Last week Ancestry.com announced new changes are coming to its search form. The change to the basic search form is slight. Ancestry.com is replacing the link “Advanced Search” with “Show More Options.” Changes to the advanced search form are more significant. They’re moving to a style more like FamilySearch.org. Compare the top of the Ancestry.com search form:
with the top of the FamilySearch.org form:
Both now use the same user interface for specifying life events and names of related persons.
Despite the similarities, it is important to remember that the two use radically different paradigms. FamilySearch.org provides an All search. They return results that match all of the search terms. Ancestry.com provides an Any search (by default). They return results that match any of the search terms, listing first the records that match all of the search terms. This behavior can be altered by setting the “exactness” of each search term. You can make your Ancestry.com search an “All” search or a hybrid, for maximum flexibility.
For more information about the changes, see “Using the Updated Search Forms,” by Amy Crow, on the Ancestry.com Blog.
Didn't ancestry used to have the advanced form by default? It sure would be nice if that were the case now. I ALWAYS have to click through to it. Why not have it come up that way in the first place? If there isn't anything to put in the blank don't put anything there but for the majority of the time, I have several blanks to fill in.
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ReplyDeleteSorry. I've thought it necessary to delete this comment for being uncivil. Patricia, you're welcome to make the point you made, but don't be venomous.
Delete---The Ancestry Insider
I received this email:
ReplyDeleteI agree with your last paragraph whole-heartedly. Fortunately, there is an alternate to FamilySearch which fills the gaps of Memories--It also allows the eye-witness to post photos, text-based stories, Pict-Oral Memoirs, and allows full sharing via any of the Social Media. In fact, it is a Family History Social Network. Audio narratives direct to a photo in a slideshow, as well as using the app to capture photo moments and describe them with up to 3 minutes of audio directly uploaded to the users FREE 1 Gb Legacy Portfolio. Deceased Ancestor stories, photos, documents, and audio can be attached via Tree Connect to an ancestor's Source section on the Person Detail Page. I speak of www.LegacyStories.org - sharing stories of the living with the living. And the ability to choose 5 levels of privacy. LegacyStories.org is on the FamilySearch Portal at Family History and FamilySearch Centers, as well as desktops on the Family History Library and JSM FamilySearch Center. It was the first web-based application to be certified for Access and Tree Connect in 2012-- One of the BEST KEPT SECRETS in Family History!
Sincerely,
Golden Adams
I hope there is some way to keep advanced search as the default. I NEVER use a simple search. The "ANY" item on the page certainly explains all the irrelevant junk matches, but it seems like whenever I choose a "must match this data" option, I get the "we can't find anything if you won't let us show you all the junk" screen.
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