FTM2014 - Clean Up Research Notes

I posted earlier: FTM2014 - Why are Research Notes Private ?

Now to clean up "the mess". Not really a mess but thought I would share HOW I made sure that all of my research notes are marked as private. In reality, this review also made sure that I have Research Notes for everyone. (That is the intent of the file I am using for this blog post)

When I start this review, I would create the report, return to the People Workspace, select the "next" person from the Index on the Left, then select the Person View to make my changes. 

Then I remembered that I could access that same information from the Report itself.

Publish Workspace, Person Reports, Notes Report, as described in the last blog post (link at the top of the page) and selected All Individuals, No Check Mark in Show Private Notes and had Research Notes selected. 

18 Pages of people where their Research Notes were NOT marked private.

Selecting the Name (double clicking) will open the Person Edit screen.

From that window I selected Notes, then the Research Notes ICON, and clicked on the Private Notes ICON.

This allowed me to see everyone's research notes and that they had one, and make them private at the same time. Clicking OK at the bottom of that window, returned me back to the Report AND that person was removed from the list.

That's what I wanted. An Empty Report for Unprivatized Research Notes. I saved this report in the Saved Reports list as part of a series of reports to be run from time to time.

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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

FTM2014 - Why are Research Notes Private ?

No one may have ever asked that question but while working on my current project, I have kept all of my research logged in the Research Notes. That, in and of itself, has been very helpful.

First, here is the Person Notes for Mary:

As I have shown earlier, I have been citing my note entries below the text of the Note item.

I also have been using the Fact Notes feature. You can see IF there are notes for a specific FACT with a number in the third column of numbers on the right end of the Fact in question. Clicking on the Note Tab on the right, you can see the notes for that fact.

Back to the Notes Tab for the person is the Research Notes ICON. I have been recording where I searched, or where I found the Facts for that person. It's not detailed, for the positive searches, as there would be Citations from that search. Negative search results would also be recorded here. (where, when, search criteria, etc). Some times I will add a ToDo / Task if I want to return to that source at a later time.

I had been changing the default setting of "private" (the Lock ICON to the right of the Research Notes ICON) to not private.

The Research Notes is the 2nd ICON under the Person Notes. The 3rd ICON is, by default, marked as Private where the ICON is orange.

I was wondering why that was. 

What I normally do, when I make a change, is to check the output of any change I might make. In this case I didn't do that until now.

I went to the Publish Workspace, Person Tab, and Notes.

I may have mentioned earlier that it is helpful to read the report description on the right.

I selected only the Person Notes to be displayed in this report. In this case I ran the report for everyone.

Now to see the Fact Notes:

I selected Fact Notes on the Right. In this case, the Person Notes was still active. That can be turned on or off.

What about the Research Notes?

Here is where that feature becomes important. At first, when I selected Research Notes, none appeared. Selecting Private Notes, the Research Notes appeared.

I do have Private Fact Notes as well.

But, what about the Person, Individual Report?

From the Publish Workspace Person Report and selecting the Individual Report, and selecting the Items to Include ICON will bring up the default settings or the settings you have saved for that report. In this case only the Person Notes.

The report looks like this.

From the Items to Include ICON we make our choices. I select Fact, Research, and Private Notes. I added the Sources.

Each type of note is marked.

And the Sources are at the bottom of the report.

Bottom Line for me, is that I have complete control over what notes are seen in a report on the Output side. I can see the Private Fact Notes, and Private Research Notes on the input. Now I understand why the Default setting for Research Notes are Private. When running reports I have not wanted all of those Private Notes. I just want to see the Person Notes.

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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

FTM2014 - Copy/Paste Fact - New in FTM2014

I finally had an opportunity to try out a new feature in FTM2014 that I hadn't tried before. Copy and Paste a Fact.

