AQ: Learning about Events on Specific Dates & Building Timelines

When doing research have you even wondered what happened on a specific date but just a different year or time period?

With the help of the Internet this kind of information is relatively easy to obtain. With a few key strokes one can learn about what happened when they were born and what happened on that date over a period of time.

These sites help to create a timeline that includes events going on in the world around you. The first one of interest may be What Happened On My Birth Date? Using dMarie's website, http://www.Dmaire.com/timecap you can easily discover all that was happening on your birthdate.

Note that there are two different customized reports. A "Quick Page" will generate a Time Capsule page for you and the "Advanced Page" allows you to add additional information by topics as well as adding your own headlines. Either way, one can easily use the results to add into one's own timeline.

The next site that is also just as interesting is Dates In History at http://www.datesinhistory.com/mar04.php. Choose a date and it will let you know what happened on that date throughout time. Here is a sample:

While one may not wish to go back quite this far in a timeline, it does provide information up to current times!

Either way, each of these sites can help with filling in additional events in an ancestor's timeline. 

These timelines come with some preset events, however, clicking on Options allows one to add additional items, adjust the colors, etc.

Take advantage of building your timelines for your ancestors as well as yourself!

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved
 gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ: Other Events..Taking Advantage of this Resource!

Throughout one's life are many events that occur besides the birth, marriage and death.

In fact, we are  reminded in a poem entitled "The Dash", written by Linda Ellis of just how important one's time here is to those whose's lives were touched in some way by that person. Usually those individuals are family members, friends, colleagues who had the opportunity to know an individual.

Ancestral Quest has a way to record those additional events, like the first day of school, joining a sports team, winning an award, participating in a play, joining the military, finding a true love, getting that first job and so many more events that are worth remembering and recording.

When you open up and individual's Edit Screen, the area to add these life events is in the lower bottom of the screen as shown below: 

While the shot only shows some of the events, each event shows up in all AQ reports, the individuals summary and their timeline as follows:

The 'other events' are interwoven throughout the timeline very nicely. Be sure to take the time to record those special events for your family members.

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved
 gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ: PAF to AQ - A Simple Task

     Are you a PAF User switching to Ancestral Quest and confused on how this is done?

     Generally individuals who are switching from PAF to AQ have been using PAF for years. It is because of the special relationship between these two software programs that switching from one to the other is rather simple.

     The windows version of PAF was created from the code provided to FamilySearch by Incline Software in 1999. PAF 4 was nearly identical to Ancestral Quest Version 3, except for the different name and a few other minor changes. PAF 5 went through some additional changes before its final release in 2002.

     Over the years, Incline Software has continued to improve upon the software, the resulting effects are that PAF users will feel right at home and be able to continue to use features they have come to expect along with new features that were created since 1999.

     When choosing to switch to Ancestral Quest, one has the option of trying out the free AQ Basic version or purchasing the full version of AQ 14, either way one will be able to view those PAF files very easily.

     Download the product you have chosen, AQ Basics or AQ 14 and install it to your computer. Once insttalled you will see an AQ Icon on your desktop like this:

Double click this icon to open up the program which will be just an empty database at this point.

     It is at this point that you look for your .paf file and double click, if you don't remember where your PAF file is, you can click on the "Search" button and the program will search for your PAF files:

     Click on the PAF file and then click on Open and your database will open up inside of Ancestral Quest!

     Note that one is in Ancestral Quest as shown in the top left hand corner and you have opened a PAF file which is evident in the lower right hand corner. At this point you can choose to continue using your database as a PAF file or convert it to an AQ file. Converting to an AQ file is covered in one of the two videos.

     We've created two videos to help with PAF files, enjoy!

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved
 gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ: Noticing Updates...

      Most of us are creatures of habit and often use to doing things a certain way to the point that, when a new way to do something is introduced, often, it is ignored as long as possible until there is no choice but to adopt that new way into a new habit.

     There are always exceptions to this, when each of the new iPhones were released, many stood outside of stores waiting to be the first to own one as well as many other electronic products that have been introduced over the years.

     Regardless of how new a device or program is, updates are a necessary part of making sure it is always working properly and running correctly according to its design.

     Ancestral Quest is no different and so the programmers have created a way to alert you when updates are available for your program, however, many don't notice the alert and close it out only to call in because the program may not work they way it should.

     When you first open Ancestral Quest, this is the screen you need to notice:

      Notice the first line in this box is CURRENT and is states my copy of Ancestral Quest is up to date. If your copy is not up to date it will tell you and provide a link to update. As there are many changes going on it is important to notice this when the program opens.

