Notes from the January 10, 2002 meeting of the Rochester Genealogical Society, Computer Interest Group.

The meeting was opened by Rochester Genealogical Society/Vice President Computer Interest Group, Roy Thurston with a computer slide of the agenda. There were 47 members in attendance.

Jim Hall, Rochester Genealogical Society Membership Secretary, noted that the Winter "Hear Ye, Hear Ye" has been mailed and should have been received by all paid members. Included with this edition are the updated Membership List, the Surname and Contributors Lists and the Audio Tape List. He requested that errors or omissions be brought to his attention for correction in the Spring 2002 issue in early March.
As noted in the meeting announcement, we have lost the copying service provided by Ken Johnson. These notes will be published on the Rochester Genealogical Society Website. The meeting announcements will continue to be a single sheet with limited information unless duplication service is obtained.

Bob Coomber reminded attendees of the trip to Salt Lake City May 5-11th. Contact Bob for reservations and sign-up. Larry Schongar, Rochester Genealogical Society/Vice President, Programs, repeated the scheduled Rochester Genealogical Society meetings for January, February and March as reported in "Hear Ye". The March meeting is rescheduled to March 7th due to activities at the church. The April meeting returns to the 3rd Thursday, but the May meeting is on the 5th Thursday, the 30th. The June meeting will be a picnic, somewhere.

After getting Family Tree Maker, Version 9.0, Jim Hall was aware that a video was available to describe the new features, along with a synopsis of the rest of the program. The video was displayed and the following highlights were noted by Paul Birchfield, the presenter:

He started at the Family Page, describing the existing features, with the most important pieces of genealogical information. The File Menu now shows the most recent used files. He continued adding info, in the fields, more about notes, scrapbook and spouse(s).

Titles are placed in the Lineages page of the MORE menu. Added parents for adoptions are linked here. MEDICAL is a more recent area of concern and can be detailed here. On the ADDRESS form, E-mail addresses can now be entered. The FACTS page lists all the info put on the Family Page, and also multiple facts for the same event, selecting the correct info when research confirms the fact. Adding a NEW FACT will make this field available for all persons in the file.

Scrapbook items are created, up to 2000 per individual. Paul described additions of items to the Scrapbook, with minimal editing. It is recommended that software included in scanners, cameras, etc. be used to prepare images due to the greater variety of features available. Captions can be added.

Printing of Scrapbook items was described, with selection of preferred images for different applications.

Global or single changes of data can be processed by Find and Replace. This is also helpful to correct spelling errors. Recording of a Source for fact is either a Master listing or a specific item from the Source. Citations are highlighted by an X after the name, and an A after a field where there are alternate sources.

Printing of Reports was presented, selecting a standard Hourglass tree. This is popular since it shows both ancestors and descendents for the prime person. There are many options to vary the display. The Contents Menu gives a wide selection of facts or calculations to include in the box on the tree. Text size and type to be displayed can be selected in the Format Menu. Siblings inclusion was next described, giving a more complete picture of the ancestors. Samples of other trees were displayed, selecting the number of generations desired. Zooming in and out allows a better display to decide what size to make the tree. The boxes in the trees can be dragged to either compact or spread out the scrapbook items.

The ALL in One Tree will display all the persons in the file, or the number of generations can be selected. Clicking on a person will give you the Individual Facts Card. This allows editing on the fly.

Source citations can now be associated with an image of a document in the Scrapbook. The Individual Facts Card gives much more flexibility.

Genealogy Reports are narratives of a person's life, prepared from the data in the file. It often is easier to understand than a tree. Again, the Contents Menu of a Report can be very selective, especially when considering the recipient of the report. A Custom Report can be designed to make a special report on a specific individual, with ancestors or descendents. The FIND buttons have arrows designating persons from one list to go to a new list, which can also be manipulated. A new feature is to provide caps for surnames, where desired. The names can also be sorted by various fields.

A Kinship Report will give the relationship among persons in the list. The Contents Menu allows selection of only the closest relationships.

The display of a United States Map, with description of events at the highlighted locations, was noted as a desirable feature in a report. Again, specific locations can be selected. World Maps are also available, for a planning tool for travel.

The Family Book, in the Publishing Center, was described in detail, again listing available features and a secondary list of features to include in the book, similar to a Report. Trees can be added, along with Table of Contents, and Index of location pages for individuals in the Book. There are many options for a font. Special features were noted, such as chapters for more persons or places. All these items can be put on the Internet. Anything that can be printed can be uploaded to a Personal Home Page on the Internet. A sample book was shown. Specific parts of the book can also be downloaded by visitors to your Home Page. Privacy can be protected by limited information available, such as a Name only for living persons.

An Internet Tree is similar to an Hourglass tree, with limited display. Standalone trees can be prepared as GEDCOM files, then exported to the Net, then downloaded if wanted. Only the author can edit a Home Page, with or without a password.

The Family Finder Center was described next, especially the Family Finder Search. This restricts the search to the most likely links. A Family Finder Report gives the most likely matches (5 star) of a person and information. Family Histories can be published by Family Tree Maker as a CD or on the Net in the World Family Tree. Potential matches are highlighted. This information is available on CDs sold by Family Tree Maker/Genealogy.com for about $30. There are about 200 CDs currently available. The top 10 matches are shown as other sources, sometimes with thousands of matches. Contacts can be made when addresses are put in the Home Page. Data is being entered daily onto the Internet, so it is necessary to continue searching. Family Tree Maker will notify you of new matches as they are published. Family Finder Tips gives access to Message Boards that are localized collections of info on the person/surname being searched.

Missing Facts can be searched with a list of suggestions provided by Family Tree Maker. These include addresses, phone numbers, etc. for sources of vital records. Form letters are made available to request data from these sources.

wishes to thank Gloria Church for keyboarding these notes. Also, as you can see, Ken Johnson has moved to a location where he can do the duplication. The continued availability of this service is tenuous, but will be used as long as possible.

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