* Upgraded to v4 - Have I Been Done?

[Phil_Edmonds]

Hi all, right, I have been a strong supporter of this software since I bought v2. Last week I confidently bought the new version (online), and I have to say I am disappointed. I hope I’m missing something here, and perhaps contributors can give me some tips to answer my issues? Otherwise, I’m £35 down and I’ll go back to v3.

Here are my gripes:

1)      Focus window – what is the point of this? I rapidly figured out how to turn it off by default. But it still pops up when you don’t want it. I suspect this is an attempt to make the software more “user-friendly” and look like some of the other rubbish software out there. We don’t need it, we were clever enough to use the old version very well; it did everything we needed (well, almost, see later gripes!).
2)      Projects. A major, major gripe. I have my various projects neatly organized – there’s a top-level folder called Genealogy. Under that, a folder for each family whose history I am currently researching. And I store every file (image, notes, you name it) in each of those folders. So, in other words, I had everything stored in projects. Now, I’m not quite sure where anything is. I followed the instructions to migrate a project to the new system, and spent the last few days backing up my old files. Luckily, the PC hasn’t died in this period. I now have to move everything around and change all my backup software etc. to point to where FH has decided to stick things. And I’m computer-literate, who knows how many customers have parted company from some of their vital data and won’t know until their current machine conks out.
3)      Properties window – where is the details tab? This was very useful, to stick some easy details in.
4)      Properties window - I now have to go to the main menu and select Add-Parents to add parents to someone? Where is the very useful button near the top? Who thought this change up?
5)      Where is the query facility? It can just about be found, why has it disappeared from the Tools menu?
6)      There is still no text-formatting function available. I want to be able to format the text in reports and text schemes, similar to that (say) in Word – sentence case, lower case, upper case etc. e.g. FormatText(“text template”,TextToFormat) (programmer-speak, sorry).

I could go on. To comment on a reviewer, “the best just go worse”. In my opinion.  I’m really hoping that someone can just come back here with a few quick tips to get it working for me the way it was before!

Kind regards, Phil.



ID:4309

[Jane]

1. Yes it was to make the software more user friendly. As you have discovered you can turn it off. All the V4 information makes it clear this has been added.

2. You can change the Project Default folder using Project Window/More Tasks button then Change Project location. Also you don't need to use the Projects, unless you want to the CD or Web functions, and you don't need to move your media in unless you want to. See how_to:v4:understanding_projects

3. To add the Details Tab back in select the Options button on the Property Box and Customise and use the V3 compatibility button this will add the Details Tab, remember with V4 you can define and use you own custom tabs as well.

4. I am missing something, the blue up to parents button is still there.

5. You could just click the Queries Icon on the tool bar, or use the View/Query Window menu option

6. No there isn't and it was not suggested any where than there would be. I have not seen even a wish list item for text formatting functions such as the one you suggested.

[nsw]

Jane said:
1. Yes it was to make the software more user friendly. As you have discovered you can turn it off. All the V4 information makes it clear this has been added.

For me the most useful thing about the focus window is being able to immediately see the ancestors and descendants (for a small number of generations) which is quicker and easier than swapping over to a tree view as was necessary in version 3.

Jane said:
6. No there isn't and it was not suggested any where than there would be. I have not seen even a wish list item for text formatting functions such as the one you suggested.

However, the wish list item to allow formatted text (e.g. columns, bold, etc.) in notes and sources is very high in the wish-list. This has been my number one missing feature of Family Historian for 6 years now and I get very frustrated that such a basic feature is missing.

[margarita]

When I first up-graded to V4 I couldn't see the point of the Focus Window.

But, gradually, as time has passed I have come to use it more and more. I like the facility of finding out, quickly, the relationship between myself and the person I am dealing with.

It's also the best way I have found of adding sibling when you don't know who the parents are.

Regards,

maggie

[Jane]

Nick Walker said:
This has been my number one missing feature of Family Historian for 6 years now and I get very frustrated that such a basic feature is missing.

I would like text formatting as well, my comment was directed at the fact Phil says he has been ripped off, when in actual fact there was nothing in the V4 release notes which implied rich text formatting had been added to the program.

[brian1950]

Phil,

I've just read this thread: Jane, Margarita and Nick have beat me in making all of the points I would have written, especially with regard to Projects and not having to use FH v4's file organisation if you don't want to.

Like you I was happy with FH v3. So I was very circumspect when looking at v4's features, but eventually made the change. I'm pleased I did, simply because for the majority of the time v4 has made my life easier and improved my work-flow more than v3 ever did.

I love the Focus Window, especially its ability to have more than one photograph attached to an individual: a 'timeline' of photos remind me of the person's life I am researching. When I don't need the Focus Window, I switch it off... Then there's Media Window, which is a doddle to use... the Query Window, which makes working with data a breeze, especially when downloading Custom Queries.

I recognise we all have different ways of working and FH might not be to everyone's taste. For some it has a steep learning curve. Are there 'niggles' and inconsistencies? Yes, there are. Could FH be improved. Absolutely.

Finally, it's too late, now, but if £35 seems money wasted, there was the option of a free 30-day v4 trial.

Regards,

Brian

[ejp]

Thanks Jane!
I also sorely missed the 'go to parents' button - didn't realise what the little blue arrow was!!

[nsw]

Jane said:
I would like text formatting as well, my comment was directed at the fact Phil says he has been ripped off, when in actual fact there was nothing in the V4 release notes which implied rich text formatting had been added to the program.

Absolutely Jane I understood that, I thought it was worth making the point that another text formatting wishlist item does exist.

I'd also add that it cost less than £20 to upgrade from version 3 so I didn't begrudge that. I didn't see a need to pay for the full boxed version at £35.

