Research Tools

A guide to the research and output tools available for planning trips, generating documents, and exploring your ancestors

Viewer Tools

The following research tools are available from the person viewer page. Most operate on the person you are currently viewing.

Quick Research

Research Person - The [Research Person] heading option sends a generic Google search to your browser for the person you are viewing, helping you quickly find online records, obituaries, and other references.

Person Output Documents

These tools generate downloadable or printable documents for the person you are viewing. Found under Person Output in the navigation bar.

Research Request - Person Output > Research Request [TXT] — Generates a text-based research request suitable for submitting to an AI website or research service. Summarizes what is known and what still needs to be found for the person.
Profile Sheet - Person Output > Profile Sheet [DOC] — Creates an MS Word-like document containing the person's basic information, all events, and associated images. Useful as a comprehensive reference sheet.
Family Group Sheet - Person Output > Family Group Sheet [DOC] — Produces an HTML document with the person's basic details along with research notes, general comments, and data-to-fix-or-find items. A standard genealogical reference format.

Bulk Downloads

These tools export data across all ancestors for offline analysis. Found under Downloads in the navigation bar.

Researcher Events - Downloads > Researcher Events — Exports an MS Excel-like spreadsheet containing all events for all ancestors. Ideal for sorting, filtering, and analyzing event data across the entire database.
Researcher Row per Ancestor - Downloads > Researcher Row per Ancestor — Exports an MS Excel-like spreadsheet with one row per ancestor containing their basic information. Useful for quick lookups and summary analysis.

Visualization & Exploration

Interactive tools for exploring family connections and research resources. Found under Miscellaneous in the navigation bar.

Family Tree - Miscellaneous > Family Tree — Displays a horizontal family tree for the current person that you can view and manipulate to explore family connections.
Pedigree - Miscellaneous > Pedigree — Shows a vertical family pedigree for the current person with the ability to add and explore additional generations.
Repository Search - Miscellaneous > Repository Search — Browse and view detailed information about any of the research repositories (courthouses, archives, historical societies, etc.) on file in the system.
Events Mapper - Miscellaneous > Events Mapper — Displays all events for all ancestors on an interactive map organized by county. Click any county to see full details for every ancestor with events in that location. Can also view all for just a given ancestor.
Source Viewer - Miscellaneous > Source Viewer — Browse and review the information for all sources being used in the database. Helps verify what source documentation is on file.
Research Trip Tip: Before heading to a courthouse or historical society, use the Research Request to identify gaps, the Events Mapper to see what you already have for the county, and the Repository Search to review details about the facility. These three tools together make for efficient on-site research planning.

Admin Dashboard Tools

The following research tools are available from the admin dashboard (index.php) for logged-in administrators.

Event Mapper - Displays all events for all ancestors on an interactive map organized by county. Click any county to see full details for every ancestor with events in that location. Same functionality as the viewer's Events Mapper.
Family Lines - View a list of all persons in any selected family line. Useful for reviewing the completeness of research within a specific branch of the family.
Repositories - Browse and view information about any of the research repositories on file. Same functionality as the viewer's Repository Search.
Viewer vs. Admin: The viewer tools are available to all visitors and operate on the person being viewed. The admin dashboard tools require login credentials and provide database-wide views for research management.
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