Archive | Updates

Three New “Source List” Improvements

The ResearchTies source list has a new format. Rather than separate columns, the source citation fields have been placed together in bibliographic format. This allows users to copy and paste a bibliographic citation into other works with minimal editing. Remember, the author and title are recorded separately so that they can be used in the dropdown boxes of ResearchTies, and the remainder of the source citation for any source is recorded in the “Additional Citation Details” field. If users record the additional details in bibliographic format, the source list will be accurate.

Entries in the list can be sorted by repository, record type, or author. (If the list is sorted on the source citation column, the effect is an author sort, because the author is the first entry in the citation field.)

Second, it is now possible to display titles in italics. A checkbox has been added to the source template for users to indicate when a title should be italicized.

A third improvement is that the source’s URL has been added to the list. In the past, the URL was recorded in the source template, but it was not visible on the source list. With the URL now showing on the list, it is possible to use the source list as a bookmark list for all the sources you have used. Whether you use FamilySearch, Ancestry, or other sites for research, it takes many clicks to drill down to sources that you use regularly—especially censuses. Use the source list in ResearchTies to record the URL of the search page for each source. When you want to search it again for a different person, open the list, click on the link, and you are ready to begin the next search.

As your source list grows, it may require paging through the list to find a particular entry, even if the list is sorted. If this happens, be sure to use the “Find” field in the upper right corner of the screen. Type “census” in that field, and only sources including that term will remain in the list. Or, type “1850” and only entries with 1850 will remain in the list. Experiment with this to see how it works, but the sort and find capacities are powerful tools to speed up research, especially in sources that are used repeatedly.

Improved Search Engine Capacity

We are excited to announce that the search capacity of ResearchTies has been improved recently. When objectives and searches have been data entered for a “family,” it has always been possible to search and retrieve it by family. With the new changes, the search engine will now locate all entries for a family, as well as every entry for each individual who is a member of that family. If objectives and searches were entered for individuals, they can now be retrieved when a search is conducted for all data relevant to their family. These entries are connected by the marriage record number of the parent couple. When a family is recorded, the marriage number is entered on the family template. This connects the husband and wife to the marriage number.

When the children are added to the individual list, the template asks for the marriage record number of their parents. This process connects each child to the parents’ marriage number.

Be sure to include these numbers from your genealogical data management program, and ResearchTies will be able to retrieve all entries for the husband, wife, and all children in a family.

To generate a report for all work done for a family, conduct a search for all objectives for that family. Click “select all” in the upper left corner (or select specific objectives to include in the report using the check boxes to the left). Then, click “report.” Select “Objectives, related searches and results,” and click “Next.” Choose PDF or Excel format, and the report will be generated.

In order to use this functionality, go to your family list and check to see that all Marriage ID numbers are recorded.

Then, go to the Individual List to be sure that each person has their parents’ marriage ID recorded.

With the numbers in place, ResearchTies has the ability to retrieve all data for a family in a matter of seconds.

Improved Data Entry: Autofill Feature

ResearchTies announces the recent release of a new autofill feature for all dropdown boxes in the program. When users begin typing the desired entry, the autofill feature now highlights the first matching item in gray. Continue typing until the correct entry is highlighted, then use the tab key to autofill the item and move the cursor to the next field. This feature allows keyboard data entry without needing to use the mouse. For those who prefer the mouse, the process has not changed. Begin typing, and when you see the desired entry in the dropdown, click to select it. Either method can be used at any time.

A New Way to View your Data

ResearchTies is excited to announce that we have a new way to view the data you have entered into your log. Previously, it was difficult to see the Searches that were attached to each Objective. We now have an expandable view that shows attached Searches and Results with just one click. Use the Find/Select operation to narrow the list of Objectives, or leave it set to return “All” Objectives.

The “hit” list will look something like this:

To see the Searches attached to one of the Objectives, click on the Objective. The list will expand.

Objective View 4

As always, the entries in the Results columns are hyperlinks to view your documents. In the Action column, the user can add or edit data. As we continue to tailor this program to your needs, we want you to know that all feedback and suggestions are appreciated. Keep those emails coming! We are excited about this new feature and hope it helps you to analyze and view your data more easily and effectively.

Ongoing improvements

Computer programming is an interesting process. While fixing a bug or creating a new feature, it isn’t uncommon to cause a different problem. We’re having a few growing pains and hope that you will be patient with us. I recently discovered that the contact form on our site had stopped working. Even though someone sending a message was told that the message was sent, it wasn’t. If you have sent us feedback or questions recently and have not received a response, please try again. The contact form has been fixed, and you are always welcome to send an email directly to support@researchties.com. We would love to hear from you!

Hurry, introductory rate ends soon!

The $25 introductory special for ResearchTies will expire on May 31. Subscribe now and take advantage of this low rate for early subscribers. Starting in June, the annual rate for a personal ResearchTies account will be $30 a year.

Extend your subscription!

When you subscribe to ResearchTies and tell others about it, you can obtain an extension to your current expiration date. If someone you refer to the program decides to subscribe, ask them to send the email address of your account in an email to support@researchties.com to inform us that you are the person who referred them. Your expiration date will be extended by three months. Refer more than one person, and you will continue to extend your account.

Talk to your friends and spread the word!

Program speed

You may have noticed some slowness in the program recently. We have been working on it, and you should have seen some improvement today. We will continue to work on the efficiency of the site, and I hope you will have patience as we get everything launched. This is all very new, and we’re working hard! I appreciate the enthusiastic response we are receiving. As always, feel free to send feedback and suggestions to the support (at) researchties.com email address.