Genealogy Chat

Is there any way of making the searches just give UK results? The places that I'm searching in (Hampshire and Dover) give loads of American 'hits' and they're just not relevant.

I had this reply to a similar querry from Glen in tinzel knickers the other day. It worked but you seem to have to do it each time you use the programme: Select the individual you require 2 Select 'Websearch' (the globe with the magnifying glass) 3 Hit search 4 When the resultd appear,look at the top right of the results screen for 'database' (underneath it will say all collections) 5 Hit the arrow next to it to reveal a dropdown menu 6 Select the 'customize' option (bottom of the list) 10 A screen appears,with a 'choose a collection' option. 11Select which type of record you want,for instance census There are 256 census databases,the England/Wales are done census by census (1841 and 1851 and 1861 etc. By highlighting the year(s) you want and clicking add you are selecting results for that year(s) and stopping the American/Canadian results. The same applies for BMD searches ,just select the database(s) you want for the type of results you want. The only drawback is if a name is mistranscribed,FTM 2005 can't handle a mistranscribed name,so if 'Hay' has been transcribed as 'Kay' it won't show in the results.FTM 2006 can allow for variants of spellings.

Working with Search Results: At the top of the search results window, you will see a series of filters. You can filter search results to show only those with a certain ranking or higher; the default that will be shown is 3-star and up. Search results can also be filtered by data collection or by their research status (Done, Merged, Ignore, Follow Up, etc.) In FTM 2006, you can modify search criteria. Clicking the Edit Criteria button allows you to search for variants on an individual's name or the event being searched. When you click on a search result in the Web Search, if you have a subscription to that collection on Ancestry.com the data from the web will be displayed side-by-side with that person’s data from your Family File. You can then mark the search results that are of interest to you, or hide the ones that are irrelevant. Once you’ve identified the information you’d like to keep, you can quickly and easily add that information to your Family File. The Edit Individual button is available on the Search Results page if you want to manually add information, or you can use the Web Merge wizard to guide you through incorporating the data you’ve found into your file. Through the Web Merge process you can either accept Family Tree Maker’s recommendations and add the data in one step, or you can choose the wizard to specify how you want the data to be added to your file. Regardless of which method you choose, none of your existing information will be overwritten. Glen

LOL While trying to refine the answer and cut and paste i got beat to it. Glen

Maybe you should get some lycra shorts - tinsel does not seem very aerodynamic glen.

It just so happens that as an ex county schoolboy cycling champion i have a pair. OMG.Soooooo long ago,i qualify as a veteran next year!!! Anyhow which answer to the question makes more sense,my version (step by step),or the official FTM online help centre answer? Glen

I've found just by adding the county & England to the place of birth box I don't get anything but UK & relevant US stuff when I use the websearch. Could be handy when uploading to GR too Sarah :-)

Thanks Guys, I've done that and it made a real difference, no more padlocked names that wouldn't be relevant anyway. Thank you all, I knew somebody here would know.

But in lycra Glen we could see the outline of your erm tinsel, couldnt we.

Heather,don't scare the customers. By my reckoning the two tips quoted have earned us £2 (double money it's sunday).Well it was when they were posted anyhow. Glen