A New Release Of Record Search
1 Sep 2009 by Bryce RoperRecord Search releases version 2.0
Today Record Search released a new update. This release has been months in the making and you will notice a major difference in how the site looks, along with some cool new features. As always we would love to hear from you on what we got right and what needs alittle more work. Here is a quick glance at some of the changes.
Unsupported Browsers
You complained and we listened. We removed the header that would appeared if you were not using a Record Search supported browser. For the most part unsupported browsers still work, but this header was making the screen shift down so you could not see everything.
Home Page Layout
The home page has undergone major changes; most noticeable are the new colors, layout, and title & label name changes.
Where’s the map?
The map and ability to search a specific collection are now accessed by selecting the “Browse our record collections” link. This separates the search functions and templates for searching in all collection vs. a specific collection or browse only collections. We would love your feedback on this change.
Share a record
Try sharing a record you found in Record Search on Facebook, or in an e-mail or text message.
Print, Copy & Share Record Details
We think you will love the option to let you print, copy and share the record details.
About this collection
About this collection link now takes you to the Research Wiki. Having this information in the Wiki makes it easier for us to update and keep it current. It also lets you have Record Search and the user guidance open at the same time to use as a reference.
Un-Indexed collections
The un-indexed collections or Browse only collections have an entirely new look. You’re now able to keep the context of what images you are browsing, and moving to a different level in the film is a snap.
Tip of the day
Did you know clicking on the FamilySearch logo in the header will always take you to the home page.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Shouldn’t clicking on the FamilySearch logo take us back to FamilySearch’s home page instead of back to the main search page of record search. Most people come to record search from the FamilySearch page and there needs to be a way to get back to FamilySearch.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I think the new release looks good but I would like to see a couple of spaces on the left side of the page, it is flush left and the search boxes touch the left side of the browser and it looks like you need to scroll left a little but you can’t.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Very nice. A definite improvement. I like the new design, and I like that it loads MUCH faster.
I’m disappointed, however, that there is still no way to search on all transcribed fields in a collection. For example, in the Irish civil registration records, I have previously found a marriage entry for Sarah M.M. SIRCOMBE in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1913 in the Dublin North registration district. The reference is volume 2, page 469. If I could search that collection on date, district, volume, and page, *without specifying a name*, I would have a 50% chance at learning the name of Sarah’s husband, since there are only two marriages to a page in the original registers to which these records are an index. All the necessary data are already transcribed and in the database. The search engine just isn’t set up to find them.
If I haven’t explained this clearly, let me know, and I’ll be happy to try again. My guess is that providing this feature would be a relatively small software change, and it would instantly create extra genealogical value from data that have already been transcribed.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Disregard that comment about the page being flush left, I was viewing in a small browser window, by widening the window it fixed the problem.
I really like the improvements to the Image viewer and the full screen view.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I’m greatly disappointed that I can no longer review the actual Texas death record. I’d hoped that the Alabama death record would be available for review. WHY? Often times individual transcribing the data doesn’t include all pertinent information. Without exception, there was a considerable amount of pertinent and valuable information ommitted from the transcriptions of Texas death records and there surely is from the Alabama death records. I sincerely hope the inability to review the actual death certificate is a glitch. I was in process of reviewing one when the webiste was taken down. Now I’ll not be able to find out what cemetery the person was buried in because the transcriber did not include that information.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:50 am
Choice of font size is gone. If you have a high-res monitor (if you are using this site you probably do) the text needs to be larger. If this is temporary, I hope it gets restored asap. The previous largest font was just barely big enough, so you might consider offering a larger one.
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 am
I fully endorse Daniel Morgan’s comment. He could not have explained the problem more clearly.
I hope future developments concentrate on making the invaluable content of this magnificent database fully usable. Fiddling with fonts and colours can wait.
I hope that clicking on my name above will bring you to some more detailed comments on the site before yesterday’s upgrade.
September 2nd, 2009 at 6:42 am
A good job someone told me about this blog and I read it, otherwise the new site would have been the subject of considerable mutterings from me…
The words Browse and Search mean entirely opposite methods of getting at the data. If you want to search an individual collection you would NOT, as a matter of routine, take the option “Browse our Record Collections”. Please correct that to “Search or Browse our Record Collections” – the exact term is slightly tricky because it’s actually quite difficult to browse an indexed collection and obviously an unindexed collection cannot be searched, but it really needs to indicate that is the way to go for searching as well as browsing. (I’ve no idea what the old version said – but that didn’t matter because I knew it so never read the instructions!)
Note also that on the screen with the map, you can select an area for collections, plus “Search Indexed Records” and you don’t go to the area and search its collections (which is what you’d expect), you end up with the global search screen – exactly the opposite direction. That “Search Indexed Records” needs altering to “Search Indexed Records globally”
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:29 am
Unlike your other correspondents I like it very much. And so far it seems to work well with Google Chrome – the missing last line problem has gone away and on the images you have even put the page turning control back to where it used to be at the top of the page. Congratulations.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
You should put a link to Record Search in this article…
Like this one…
http://bacolicio.us/http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I’m a user of the Irish Civil Registration Indexes. Firstly I’d like to say that the mere availability of this database has been a fantastic leap forward and a huge convenience since it became available. Also, the upgraded site certainly looks slicker and a little faster than the original.