In my recent post: Recap and What to do with Comments I mentioned that Randy Seaver had posted a comment that I had my data wrong. He was absolutely right (of course). So I went searching for the error of my ways with very little luck. He provided me with the Name of the person that I should have as Berl's wife in 1920. I found her family in the right area at the right time, but couldn't find Ruth A. Then I remembered that census record as having something strange in it. When I found what might have been Ruth's family, all of the names were initials and NOT full names. For example Berl was listed as B E. I went back to my Citation for B E Collins in that 1920 Census Record and found R A. So, I had the Data all of the time, just entered that data to the wrong person.

I had R A Collins listed under Mamie L, Berl's wife from the 1920 Census.

Looking at the Citation, I saw the list of Facts linked to Mamie and knew that I had a number of them. Now how to get that data over to R A Collins. That's when I remembered the Copy / Paste Fact feature.

I created a New spouse for Berl with R A Collins as the name, with NO Citations. I just made that relationship. The Census will do the rest.

I went down the list of Facts, on the Person Tab of the People Workspace, for Mamie and found a 1920 Census that was linked to a Fact. I RIGHT Clicked on that Fact and Selected Copy.

This will copy that Fact with the linked Citation to the Family Tree Maker clipboard. I then changed spouses from the Mini-Navigation bar at the top of the screen and selected R A Collins.

(You may see other entries in the next screen, as I had started to hand enter information when I remembered the Copy/Paste feature.)

Select anywhere on the screen, Right Click and selected Paste.

This will bring up a new window asking where do you want to Paste that information.

The window shows what you have copied, and allows you to Select what person you want to Paste that fact to.

Randy had already pointed out that the first 2 children I had shown earlier were linked to the wrong mother. The above screen shows the Husband / Father and those two children.

Also note that there will be One Citation, One Media File AND One Note. I record the household from the census record for each person in that household, so that information is brought along with the Citation, as it should be.

The paste is complete.

I didn't do a Cut and Paste but a Copy and Paste, because I wanted to verify that it works as it should. So I went back and Deleted that Fact from Mamie.

I did this for all of the Facts for R A Collins including adding a Citation to R A Collins, who I created earlier and I added a new name fact of R A _____ with the 1920 Census. Now I can go back to searching for her birth Surname, which Randy already provided, but I want to find that on my own.

The update is complete.

I made the following entry in my Research Notes:

24 Nov 2013

Reviewed the 1920 Census, Illinois - Berl Collins and determined that I had made a data entry error, recording R A Collins as Mamie Collins. Removed 1920 Census Record and facts from Mamie Colllins and pasted them to a new person, R A Collins

The same research note is in Mamie's record as well.


Lesson Learned: Review what you already have from time to time
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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

Recap and What to do with Comments

I thought it might be worthwhile to RECAP this series of Blog Posts on Collaboration between FTM2014 and an Ancestry.com with a colleague, researcher, and Genea-Blogger Randy Seaver. I encourage you to visit his GeneaMusings.com blog for his view on this topic. He also has a series of blog posts.

In addition, I have added a couple of Videos in the Training Resources Tab under the list of You Tube posts by Dear MYRTLE of DearMYRTLE.com.

• CrowdSourcing - Build a F.A.N. Club

• FTM2014 - Thought about Shaky Leaves

• FTM2014 - Thought about Shaky Leaves - Follow up

• FTM2014 - Thought about Shaky Leaves - Status

• FTM2014 - Publish - Sources, Undocumented Fact Report

• FTM2014 - Web Merge - Web Clipping tool

• A couple of thoughts about Sharing / Collaborating with others

• FTM2014 views and AMT views

• More on Collaboration

So far I have talked about how this project started, with a blog post by Randy and what I have done with this project.

I should mention, that the email I received was a notification from Ancestry.com to my email address associated with Ancestry.com. My invitation to Randy to this tree was using  his Ancestry.com Username. So, this communication was not done using our individual Email Addresses, although that is also an option. Suppose I didn't know Randy, but found him online with an Ancestry Member Tree (AMT). The connection can be made by using the Username associated with that AMT. I blogged about this: FTM2012 - Invite to Onliine Tree

The last on that list talked about a Comment that Randy had posted for one person. Actually that was the second one, but I want to try to explain "now what?". What do I do with that comment?

