Manasota PAF News
May  2003 -  Volume 9 Issue 8 - A publication of the Manasota PAF User Group, Bradenton, Florida - copyright 2003 
meeting dates & map to the library - members - favorite genealogy links - PAFNews
This is PART 1, be sure to see PART 2 as well.
PRINT OUT FOR OUR MEETING 2 May 2003  - Pat Richley, editor.

Manual for PAF 5.2 submitted by Elsie Naylor because of an e-mail request to our group from chamness@totacc.com  (Howard Chamness) Hi Elsie! -  I ran across your E-mail address under "Manasota PAF Users Group" .  So I'll appeal to you! Do you or any of group know where I can find a "How to" book on PAF 5.2?  I found one once, but after a few days of searching a copy I got careless & lost the name of the book & author.  Would appreciate any help, tips etc you can offer! I'm having trouble with the Advanced Filter operation! Thanks, Howard.
         ANSWER: Perhaps the best advice about how to use the Personal Ancestral File genealogy database software is located within the program itself. I used the HELP TOPICS option and searched on the word PHOTO to find information about how to insert photos in my PAF database. 

• The GETTING STARTED GUIDE IS IN MSWORD .doc format. Its a quick 8 page printout to study, and get  you out of the PAF starting gate pronto!

• You'll find the USERS GUIDE most useful .PDF format, which can be printed out and studied at will. Its the definitive 169 page documentation provided by the folks in PAF support.

• The LESSONS offers on-screen practical advice when undertaking a new process such as GETTING STARTED (typing in your family & making changes); NOTES & SOURCES; PRINTING FORMS & REPORTS; SHARING FILES (that includes GEDCOMs); MATCH/MERGE and ADVANCED FOCUS & FILTER (for creating custom reports.) Some of these lessons have a demonstration mode, which employs FLASH, so if you need to download the FLASH capability for your web browser, you can do so by clicking . If you didn't download the LESSONS when you downloaded PAF, your computer will be prompted to dial up, so you can follow the lessons online. At any time, you can go back as if to download PAF, but scroll a little farther down the page to download the PAF LESSONS.

• Other PAF manuals are for earlier versions. For more info about PAF-related topics, see CYNDI's LIST: http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm and http://www.cyndislist.com/soc-cigs.htm 

Those Strange "Once Removed", 3rd Great Aunt Things submitted by AKeisacker@aol.com . I  always think I'll remember how to define those strange "once removed", 3rd great aunt things and then some time goes by and I am confused all over again. Maybe others would like a chart, too, but haven't found a good one.  If you would tell me which and where, I'd be glad to make however many copies needed for the Saturday meeting and you could explain them there.

ANSWER: Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, 2nd great grandparents are EASY because they appear on our direct-line pedigree charts. However, as you've mentioned, determining our relationship to the siblings and children of those on our pedigree chart can prove challenging. By going to : http://www.cyndislist.com/cousins.htm I located the following chart, which I recommend we each print it out to discuss at Saturday's meeting. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1956/cousin.html It loads quickly and is easily printed. For more information read:

• What is a First Cousin, Twice Removed? from Genealogy.com

• Systems of Measuring Kinship Degrees by Brian Schwimmer, University of Manitoba.

Olive Garden Site submitted by AKeisacker@aol.com . This seems new to me, although "olive tree" does sound familiar.  Are either of you know about it and if so, what is your opinion, please? ANSWER: The Olive Tree Genealogy site has been around for a long time, and is held in high regard!

Genealogy Column to Continue Because of Avalanche of E-Mail Support submitted by bjsgen@aol.com From Ken_Thomas@dnr.state.ga.us Tuesday, April 29, 2003. -- Friends to whom I sent out my column cancellation alert on Monday (and to all of those you may forward this to). Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called me back (at my office) at 1 pm and said, in their opening remarks:  "We Surrender" and to continue writing the column on the same schedule. (they surrendered after only 23 hrs, not bad, shorter than the Iraqi conflict)..... When I told them I had sent out only ONE email, he said you have a "heck of a network" and of course I wondered what institution would not think that any group worth their salt would not have a NETWORK and subnetworks, etc. I mean, maybe the Pet of the Week who shares my page with me may not have his/her troops in order, but the GENEALOGISTS AND HISTORIANS have pulled through and saved the day (my favorite quote from the only cartoon movie my family owned- Mighty Mouse- who came to SAVE THE DAY and you all have done it.

