Tuesday, June 16, 2009

FamilySearch Indexing Updates

Here's an overview of significant updates were made recently to the FamilySearch Indexing application and Web site. Batch Sharing seems to be the most popular of the new features. Following are brief descriptions of the updates:

Batch Sharing. This exciting new feature appeals to indexers who enjoy online social networking capability. It allows two volunteers (indexers or arbitrators) to collaborate on a batch. Both indexers can view the same batch, and using the indexers’ preferred instant messaging tool or phone, they can discuss and index the batch together. One indexer will have read-write capability and the other will have read only.

Tip of the Day. A dialog box will greet indexers when they sign in to the indexing application. Best practices and other quick time saving tools will be shared.

Project Selection Dialog Box. This feature (which appears when you click the Download From… button) will have the option to show all projects or only those that match an indexer’s preferences. It will also display the difficulty level of each project.

Fields Marked for Review. Indexers can choose to display either a red wavy line or colored background in fields marked for review. The color and transparency of the background can also be changed.

Image Type. This will now be the first field in every batch. Indexer will select the description of each image (Normal, Blank, or Duplicate) from the list provided.

Header Data Tab. A new tab in the data entry area will enable indexers to enter information that applies to an entire document just once. Not all batches will include this tab. It will open first when a batch is downloaded.

New Icons. The icons used to mark a field or record “unreadable” will have a blue question mark on them instead of a red slash.Volunteers can register anytime and begin indexing immediately at Indexing.FamilySearch.org.

New indexing projects added this week are:
Argentina Censo 1869—Santiago y Santa Fe
Australia, Greenwich—Genealogical Records, 1776–1980
Australia, NSW—Bounty Immigrants, 1824–1842 (This is a regional project.)
Pennsylvania—1920 U.S. Federal Census
U.K., Cheshire Parish Records [Part 2], 1538-1850
(See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects).

Recently Completed Projects (Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process in preparation for future publication.)

· Argentina Censo 1869—Corrientes y Entre Rios
· Canada, British Columbia Births, 1854–1903
· Illinois, Cook County Birth Certificates, 1916–1922 [Part 1]
· Mississippi—1920 U.S. Federal Census
· Rhode Island—1920 U.S. Federal Census
· UK, Cheshire—Land Tax, 1778–1832
· Vermont—1920 U.S. Federal Census

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