It started with an Email, my looking at his comment and then thanking him for the comment and that I would follow up on what he said. Actually he, in the one brief comment, has at least 3 items for me to do.

Here are the comments for this person:

The text isn't as important as the Tips for Comments on the Right:

• Comments can be seen by anyone who can see your family tree 
• Comments about people in your tree that appear to be living are hidden (unless you have given others permission to view living individuals in your tree)
• You can delete comments others leave on the tree
• You can edit or delete comments you leave on the tree
• The tree owner will be notified by email of each new comment added

That was the main reason for me to suggest we use this method of updating this AMT.

The first thing I did was to add this item, as I saw them, to my Task List. Although they are for specific people, I want them in the High Priority List so that I address them.

I typed them in, and marked them as Follow Up, High Priority. I have to see them each time I open the file.

Earlier, I talked about Citing my Sources. I consider this comment and my three Tasks as an "Email" / communication between Randy and I, so I created an Email Template in this file for this purpose.

I have blogged about this as well:  Keeping Track of Emails in your research

This is what I put in the Citation Detail:

23 Nov 2013; comments on Mamie _____; RandySeaverCV added this on 23 Nov 2013

 I used her Maiden Name, and not the name that Randy used. I put the text of what he said in the Citation Text field.

Russ, there is an AMT with Mamie Hickox as this Mamie. Also, the first two children of Berl Collins were not by Mamie, but the last 3 were. The first two children, Berl and Eva, were by his first wife Ruth A. Snearley. I wrote about her in a blog post a week or two ago. Thanks -- Randy 

Just to complete the process, I also copy and paste the dialog from the comments for Mamie into the Notes tab for this citation.

I also put the URL (Internet Address) to this specific comment. Over kill, maybe, but I do not know where I might want to see those comments again.

Only the Citation Detail will appear in the EndNote:

Randy Seaver,  to Russ Worthington, e-mail, 23 Nov 2013; comments on Mamie _____; RandySeaverCV added this on 23 Nov 2013, Randy Crowd Sourcing; privately held by Russ Worthington, Hackettstown, New Jersey 07840.

I will then Link this citation to the names of the six people mentioned. I try to break things down into bite size pieces or tasks. What will come next?

• More detailed task or tasks by Person
• Note in the Research log for that Person as research is done
• Update the FTM2014 file as appropriate
• Sync the file with the AMT
• Follow Up Comment in the AMT

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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

More on Collaboration

In an earlier blog post, A couple of thoughts about Sharing / Collaborating with others

I talked about sharing and collaboration. My friend and colleague Randy Seaver posted an excellent article on this same topic.

Challenges of a Shared Ancestry Member Tree

 He does an excellent job of presenting the issues that we share, and Dear MYRTLE  did a Hangout On Air, where we discussed this.

As a follow up, I wanted to show why I have chosen to collaborate with Randy using the Comments.

I received this email from Ancestry.com that advised me that Randy had posted a Comment.

I have visited the comment and have replied to Randy in the comment, thanking him for what he found, so that I can follow up with the source that he found.

The reason why I have chosen this way to collaborate is that I receive that notification as soon as Randy posts it. It's in the AMT for me to follow up on, and I can do that and maintain the file to meet my standards. For example, many people struggle with the use of the Template feature in FTM2014. I have learned it and use it all of the time. I can take the time to do the research and update as appropriate, citations and all.

It's those other set of eyes that really help. Randy has already pointed out a data entry problem that I had and was able to correct it.

As Randy pointed out, this isn't a perfect solution, but at least it can work and is working for he and I.

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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

FTM2014 - Road Trip

There was a posting on Facebook that read:

"Well today I wanted to run all the German locations against a database of German cemeteries on the German Genealogy FaceBook site. In the past when we have planned cross country trips, it would have been very useful to know all the locations within a state or county the family was in so if the locations were close, we could drop in the local libraries/History centers and see if there was information that is not available on the internet, locally. A report in CSV form would do, but unfortunately, that is not available either.

 Now, I don't have Germany, but I will show how to create a Report if I were to take a road trip to Oklahoma, based on the database, in FTM2014, that I am working on right now.

