Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
How can I print a page without using a lot of black ink?
The current Federation of Family History Societies logo sits on a
black background and uses more ink or toner than the previous version.
Here are two ways to reduce the amount of ink used:
- Set your printer to print in 'draft' quality. On Windows, this is normally done by clicking on the 'Properties' button in the panel that appears when you request a print. You can also set this permanently via the 'Printers and Faxes' link from the Start Menu on Windows XP.
- You can also highlight the area you want to print by dragging your mouse across it and then clicking on 'print' - you then need to click on the 'selection' radio button in the print panel in Windows XP.
Note that you cannot use 'Print Preview' to see how a selection will print out.
If you use an Apple or a operating system other than Windows you will need
investigate alternatives.
I can't remember my user name or password - what do I do?
Both on the home page and on the sign on as existing user page there is an option:
Forgotten your user name or password? Click here.
You will then be asked to enter your email address,
the server will then search to find that email address (as entered when you first
signed on or when you amended your details) and, if successful, email you at that address
with your password hint phrase which should remind you of your password.
If you do not receive an email it is likely that you have either changed
your email address without amending your details,
or the email address was incorrectly entered the first time.
Note: you will be sent the user name and password hint for all accounts that use
that email address.
If the above steps do not help, then use the
'contact us' link on the Help menu and then choose the 'Lost password or logon
problems' option to ask us to:
- send you the hint phrase,
- change your password or
- remind you of your user name.
However, we do need to have some identification
and your current correct email address.
If you have purchased a voucher, the voucher number would be ideal or your postcode and other address details if you've bought a voucher using a credit or debit card
(We never have sight of your card details, other than the type of card.)
I had a voucher - where has it gone?
Firstly, make sure that you are signing on with the same User Name you used
when you bought the voucher.
If you sign on again as a New User there is no way to transfer any vouchers
from your old account.
Secondly, vouchers have a life of six months.
Expired vouchers are removed from the 'account details' page six months after
they have expired.
Tip: If you use the forgotten password routine with any email addresses
you may have used, you will be emailed the user name and password hint phrase
for those accounts.
Why can't I find the data I'm looking for?
More data is added to FamilyHistoryOnline every month or so
(often one million records each month).
Even though we now have over sixty million records available there are still
millions and millions of records still to be added.
Family History Societies together with other organisations are very busily
transcribing records.
It is worth checking back onto the site at regular intervals to check what
items of interest may have been added.
If you click on the menu selection labelled 'Current databases'
that you will find under the 'Databases' tab at the top of the page
you will see a list of databases that are currently available for each County.
If you click on the name of the database
it will then give a detailed list of what is covered and the years available.
If you know of a database that either you or your family history society,
believe should be online, please use the contact us page to write and enquire for
details of how we can put the data online, usually at no charge to you, and
pay you royalties depending on the number of people who look at your data.
Can I rely on the information I find here?
Family History Societies set a high standard and
can call upon enthusiastic members with local knowledge to perform this work.
This provides increased accuracy in transcribing the information,
and the description page we provide for each database should indicate
whether it has been independently checked to minimise inadvertent mistakes.
Nevertheless, as with all indexes and transcriptions,
the details should only be used as a 'finding aid' to
identify the original source material.
We therefore advise you to visit the appropriate
County Archives/Record Office or other information source
(as shown in the database description)
to verify the information for yourself.
What are surname variants?
Because of illiteracy, regional accents, and phonetic spelling,
the name entered into the original records may not be the one you expect.
Also many records are written in difficult handwriting or
the record may not be very legible,
so that even expert transcribers can be mistaken.
Many surnames, but not all, have been grouped into 'clusters' of
related surnames.
For example, both 'Jonson' and 'Johnson' are in the same cluster and
are variants of each other.
These clusters generally offer a better solution than 'sounds-like'
or 'Soundex' coding in identifying variants.
However, you cannot ask to include surname variants and
use wild-cards in the surname within the same search.
What are forename variants?
Many forenames have frequently used diminutives or abbreviations.
For example "John' may be called "Jack' and also written down as "Jno":
both these (and others) can be treated as meaning the same as John.
As with surnames, you cannot ask to include variants and
use wild-cards in the forename within the same search.
How can I use wild-cards in my searches?
There are two wild-card characters: '*' can stand for none,
one or more characters while '?' can stand for a single character.
For exampler:
- sm?th will find both smith and smyth while
- sm*th will also find smth(!) and smeeth.
You can have wild-cards anywhere in surnames and forenames,
but you may find that the seach cannot proceed as there too
many matching names.
Why didn't I see full details of the search results I paid for?
It is possible your computer could have problems,
or you could lose your internet connection after
you've requested a search and before the results are delivered.
Although you'll have been charged for the search,
you can use the menu selection for 'recent searchs' and
repeat the same search the next time you use the service (within 7 days)
you will not be charged for the repeated search.
