Hi

I bought FH7 a couple of months ago, have had an initial play, have been monitoring this list, and have explored the FHUG site. It’s clearly the software solution that I need to use, after several attempts with other genie software and broader solutions.

I would be grateful for a steer on one question, please, before I dive in and get it wrong. Is there one single User Manual, training resource or other reference that will comprehensively show me how to properly use FH7, particularly with the plug-ins and AS options? (From today’s posts, I do understand that AS is a stand-alone programme, while the plug-ins are scripts for FH.)

I ask because:

1. In a related discipline, I commonly use data standards to construct complex data sets, so I understand the sorts of issues that have been described in my reading of the last few months’ posts. I’d like to be able to work out, with reference to such a user manual, how best, and to what depth, I need to use FH7. It is clear that some users are working at great depth, while others, like me, are new to the programme.

2. I want to implement FH7 in a rigorous attempt to overcome a 30-year brick wall looking for a commonly occurring surname. There are so many possibilities that I intend to draft the existing tree and then add a regional-level one-name study, where I can work through and eliminate as many possibilities as possible. All other approaches have been tried !

Many thanks. As a member of many different lists, if I may say so, I am very impressed by the level of mutual support that is evident within this particular group.

Best regards

Paul

Welcome Paul,

I am not sure there will be one single User Manual capable of satisfying the needs of all users.

Calico Pie have produced a “Getting the Most From Family Historian” user guide for each FH major version and will probably do so eventually for FH V7.

However, that will NOT include Ancestral Sources and from past copies does not go into the more advanced technical features.

May I suggest you visit the FHUG Knowledge Base https://fhug.org.uk/kb/ and start with the FAQ section top left.

That has Key Features for Newcomers with references to documentation, tutorials, Ancestral Sources, Plugins, etc.

Mike Tate

I’ll add that (contrary to what Simon Orde said in a recent bulletin) we haven’t completely updated the KnowledgeBase for V7 yet – we’re still working on it.  Most of the advice there is still valid, but it may not cover any new feature in V7 yet.

That hinges on what you consider ‘best practice’ to mean.

Some users just record minimal Source Citations for key events.

Others create multiple facts from one source document and add the same Citation to each one with attached images and transcriptions.

Some use very formally structured Source Citations based on the Elizabeth Shown Mills book ‘Evidence Explained’.

The FHUG Knowledge Base tries to cover all angles, and Source Citations are just one topic.

Which of the above fit your concepts of ‘best practice’?

Mike,

“Some use very formally structured Source Citations based on the Elizabeth Shown Mills book ‘Evidence Explained’.“ should read “formally structured Source Citations based on the Elizabeth Shown Mills book ‘Evidence Explained or the advice from Strathclyde University.” And there are other citation standards out there...

Other than that, your question: ‘which Best Practice’ is very apposite.

If somebody wants to follow Best Practice, the first question is ‘whose best practice?’ One of the certification/accreditation bodies? – and which one might depend on where you live (or not) – Board for Certification of Genealogist? Accredited Genealogists? Qualified Genealogists?

Or ‘best practice’ based on advice from users of Family Historian?  Which is a mixed bag... Some of the users on this mailing list advocate data-entry methods that are a bit idiosyncratic.  Others suggest more mainstream methods. You’d do best to wait for a number of responses before deciding what to do.

Your first question should be: ‘who am I researching for?’

If the answer is ‘me and my family’ then you should be looking for ways of working that are simple and easy to understand. You probably don’t want to go down the Elizabeth Shown Mills route (advanced templates), but the Strathclyde route (Essential Templates) would make more sense.

If the answer is ‘I want to publish my research and receive universal acclaim’ (as if that would ever happen) then you might take a different path...