If I understand that question correctly, I want to create a report that has every location where someone in my database had an event (Fact). For this, I want to create a Custom Report.

Publish Workspace, Person Report and select Custom Report.

I named the report "Road Trip" and I want to select those individuals that I want in the report. I select Individuals To Include.

I select "Other" then Filter IN, to Filter In Everyone with Any Fact Place of Oklahoma, which I will enter next.

Once Filter In, Other, Any Fact Places screen completes type in Oklahoma.

This will now move everyone who have an Event or Fact in Oklahoma into the Individuals to include in the list. In this case, 96 people has a Fact Place of Oklahoma

So far, the report isn't very helpful, because it would be sorted by name on only those that have some information. Clicking on the first ICON in the Right Hand Panel, (Items to Include) will bring up a window where I can select what Information I want to see in that report. This is the default window.

I have a lot of information from Census Records and from Find-A-Grave and I want to include those Facts. For this report, I uncheck the Notes settings because I don't want them in this report.

The GREEN Plus will open a window that will allow me to add other Facts. I selected the Burial Fact for the Cemetery information.

I added the Residence Fact for the information from the Census Records.

The real trick here, is that I want the information presented by Location. For this report I have selected the Residence Fact as the sort.

To the right of the Residence Fact, I selected Place.

I like the Header to be on each page, page numbers, and the date this report was printed. Clicking on the 3rd ICON (light switch), brings up the window that allows me to make those items appear on the printed report.

Here is what that report would look like. It is sorted by place names.

Within each place the person is listed along with the Birth, Death, Marriage, Burial, and Residence Facts that they have. This report was 11 pages long, but contains details for each person.

Looking at the Places Workspace is a list of Counties where there are Facts.

There are other options in the Custom Report as to what I seen in the report. I would use the report that I displayed because if provides a little more information  about the person who had an event in that place.


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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

FTM2014 views and AMT views

I thought I would take a moment to look at some of the differences between what I see in FTM2014 and what I, or others, might see in an Ancestry Member Tree (AMT) that is in sync with FTM2014. There is a similar views in both, which I have blogged about, but there are some differences. This is especially important when you are the "owner" of the AMT and it is In-Sync with FTM2014 AND you invite someone to be a Guest, Contributor or an Editor in that AMT.

Ancestry.com has created two great Knowledge Base Articles on this topic.

The difference between Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker

Family Tree Maker compared to Ancestry.com trees when using TreeSync

I thought I would focus on some of the obvious differences.

To Do / Task List

When you open FTM2014, you are taken to the Plan Workspace. I have blogged that I have a lot of Filenotes as High Priority items, that briefly explain how I enter certain pieces of information. Below is my "To Do" or Task List. The medium priority items, as I am using them, are pieces of information that I need to find for that person. For example, I'll look at the person's timeline and create a new To Do item for any census years that I have not yet found. So when I open FTM2014, I am looking at what I have to do.

I can filter and sort this list in a number of ways. For example, only show those Tasks, dealing with Census Records.

You can't see my To Do list in the AMT.

Research Log.

I keep a brief research log for each person. I found this person on two separate days, and looked at 5 records.

For example: that first entry says "1920 Census, Missouri - Place Holder - Birth Location of the Father of Cynthia Serena Rutter". That may not mean anything to any one else, but that 1920 Census Record for Cynthia indicated were her father was born. If I were to look at the list of Names for this person, I would have a Citation to the 1920 Census, but his name would have been entered at "_____ Rutter". I am guessing that is his Surname at this point, and there is no indication of his name, but I wanted to capture where he was born.

 You can't see that in the AMT.

The Residence fact for 1860 has a note (the 1 in the 3 columns of numbers on the right), where I record information from the Census Record as to who was in the household at the time, and record ONLY the Head of Household's information, but paste that same note into each persons Residence fact for 1860 that was in the household.

I do this to make it easier for me to see who the selected person was within that household. I don't have to go look at the Census Record, although it is there in the Source, but this "trick" has worked for me.

