Comments on: New FamilySearch

By: George Scott

George Scott — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:20:13 +0000

Over the past 2 1/2 years, I have spent nearly 2,000 hours with New FamilySearch–beta-testing, teaching at our family history center, helping patrons, and cleaning my family tree. Several family history consultants asked me to write a manual for teaching New FamilySearch in their wards.

So, I have posted a 66-page manual, entitled How To Use New FamilySearch Correctly, in PDF format, at http://www.usingfamilysearch.com, from which any New FamilySearch patron is welcome to print it.

It provides tips and Do’s and Dont’s. Chapter 3 identifies the most efficient order of tasks to clean your family tree (so you won’t be so overwhelmed). The manual also reviews New FamilySearch’s future plans, and it evaluates the third-party software programs.

I will update it whenever there is a major revision to New FamilySearch, which is about every 3 months. (The next should be in early November.)

I offer it to your readers and hope it will help many.

Best regards,

George W. Scott
GeorgeSonOfCarl@aol.com
Orem, Utah

By: Hans

Hans — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:38:22 +0000

Hi Andrea, that page is not referring to the new FamilySearch program (web-based, currently in private beta), but instead to PAF (which is a FamilySearch branded program you could say—in fact it is a fork of an earlier version of Ancestral Quest.)

By: Andrea Schnakenburg

Andrea Schnakenburg — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:50:30 +0000

There is also a list of FamilySearch certified programs that are meant to work with the system. As for PAF compatible programs there are FamilyInsight(Win and Mac) and Ancestral Quest(Win). The complete list is at: http://www.familysearch.org/eng/affiliates/index.html

By: Diane Wright

Diane Wright — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:16:44 +0000

Thanks I needed that info. I have to teach a class in SS about it and I am at a loss.

By: Nicolas Connault

Nicolas Connault — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:37:39 +0000

I share most of your reservations about these aspects of NFS, but I think we should just wait and see, I’m certain that we are looking at a work in progress, and that they have first put in the most important elements of the site.

By: Jared Smith

Jared Smith — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

As I understand it, there *is* a way to get the data out of NFS. They're building a ANI to allow external programs to interact with the database, so that you don't have to use the web interface if you don't want to. I'm on the FamilySearch developer mailing list, even though I've been too lazy to try to write any programs against their APIs. They also have webinars almost every Thursday to explain various aspects of the system.

Oh, and since my temple district hasn't converted over to the new system yet, I can't yet try out the web interface. Go figure...

By: tensai

tensai — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

And now that I’ve got your mother’s maiden name, I’m totally stealing your identity.

By: Logan Allred

Logan Allred — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 17:00:00 +0000

Instead of GEDCOM export, there is a REST API for reading/updating and synching/merging with the nFS system:

https://devnet.familysearch.org/

There are several libraries in development for it in Java, PHP, Ruby, Obj-C, and more, and several desktop and web clients in various stages of implementing it (including some on the Mac). I expect there will be several good options by the end of the year or sooner, including some options for PAF (Mac clients maybe not until early next year--we'll see). There's an open-source cross-platform Java client in the works that could probably use some committers: http://gedlynk.org/

You can also take a peek at some of the new things that FamilySearch is working on at http://labs.familysearch.org/