New Developments on FamilySearch.org

Every so often, the FamilySearch Blog sends out a newsletter to Family History Consultants on the newest developments on the website, FamilySearch.org. I just received a link to the newest post for January, 2015. Here are the new developments listed on this post available for those who subscribe to the newsletter:

Seeing the Summary Card or a Person on Your Temple Reservation List

When users are viewing the list of ancestors they have reserved for temple work, before they seal the children to parents, they often want to know if the parents’ ordinances have been done. Previously, users had to go to each parent’s Details page and click the Ordinances tab to see if the ordinances were done.

Now, when you click a parent’s name on the temple reservation list, you will see the parent’s summary card. If an ordinance has been done, the ordinance abbreviation on the summary card will be in a gray box.

Location-Specific Research Pages

When you click Search at the top of a FamilySearch.org screen, a world map appears. Now when you select a location on the map, you see a research page for that location. The page lists resources in FamilySearch.org for that location. The initial release includes links to five types of data: indexed historical record collections, image-only historical collections (collections that have not been indexed), courses in the Learning Center, the FamilySearch catalog, and the FamilySearch Wiki. Additional research resources will be added in the future.

People’s Roles More Clearly Identified in the Records Details

Users were often confused when they searched for an ancestor and FamilySearch.org showed them a record that mentioned the ancestor but was not directly about the ancestor (for example, when a search result showed a daughter’s birth certificate).

The record details page has been changed to help you see more clearly how the person you searched for is connected to the record.

Identifying Temple Opportunities When Attaching Records
When you use Source Linker to attach a record to Family Tree, the record may provide enough information to qualify the person in Family Tree for temple ordinances. Sometimes the record has additional people you can add to Family Tree who qualify for temple ordinances. When you attach a record and add new information or a new person, the system checks to see if the person in Family Tree qualifies for temple ordinances and is in your four generations: your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents and their spouses and children.

If the person in Family Tree is in those four generations and qualifies for temple ordinances, the person will be added to your Temple Opportunities list, and you will see a message telling you that the person has been added.