Manasota PAF News
Mar 2002 -  Volume 8 Issue 6 - A publication of the Manasota PAF User Group, Bradenton, Florida

Part 1 (THIS IS IT!)

See also: Part 2  

PAF 5.1+ Special Field Filter from Silicon Valley PAF Users Group Feb 2002  PAFinder, (c) 2002 ASK DR. PAF column by Dr. Cornelius D. PAF. www.svpafug.org . Graphics added by Manasota PAF Editor.

QUESTION: Is there a way to set up filters to find which event fields have a date or place, but do not have a source?  I would like to make sure that all of my data is substantiated and checking each person and marriage takes a long time.

ANSWER: You could try this field filter:

If you do not want to include a record with a date and no place, then change the first and third "OR" with "AND" (highlighted in green below.)

The parenthesis around "all" are included when you ask to include all the field of the Sources. You must add the other parentheses. The program will let you know if you don't have the same number of opening and closing parenthesis. Remember that you must find the above field names in the list of "Possible Fields" The other choices are found in the pick list  that is available when you move the field name to the "Current Filter" window.

You may want to save this filter to use again, or to modify. Click on the "Save" button in the "Filtered List" box and give it a name. To use it again, click on the "Retrieve" button in the same box.

Let's Build it! GRAPHICS showing how to set filters.  submitted by Pat Richley DearMYRTLE@aol.com . In this section we will build the first search option described by Dr. PAF which was:

(any date exits OR Any place exists) AND Sources (all) does not exist OR (Marriage date exists OR Marriage Place exists) AND Marriage Sources (all) do not exist

1. In PAF 5.1+ Click "Search" on the menu bar, then select "Advanced Focus/Filter."

2. On the "Find Individual Screen" change from individual to "ALL" people in your database (as indicated at   point A below. Then click the "Define" button under field filter (as indicated at point B below.)

3.You will receive a pop-up screen that allows you to choose an option from the left side of the screen, to build your filter on the right side of the screen. Dr. PAF says we need to begin with a parenthesis, so we will click the beginning parenthesis button, to get it into the "CURRENT FILTER" box on the right side of this "Field Filtering Screen."

Choose "Any Date" (as indicated at point C below.) Then click the ">" button to move it to the right side of the screen (as indicated at point D below.) Another popup screen will come up asking your to specify an option. At point "E" below, choose "exists" ( point F) from the list, then click OK, (as indicated at point G below.)


4. Your screen will then look like this:

From this you can see that we will gradually work through the list and the "AND" "OR" ">" buttons to create a "CURRENT FILTER" to include all the filters that Dr. PAF recommended. This is how the items will will appear on your "Current Filter" screen when built properly. However, the list is long, so some of it will scroll off the top.

(
any date exits 
OR 
any place exists
)
AND 
Sources (all) does not exist 
OR 
(
Marriage date exists 
OR 
Marriage Place exists
)
AND 
Marriage Sources (all) does not exist

5. Be sure to click the "Save" button, to save this search filter, so you won't have to go through all this again the next time you want PAF to find all instances of a date or place where no source has yet been referenced.

 

OK, Now what do I do to work through the list of individuals with missing sources?  submitted by Pat Richley DearMYRTLE@aol.com . If you followed the directions in the previous article, you will have successfully created a FILTER to look at your PAF database to check:

I happen to have it on personal knowledge that at least one member of our group (to remain unnamed, but she lives on Snead Island is known as the COPY QUEEN) and has literally five or six file cabinets full of documents mentioning her ancestors. This article is very timely for her since one of her current 4goals is to cite the sources for each event on an individual. With her new scanner, she can digitize each document, and include that as she enters the info in PAF.

BUT she will need to work systematically through the PAF Filtered List to be sure she doesn't miss anyone. Realize that after clicking the OK button above when designing the filter, PAF will then search through all your data to see which files fit the criteria. In Jim's case, 14,000 individuals fit the criteria (as indicated at point H below.) We know this is true, because ALL of his sources were put in NOTES the old fashioned way, and unfortunately, not in the SOURCE field as newer versions of PAF provide. We certainly have our work cut out for us!

First we shall SAVE the filter results, (as indicated at points I & J below.)

I also changed my list to sort by RIN not alphabetically.  You can choose as you wish. By highlighting an individual on the list that has the >> at the beginning of the line, you can then click the "Edit" button, and be taken to that individual's screen, so you can work through the source entries, scanning the most important documents to include in the individual's PAF file.

Once you click the "Save" button on the individual data entry screen, your screen will revert back to the "FIND INDIVIDUAL" screen. You may then click the "Next>>" button to go to the next individual on the filtered list.

Remember:

Family Tree SuperTools  submitted by Pat Richley DearMYRTLE@aol.com . As we learn more about this program downloadable from www.whollygenes.com we're finding all sorts of neat options. This month we'll cover web searching & data presentation.

Web searching (including multiple sites)

I looked at my ancestral chart, using Family Tree SuperTools, and selected:

I then selected WEB on the menu bar, then "Search the Web" and my screen looked like this. NOTE that only 1 individual will be searched for since I didn't select a filtered list before clicking on WEB.