So it’s only in that very positive context that I am fully in agreement with Daniel Morgan’s wish expressed above. It would be fantastic to be able to identify the other half of a marriage by inputting the year, district, volume and page. If this could be prioritised for the next upgrade it would be great.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I really don’t like the new look…
Instead of making it so “fuzzy”, it would be greater if you can just add records of Argentina and Mexico that are already indexed…
And when I try to see a collection in browse, up of the page it appears something that is annoying for me…
Really would preffer to see the page translate in Spanish and other languages than seen the “share to facebook” option…
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
OMG, where are the images of the Texas Death Certificates? Alot of the usefulness of this site has been lost without them. I cannot imagine the thought process that resulted in this decision.
Please bring them back.
September 2nd, 2009 at 3:26 pm
What happened to the Copy function? I have not been able to get it to work for about a week.
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 am
My initial reaction is that you have added an extra page to click thru to get to the actual databases, also the font has been made smaller (too small for extended useage).
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:29 am
I cannot find a “Browse our Record Collections” link. Could someone point me in the right direction – please I am trying to find the records for Ireland. Many thanks.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:13 am
I still am unable to even get in recoeds search labs. I have windows Me and still get the download flash player 10 window? Iam I doing something wrong? will I ever be able to get in?
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
The text size function for all site text (not the image itself which already has its own size control) is missing and is a very big ‘must have’ for many older users of the Record Search collection. This is also important for visually impaired users. As it is, I can’t use my browser’s ‘text size’ (Explorer) or ‘Zoom’ (Firefox 2, 3, 3.5) functions to enlarge it to just the right size. This is an issue that needs immediate attention before the next major update to the site layout.
Also if for some reason your monitor has had a color go out on it, it can make the page text also look very light, such as that on the search page or the actual indexed data itself. The map looks OK but the rest, forget it if that type of monitor problem is what someone has.
The text on any page needs to be jet black. It’s OK for the logo to be different colors as that is expected, but critical instructions and information, plus the indexed data itself, needs to be completely visible.
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
We truly appreciate the feedback you are offering:
Adobe made improvements of “performance, functionality, and efficiency” when they upgraded Adobe Flash Player to version 10. Adobe Flash Player 10 corrected a number of serious issues formerly reported by our Record Search users. As a result, the decision was made to upgrade Record Search to require version 10 of the Flash Player. Unfortunately, there are some older operating systems that are not supported by version 10. To see information about the operating systems supported by Adobe Flash Player 10 please visit: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/systemreqs/ .
September 4th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Please take pity on us “older viewers” and return to a larger print for the names on the census record search. I do not understand why the + and – for the magnification was moved down on the page where you are trying to read. It is very annoying.
September 4th, 2009 at 1:20 am
After getting the hang of it, I’m quite pleased with the format. I especially like the adjustments which can be made when viewing a document: invert, enlarge, etc.
The font is awfully small, can you increase it a bit on the main search pages? For elderly and nearly elderly eyes, it’s very difficult to read as is. “Browse our collections” and “Search indexed records” is almost invisible to the naked eye because of the tiny font.
Other than that, I found it very easy to search and browse. Thank you so much for this WONDERFULLY FABULOUS resource.
September 4th, 2009 at 9:05 am
For those who have expressed concern about the Texas Deaths collections, please be aware that we had a hardware failure that rendered a number of images to be temporarily unavailable. No Texas Death information was intentionally removed. There are two Texas Deaths collections: 1890-1976 (with images) and 1964-1998 (no images). Only the first collection was impacted by the temporary image loss. The majority of those images should now be restored.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
When will any records from Sweden be added to Record Search?
September 5th, 2009 at 4:23 am
An option ” Sort on ” would be great for the results of a search !
September 5th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Douglas – lots of things probably impact the timing so I bet that’s hard to say, but one of the ways you can tell what’s coming is to go to familysearchindexing.org and see what’s being indexed now. There are a few Swedish projects underway at the moment – the faster the indexing is done, the faster they’ll be added here!
September 5th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Very difficult to read anything. Everything looks fuzzy and font size is too small. No, it’s not my monitor — I have very new, large flat screen display. All other genealogy sites/services that I use are clear and legible and allow me to increase the font size. Perhaps you can send your interface designer back to school for training on how to design for “over age 35 eyes”?
September 7th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
For those who are wanting the larger text size. Go to FamilySearch Labs and click on FamilySearch Alpha, then click on Search. It seems to still go to an older version of Record Search with larger text. I don’t know how long it will be there but it is there now.
September 9th, 2009 at 9:34 am
What happened to the Philadelphia marriage license index scans.
One of the first, and very useful area for me and all doing Phila research.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I love the new search! I noticed the marriage indexes for Philadelphia have been removed. Is this temporary?
September 9th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I just saw that they went back up today, and they are indexed! Thank you!
September 9th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
And what about the 1914-1927 Georgia Deaths collection? We used to be able to see the actual certificate. Now we only get a partial transcription.