I would appreciate it, and the AJC asked, that I ask anyone who has sent out their own email to subnetworks, to write them back and announce the continuation and that no more emails or voice mails be left at the newspaper. I have printed out the letters of support if we need them in the future. So I ask that now. Some of you are getting two emails of this ilk today, but better two than  none. Now we can have an e-celebration of sorts. (and say a prayer for the Pet of the Week) thanks for all of your help in this matter.

Remember the State Archives reopens next Tuesday, May 6, with a reception the night before by the Taylor Foundation. from 3-6pm. I now will be able to write up the new archives for my May 18 column. Beginning my 27th year of writing my column. Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., Historian.
Historic Preservation Division, GA DNR. 156 Trinity Ave. SW, Suite 101, Atlanta, GA 30303-3600.

Photo Insertion in  PAF 5.2+ submitted by SARASLEUTH@aol.com One of the things I'd like to know how to do is download photos and other multimedia into my PAF program.  I've never tried to do it.  I'd love to hear how to do it if you have time.

ANSWER: I plan to hook up my laptop to a computer projector, and demonstrate this process in real time during Saturday's meeting. Here are the steps you'll take - ASSUMING you've already got the photo scanned or digitized and saved in a specific folder on your computer's hard disk. I keep all my PAF data and the photos in a folder named:    c:\PAFDATA 

1. Go to EDIT an INDIVIDUAL, then click the MULTIMEDIA button, which looks like a little camera, as shown below.

2. You'll be taken to the MULTIMEDIA COLLECTION for that individual, in my case for Louisa Mae Higgins. Since there are none in the collection, click the ADD button.

3. Decide the TYPE of multimedia object (photo, video, sound clip), then click BROWSE to look around on your hard disk for the file.

4. CLICK on the desired photo (note the option to preview the picture, to be sure you get the right one!) 5. Then click OPEN. 

6.  TYPE AN OPTIONAL CAPTION. Note I've included the woman's maiden name in parenthesis.
7. TYPE AN OPTIONAL DESCRIPTION. Note I've included the time period. I do not know the location where the photo was taken, but it should be in there.
8. CLICK OK.

NOTICE that on the EDIT INDIVIDUAL SCREEN, the multimedia button now has a little box with an asterisk indicating there IS multimedia associated with this individual.

NOTICE on the PEDIGREE CHART SCREEN, the individual now has a small square inserted in the right upper corner of her name box. The black triangle indicates there are notes for these people in my database.

The PAF USERS MANUAL located within the program by clicking HELP provided the following information about acceptable photo file formats:

Share Photos on Your TV submitted by bjsgen@aol.com from Kim Komando's weekly newsletter. "If you're like most, you've got snapshots scattered virtually everywhere. Forget storing them in an album. Today, you can create a slideshow with thousands of pictures, complete with music and commentary, for all to enjoy using your television. There is a learning curve associated with everything in computers. Luckily, this process is not very difficult. You just need the right gear and a small investment of time.

If you're using a relatively new computer equipped with Windows, you  may already have everything you need. The first requirement is a CD  or DVD recordable drive on your computer. Most computers today come with CD recordable drives; a few offer DVD burners. Things are a little tougher if you're using a CD burner. But it's still very doable. You just have to create a Video Compact Disc (VCD).  

A VCD is a CD that can hold up to 80 minutes of pictures and stereo sound on a 700MB disc. Most standalone DVD players, DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drives will play VCDs. VCDs have approximately the quality of a movie on VHS tape. You can put nearly 2,000 pictures on a disk. The actual number depends on the amount of music, commentary, and special effects that you include on the disc. Sounds and effects will decrease the actual number of photos held on a VCD.