How can I buy a voucher to use FamilyHistoryOnline?
You can either use a pre-paid card voucher or buy a voucher online
using most credit and debit cards.
You may prefer to buy a pre-paid card voucher instead of paying by
credit or debit card using the Internet.
You can buy a card voucher,
either by mail order or in person, from several sources.
Here is a list of voucher suppliers.
Note: This will not give you immediate access.
You cannot buy a voucher using a credit or debit card,
or enter the details of a card voucher,
until you want to look at some information that requires a payment.
(This is a security feature!)
Why am I asked for a password when buying a voucher online?
Our credit/debit card transactions are handled by WorldPay,
www.worldpay.co.uk,
a world leader in secure credit/debit card transactions -
they're owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The passwords are related to the new Verified by Visa
and MasterCard® SecureCode™ schemes that
WorldPay and many Card providers are now implementing.
The password they are asking for is one supplied by your card provider,
it is not your FamilyHistoryOnline signon password
nor the one for ATM machines but a special one for security purposes.
If you do not have one of these new security passwords
then, at present, it is possible to
just ignore the password box and proceed with your transaction.
Why have I been asked to pay again?
This used to happen if your web browser didn't check for a newer version
of a page being available which it has previously stored in its memory,
and instead reloaded the page asking you to pay instead of the page
you should see. We believe we have now removed this difficulty.
We do recommend that your browser is set up to check for newer versions of pages.
In Internet Explorer you can do this by selecting
'Internet Options...' under 'Tools' on the menu bar and,
within the 'Temporary Internet files' section under the 'General' tab,
click on the 'Settings...' button.
Under 'Check for newer versions of stored pages:'
select the 'Automatically' option (i.e. so that it has a dot in that circle).
If exceptionally your browser was already set
to check for newer versions of stored pages automatically,
please advise the details of your problem by using the
Contact Us form.
Why have I paid again to see the same record?
The system remembers the search criteria you use, and not the records
found from your search.
This means that if two different searches find the same records you will be
asked to pay again for those records.
We recommend that you use the 'recent searches' option under the 'search' tab
to repeat a search instead of relying on memory.
The system operates in this way to allow databases to be more easily updated as it would be difficult to remember records found over an update.
Why have I been signed out?
If you do not use the system for some time, currently 20 minutes,
you will be automatically signed out.
This is to help protect you if you are using a computer that
someone else can subsequently use, at a library or other public place,
and fail to sign out yourself.
Failing to sign out can allow another person to continue searching
under your user name and pay with any unused credit on your voucher.
Why am I taken back to 'sign in' when I try to search
This is because 'Cookies' are not enabled on your web browser
or firewall program
(i.e. it will not accept and store information that will
identify your computer to the system during your session on the web site).
A session cookie needs to be stored on your computer for that purpose,
and this disappears when you close your browser.
When you try to search, the cookie is checked to ensure
you are in the middle of a 'valid session' and its absence implies you're not,
which is why you are automatically signed out.
To make sure that cookies are enabled depends on
which browser you are using:
- Internet Explorer: go to 'Tools' on the menu bar, and select 'Internet Options...' at the bottom of the menu.
Version 6.00 - On the 'Privacy' tab panel, ensure the slider is set to 'Medium';
Version 5.50 - On the 'Security' tab panel, select the 'Internet' zone and click on the 'Custom Level...' button. Scroll down to the 'Cookies' section, and ensure that 'Allow cookies that are stored on your computer' has the 'Enable' or, failing that, the 'Prompt' option selected (i.e. has a dot in that circle).
- Netscape Navigator: The default setting is 'Enable all cookies'. If this has been changed, open the 'Edit' menu and choose 'Preferences'. Under the 'Privacy & Security' category, click 'Cookies' (if no subcategories are visible, double-click 'Privacy & Security' to expand the list). Set your Cookies preferences.
- AOL: Go to http://webmaster.info.aol.com/.
Click on 'Cookies' in the left hand menu and
then select 'Enable and Disable Cookies.'
For others see the browser's Help system.
The Firewall programs included in some security products may also have been
used to disable cookies. Please refer to their help pages for more information.
How can I copy the data into a spreadsheet?
The system makes it easy to copy your results into a spreadsheet
like Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3.
Simply carry out the following steps:
- View the results you want (these are in text format by default)
- Click on view as table -
this conveniently lists ALL the results on one page.
- Select the whole table by dragging your mouse (or other pointer)
across it while holding down the mouse-button.
- Choose Edit->Copy (or Ctrl-C) to copy the table to the Windows clipboard.
- Go to Excel or your favourite spreadsheet.
- Select the top-left cell of the destination range
and choose Edit->Paste (or Ctrl-V)
You should now have all your data in a very convenient format
for further processing.
It should be fairly easy to select the entries you want,
sort them or whatever.