      If you missed this notice, you can also check by going to "Internet" and clicking on "Check for Latest AQ Release" as shown below:

     This click will take you to our website where it will check to make sure you have the latest update. If your program is updated it will tell you and if it is not, there will be a link to update it to the latest version.

     Ancestral Quest recommends you check on a regular basis to make sure you have the latest build by either noticing the notice or checking yourself as shown above. Staying updated allows your program to be the best it can be and continue to manage your genealogical database to your satisfaction.

     AQ has just released a tutorial to help with this process following it all the way to being installed on your computer, check it out here: http://ancquest.com/updatetutorial/index.htm!

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved
 gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ Users: Windows XP Being Retired...

Seems that Windows XP was a welcome relief from its predecessor Windows 2000 and Windows ME to the point that there are many individuals who are still using this as their operating system on the computers.

Windows XP was released on August 24, 2001 and is considered the second most popular Windows version from statistics based on an installed user base. For those who may not have known, the XP was taken from the work 'Experience' and provided a better user experience than earlier Window versions up to that point in time. Back on April 10, 2012, Microsoft reaffirmed that extended support of Windows XP and Office 2003 would end on April 8, 2014. (1)

At the time of this announcement, that date, April 8, 2014 seemed a long way off and yet, here we are in February, 2014 and it is only about 6 weeks away from now! According to a recent article from Computer World: 

     Microsoft will provide the final public patches for known vulnerabilities in XP on April 8; after that, customers will face an increasingly dangerous future, as most security experts, including those working for Microsoft, expect cyber criminals to continue to dig up new bugs, called "zero days", and unleash exploits on people who still rely on the retired Operating System."

According to this same article, Microsoft suggest that successful attacks against XP could go as high as 66 % after April.(1) This technical support also includes Microsoft Security Essentials in connection with Windows XP, it really is time to seriously consider upgrading to a newer operating system in order to continue to provide the best possible protection and user experience for yourself and your family. This is the best way to prevent any possibility of allowing your own computers to become vulnerable to security risks and virus attacks.

So what the options?

Looking at the Windows products page, one can upgrade to Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.1, whichever one you choose, be sure to do this sooner rather than later so that you will be able to continue to keep your computer with the most up to date security and virus protections possible.

Ancestral Quest works with all of these operating systems and wants you to have the best possible experience using our program and preserving your family data as best as possible.

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved
 gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ: Great Awards and Reviews!

Whenever one gets great Awards it is definitely time to celebrate and continue on to provide the best possible genealogical software product available today!

For the 3rd year in a row, GenSoftReviews has awarded Ancestral Quest the winner as their "Top Rated Genealogical Software"!

There are some wonderful comments about Ancestral Quest and anyone can add their own comments as well and we definitely appreciate all our users to take a moment and share your thoughts on Ancestral Quest, I've added the link to the reviews here.

Another great write up was also done just at the end of the year by Bonnie Raymond from examiner.com. Her review was extensive and very well written. She took it step by step from installation to using the program and carefully went through many of the features of Ancestral Quest. A quote from her review says:

"I have used several different genealogy programs in recent years and they all left me wishing for something easier to use that would allow me to enter and view my data without having to read a hefty manual first. Ancestral Quest is the answer to my prayers. If I need help, I can view their tutorials or access the help files but the program is simple and intuitive to use.

Her article is entitled: "Ancestral Quest Software: Discover and share your family history" and is available from their website.

It is always fun to share the wonderful news of how other individuals enjoy and use Ancestral Quest. Be sure to share your comments as others ask what you may use to handle your ancestor database! 

Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2014 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved

     gfindlay@ancquest.com

AQ: To Date AQ available in 10 Languages!

     Having a program in your own language can make all the difference in the world to a user. Their ability to take advantage of all the bells and whistles of a program is enhanced and improved 100%.

     While this is the ideal for all, it is also a daunting task when you consider how many different languages there are in the whole world. Individuals who write programs for different software have their work cut our for them in this regard.

     Ancestral Quest has reached out to its community of users over these last few years and various individuals have come forward and assisted in the massive undertaking of making AQ available in other languages. The chart below shows the progress that has been made and these 9 additional languages available besides English:

     Most of the above languages are available for free and will be helpful to anyone needing them, note that some of the 'Help Files' are not yet completed while the program has been completed. As more languages are added they will be added to this chart. AQ is always looking for people to help as there are many many languages. The following is also on the same page if anyone is able to help grow this list as follows:

     If per chance you are able to help with this initiative, please send us an email with the subject line of "Willing to Translate" and we will work with you to achieve another language translation!

Remember comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
Blog: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AncQuest
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ancquest

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/inclinesoftware

(c) 1994-2013 Incline Software, All Rights Reserved

     gfindlay@ancquest.com