* [Wish List 638] Find and replace

[mezentia]

I have been making a large number of changes to data in my project that has required extensive use of fine and replace. I would like to suggest the following as improvements to the useability of the find and replace process:

1. The Find and Replace dialogue box should remain open at the completion of the current process, with the criteria still displayed to aid with consecutive find and replace operations.
2. The Find and Replace dialogue box should include an option for the the changes to be displayed or not following completion of the process, rather than a separate dialogue box being displayed once the process has completed.
3. The Look in options on the dialogue box should be left empty rather than pre-selected. I sugget this as I often find my Find and Replace operations are confined to a single location.

[Gowermick]

Option 1 - definitely. I too am working through my source titles in a methodical manner, and having to repeat consecutive Find/Replacements would be made a lot simpler if ALL the options in the Dialogue box were retained between searches.
Option 2. - I would add that when showing 'Match Found' when 'Confirm Replacemnts' option is selected, it would be nice to see what the match would look like after the replacement
e.g. Match Found "Warington, Lancashire", to be replaced with "Warrington, Cheshire"

As it stands now, one has to wait for all the replacements to be made before one can see the results of the replacements, and if one has made a simple error in the Replacement Text, have to delete all the changes and start again

Option 3 - Definitely. Having to untick these options every time gives a potential source of error. I'm sure a user would know what to tick when the time comes, so why set them all as default

[Vyger]

On the face of it Find & Replace in Family Historian is one of the more functional offerings but everything can be improved. It's a function I would use in different programs from time to time so thought a real look and compare was warranted to try and form a value added wish here with the consensus of others.

Option#1, I agree and it is more likely that a user would be making several changes than one, therefore the closing of the UI and the user reopening is counterproductive. This is not the case in some other genealogy programs.

Option#2, I don't see any mainstream programs displaying a before and after and Family Historian does highlight the proposed change on screen before the user confirms. One observation is some other programs maintain display of the Find and the Replace data on screen, Family Historian does not and I believe it would be beneficial if called away mid flow. If the replacement data was in view and the proposed data target highlighted I don't see how the UI could be more informative.

I personally find the Results Window display very informative and always worth checking.

fh-changes.png (34.57 KiB) Viewed 1217 times

Option#3, Fully ticked v fully unticked, well we all work differently and I would not agree with one or the other. What I would suggest is that those user selected options are remembered at least in session to suit individual needs and minimizing changes and clicks. If the remember in session or session to session was implemented then that would reduce a lot of clicking and annoyance while completing a task.

I don't want to hijack the thread but I do have some other comparative suggestions which I believe would make this feature more appealing and productive and help form a comprehensive Wish List item?

[Vyger]

I have looked at a lot of Find&Replace functions across several programs and Family Historian does come out pretty well in the genealogy software comparisons. One important aspect for me is that Find is available via the Ctrl+F shortcut which it is in FH although I would prefer Replace to be also part of that same process via the same shortcut as an additional Tab. At present Family Historian has various dialogue panes associated with this common process, those screens could be trimmed down considerably and consolidated into one.

I am guessing the present design of closing out on completion is to encourage users to check and be happy with any Find&Replace operation performed, this is a good safety net in my opinion. That being said each Find&Replace action could be displayed in separate Results windows but users getting carried away is a valid concern.

Again in comparisons I believe it would be beneficial for both the Find and Replace data to remain in view on the UI. I have been jumping in and out of Find&Replace for several days and was called away once mid flow, on return I was not absolutely sure what my Find data was although I could see the Replace proposal highlighted on screen. Therefore I believe maintaining both the Find and Replace data on screen would be beneficial.

I grabbed some screenshots from another product I use and bundled them together below for illustrative purposes. I have only been using FH for a few years so I do hope other more experienced users jump on this topic with any concerns or further enhancement ideas.

findreplace-visual-mock.png (36.9 KiB) Viewed 1055 times

[Vyger]

Wish List item 638 has been created. Please vote for it to let Calico Pie know if you wish to see this feature introduced.