tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post8780957457820510631..comments2023-04-20T12:46:11.858-06:00Comments on The Ancestry Insider: Ancestry.com Rethinking New Search?The Ancestry Insiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490682912125335188noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-43261606004287123102013-02-07T03:04:10.357-07:002013-02-07T03:04:10.357-07:00It sounds like what you want is to only return rec...It sounds like what you want is to only return records that match your query exactly, but both the Old Search and the New Search have this capability. In both searches, it is selected with a checkbox at the top of the search form. On the Old Search, it is labeled "Exact matches only" and on the New Search it is labeled "Match all terms exactly".Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05239573548667429302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-15560763426718689152013-01-29T19:51:42.820-07:002013-01-29T19:51:42.820-07:00I hate "new search" and never use it! Ye...I hate "new search" and never use it! Yes, I took the time to learn it and tried it out for some time. But I happily returned to "old search" and that's where I intend to stay!beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00735252104882638355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-50912128055010787132013-01-25T15:12:58.257-07:002013-01-25T15:12:58.257-07:00Both New and Old Search behave the same way with &...Both New and Old Search behave the same way with "Smee" for Last Name on "England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005". In fact, New Search is actually more helpful. This is an artefact of Ancestry's programming that is the same in New AND Old Search.<br /><br />If I use New Search on "England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005", "Smee" for the last name, set 'Match all terms exactly' AND exact matches on the child's Last Name, then I get 2,717 (including mother's name = Smee) - as justifiably complained about. <br /><br />Ditto for Old Search. New Search IS better because I get Smee entries FIRST.<br /><br />I do NOT get nearly 6,000 entries on New Search UNLESS I UNcheck "match All term exactly" AND use Default Settings for Name. If I CHECK "match All term exactly" AND use 'Restrict to Exact' for Last Name, then I get 2,717 names, exactly as per Old Search.<br /><br />I would suggest that anyone using New Search MUST set "match All term exactly" AND *start* with 'Restrict to Exact' for Last Name. If I try for phonetic matching on that last name, it goes off to look for Smee in the mother's name as well. On a census, this still gives sensible answers because there is no alternate name to search.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-18614414807694345472013-01-24T12:00:54.033-07:002013-01-24T12:00:54.033-07:00That stinks ;-(That stinks ;-(Kimberlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227709987244345501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-53545295010632580702013-01-24T02:23:55.987-07:002013-01-24T02:23:55.987-07:00As Polly said in her earlier posting the option to...As Polly said in her earlier posting the option to switch back to "Old Search" which Kimberly describes no longer exists in the Library edition, you have to have a Subscription in order to be able to have the choice.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04426187953485906813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-82941750110784834302013-01-24T02:09:07.217-07:002013-01-24T02:09:07.217-07:00Talking of quantitive analysis, if only even Old S...Talking of quantitive analysis, if only even Old Search worked correctly!<br /><br />Searching the England and Wales Birth index 1916-2005 using the child's surname and checking "Exact Matches only" produces an interesting variation on the meaning of "Exact matches" perhaps a dictionary would be in order?<br /><br />The over helpful search engine decides that this idiot obviously intended to use "Mother's Maiden Name" option in Advanced Search as it also pumps out all the children where the Mother's maiden name matches the child's surname regardless of what the Child's surname actually is.... for surname = Smee I get 2,717 hits of which only 56% are what I actually asked for! <br /><br />Use New Search instead? I really can't be bothered to investigate why it returns nearly 6,000 entries ie 75% incorrect ones.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04426187953485906813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-38833911362397611972013-01-24T01:36:31.607-07:002013-01-24T01:36:31.607-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04426187953485906813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-45598504684447611682013-01-23T15:10:47.365-07:002013-01-23T15:10:47.365-07:00Thank you KimberlyThank you KimberlyUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09798859263766756485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-70409993067971283172013-01-23T14:58:28.026-07:002013-01-23T14:58:28.026-07:00Much better than having someone in Asia doing the ...Much better than having someone in Asia doing the transcriptions which has been happening quite a lot. Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230436754902585388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-26059054081041840932013-01-23T14:56:30.409-07:002013-01-23T14:56:30.409-07:00I agree with not restricting occasionally; usually...I agree with not restricting occasionally; usually when I've lost someone in the late 19th, early 20th century. I generally know where they start from, it's where they end up is the problem. I've found the criminal records remarkably useful for tracking down who was transported, when & where to.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230436754902585388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-31578152899360296502013-01-23T13:54:14.958-07:002013-01-23T13:54:14.958-07:00Actually, Rosemary, 99% of the time, I'd restr...Actually, Rosemary, 99% of the time, I'd restrict the collections to a specific as well. In this instance I did it just to see if I could see these thousands of extraneous responses. Nope! (The one time it's useful not to restrict is when I'm searching for emigrants. Once I know where they've gone, then it's usually back to 2 searches with restricted "countries").Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-74407643522900716582013-01-23T13:31:53.420-07:002013-01-23T13:31:53.420-07:00Probably not as often as I should. I will do that...Probably not as often as I should. I will do that, thank you! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05072934419971410076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-36400846616619384562013-01-23T13:01:58.690-07:002013-01-23T13:01:58.690-07:00Belinda, Have you used the Card Catalogue to look ...Belinda, Have you used the Card Catalogue to look at databases relevant to NJ/PA/NY?Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230436754902585388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-24718348577686742982013-01-23T12:55:09.799-07:002013-01-23T12:55:09.799-07:00Bruce, I always restrict the collections to a spec...Bruce, I always restrict the collections to a specific country. Always!Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230436754902585388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-47748234443260783422013-01-23T12:53:03.826-07:002013-01-23T12:53:03.826-07:00I agree with a lot of what you said. I still prefe...I agree with a lot of what you said. I still prefer Old Search as my first point of entry, but for tough cases, or to be sure I haven't missed anything, I will also use New Search as well. I especially like the locality search you mentioned, which allows you to search adjacent counties with a single search. Great for less common surnames!<br /><br />KimberlyKimberlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227709987244345501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-26357569606899728652013-01-23T12:51:04.930-07:002013-01-23T12:51:04.930-07:00Go to search.ancestry.com and you should see a lin...Go to search.ancestry.com and you should see a link in the upper-right corner to switch between the two different search engines. Ancestry released what they termed "New Search" many years ago and have continued to refine it, but there has been so much consternation from long time users, that they also retained their original search interface (old search).<br /><br />KimberlyKimberlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227709987244345501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-15178392455087300142013-01-23T12:49:33.463-07:002013-01-23T12:49:33.463-07:00Marsha,
Go to search.ancestry.com and you should ...Marsha,<br /><br />Go to search.ancestry.com and you should see the link to switch between New Search (which is more than 5 years old now I think) and Old Search in the upper right-hand corner.<br /><br />KimberlyKimberlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15227709987244345501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-87326619013313747632013-01-23T12:47:16.427-07:002013-01-23T12:47:16.427-07:00Can somebody please define Ancestry Old Search and...Can somebody please define Ancestry Old Search and New Search?<br />I'm afraid this newbie doesn't understand what you mean.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09798859263766756485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-42065540601989367112013-01-23T12:38:49.514-07:002013-01-23T12:38:49.514-07:00My searches no longer yield results. I'm eith...My searches no longer yield results. I'm either searching badly, or I really do need to travel to NJ/PA/NY and dig through records not yet online. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05072934419971410076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-48672536666931941022013-01-23T11:41:03.980-07:002013-01-23T11:41:03.980-07:00I keep "New Search" turned off nearly al...I keep "New Search" turned off nearly all of the time. On a few occasions I have turned it on to "give it a chance," and did find it to be helpful in suggesting matches I wouldn't have come across otherwise. I especially find the "adjacent county/state" option helpful. But I almost immediately turned it off again, once I realized that the imprecision that is its strength is also its major weakness: not only does it return imprecise, occasionally helpful marginal matches, but it *prevents* very precise searches, even with "Match all terms exactly" turned on. More often than not I know exactly what I'm looking for. Coming from the day of printed indices, I automatically search for variations on names, and am pretty good at using wildcards that will find what I need. I think the "New Search" is probably more beneficial when looking for somebody about whom there is a paucity of facts.<br /><br />... Okay, well, in an effort to find an example to show to you, it seems Ancestry.com has improved the "New Search" since the last time I tried it. It seems it might actually be usable now. I will give in another try.Joseph T. Richardsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08369708123275021053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-28867922073053254532013-01-23T10:10:43.077-07:002013-01-23T10:10:43.077-07:00I have someone born in Virgina, so I just entered ...I have someone born in Virgina, so I just entered this into Ancestry's NewSearch<br /> - their name;<br /> - lived in = Virginia USA;<br /> - match all terms exactly = yes;<br /> <br />I left Collection Priority = All Collections.<br /> <br />I also excluded Family Trees - like I said, I want evidence, not someone's conclusions.<br /> <br />I got exactly 4 entries back - including one directory entry I don't think I'd found before. All of then were in Virginia. <br /><br />Of course, if I uncheck "Match all terms exactly", I get 139,389 responses from all over the place but why would I want people with the same surname but a different forename, and people outside the US? So - I still don't understand how people get these masses of irrelevancies...<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-78291492344019510372013-01-23T10:02:33.676-07:002013-01-23T10:02:33.676-07:00Old search only for me as well. I know what I am ...Old search only for me as well. I know what I am looking for and can use the fields to target the results pretty well. Laurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09312025277661530407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-18030387958536083572013-01-23T09:42:35.960-07:002013-01-23T09:42:35.960-07:00In my experience, New Search's extraneous &quo...In my experience, New Search's extraneous "suggestions" are completely irrelevant. If I specify someone was born and died in Louisiana, USA, between 1850 and 1940, I'm really not looking for a thousand provincial English baptisms in the 1700s.<br />The 1940 census index seems to be missing quite a few people. I can find them at familysearch, then bring up the image at ancestry, but can't find them in ancestry's index. ???<br />Bring back Old Search!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00362156788588471475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-51951372836072442032013-01-23T09:36:37.611-07:002013-01-23T09:36:37.611-07:00 How do you get Old Search back? How do you get Old Search back?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00362156788588471475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512311610334754148.post-40120937094851325472013-01-23T09:07:52.952-07:002013-01-23T09:07:52.952-07:00Well, I use New Search just about exclusively and ...Well, I use New Search just about exclusively and haven't any problems with it. And yes, I was using Ancestry before New Search showed up so I'm quite familiar with Old Search. I'm generally searching from a member tree which I'm certain helps in the weeding out process. I always search within a specific country (generally England, UK & Ireland, or Australia). The results I have displayed by Category and database and I'm often surprised when a new, to me, database pops up in the results. I've had some happy surprises this way.<br /><br />I wasn't part of the survey, unfortunately. I'm also noticing on some of the message boards that there are quite a number of people who are very upset when they can't find their grandparents who were born post WWII. For them, that is an ancestor. Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230436754902585388noreply@blogger.com