Family Historian User Group

I have Windows 10 on a laptop that I use very rarely. I really don't like 10 but now am going to bite the bullet and install it on ?some? computer as I anticipate possibly installing Windows 11 upgrade that is already here. My question is - should I buy a new computer so as to be quite a bit more "up to date". I currently have an 8 year old Dell Inspiron computer with Windows 8.5 with the Windows 7 classic appearance. I have plenty of room on this computer but it is tending to run slow. I've had different suggestions from two of my more technically oriented children; one says buy a new one, the other says I don't need a new one. [I'm in the very upper senior age group]. I did install FH v.7 - didn't like it and went back to V.6.2. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Best to all FHUG contributors!
GSB

I have started a new thread for this as it is quite a different topic.

My general advice is to ignore Windows 11 for the time being.
Some users have experienced problems with it, as is often the case with a new product.
Windows 11 will probably not install on your 'elderly' PC anyway.

Windows 10 is fully supported until 2025 and I advise that you don't mix Windows versions on your different PC.
My situation is similar to yours. My Dell Inspiron is older than yours and runs Windows 10 OK. I retired over 10 years ago.
The only upgrade I have fitted to the Dell is an SSD C: drive for installed programs that sped it up and was quite cheap.

You can still upgrade from Windows 8.2 to Windows 10 for free and it will probably run faster. Mine did.
I can provide details that either you or your children can follow.

I recommend persevering with FH v7.0 as it can behave almost the same as FH V6.2 but with a few useful bells & whistles.
What was it you did not like?

I recommend persevering with FH v7.0 as it can behave almost the same as FH V6.2 but with a few useful bells & whistles.
What was it you did not like?

Mike, you spent some time helping goodwin2 revert to V6 a year ago. See Uninstall Version 7 and revert to Version 6 (18723)

I had forgotten that, but it was a year ago, and FH v7.0 has moved on somewhat since then and there is better advice on how to use it in FH v6.2 compatible mode. It would still be useful to know what the issues were, as they were not discussed last year.

Thanks for your input on new computer needed or not. The suggestion not to buy a new one from one of my children was that Norton running all the time is the issue of runs SLOW - get rid of Norton and see if that gets it to run faster. Haven't tried that yet.

Your question re why I didn't like 7 - it didn't show notes as I like to have them displayed - and possibly had a problem with the sources. Sorry, don't remember all the issues.

But am hoping to attach a copy of how I access and use my program. I do all the adding as shown on the right side. When I have a census as a source, I put the details in notes. Such as John Doe, Source:1930 census for Somewhere, USA, Note: John and wife were living in Somewhere, USA. He was a farmer.

Don't know if this answers your question re why I didn't like 7. Can't see all the previous posts here but if FH v.7 can be displayed? as FH v.6.2 perhaps that would work for me. Is that sort of like I have Version 7 of Windows as an overlay on my computer so don't need to deal with Verion 8. Hopefully, getting that installed and working isn't another long term "I need help" project.

I agree that ditching Norton is a good idea. The Windows 10 built-in Microsoft Defender is perfectly adequate and free.

I'm not clear what problem you had with Notes in general. In FH V7 they are very much the same as in FH V6, but with optional word-processor style formatting, i.e. fonts, bold, italic, underscore, colours, lists, alignment, tables, hyperlinks, autotext, etc...

Many users migrating from FH V6 to FH V7 need help to adjust the yellow Source Citations display to mimic FH V6.
It has cropped up many times in the Forum and I'm surprised that customisation is not in the FHUG Knowledge Base.
See the entry for Mimic FH V6 Source Citation Pane in FH V7 (20233) that explains the process.
It seems long-winded, but once set up needs little further adjustment.

tatewise wrote: ↑

22 Jan 2022 11:54

Many users migrating from FH V6 to FH V7 need help to adjust the yellow Source Citations display to mimic FH V6.
It has cropped up many times in the Forum and I'm surprised that customisation is not in the FHUG Knowledge Base.

Customisation of the Source Property Box and Citation Window are discussed in the Knowledg Base here:
Customising V7 to use V6 (Simple) Style Sources.
That will appeal to many users, regardless of whether (in V6) they liked to have the Property Box floating or docked, and regardless of whether they had the V6 'Sources for' pane below or to the left of the Property Box.

