* Trying to use 'Hints'

[AlanFlint]

Dear All,

Firstly, I am trying to take advantage of the Hints that are now available in FH. The first time that I click on any particular Find My Past Hint I always seem to get the message:

"Oops, something went wrong - please try again later"

When I refresh the link it works, and I am then offered however many Hints are available. Is this a known issue? Has anyone else experienced the same problem?

Secondly, when I try to 'Review' any of the offered links I receive the following message:

"Error updating hint information, please try again later."

Also, if I attempt to download any of the offered record images, nothing happens. No download seems to be taking place.

Does anyone know the reasons why these errors may be occurring?

Regards,

Alan

[Valkrider]

Are you using the in built browser or an external one?

If external which browser and version?

I often get this with Firefox on Mac but Safari is OK.

[AlanFlint]

I am using Firefox v56.0 on a Windows 10 OS. I will try using Google Chrome and report back whether that is any different.

Thanks for the quick response.

Alan

[tatewise]

For general advice see how_to:internet_data_matches|> Internet Data Matches which offers other ways to find missing records.

You say you are using Firefox, so presumably you have set Location to Display Matches to External Web Browser rather than internal Web Search Window.

If you visit FindMyPast directly, do downloads work satisfactorily?

Unfortunately, the FindMyPast 'hint' interface does seem to suffer from these glitches from time to time.

[AlanFlint]

Many thanks tatewise for your words of wisdom. I should have thought of looking there first I guess, but it didn't occur to me. I looked in the Knowledge Base as you suggested, then found the setting in FH, and lo and verily behold when I next tried a hint everything worked fine, no more error messages!

I hope this answer may help others.

Once again, thank you!

Regards,

Alan

[AlanFlint]

.....You say you are using Firefox, so presumably you have set Location to Display Matches to External Web Browser rather than internal Web Search Window.

Just a further comment... As I inferred in my previous comment I did change the setting in 'Location to Display Matches to External Web Browser', but observing in the Knowledge Base that the Internal Web Search Window is only fully functional if the browser being used is Internet Explorer, it raised a thought in my mind. The Internet is replete with many reports that the use of Internet Explorer is in rapid decline. Many review sites confirm this. I wondered whether there is any thought being given to allowing the use of other browsers in the Internal Web Search Window?

I accept that it would be impossible to make allowances for every browser out there, but allowing the use of Google Chrome which has now become the most popular browser by a country mile, together with Firefox (which I use) and Safari would be a step forward, in my opinion.

Coming back to the use of Hints, am I missing something here? When I click on the link to 'Accept' a Hint, I presently cannot see that the transcription/image being referenced is then automatically noted as a source record. I can, and have, downloaded particular images of Indexes etc, these I can, of course, import as a media file.

I am trying to understand how to do these things correctly, so please forgive any misunderstandings on my part.

I look forward to any thoughts and clarification on the above.

Regards,

Alan

[Valkrider]

Alan

Hints do not update your Family Historian database. If you find that a hint is in fact correct you need to create a fact / use Ancestral Sources etc to create the record in Family Historian. There is no auto linking that is up to you to do.

[tatewise]

I reinforce what Colin has said. There is nothing 'magic' about 'hints'. They are simply a shortcut to finding records in FindMyPast or MyHeritage. An accepted 'hint' needs its image downloaded and Source record and Facts created exactly as if you had searched manually. They are NOT like Ancestry hints that have options to automagically add Source links.

It is for those reasons that the Lookup Missing Census/BMD Plugins can be just as effective, if not more so.

Regarding the internal Web Search Window, currently Windows programs, such as FH, have no option but to use a special Shell interface to the Internet Explorer browser engine. There are no programmer tools that allow your default browser in an FH window. If there were, then FH would not bother with the Location to Display Matches option, and would just use your default browser internally as you suggested. This Shell Internet Explorer engine is not identical to the IE browser, but uses the same settings. The IE engine is more fundamental to Windows than many users realise. It underpins not just the IE browser, but also File Explorer, the Desktop, etc.

[RuthArcher1962]

Sorry to butt in on this discussion but I am also confused about Hints from FMP. Am I to understand that when I click to accept the hint does the record not attach itself to FH?

[tatewise]

Correct Ruth, it is simply a filtered search. There is no automatic download or attachment.
If you accept the hint, it just shows you the online record.
You must then download the details & image to your PC, and create the Source Citations manually, in exactly the same way as if you had found the online record by any other means.
Did you see the advice in how_to:internet_data_matches|> Internet Data Matches.

You are probably thinking of the FMP website hints that are semi-automatic.
That is because the FMP tree and records are all web based within the one product.
However, to add personal photos to your FMP tree, or add sources found on another website, you have to do that manually.