How do I attach record hints to a person in Family Tree?

Article Id: 1590
April 23, 2024

Record hints are a great way to enhance your ancestors’ stories on Family Tree. Hints appear on an ancestor's profile or on a historical record whenever the system detects a match between profiles in family tree and historical records. You can examine the hint and decide whether to attach the profile and record.

Attach all accurate record hints, even if they appear to be duplicates. Use the "not a match" button only if the source contains no information about the ancestor.

Steps (website)

  1. Find a hint. You can find them in three main places:
    • On the home page in the Record Hints list.
    • In Family Tree, click the record hint icon, and then click Review and Attach. Icons are in these places:
      • The Landscape, Portrait, First Ancestor, or Descendancy views show record hint icons, which look like this: or The Fan Chart view shows record hints if you click Research Helps. If someone has record hints, the tile turns blue.
    • When you search historical records, click the Family Tree hints icon in the search results. The icon looks like this: .
  2. On the Source Linker page, make sure that the people on the left line up with the people on the right.
    1. On the left side of the screen, find the misaligned person, and determine where the person goes.
    2. If a section is collapsed (not expanded), click the Open link and move the record to the proper place.
    3. Click the misaligned person’s name and hold the mouse button down.
    4. Drag the person to the correct place on the screen.
  3. If the wrong spouse or parents are displayed on the right side of the screen, change to the correct information:
    1. Click Change Spouse or Change Parents.
    2. Click the correct spouse or parents. 
    3. If the historical record identifies a spouse or parents not in Family Tree, click None of the above.
  4. Determine if the record hint is a good match:
    1. For each person, click the Compare link (paperclip icon) if the section does not automatically open.
    2. Compare the names, dates, relationships, and locations.
    3. Decide whether the record hint on the left is about the person or family on the right. If it is, continue. If it is not, click Not a Match, enter an explanation, and click OK.
  5. If the record hint is a good match, attach it to every person in the Family Tree that it matches:
    1. Return to the focus person and click the Compare link between the two sides of the screen.
    2. If the record contains details that are missing from Family Tree, click Add. As you add details to the Tree profile, you can edit dates and places for accuracy.
    3. Enter a reason statement.
    4. Click Attach.
    5. Repeat this step for every person on the historical record.
  6. To attach the source to in-laws, grandparents, or other relatives not on the current screen, change the focus person:
    1. On the left side of the screen, click Change Person.
    2. Click a new focus person.
    3. On the right side of the screen, make sure that the same person is selected. If not, click Change on the right side of the screen.
  7. To see if the actual record contains any additional information at the top of the source linker, click View Image.
  8. When dates or places are incomplete, you can fix them.
    • Modify a date or place.
    • Add a detailed note that explains your change.

Steps (mobile app)

  1. In the Family Tree mobile app, find a record hint icon. You can find them in these places:
    • On the Ancestors with Tasks list.
    • On Descendants with Tasks lists.
    • With a person’s details, at the top of the screen, above the name.
  2. Tap the record hint icon, then the record you want to compare, and then Compare.
  3. Compare the information on both sides of the screen.
  4. If the information on the left (the document) is not in Family Tree and you want to add it, use one of the following:
    • Add: Tap and add missing information to Family Tree.
    • Pencil icon: Tap and edit the Tree information. Or replace what is in Family Tree with what is in the document.
  5. If the document matches the person from the tree, tap Yes, Attach. Otherwise, tap Not a Match.
  6. If the document also contains information about other family members, tap Review Others.
  7. Review each person:
    • If the document is a match but not yet attached to the person, scroll down, and tap Yes, Attach.
    • If the document is not a match, tap Not a Match.
    • If the document is already attached to the correct person, tap Next to go to the next family member.
    • If the document is attached to the wrong person, tap Detach.
  8. When you have reviewed all family members, tap Done.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

Family Tree Lite lacks record hints.

What are record hints in Family Tree?
How do I attach the other people in a record hint in Family Tree?
What do I do with record hints in Family Tree that aren't a match?
How do I add missing family members to Family Tree from record hints?
A source that I want to attach in Family Tree is attached to someone else

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