[PeterR]

Phil,
Two significant enhancements added in v.4, but not mentioned above, are (i) Fact Queries and associated additional functions, and (ii) the built-in facility to Save as PDF which is especially useful to get a large tree diagram on to a single page.

[AnneEast]

Persevere! You'll soon get used to any new bits. Mostly you can use it in exactly the same way as v3.

I was a bit stalled by the changes at first but the benefits - yes the Projects!!!!! - do outweigh the further learning curve in my opinion.

Anne

[Phil_Edmonds]

Hi Jane, many thanks to you and everyone who have responded so quickly!

I don't think I used the phrase 'ripped-off', did I? This is still my favourite FH software, just a bit thrown by the changes and looking for a bit of help.

I've changed the projects default folder, but I can't see that anything has been moved again? What should I do? I'm now in limbo-land, where are the latest versions of all my files?

I can't find '3. To add the Details Tab back in select the Options button on the Property Box and Customise and use the V3 compatibility button this will add the Details Tab, remember with V4 you can define and use you own custom tabs as well.
'
an options button on the property box, where should I be looking?

'up-to-parents'. Yes, thank you for explaining, it just says 'Up' if you hover the mouse over it. And I thought that would take me to the dratted Focus Window. There isn't an 'Add Parents>>' button like there used to be.

Please could we have queries back on the Tools->Menu menu bar (can't check where it was exactly now:-)

With regard to other comments made by user groups members, I shall certainly look into the new features which (so far) I haven't investigated. Save as PDF I already had, check out http://www.pdf995.com/.

Many thanks for all your help, Phil.



I'll report

[ejp]

Blue up button.
As I've just discovered, if you use this & there is no parents, a box pops up asking if you wish to add one. If there is only one parent you add the spouse as usual. I did not persue this as, like Phil, I assumed this was the purpose of the focus window.

[Jane]

>

Once you have changed where it looks, just use Windows to copy the Folders from Documents/Family Historian Projects to your new location

>

Top right corner of the Properties box is the normal Options icon, same as on Queries the customise option is on that menu.


>' button like there used to be.>>

The old button just said Parents, I can't see an Add Parents button.


Menu menu bar >>

Personally I prefer it where it is now, also I never used it as I just press the icon on the tool bar.


The Focus Window is called using the magnifying glass icon.

When I get any new software, my first job is to press every button I can find to see what it does.

[Phil_Edmonds]

Many thanks for your help. Although I'm not sure the advice to press every button on new software is such a good idea, on some software I've bought it would have been a recipe for disaster!

[mezentia]

Text formatting HAS been requested on numerous occasions: I've raised it before, and again recently in respect of improving the quality of narrative reports, so I'm sorry Jane, but its a bit disingenuous to say it hasn't. I strongly suspect however, this issue might seriously conflict with the 100% GEDCOM compatibility claim, so a quite profound decision needs to be taken as to whether 100% GEDCOM is a realistic long-term objective for FH, or whether a different approach needs to be taken in terms of the underlying database structure, for example to hitch the waggon to GEDXML or even a proprietory database structure. Whilst most of use are primarily interested in the genealogical aspects of research (you may flame me if this is an assumption too far [wink][wink]), a good many I'm sure are also interetsed in presenting their research in context, for which good presentation facilities are needed for both unstructured and multimedia information not always necessarily related to individuals. I've been using a windows Help generator recently to document an Access application I'm working on and the ability to create a document with internal and exteral linking, keyword and text search facilities, embedded and external images, full text formatting, tables and output to Word, HTML, and PDF is terrific. (And it's free!) The same kinds of facility for notes in FH4 would more than make it a market leader, it would put it light-years ahead of the opposition: in my own humble opinion of course.[smile]


The structure of the media folder on migrating a project was not well though out, as witnessed by the number of people who, like myself, had a well-considered structure relevent to their own research methodologies in place for FH3. It would have been nice if the structure was replicated in the migration, or at least, we were given the option. I'm now faced with re-organising several thousand images - to the point I'm considering if it's worthwhile creating an FH4 media management application that will automatically check/correct/reorganise missing/changed multimedia references in FH4 GEDCOM files.

David

[mezentia]

Sorry, I forgot to add that otherwise I'm delighted with FH4[smile] !

David

[Jane]

Just to clear up, I did not say text formatting had not been asked for I said that functions to change text case etc had not been asked for previously, which is what the original poster was asking for.

[hsw]

David,

Some points:

1. Jane never said that formatted text hadn't been requested; only that the release note for V4 did not say it was included.

2. I replicated my existing folder/file structure in the migration to V4 using the option available -- can you explain the problems you had. (I do agree that the move to the project structure in V4 seems to have been the most problematic aspect of it for many people).

3. (If you want to answer this) I have an Access application to document -- can you tell me which tool you've been using?

Helen

[hsw]

The interval between reading a post and replying is variable, but almost always shorter that the time taken for others to respond!

[nsw]

Family Historian does copy the existing folder structures over to the media folder. The most dangerous thing about this though is that it only copies the files that are linked to the GEDCOM. Any files you may have in those folders that haven't been linked won't be copied over e.g. I had a lot of census images I hadn't yet got round to linking. My IT competence is good but I very nearly missed that. I bet a number of people have ended up deleting their original media folder without noticing that not everything has been copied over. I found the easiest thing was once it had copied the files over (ensuring the file links were correct) I then deleted the contents of the project media folder and then manually copied my original media folders into it. This ensured that all media, linked and unlinked, was included. However, I don't think that this level of IT competence should be expected of a user.

[hsw]

Agreed about the level of competence expected of a user, Nick.