CD-RWs, whether they come with a computer or not, include software to burn disks. Many of these programs made for Windows will make VCDs. If yours does not, you'll need a software program for the job.

If so, try VCDEasy http://www.vcdeasy.org  . This program has an excellent reputation, and it is free. If that doesn't work out, Ulead's DVD Picture Show http://www.ulead.com $44.95 will make VCDs, in addition to DVDs. There are other programs, but these are two I tried with success.

If you have a DVD burner, life is simpler. The software included with your DVD drive may have the capability to create photo album slideshows. If not, Ulead's DVD PictureShow program will work. Create your slideshow, burn it to a DVD, and you're ready to play.  

Macs equipped with DVD burners include iDVD 3 and iPhoto 2. Combine these and you have everything you need. If you have a Mac with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW, you can make VCDs with Roxio Toast 5 http://www.roxio.com $90 or Ulead's DVD PictureShow.

Remember that pictures shown on a television do not need to be saved at a high resolution. When you download or scan your pictures to the hard drive, they should be saved at 72 dots per inch or higher. A higher setting probably will not improve the quality of the picture on television. However, pictures should be saved to disk at 150 dpi if you want to print them.

If you're all thumbs when it comes to computers, you can still share photos without burning a disk. X10's Showtime http://www.x10.com  is a Windows-only product that lets you create slideshows that run on a television. It operates wirelessly and is relatively simple to set up.  If your computer's video card has television outs, Showtime's sending unit can hook into them. If not, it uses the monitor's video output port, and your monitor plugs into the X10 unit. The former is $69.99; the video-output unit is $99.99. Showtime includes all necessary cables. The receiving unit plugs into the television. A remote completes the ensemble.

The remote allows you to surf through your pictures. But it can used for other tasks, too. For instance, you can e-mail a collection of photos. However, instead of sending the photos to the recipient, it uploads them to an X10 server.

It sends the recipient an e-mail notification that the pictures are posted. That way, the recipient's e-mail connection isn't clogged with big, unexpected pictures. There is no charge for this service. You can also print photos from the remote. A couple clicks, and the picture is sent to your default printer.

--> MORE ABOUT ME--KIM: You can read my weekly syndicated column in over 100 Gannett newspapers across the country. I also host the three-hour weekend Kim Komando  Show. Every weekday you can hear my "Daily Computer Minute." I write a weekly column for USA Today, too. And I write a weekly column for about 100 newspapers. And then, I write for MSN's bCentral site. Here's a recent article I wrote called "7 things to know before buying a PDA":  http://www.bcentral.com/articles/komando/129.asp 

Library Catalog submitted by RiddickJ@aol.com. I don't know how to do it, but just how to use the online version of Family History Library Catalog would take several sessions at PAF.  ANSWER: I'll give a PowerPoint presentation on using the Family History Library Catalog online to find an original document indexed in a book or CD. This has been a BIG thing for people -- namely the concept of learning to get past these secondary items (such as indexes online or in books on the shelf at the library.) It is possible that important information was lost in the typing-it-up process.

Organizing Census Print-Outs submitted by kayzee@juno.com I have been doing some census research, and am wondering on the best way to keep track of the info I have found and my deductions from that info. There is a suggestion in the Ancestry News I  just received and that sounds pretty good. How would I keep the info separate for each person? Should I print it out? Sure hope to see you Saturday! ANSWER: There are 2 ways to look at how to organize your family history documents. One is to keep all the census records together in a notebook, numbering each with a unique number, and listing them in the table of contents. Phyllis Doucette, a member of our PAF group gave an excellent in-depth study (of printing from Ancestry.com's census images online and filing using this method) at the April meeting of the Manasota Genealogical Society. The second method is to insert a printout or photocopy of the census record in your family history notebooks right after the family group sheet for that family. Either way, be sure to save all originals, photocopies of originals in acid-free top loading sheet protectors. Either way, be sure to list the information from the census record in NOTES or SOURCES for each individual. 

This is PART 1, be sure to see PART 2 as well.
meeting dates & map to the library - members - favorite genealogy links - PAFNews