Not nearly as useful!
I was hoping for more years included, rather than all years removed!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I have been using the “Browse Our Record Collection” on the prototype site since earlier in the year to research my wife’s family in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. With the release of version 2, I have encountered a problem viewing the various Catholic Church record images. In version 1 I had the ability to view the next or previous image in a series of images, or to jump to a specific image anywhere in the file. When files contain hundreds of images this feature is extremely useful. In version 2 all I have been able to do is sequence to the next or previous image. The page format allows me to enter an image number for anywhere in the the file, but all of my mouse actions still give me either the next or previous image. Am I missing something?
September 10th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I am experiencing the same problem as John Holthaus when browsing the Bishops Transcripts for Co Durham, England. How do I get to an image in the middle or near the end of the register dates? It is so frustrating not being able to access the information.
I didn’t have any problems before the upgrade!
September 10th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
I was wonderiing where the Canada, Quebec,Trois-Rivieres – Registres Paroissiaux 1800-1900 was put. I was not done with the research I was doing.
September 11th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I had just found the pilot search, loved the Texas death records that included the view of document image……..cleared up a lot of the missing
pieces to the family puzzle………Now, the death certificate image is not
available on the new site. I agree with the others, a lot of good information is on the document image. Please consider putting it back on.
September 11th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
It is totally unintuitive that one would get to the map by clicking on “Browse our record collections.” Furthermore, it’s a mouse click that should be totally unnecessary. No one who knows anything about genealogy would search a database of unknown records from unknown locations. Rather, genealogists search specific databases pertinent to their research. Therefore, the map page should come up first and foremost, so the researcher can specify the geographic area to be researched. There is nothing I hate more than unnecessary mouse clicks that waste my time!
September 12th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Anything that can go wrong went BERSERK in pilot.familysearch.org
Before the upgrade, I could get to specific record groups, do feeback, links, etc with ease.
Now? eek!
1. Color is too light and bright and NOT enough contrast (white with extreme pale aqua and extreme pale biege is too much!)
2. Link to browse collections is too tiny and not easy to find (what about us the legally-blind??) and too many steps getting to specific record groups. I am not going to look for Mexico when I want New York!
3. Can NOT open PAF or similar programs without getting the image shrunk back to tiny, nothing to keep it full screen in order to look at PAF. Switching get that image shrunk real fast.
4. Link to this blog is NOT copyable or linked.
Recommendation? COMPLETE undo the upgrade and do it right.
1. when in full screen, it will not shrink while switching to PAF or whatever.
2. Sharp and clear color contrast
3. keep the clickable map on the home page at all the times.
4. restore the ability to jump pages (like from 1 to 5, instead of constant sequeance of pages trying to get to that page.)
September 12th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
“Name index of death certificates and records of death from 1889 – 1945. Microfilm copies of original records are available at the Family History Library and at Family History Centers”
That’s New Mexico alone
It is worthless information.
Not many of us live near a Family History Center. Too far and the hours are all wrong.
Please restore the images for all states (at least Alabama, Georgia, New Mexico, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, etc)
September 14th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Disappointed that we are not receiving any response/ reaction to our comments about problems with the new version.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I am disappointed that the image area is much smaller now when browsing images in the Bishop’s Transcripts of Durham, England. I would like to be able to hide/remove the upper 1/3 of the screen that shows me what place/parish/year range I am in – it’s eating up valuable real estate and making it hard to get enough of the image to show. If I go to Full Screen mode, there is no way to resize the browser window so I can have another document open next to the image – it is literally full screen.
I agree with others that the colors are too light and too similar – we need high contrast and the ability to adjust the text size.
I preferred the Zoom feature on the command bar rather than on the page image (again, taking up valuable real estate).
I figured out how to go to a specific page by entering the image number and hitting Enter, but this is not obvious to many people – you need to add a Hover instruction that says “and hit Enter” or text on the page that says this.
September 20th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I clicked the logo for Family Search and in fact it did not take me back to Family Search but instead to Family Search Labs…being untechie this is confusing and misleading…only to demonstrate how instructions must be literal and allow for those of us who think thick.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Your system still won’t give access to older browsers. Some of us cannot install Flash. Please stop essentially demanding that people buy an Adobe-supported computer if they cannot get to a library.
I would really like access to the new databases.
September 29th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I left a question nearly two weeks ago. I was working on a project that included the COLBERT FUNERAL RECORDS, BREMO BLUFF, VA. Where can I locate these records now?
September 29th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I was working on a project using the COLBERT FUNERAL RECORDS, BREMO BLUFF, VA. Where can I locate these records now?
October 8th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Has ANYONE had a response? This is very frustrating. Such a good resource gone sour!
October 12th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Another Windows 98SE user here who would love to be able to access the records again. Was able to once upon a time. However like everyone else with older computers/OS I am unable to install Flash 10. Frustrating. It was shaping up to be a wonderful resource. With any revamps of your wonderful resources please keep in mind us oldies who either can’t afford to upgrade or like what we have so much we don’t want to.
November 18th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Windows ME user; I also will need a new computer to use the site. Basic access to the records shouldn’t require having the newest equipment.