Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Technology Tuesday - FamilySearch Family Tree Mobile App

FamilySearch recently released its mobile app called Family Tree for iOS 7+ and Android 2.3+devices - see the FamilySearch blog post at  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/familysearch-introduces-moble-apps/.  There is a Family Tree mobile app landing page at  https://familysearch.org/mobile/tree.

The mobile app is FREE from the App Store on the iOS products, and from Google Play for Android products.  A user must have a FREE FamilySearch account and have connected themselves to the FamilySearch Family Tree in order to use the mobile app to its fullest potential.  

A user can add Memories (Photos, Stories, Audio) and Sources using the mobile app and the information will synchronize with the online FamilySearch Family Tree.  Adding or updating ancestor details like names, dates, places and relationships is not yet available.

1)  The opening screen of the Family Tree mobile app  on my iPhone looks like this:




The Pedigree view above shows myself and three more generations.  I can pinch or expand the view to make the information larger or smaller.

Tapping on the up arrow above a person in the top line expands the pedigree chart for two more generations for that person, as shown below:


2)  If I tap on a person on the Pedigree View above, I can see their "Details":


Scrolling down, I can see the "Other Information" on the list:


3) If I tap on the "spouses" menu item, I can see the spouses and children of the person:

If I tap on any of the blue names, I will go to the profile of that person.

4)  Tapping on the "Parents" link, I can see their names, their marriage date, and their children:


5)  Tapping on the "Sources" link shows me the sources attached for this person in the Family Tree:


Tapping on a specific source item takes you to a web page with a 404 Error at this time if the user has added the source manually rather than linking to a FamilySearch record summary.

6)  There are more links to the right of the "Sources" link, so I scrolled to the left to see them.

Here is the "Photos" link screen:


I have attached only these two photos to my great-grandfather.  If I tap one of the photos, I can see a larger image on the screen and can add or edit a caption to it.  If I tap on the plus sign in the lower right-hand corner, I can add a photograph and attach it to this Person.

7)  Tapping on the "Stories" link, I can see the stories attached to the person:


If I tap on one of the Stories, I can read the whole story, but I cannot edit it.

8)  Tapping on the "Charts" link, I can see a list of the different charts that can be saved as a PDF file:



Here is what it looks like using the Adobe Reader app on my mobile device:



  
I could also save the PDF in Evernote, Dropbox, or in eBooks.

9)  All in all, this mobile app is very useful.  I essentially have the FamilySearch Family Tree in my pocket for ready reference.  I can navigate up and down the tree using the Pedigree View or by tapping on names, and I can see the information for persons in the Family Tree.  

10)  The mobile app, at this time, does not permit adding persons or editing information about persons.  The blog post indicated that those features were coming soon.  I don't see a way to easily Search for a person in the Family Tree.  There is a Search capability for an FSID number in the History screen (the icon on the right-hand side of the "Person" title on the screens above).

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/10/technology-tuesday-familysearch-family.html

Copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver


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