Family Historian User Group

Hi

I'm a newbie here, I downloaded the trial 30 days ago and bought the full version yesterday.

I've spent the last month scouring Scotland's People for BMD & Census records I want to view, and I'm going to visit Register House next week to start viewing the on-line records there.

As a result I have lots of records I want to view, and I'm wondering what the best way to capture the data would be.

I'm reluctant to pay for copies as the cost will mount up. I have seen loads of sheets to download which would let me transcribe the data manually, and that obviously is an option. However my writing is atrocious, and even I have difficulty reading it afterwards, and if I spend a day filling in forms, it will deteriorate even more.

Next thought was to take a tablet (Android) or Laptop (Windows) and simply use a program like Word or Excel (or even Access) to capture the data straight into a digital form. I'm not looking for it to link into Family Historian. I assume I'll need to transcribe it later at leisure. I believe that doing it into my PC or tablet would let me maximise my time in Register House on searching for my records.

I've searched with Google to see if anyone has written templates or forms for any of these options, but without knowing what I'm looking for there are just too many hits to make sense off.

I'm hoping someone here can point me in the direction of templates for this purpose.

Thanks

Colin

Colin

If you are going to take a laptop with you then get hold of a copy of Genscriber, it is free,from here it has several templates built in, just select 'New document from template' in the File menu.

An alternative is Transcript, also free, available from here but this is just a transcription tool without any templates.

Grab images of the documents you transcribe if that is allowed as they can then be linked to the appropriate records in Family Historian.

Unfortunately neither of these tools I have mentioned run on Android.

Wow that was quick.

Thanks, I'll take a look at both these> A tablet might be easier to use, but I'm fine with taking my laptop.

I'm pretty sure I can't take images. That's why I'm keen to get a good quality record first time.

Thanks again. It's much appreciated. Google can be good, but it often just overwhelms with irrelevant answers.

Colin

Colin, have you checked the facilities described in https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/?

Especially
How to Obtain a Reader's Ticket that requires proof of identity including two passport-sized colour photographs
and
Copying Services that says you can photograph documents so a camera may be a more efficient way of capturing the documents you need

BTW: Most documents can be downloaded from Scotlands People for £1.50 each as explained in https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/our-charges.

Also all the Scotland Census records are online in Ancestry and FindMyPast which may be free to use at your local library.
See research:useful_research_web_sites|> Useful Research Web Sites.

Plus Scotland Census transcripts from 1841 to 1891 are free from https://www.freecen.org.uk/.

As a newcomer I strongly advise you study how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers before entering too much data into Family Historian or Ancestral Sources.

tatewise wrote:... Copying Services that says you can photograph documents so a camera may be a more efficient way of capturing the documents you need ...

It's not totally explicit, since it doesn't confirm the negative, but I think that the use of a camera applies only to the Historical and Legal Search rooms. Since the Censuses and BMDs are in the ScotlandsPeople Centre there, then digital cameras can't be used to capture Censuses and BMDs (which is what Colin thought). I don't have personal experience of the place so can't be certain.

Adrian, you may well be correct, but if so, then what is Colin hoping to transcribe?

See https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/ ... nd-charges.

Hi and thanks for the input.

Yes I have been to the http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk web site, and had a good read through much (but not all) of the introductory info.

It was there that I found the rules that clearly state

1.19 Cameras and mobile phone cameras are not allowed in the ScotlandsPeople Centre search rooms.

This is to be found at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/ ... conditions. So I was fairly sure that I couldn't copy that way. After all they do sell copies and downloads. No one would pay if you could simply snap them on your mobile.

And I am aware that I can download them, but at £1.50 a pop that adds up particularly when many are not of direct interest but you don't find that out until you have paid the money!

I have been looking at FreeCen, but in its old format it is not particularly user-friendly. I also repeated a couple of searches that I had found entries for in Scotlands People web site, and all the ones (5 only I admit) I tried did not return any hits on FreeCen. So my plan for that was to use it to attempt to fill in blanks I cannot find anywhere.

I've also joined a local FH Society so I have access there to both Ancestry and FindMyPast, and I plan to try that also. But I live in Edinburgh, so visiting Register House and paying a flat £15 fee for a full days access seemed a good choice (and also a good way to try the system out).

