s most popular family reunion planning website.

The current version of RootsMagic available is 3.2.6. The features of the program implementing its connection to New FamilySearch are not available in the currently sold version of the program but are planned for version 4.0. At a recent genealogy conference at which the RootsMagic company representatives were present, I asked them about introduction of Version 4.0 and they did not yet have a release date. In going to their Web site, it still appears that Version 4.0 is yet to be released. At the computer conference, RootsMagic was selling Version 3.0 with a free upgrade to Version 4.0 when it is released.

Like many of the more useful genealogical database programs, RootsMagic offers a free Demo version of their program. I would strongly suggest that you demo any program you are interested in purchasing, before you put all of you information into the program. If you are presently using PAF, you may wish to consider RootsMagic as one of your choices.

Summary update on status of New FamilySearch

Ancestry Insider has a summary update of the status of the roll-out for New Family Search. This is the best summary I have seen to date and confirms what I have already heard, but all in one place at one time. I suggest you read it.

Ancestry Insider

FamilySearch Affiliates and Product Certification

Recently, the start-up page for New Family Search included a heading called "More Great Products." The button says, "Click here for free, trial, and other products for new FamilySearch." Clicking on the button, takes you to a page entitled "FamilySearch Affiliates and Product Certification."

Presently, the only products listed are Ancestral Quest, Charting Companion, Family Insight, Generation Maps, Get My Ancestors, Grow Branch and RootsMagic 4. In the case of RootsMagic 4, if you click on the link, you will soon find that RootMagic 4 is not yet available, but if you buy RootsMagic 3, you will get a free upgrade. Ancestral Quest version 12.1 is presently available however, as are the remaining products.

Notably missing from this listing, as yet, are Legacy Family Tree software and Family Tree Maker 2009. Since the roll out of New Family Search is still in progress and Utah and Idaho are still not on the system, and the program is presently limited to member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormons) it is likely that additional programs will not appear until the final version of New Family Search (Family Tree) is introduced to the whole genealogical community including those who are not members of the LDS Church

Stay tuned for more developments.

FamilySearch: Family Tree

If you need a more graphic list of names submitted for LDS Temple work and if you have access to New Family Search with your login and password, you may wish to look at the Temple list generated by FamilySearch: Family Tree.

Clicking on the Temple tab shows a list of all of the ordinances you have reserved and the following:

Last Name
First Name
Gender
Birth Event
ID
Ordinance Status
To Parent
Date Submitted
Assigned To

Yes, you can find out who printed out the Family Ordinance Request and contact them about the status of the ordinances.

More later

Recent additions to Family Tree

The program known as new FamilySearch really has two components. The main component is found at http://new.familysearch.org. The second component is found at http://labs.familysearch.org and is known as Family Tree. It is presently the plan, according to John Greene, head of product development, to phase in Family Tree as the main interface for the program. In following this plan, new features are added to the Family Tree program from time to time.

Recently, printing a family group record was introduced. To print a Family Group Sheet from the Family Tree, open a folder for any individual, click on the relationships tab, and then click on the Family Group Sheet link.

In addition, until now, the Family Tree expanded trees without an easy way to collapse. Now, when an arrow is clicked to expand the tree, the Family Tree flips the arrow horizontally. Clicking a left arrow allows us to collapse the tree. You have to look carefully to see the small arrow is now pointing to the left of the screen. Clicking the little arrow collapses the expanded line. This is useful if you wish to scan several lines without expanding the pedigree and making it hard to follow.

Another new feature should be welcomed by all those working in new FamilySearch. Now, in Folders, from the Records Tab, the Family Tree allows us to:

• Identify records that don’t belong by checking the checkbox to the left of the record.
• Move the checked records to a new folder or folder that is open on the left by clicking the pulldown. We can also drag and drop selected records to an open folder on the left.
• Drag one open folder over the top of another folder to combine the two folders.

Some of the checkboxes are deactivated and the records can’t be moved. This is a know problem and will be resolved in the near future.

Apparently, these actions are updating live data on new.familysearch.org.

Continue to watch for new developments in the Family Tree program.