 You can't see that in the AMT.

Also, the above image shows a Find-A-Grave Fact but there is a "lock" ICON to the left of the fact name. That is a Private Fact and will NOT be seen online. I use it for reports and the filter in / filter out features.

This next example shows a person with 4 different Name Facts, one of which is the Preferred Fact. This is the one that will be seen in the People Workspace, Family View. I record each fact the way that the record reported that fact. I will have to deal with that on my own by evaluating the information presented.

I had mentioned earlier about seeing a Census Record with the Birth Location. That is the bottom entry. What I believe to be the correct full name is the Preferred Name.

Looking at the People Workspace, Family view, only the Preferred Name is displayed. You have to go to the Person View to see that there are other names.

Going to the AMT, Pedigree View we see the same information. These two views appear to be the same, or at least very close.

In the AMT, you can also see those other names IF you know where to look. Selecting the Profile ICON for this person Facts and sources you will see:

So all of those other names and sources are shown.

They can be seen in both places but you need to know where to look.

FTM2014 Media Files can individually be made Private. For example: I have headstone pictures from Find-A-Grave. However, I do NOT have permission to use them. I can have them in my FTM2014 file but I will NOT put them in the AMT for others to see.

In this file I have 146 Media files. 35 of them came from a Web Merge from Ancestry.com, so they won't be in the Gallery in the AMT 92 Media files are marked as Private, as I do not have permission to post them in the AMT. The remaining 17 will be in the Gallery.

Bottom line on this, for me at least, the important data in my file is available in the AMT I must be aware and anyone I am sharing this AMT with needs to be aware that everything is NOT in the AMT.

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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington

A couple of thoughts about Sharing / Collaborating with others

I recently had a bad experience, for me, when I shared one of my Ancestry Member Trees (AMT). This other person made some changes in my AMT that I had not expected. Then I realized that we both use different genealogy database management software programs and our approach to our research is different. So, I thought about this a little more, because this person is a great researcher and I would really like their help.

What was I missing?

It wasn't what I was missing but what "they" didn't know, mostly because I hadn't shared some information with them.

In FTM2014, I have a long Task or ToDo List. What I have done in the Plan Workspace, is to have File Notes in my Task List, as Hi-Priority. Notes about how I do things in this file and are in a File Notes Category. I put notes about certain situations. For example, How I handle Unknown Names and why I may do some data entry for my purposes.

As you may see, in the lower left, two people have been invited to this tree, one as Editor and the other as Guest.  Remember they can be changed at any time.

But, THEY can't see this screen. So, how can I deal with that.

What they see in the AMT is a Pedigree View of the tree. I could put information into the Tree Settings Menu Item.

That looks like this:

That Tree Description has limited space to provide the detail that I would like to share.

Returning to that Pull Down Menu and selecting the Tree Overview:

I will see this:

Since I can put notes in the Invitation to someone to join the tree, I can suggest that they go to the Tree Overview and read the "Please Read" Story. I also linked that same story to the Home Person.

Here is that Story:

That "story" is the information that would be clearer to someone else that my Task List has a cryptic version of this Smart Story. So any instructions I can put into this Story for those "helping me out" they will know what I am trying to do and how I have done some things in what they are seeing in my AMT.

For example: I want them to use the Person Comments feature in the AMT so that I can correct the errors, or to let me know that they have found some information that I might want to include in this tree.

Also, there are a number of features within FTM2014 that the AMT does not reflect. For example, I have Research Notes for everyone in this tree. I have Fact Notes and Source Notes that can't be seen in the AMT. These are my notes, my to do lists that help me research that are not available in the AMT. The people I might be inviting may not know FTM2014 as I do, which is great. But I would like their help, especially for those records / resources that I haven't found yet. They may have a Newspaper clipping that isn't online, that they can Add to the person (with the right setting) which I will then be able to download and include in the file to be synchronized. They may have a link that I haven't seen or found yet, so putting that link and related information into the Comment for that person would be wonderful.

A good conversation, face to face, or using online technology would also be very helpful.

That's what I learned from one experience.
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Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington