Some people eat, sleep and chew gum, I do genealogy and write...

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Gathering Source information with RecordSeek

After a brief hiatus, RecordSeek.com has come out with a new, much improved version of their useful utility program. Previously focused on working primarily with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, RecordSeek.com now works with Ancestry.com also.


The program uses a "browers app" (formerly called "TreeConnect") to transfer information from a huge variety of websites to both the FamilySearch.org Family Tree and to your Ancestry.com Family Tree. The browser app is the green button. You drag a copy of that button to your browser menu bar. The program works with Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer to name a few browsers.

Let's suppose you find a reference to your ancestor in FindAGrave.com. Rather than copying and pasting the source information to the programs, you can use RecordSeek's automated copying process to create a citation directly. Here is a FindAGrave.com Memorial Page for one of my ancestors.


I could just copy and paste all that information into a note or source in either program, or I could use the automated features of RecordSeek to do it all for me. I certainly realize that this information in FindAGrave.com is not a "primary source" and that any information is subject to verification, but I do wish to preserve what is there in the program with a citation and a link.

I begin by highlighting any of the content I wish to include in my notes. I do not need to copy the information, merely highlight it to tell RecordSeek what I want included. I then click on the RecordSee link in the browser bar to copy the information highlighted as well as a citation to where the information was gathered.

I must first choose between creating a source for the Family Tree or for Ancestry.com.


From here, you simply following the directions. You will have to have an account and log in to the target program.


Some of the features are in transition, but it has been working very well lately. I might suggest that even if you do not have an account with either Family Tree or Ancestry.com, the program does organize a useful citation that can be copied and pasted into another program. I use it with my desktop programs to save time typing.

7 comments:

  1. Record Seek works on Safari too, at least it does on my Windows 7 computer. I have found it to be glitchy a lot of the time (sometimes it works on one browser when it doesn't on another) since it returned but I love it when it works right.

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  2. It sounds interesting, but all I get is an empty RecordSeek screen, but nothing more.

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  3. James - for my earlier post, I had used Billion Graves - it does not seem to work. Then I tired a Canada Census and it DID WORK.
    Thanks,
    Craig.

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  4. Omigosh, this is the coolest tool ever! I just added more than half a dozen links to books, newspaper articles, etc., to someone in my Ancestry tree, and it didn't take me five minutes. Thanks, James!

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  5. Thanks for the heads-up on RecordSeek. I was not familiar with this app. Very useful!

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  6. Thanks for all the comments. I agree, the program seems to work well with some browsers and some online programs and not always with others. But it is still a valuable tool.

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