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Organizing Your Genealogy Using Computers |
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Introduction
You do not have to have a personal computer to keep genealogy records, but it helps! Computer note keeping offers an important advantage. After typing the information once into the computer, you can use it repeatedly in many different ways. The same information can be used in pedigrees
, family group records, and descendancy charts, and is easily shared for other people to use. Reports and charts are easily updated without extensive retyping. A number of computer programs can help you organize your records on your home computer.
These programs have manuals and/or help screens that will explain how to use them.
Genealogy managment programs, such as PAF 5.0, organize family information into family group records and pedigree charts. These files can be searched by name, date, place, or relationship and show a person's ancestors When you create a new file in a genealogical management program, give it a name you will easily recognize again. Most often people name files by the surname
Be sure to back up your genealogical management program files every time you make changes to the file.
A word processor allows you to create several kinds of documents useful to the family historian:
Make folders and subfolders which are named for the kind of document you are writing. Being careful about folder and subfolder organization will save you much frustration and time wasted looking for a document.
If you have files already set up which are poorly organized, you can think through how you would like to have them organized and then rename the files and reorganize them to create a useful system.
Because scanned images use large amounts of space on your hard drive, it is best to invest in an external storage device on which to store scanned photographic images and documents. Make an index of the photographs. They can be named JonesGeorge1889, JonesLucinda1996, etc. if you identify carefully each photograph in your index, such as:
Your e-mail program should have a built-in filing folder system. Set up folders and drag and drop e-mails with important family information in them into these folders. Set up folders much as you do in the basic file folder system. That is, create folders for locations and folders for family names. Your folders might be named:
Your e-mail program may also have features for address archiving, filtering, and searching e-mail correspondence.
Web sites are valuable aids in family history research. It is not possible to remember where these sites are all located on the Internet. Therefore, use the "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" section on your browser. You can create sub-folders within "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" and name the sub-folders to meet your research interests. Your "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" should have a option to <Export> which allows you to keep a backup copy. Under <Views> , <Toolbar>, activate the "Links" bar or "Personal Toolbar" option to place your most frequently used web links on a toolbar at the top of your browser.
Copyright 2000, by Mary E. Hill, AG, MLS (also known as Mary E.V. Hill, AG, MLS). All rights reserved. No part of this work may be translated or reproduced in any medium now known or hereinafter developed without the express written permission of the copyright holder. Printed in the U.S.A.
Uses of Computers
Genealogical management program
and descendants. The GEDCOM feature of genealogical management programs allows you to share genealogical information with others.
or portions of the surnames they are tracking in that file, i.e.
, Pedigree Resource File, and place it on a web site to preserve your family information.
Word processor files of family history information
can be written and edited easily.
show the chronology of a family's life events.
show your analysis of research progress on a specific family.
can be written and edited easily.
Scanned images of photographs and documents
E-mail correspondence
Web site bookmarks
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 4/3/2006]