Below is a summary of what the new historical records search form offers and how to use it. Most users will find this new form simpler to use, more intuitive to interact with and more powerful than the older forms.
- The new search form combines all the simplicity of the old basic form with all the power of the old advanced form and more. It puts it all in one place, rather than having to go to two pages.
- It enables the power of multi-event and multi-relationship searching. For example, you can now search for a marriage record listing a marriage date & place and enter both the spouse and parents names. You can now find a specific census record by entering an estimated birth date and a residence place.
- It makes visible all the search options you have as a user by eliminating drop down menus which hide your available search options. It no longer requires a mouse move and a click to discover what data you can search on.
- This release includes many search algorithm enhancements which improves ranking of results, more accurate place searching, new place, name and data standardization, and improved exact and wildcard searching,
- The search form requires much less user interaction to use. The new form uses no drop down menus. You just place your cursor in the first field when you open a data entry row, requiring only one mouse move and one click to begin entering data. In contrast, for most users, the old forms required a click to change to the advanced form, a mouse move to select the drop down, a click to select the data type, a mouse move and a final click to select the data entry field before they could begin typing.
- The row and field that contain your cursor are highlighted to assist all with visual orientation and make it easier for those with diminished eyesight.
- In date To/From fields, it ONLY auto-populates the "To" field if you fail to enter a "To" date before clicking elsewhere on the form. It auto-populates the "To" field to let you know it defaults to an exact search on the entered year rather than an open-ended search from the year entered to the present.
