Family Historian User Group

Just completed a 'Research Notes PLAN' for a visit to National Archives in early August.

I would like to print a hard copy of this research plan to take to Kew on the day. At the moment I can not find how to print a copy of my plan so would appreciate help to know how to print a copy to take?

Click on the Publish icon in the Family Historian 'Menu Bar' > Select Miscellaneous Reports > Research Notes, and make your selection in the pop-up Window.

Mervyn

As a general guide try the Publish > Publishing Tools Finder... command.
Under its Publication Types there is Research Reports and only one Publication Tools option.
Click Open Report and choose the Research Note(s) to include.

I have just had a look at this and personally I believe this is one area deserving much improvement when users work flows are fully considered.

In my previous software I used this feature frequently and the selection requirement can be varied, however a frequent requirement was to Print for particular Repository, Kew being the one in question here, if my case frequently any Open Tasks for Newspaper Library which could be ordered by priority.

I have also had previous software associates express the same frustrations with regard to FH functionality and possibilities so there is much which can be achieved to make this a truly useful feature.

I suspect the frustration experienced by new users of FH is that sometimes features need to be customised to meet the needs of the user rather than being a built-in set of ready-made tools.
e.g.
To select Research Notes by Repository needs some preparation and customisation.

1. Each Research Note needs a labelled text paragraph such as Repository: <link to Repository record>
2. The Records Window for Research Notes needs a custom column configured to list Repositories:
   Heading: Repository
   Expression: =GetLabelledText( %_RNOT.TEXT%, "Repository:" )
3. Then the Research Notes can be sorted on that column and records for a particular Repository easily selected.

Similar customisations are feasible for other research criteria but such features are not immediately obvious to new users or perhaps even to long-term users

Thank you Mervyn and Mike for your help. I have printed off my Research Notes Plan ready for our visit to Kew

I think I am in the Vyger camp.

Having come from TMG over 8 years ago I know that one of the things I missed the most was their To Do List, at least that what I think it was called. I had great hopes when Research Notes were mentioned as a new feature in V7 but it doesn't match up to the TMG version which, although being more prescriptive, could have been made more flexible by CP. To my way of thinking there are quite a lot of standard things that are needed for a Research Note at the outset such as Name, ID, Date created and maybe a dropdown for Fact and/or Source (as it is more than likely that you are prompted by one of those to carry out more research) - all of these could be optional and included in a template if the user needed one.

I have to admit that I haven't looked at Research Notes since just after the launch of V7 - so I may well have missed something. I have just had a look at the Help file on the subject and I have failed to find the Notes Tab or a way of adding it as I must have removed it in frustration at some stage.

If someone finds that they have to type in too many details that can just as easily be done elsewhere it is no surprise that they will be put off. The idea of software is to make the life of a user easier and so far I haven't found this to be the case for Research Notes.

If someone can find a way of making the input easier I will happily change my mind.

brianlummis wrote: ↑

23 Jul 2022 15:36

I have just had a look at the Help file on the subject and I have failed to find the Notes Tab or a way of adding it as I must have removed it in frustration at some stage.

The Notes tab refers to the tabs on the Property Box for Individual, Family, Source and other records.
For Individuals and Families, there are 5 tabs Main, Facts, Notes, Media and All that cannot be removed.
Each Notes tab has an Add Note > Shared Research Note option that allows an existing or New Research Note to be linked.

Thanks Mike, I was expecting to see a Research Notes tab so missed that it was a part of Notes. It still seems a bit clunky to me. For starters, in Research Tasks why not have a date picker to put in the Date or drop downs for Tasks which retain previous tasks (how many times is the task something like Check Parish Register or Visit Repository). Then in Research Plan, having just come from the Notes Tab on the Property Box for an individual, why isn't the name of the Focus Person automatically filled?

I think that it is that type of automation that is missing from FH which with a little more thought could have been included. Perhaps I may be lucky in V8 but I am not sure I have that long, based on the gestation period for V7

There is no reason why CP could not add significant Research Note features to FH V7 sooner rather than later.
See Tools > Manage Autotext... > Research for the three existing examples.
However, I agree that auto-populating some of those autotext fields would be better and similar to DEAs for Source Citations.

tatewise wrote: ↑

23 Jul 2022 17:45

I agree that auto-populating some of those autotext fields would be better and similar to DEAs for Source Citations.

DEAS are plugins -- so we need an equivalent plugin... [Note to self: pull finger out and update RP]

brianlummis wrote: ↑

23 Jul 2022 17:00

Thanks Mike, I was expecting to see a Research Notes tab so missed that it was a part of Notes. It still seems a bit clunky to me. For starters, in Research Tasks why not have a date picker to put in the Date or drop downs for Tasks which retain previous tasks (how many times is the task something like Check Parish Register or Visit Repository). Then in Research Plan, having just come from the Notes Tab on the Property Box for an individual, why isn't the name of the Focus Person automatically filled?

I think that it is that type of automation that is missing from FH which with a little more thought could have been included. Perhaps I may be lucky in V8 but I am not sure I have that long, based on the gestation period for V7

I agree and intend to present something similar to CP. It's hard not to compare software and functionality when describing needs but one main objection that has been fed to me is the "lack of visibility" of Research Notes.

Similar to brianlummis I would have expected a Research Notes Tab but failing that and Research Notes appearing in the Notes Tab then some colour highlighting of that tab when additional information exists would appear necessary. Rootsmagic has an icon indication when a Task is present (Research Note or To-Do) and FH users can hardly be expected to open every Notes tab just to check and starting to run queries and click around elsewhere, we need a PostIt.

We also need the ability to save customised workspace layouts.

Would go a long way towards enabling the different ways of working that people 'need'.

some colour highlighting of that tab when additional information exists would appear necessary

Can you enlarge on this? It feels a bit scattershot to rely on checking the property box for tasks to do -- I'd start from a query if I was in 'researching' mode, rather than 'data entry' or 'data review' mode... but then we all work differently. Wouldn't it also get highlighted if an 'ordinary' Note existed, as the two sets of Notes co-exist (and indeed some people will continue to use Notes rather than Research Notes for portability).

From a filtered Query, or possibly the Record Window Research Notes tab customised to show labelled text (so I can sort) and filtered (with a convention that the Title starts with the name of the individual) I can open a task and access links to view the Individual, the Source, and the Repository in the property box (because of how the autotext is defined).

Would your postit have a single task on it/How would that task be chosen if an individual had say a dozen tasks (as many of mine do)?

ColeValleyGirl wrote: ↑

23 Jul 2022 19:30

We also need the ability to save customised workspace layouts.

Could that be merged with the much earlier Preserve all Workspace and Window Characteristics that has many more Votes?

It could, if you can preserve the different aspects of them both and reconcile the voting so that nothing is lost