Unlike Ancestry.com's free Ancestry Family Tree  software program (discussed in last month's Manasota PAF News), Wholly Gene's Family Tree Super Tools is not limited to searching the Ancestry.com web site for mention of my ancestor. The program can search any or all of the following sites:

I decided to proceed with my one ancestor, and I did NOT make any changes to the settings on the four site's search options. For instance, I did not change to a "fuzzy first and last name" which I think SHOULD have been done. I SELDOM if ever search for an exact name spelling. In my case, I was already online, so when I clicked SEARCH, 5 new Windows (of opportunity) opened up.  

WEB SITE SEARCHED RESULTS TO WORK THROUGH
www.FamilySearch.org   Ancestral File -1 hit, IGI - 5 hits to explore
www.ancestry.com  three hits, but I had to pay for viewing some of the hits
www.gendex.com  SOUNDEX code for WEISER, and a full page of links to similar surnames
www.rootsweb.com 
Search Results: Charles+Switzer Weiser - Matches found in 5 of 43 databases.
 
Featured Databases Matches
WorldConnect 3
Rootsweb Surname List 33
Phone & Address Listings entries for Charles+Switzer Weiser

Vital Records Matches
Surname Helper 158

Other Searches Matches
Web Site Search 17

 
www.Genealogyportal.com  Found no hits for CHARLES and SWITZER and WEISER, but provided directions for modifying my search, as well as a search screen to use.

From the Family Tree SuperTools Guided Tour, chapter 9, we read: "Most of the search sites are completely free and contain millions of searchable records as compiled by other researchers. In the case of at least one site (Ancestry.com), some search results are provided free while others require a subscription to the site in order to access the detailed records. Even in that case, however, the site will reveal whether or not the search produced any matches so that you can decide if a subscription to the site is likely to advance your research." http://www.whollygenes.com/ftsttour/chapter9.htm 

Data presentation: Slideshow - Select "Tools" on the menu bar, then "Slideshow Manager"

From Chapter 10 of the Guided Tour, we read " In this screen shot, we have simply dragged a group of images from the Windows Explorer and dropped it into the Slideshow Manager to add a frame for each of those images. We would typically then modify their characteristics, intersperse other text or video frames, and add narration and/or music.

Notice that the fields in the top-right corner have been customized in order to fit more thumbnails on the screen at the same time.

The navigation bar at the bottom lets you move through the frames of the slideshow. Just above the navigation bar and on the right is a series of numbers that represent the selected frame (4), the range of frames that is visible (1-28), and the total number of frames in the slideshow (172). It also indicates that the selected frame represents a video.

Date Presentation: Wallcharts - You can create a variety of charts using Family Tree SuperTools. They can be saved in Visual ChartForm (.VCH) file format after you have designed them, and have the folks at ChartForm do magnificent wall charts for you on their large plotter printers. Click "Report" on the menu bar, then select the type of chart you would like.

Then configure your report, including the focus person, change the destination to "File" then change the file type toVisual Chartform (*.vc2). Make a note of where the file exists, so you can attach it to e-mail to send. Under the "Options" button, you can select things like the type of box you want to surround each individual on the wall chart, etc.

Once the file has been created, you can then click "Report" on the menu bar. But instead of selecting "Ancestor Chart" click "Chart Printing Service.

 

You'll have to specify the location of your chart, Click the little button with the three dots... shown below to click around your hard disk until you locate the file. Then click the "Click here to evaluate this chart for printing" button.

You'll then go through the steps of ordering online. Its easy as 1-2-3.

Once you click STEP 1 and order the chart(s) online, you will be sent an e-mail with your invoice number. You can then return to this screen, and type that invoice number in the box at Step 2. Then click Step 3, and the file will be uploaded to the printing service, compressed automatically, without your worrying about it.

For more information in advance about the cost of this wall chart service, see:

Click on one of
the chart types below

Maximum Size

Prices Start At

SMALL CHART

1296 sq. in.

$19.95

LARGE CHART

4320 sq. in.

$29.95

JUMBO CHART

12960 sq. in.
(30 ft long max)

$69.95

Larger chart?

Write for a quote!

Here are some other Family Tree SuperTools options, that we will discuss at future Manasota PAF Users Group meetings:

April 2002: Preferences 

  1. Researcher Info (name, address, e-mail, etc) Item Tips, Slideshow, Lists, Project Explorer, Tag Box, Colors

  2. Advanced: backup file locations, definitions for "circa" and "maximum life span"

  3. Setting an automatic "relation tag" to a specific individual.

May 2002: & Timeline

  1. Historical Time Lines - view an ancestor's events "in relation to politics, battles, county line changes, and general history."

You may jumpstart your understanding of the Family Tree SuperTools by working through the following tutorial online at: www.whollygenes.com/ftsttour.htm . Gosh, I LOVE it when programmers provide lessons for using the software!

For Further Reading:
Family Tree SuperTools - www.whollygenes.com/supertools.htm#features The publisher states: "Family Tree SuperTools is a true 32-bit application with support for right-click menus, long file names, user-defined screen configurations, and drag-n-drop of slideshow media and chart elements. It requires at least a Pentium 166 with 64 Megs of RAM running Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, or XP. Web searching and chart uploading features require an Internet connection."

Graphic of Teddy bears courtesy of http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/patrick/clip.html