Best way to have others test a plugin

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 23 Feb 2013 03:14

Mike,

I came across something I wasn't expecting today. In the following scenario.

- Select an individual in FH that has missing census information.
- Run the plugin
- Set it to Anyone via the Record Select dialogue
- Click on Run Census Lookup
- the selected individual is shown on the right side of the Select Records window
- Do not use Add using Query and do not select anyone else from the list on the left side of the Select Records window

I get an error saying No Missing Census found for ancestors of .

First of all, I didn't specify that I wanted to check ancestors anywhere. Does the plugin automatically check ancestors when using the Anyone via the Record Select dialogue option or is this just a carryover from the older versions of the plugin that always checked ancesors?

Also, shouldn't it have found that I was missing census information for the selected individual and displayed those missing censuses rather than giving me an error message at all?

Also, I noticed that the Add Relatives... button is greyed out. Is this to be expected? It seems to only become active if I select someone from the left side of the window, not if they are selected in FH first. If this is the expected processing, then when using this option maybe the plugin should not pass the selected individual to the Select Records window so that you have to select the person from the list so that the button is not greyed out. Or, maybe I am just confused. Wouldn't be the first time.

Thanks,

Bill

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 23 Feb 2013 05:10

Mike,

Found another problem. If I set the options like this:

I still get the column for FindMyPast even though it should be disabled. If I click on one of the FindMyPast buttons, I get a server error:

Thanks,

Bill

johnmorrisoniom · Post by **johnmorrisoniom** » 23 Feb 2013 07:32

I didn't get a server error, but did get the FMP home page.

Post by **tatewise** » 23 Feb 2013 13:03

Well spotted, I always like to include a few deliberate errors [wink]

The No Missing Census found for ancestors of ... message is a hangover from earlier Plugins, and would have said that when no missing Census Records, regardless of the Choose the Individuals to check option.

All variants of the Plugins give No Missing Census found... message when the Individuals being searched have no missing Census Records, bearing in mind that their life dates must overlap the Census years for the chosen Census Records to find anything at all.
So someone born in 1941 would never have any missing Census Records, because the latest Census year is USA 1940.

Your observations about the Add Relatives... button are correct, but the Plugin has no control over the Select Records dialogue other than setting a maximum limit to how many Records can be selected.

The prototype Plugin also gets the Gender filter reversed.
I thought I had found a bug in the earlier versions, and reversed the code.
But now realise the Ancestry site filter is an exclusion filter not an inclusion filter, so the original was correct.

Lookup Missing Census Facts V2.5 should be in the Plugin Store soon.
It adds the Australian NSW Census 1828-1901 and allows any of the eight Ancestry websites to be chosen.
It also allows everyone in the same Relationship Pool as a chosen Individual to be checked, if it were not for a known FH API bug to be fixed in next FH release.

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 26 Feb 2013 21:26

Mike,

Just got the chance to test the 2.5 version of the plugin. The things I reported are fixed. It is working great.

Do you think the 'add relatives' issue is a bug? Should we report this to Calico Pie?

Thanks for all the hard work!

Bill

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 27 Feb 2013 07:49

The add relatives works on the currently selected individual in the left side of the list so make sure you have someone selected on the lists and the button should become active.

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 27 Feb 2013 18:52

Jane,

I guess it just doesn't work the way I would have expected it to. I can understand it working the way you describe if an individual is not passed to the Select Records window.

In this case, however, an individual is being passed to the Select Records window but the Add Relatives... button is grayed out so you can not add relatives to the individual already shown on the right side under Selected Individual Records.

You have to find that individual on the left side and select them even though they are already on the right side. Then you can click on the Add Relatives... button to get them added to the right side.

It seems like this is a little counter intuitive. I would think that if an individual is passed to the window, the individual should be automatically selected and highlighted on the left side and the Add Relatives... button should be active.

Just a thought.

Thanks,

Bill

Post by **tatewise** » 27 Feb 2013 20:59

I am of the opinion it is a bug that should be reported.

The Add/Remove Using Query buttons work on a selection in either left or right pane.
Even more obtuse is that with a right hand person selected, Add Using Query > Ancestors/Descendants does what the Add Relatives > Ancestors/Descendants should do!

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 27 Feb 2013 21:23

Mike,

OK... I'll report it to Calico Pie.

Thanks,

Bill

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 01 Mar 2013 17:27

Here is Simon's response...

'Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. The reason that the 'Add Using Query' and 'Remove Using Query' buttons are ungreyed when the 'Add Relatives' button isn't, is that the former both can make use of the current selection, but don't actually require a selection; whereas 'Add Relatives' always requires a selection. So the former buttons are always available, even if there is no selection, whereas the latter isn't. All 3 buttons currently are designed to work entirely from the selection on the left side.

Incidentally, in case you're wondering, the 2 query buttons only use the current selection if you choose a query that takes a parameter value (e.g. 'All Relatives') in which case the current selection is used as the default value.

I have logged your feedback and we will look into seeing if we can improve the way this dialog works (without creating confusion and potential ambiguity - which is always a risk if a button can be driven from selection in different places). Meanwhile, as a workaround, the quick way of selecting a person on the left side who is currently listed on the right side is just to take note of their record id (shown in the 2nd column) and type that into the Id field above the right side list.'

Bill

Post by **tatewise** » 01 Mar 2013 20:57

Simon's response is perfectly correct.

My earlier observation about the Query buttons using the right-hand selection was mistaken.
It just so happens that when one Individual is pre-selected on the right-hand side in bright blue, they are also often selected on the left-hand side, although in very pale grey, and I did not spot that.

It would be less ambiguous if the Individual selected in bright blue were used by the buttons, regardless of whether they are on the left or right.

However, the Select Records dialogue, when invoked from a Plugin, does NOT obey Simon's rules.
In Lookup Missing Census Facts the Select Records dialogue lists, on the right-hand side, the Individual that was pre-selected in FH.
But if you look closely, no Individual is selected, not even in pale grey, in either left or right side.
Yet an Add using Query for Ancestors/Descendants uses the 'selected' Individual as the Starting Person, which breaks Simon's rule!

Whereas, in FH try selecting any record other than an Individual, and use View > Standard Diagram Types > Ancestors.
In Select Diagram Root the Root Person is blank as expected, so from dropdown choose Browse.
This displays the Select Records dialogue with no selection, not even in pale grey.
Now an Add using Query for Ancestors/Descendants has no Starting Person selected as Simon predicts.

BillH · Post by **BillH** » 02 Mar 2013 00:18

Mike,

I think you should follow up with Simon on this if you think it should be pursued further. I don't have the understanding to really follow up with him. The issue number is 919006 and is called 'odd behavior in the Select Records window'.

Bill

Post by **tatewise** » 03 Mar 2013 22:29

I have followed up [#919006] 'odd behavior in the Select Records window' with Simon.

Meanwhile back at the Plugin, I think I have made it work for all four FindMyPast web sites - UK, USA, Ireland, and Australia.
However, these sites only have usable Census data for UK and USA.

It turns out that they all use a similar URL strategy to the Ancestry web sites.
The exception is www.findmypast.co.uk for the UK Census Records that has a different form input style reverse engineered by Jane.

I expect the Plugin to be available later in the week.

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