Tip: If you find it difficult dragging the pointer
across the section you want to copy, try clicking at the end of the section
and then, holding down the shift key,
click at the start of the section to select it.
Further tip: If your data ends up in a single column
in your spreadsheet,
try using 'Text to Columns' in the Data menu of Microsoft Excel,
or 'Parse' under the 'Range' menu in Lotus 1-2-3.
Other spreadsheets are likely to have similar options.
I know there are records missing - how come?
Many of the databases are the result of ongoing projects
and will be updated from time to time as more results become available.
For example, the volumes in a parish register may be divided between
several transcribers and these may not be completed at the same time,
this may result in gaps in the coverage for a particular parish.
Why does the same information appear twice?
The National Burial Index databases include data from both burial registers
and cemetery records -
the same burial may be entered in both sets of registers.
Similarly, there are instances where a group of households may have been
enumerated more that once in a census, or the gravestones in a churchyard
have been recorded at two times, often years apart.
It is also possible for similar information to appear in two separate
databases.
The likely reason is that areas covered by the two databases overlap.
New databases are now routinely checked for obvious duplicates and where
duplicates are not obvious you really want to see the two different interpretations!
However, errors do creep in and we do welcome your help in pointing them out.
Please report problems to the Society or provider concerned or
by contacting our data administrator.
Why can't I look at the other members of household in a census?
We would like to be able to provide you with details of all
household members enumerated together in a census,
e.g. parents, children, other family members
together with servants, boarders and lodgers
but some databases do not have the necessary information to allow this.
Most of our databases come from Family History Societies,
each with their own way of doing things.
Many societies were indexing/transcribing before it was thought
feasible to think about publishing in any sort of electronic format
and they only have the data stored in alphabetical order
rather than in enumerated order.
We can only group the records into households where we are able to do so.
This normally means we have to be sent an index in 'as enumerated' order
rather than name order,
and that we have to be able to identify the start of a household
(either by the relationship to head of household -
or by a household schedule number).
Without this information we cannot group the data back into households.
What are 'strays'?
Strays are records of people who are 'out-of-place', typically those
born in one county and found in another.
They are sometimes crucial in tracking down a missing relative.
This information has been gleaned from all types of records, such as marriages,
gravestones and the census.
It is important to remember that census strays may duplicate information found in other census databases that include a birthplace, such as the 1881 census.
Because strays have often been submitted to a society by a single person
they cannot be considered 'checked'.
Why don't you have a special viewer for images?
Many users, in libraries or offices, don't have the option of downloaded specialised
viewers and, indeed, we would not like the incur the cost of licensing a special viewer
without extensive evaluation.
We believe most users have Acrobat® now Adobe® Reader installed
or can install it from any number of CDs or the Adobe web site.
Follow the PDF link to use the reader to view or print images.
How do you charge for images?
We have tried to strike a balance when charging for images and this relates to
what you might have to do to obtain a similar image somewhere else.
- 50p - images easily obtained elsewhere, possibly for free. An example would be
a postcard or photograph of a church.
- £2 - image is probably unique, a gravestone for example. Only a member of the
family is likely to have a similar photograph!
Other images may be charged at prices between those two extremes.
How do you charge for several images?
Normally a single charge is made for a group of images of the same church or gravestone.
Where appropriate the system can charge a price for each image in the group.
If there are several images, you will first see a set of 'thumbnails' of all the images
that you can then click on to view the full image.
Why is there no picture of the complete gravestone?
While some gravestone images do show the whole gravestone, some do not, often because
the photographs have been taken to assist the recording the inscription
and no single photograph could capture the whole inscription.
This is most likely to be a problem with a grave with kerbstones.
How can I print or save an image?
Printing from your browser may not be satisfactory,
as even after setting your printer to Landscape,
Internet Explorer may still succeed in removing the right-hand edge of the image.
Using the Adobe® Viewer® is likely to produce the best results for the least
aggravation.
In Internet Explorer 6 you can right-click on the image and
select save picture as from the menu.
Mozilla and Firefox are similar, but you select save image as.
You can then use a graphics program, like Irfanview
or Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, to print the image.
What is the newsletter?
It has always been our plan to produce a newsletter and we will shortly have one, as
will our parent organisation, the Federation of Family History Societies,
except they have decided to call theirs an 'e-zine'!
You are initially subscribed to the newsletter in a web format with italic, emboldening and similar formatting,
but you can change this by going to Change Details under the Account menu tab
after you have signed in. You can either switch to plain text or turn the newsletter off altogether.
Our newsletter will contain information on new and updated databases,
along with general news about FamilyHistoryOnline and the Federation.
There will also be a tip to help you get the most out of FamilyHistoryOnline and a
link so you can quickly go to the web site and unsubscribe.
What if my question isn't covered above?
If your question isn't answered above, or
on the page on how to use this service,
please raise it by using the Contact Us form.
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