I will have a look at Knowledge Base > Key Features for Newcomers help area before I start. In fact I have spent the last month trialling 3 software products to understand how they work and creating a small database on each one with the basic recent history that I know well. Most importantly, I liked how FH allowed the user to manage the source info. That swung the sale in their direction. I also attended a Genealogy show and a lecture for beginners at the Scottish Genealogy Centre.

Now I have bought Family Historian, I have wiped those databases, and am starting from scratch with an empty database. I will be populating that with Sourced info in every case from BDM & Censuses, starting with myself and working back. Only then am I going to delve into the many hundreds of pieces of info I hold from other relations. So I do have a plan to work to.

Thanks for the input. It is very much appreciated. I suspect I may have many more questions in the weeks and months to come.

Colin

OK, sounds like you have investigated the options.

Don't overlook ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources for capturing Census & BMD source citations.

Remember the searches on such as Ancestry and FindMyPast and ScottishPeople are free.
So that should allow Census records to be filtered to check their relevance.
However, as you say, BMD Index records do often need the Certificate to check it is relevant.

Thanks Mike

I did download Ancestral Sources when I was using the trial version but it does not work with the trial. As I only got my disk for the full version today, I haven't tried it yet but I will look at it shortly.

That of course does give a minor issue that I can't see an answer to on the FH web. Can I install my single licence on a PC and on my laptop? I've raised a support question with them to check.

Remember the searches on such as Ancestry and FindMyPast and ScottishPeople are free.
So that should allow Census records to be filtered to check their relevance.

I've found that many of the census records cannot be uniquely identified on ScotlandsPeople, so Filtering helps a lot but I'm still left with lot of possibles. Not helped when the main family surname is McDonald or McGillivray, and I'm searching rural Inverness!

I will try Ancestry and FindMyPast before I go into Register House in Edinburgh.

The Calico Pie website states:

"The Software must not be installed on more than one computer terminal at any one time, except that you may install it onto 2 computers (and no more than 2) if both computers are owned and kept by you, and no more than one person ever uses the software at any one time."

See http://www.family-historian.co.uk/licence-agreements

So you can install on PC and laptop as long as you are the only person using the program at any given time.

Colin

Yes you can have Family Historian on your desktop and your laptop BUT you must not be using them at the same time. It is in the Knowledgebase.

Many thanks again.

That will be a big help. I'm used to the same restriction with my Adobe Photoshop licence

Colin

Ancestral Sources DOES work with the trial version of FH, it is just the plugin to start it (Which is not vital, but makes workflow easier) that will not work with the trial version.

Not only can you install FH on two PC but you can synchronise them via fhugdownloads:synchro|> Downloads and Links ~ Synchronise and Backup Tools such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.

The License Agreement is at how_to:about#licence_agreement|> Licence Agreement.

The ancestralsources:index|> Ancestral Sources page mentions both the Program and the Plugin.

Those issues are covered if you explore all the links from how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers.

Colin, did you get an Email saying that there were replies to your original posting, and are you still getting Emails for the more recent replies?

We changed the default setting for new users for that feature two weeks ago but not sure if it is actually working.

Yes thanks, its all working fine. Getting an email regularly.

Just hadn't had time to respond. Will do properly tomorrow am

Colin

With reference to using the search rooms at Register House, Edinburgh or the Mitchell Library Genealogy Centre, Glasgow, I have used these sources and would just like to say that, unlike using ScotlandsPeople online, you CAN view any or all the Certificates/ Census or Old Parish Records you are interested in and note as many details as you like in the time, 9.30-4, for £15 a day. It is permissible to use a laptop or tablet to make notes so you can put record details straight on to the FH programme. I also use templates to note the details as I am no typist!
If you want a copy of a certificate while in the search room, it costs only 50p. You just hit Print at your allocated screen and pay for these at the end of your session. It is not possible to copy all certificates, but the very helpful staff will keep you right. This mainly applies to more recent records, as far as I can remember.
Hope this is a help. It 's a great service- such a pity nothing similar is available in the rest of the UK.

Many thanks.

I'm lucky that living in Edinburgh I can visit at any time. I'm going in tomorrow night for my first visit.

Incidentally, copy prices have recently been reduced. Now 30p per A4.

Colin