What is not mentioned in the KB is the possiblility of arranging the positions of the Citation List pane and the Citation Window to mimic V6, and perhaps that should be added. However, it mimics the particular V6 scenario where the Property Box was always docked and the V6 'Sources for' pane was always to the right. That suits some users, but personal preference depends a lot on the size of the screen being used and the scaling of the display.

Sorry Lorna, but that KB page says absolutely nothing like Mimic FH V6 Source Citation Pane in FH V7 (20233) describes.
The KB article focuses mostly on using Customize Property Box for the SOURCE record (and the Citation Window) and none of that is anything to do with making them display like the FH V6 Sources For pane.
I don't understand why it mentions the Source record at all because with the FH V7 Citation Window you never need to go there.

Mike, I think you must have speed-read Lorna's response, and missed the bit where she said:

What is not mentioned in the KB is the possibility of arranging the positions of the Citation List pane and the Citation Window to mimic V6, and perhaps that should be added.

before pointing out that your proposal is only applicable to that subset of users that want the particular layout you address.

Re

I don't understand why it mentions the Source record at all because with the FH V7 Citation Window you never need to go there.

I'll defer to Lorna (who provided the content for that article) but it's aimed at people who don't want to use the V7 Citation window!

In this thread, GSB makes it clear he is using the FH V6 Sources For pane to enter all the details including Citation Notes.
So he would appear to be a Method 2 user where visibility of the Citation-specific details is more important than the Source record details, so customising the Source record Text From Source is of little or no interest.
The KB article makes no mention of whether it suits Method 1 or Method 2 users. I suspect it is aimed at Method 1.
It only mentions customising the Citation Window in passing; not even how to open it.
As far as I recall, all the migrant problems, probably Method 2 users, in this and the group.io forums have focussed on the floating windows layout first presented by BillH.

Mike, I was drawing attention to the fact that the KB does have some information about mimicking V6 (customising the contents of the main tab of the Citation Window and Source Property Box) and I then said (agreeing with you) that information about arranging the position of the windows, as you describe, should probably be added.

As Helen has recognised, I wanted to make the point that your suggestion won’t suit everyone because not everyone worked with your layout in V6.

On the other hand the customisation of the main tab of the Citation Window and Property box will suit anyone who wants to mimic V6. Without that customisation the data entry cannot be done in the V6 way because of the need to switch tabs in the Citation Window.
(EDIT: you have just said the same yourself in another topic Customize Citation Window Problem (20234): "....customising the Citation Window to allow variable height Text From Source and Note fields is crucial to mimicking the FH V6 Sources For pane. It also avoids the need to visit the Text From Source and Notes tabs, where the user must repeatedly select the same drop-list options if they are dedicated to Method 1 'Source Record Only' mode, or similarly for Method 2 'Citation-specific Only' mode.")

I don't understand why it mentions the Source record at all because with the FH V7 Citation Window you never need to go there.

Well, if you want to work in the V6 way you do need to go there. I often work in the V6 way when creating sources. I sometimes create a source but don’t use it immediately, maybe not for several days. So all I need at that stage is the Property box. I find it much too cramped to have the Citation Window squeezed into the bottom right corner. But I can create a Source in the Property Box easily, without opening the Citation Window at all.

The point is that people used V6 in a variety of ways, and those methods can be mimicked in V7 in a variety of ways.

Can I ask Lorna and Mike to report their eventual conclusions at Mimic FH V6 Source Citation Pane in FH V7 (20233).

Thanks so much for all your suggestions, comments, etc. Lots there to digest. Looks like I also need to go to KB for some more details that hopefully will be of help.

The get rid of Norton will go over well with my daughter - she has been suggesting that for some time. Unfortunately, it will have been somewhat of a waste of money since my subscription goes to next October. Oh, well.

I'm now thinking of putting FH v.7 on my other computer so I can do some experimenting and using all the good advice here. Project for next week.

Thanks again. Will always come here for info before I do ANYTHING to make changes in my FH program.

Best to all!!

Just beware that the GEDCOM format and customisation settings for FH V6 versus FH V7 are incompatible.
Do not try synchronising Projects or migrating customisations between FH V6 and FH V7. Keep them separate.
It is a one-way street from FH V6 to FH V7 as you discovered before in Uninstall Version 7 and revert to Version 6 (18723).