Ancestral Quest and FamilySearch Family Tree:
Sample Screen Shots

Introduction

Pedigree View

First, you will need to activate these features. You can do this in AQ's Preferences screen [Tools > Preferences, General tab, and on the right side, enable the option labeled Connect with FamilySearch]. With these features enabled, you will immediately see tree icons by the name of each deceased person in your file, both in the Family View and in the Pedigree View. Initially, these icons will be gray, indicating that you have not yet linked the person with Family Tree. Simply click on the gray tree icon to begin the matching process with Family Tree. Once you have linked a person in your file with the corresponding record in Family Tree, you will note that the tree icon turns blue.

These icons give you a quick visual overview of which individuals have been linked with Family Tree and which have not yet been linked, just by noting gray vs blue coloring.

Name List view

You can go to the Name List view and after adding the FS PID column, you can sort the list of names by the FS PID, to quickly see which of all your records have been linked and which have not. (In AQ, you can sort this list of individuals on ANY field by clicking on the column heading.)

Linking and Uploading Individuals

Link / Upload person with
FamilySearch window

It is very easy to link or upload your records with Family Tree. You can either do this one person at a time, as families, or in groups. To link a single individual, simply click on a gray tree icon, or select the individual in the Pedigree or Family screen, then from the FamilySearch menu choose Link / Upload Individual. AQ will provide you with a list of possible matches on Family Tree. If you find no matches, you can add your record to Family Tree. If you find only one match, you can link your record to that person. If you find multiple matches, you can ask Family Tree to merge the duplicates, and then link your record with the merged Family Tree person.

Linking and Uploading Groups

This feature requires the Full version of Ancestral Quest; it is not available in Ancestral Quest Basics.

Synchronize Groups of
Individuals window

The Synchronize Groups tool can be used to process groups of individuals. Use the Advanced Filtering screen (PAF users will be familiar with this screen) to select the group, then have AQ match each member of the group with Family Tree. As AQ communicates with Family Tree, it categorizes each person in your group as matched or not matched, so you can deal with similar records in the next phase.

Synchronize Groups,
Positive Matches window

Within the Matches windows, you can select those individuals that you believe are the same between your database and FamilySearch. You can also take a closer look and merge duplicates on Family Tree by clicking the Preview button; this takes you to the Link Individual with FamilySearch window (described above) where you can more closely examine the records to determine the accuracy of the match and perform the link.

In the &slquo;Not Matched&srquo; categories, you can add your records to Family Tree, or perform secondary searches to attempt to find and match with records on Family Tree.

Review Individuals and Synchronize Families

Verify Synchronization
dialog box

Either during the linking process, or by clicking on a blue tree icon later, you can use the Review Individual screen to compare your local record (on the left) with the corresponding data found on FamilySearch (on the right). You will use this screen frequently when working with Family Tree. You can exchange data, notes and sources between your record and the corresponding record on Family Tree.

From this Review Individual screen, you can also check for additional Family Tree duplicates, synchronize families, and even delete the Family Tree person. You can click on any Family Tree data item to see more details about it.

Synchronize Families with
FamilySearch window

While you review families, you can link family members in your file with corresponding family members in Family Tree. If Family Tree has duplicate family members, you can easily merge them from this screen. You can also trade relationship data such as marriage data, including notes and sources for the couple, and parent-child relationship data.

If your local family has children or spouses not in the Family Tree family, you can add them to Family Tree, and if the Family Tree family has children or spouses that you are missing in your local file, you can directly import them.

Direct Import from Family Tree

Import Ancestors/Descendants
window

If you are just starting out, you may want to download your ancestry from Family Tree. You can select yourself, or anyone else, as a starting person and download as many generations of ancestors or descendants as you like. Just be aware that the information on Family Tree is not perfect, so you might want to use this feature with a very watchful eye.

Many users find this feature helpful in cleaning up Family Tree. They will download a line of ancestors into a temporary file, then use the screens they are familiar with in AQ or PAF to more quickly spot any duplicates or other problems in the Family Tree data than they could by using the Family Tree online system.