Cues & Clues for AQ

Monday, April 28, 2014

AQ: Setting Those Preferences...

Most software programs come with default settings and it is up to the user to adjust those settings to their liking, however, often the individual has no idea they have that kind of control over the performance of their software.

Ancestral Quest manages these adjustments through its Preferences Screen. To get there, one goes to "Tools" and then scrolls down and clicks on "Preferences" which brings up the following Preferences Box.

Notice that there are a number of Tabs to help you adjust everything from the date format to the size of the fonts and many other items in between.

On this General tab you can attach RINs to a person or the FamilySearch ID instead. You also can choose different colors and this is where you can check or not check for any of the LDS options.

The database tab allows you to set who is in that first position when you open up your program. You can choose between the same first person or the last person you were working on when you closed down.

When you click on the "Record Changes" under Log Changes, it keeps a list of what you do when you are working on your file. This can be most helpful if you need to re-track your steps. It also allows you to set how you want to label your backup files, and other search options.

This is the format tab that allows you to state how you want dates, places and names show in the database.

The font tab allows you to change the size of the fonts throughout the various screens that are part of Ancestral Quest using the drop down arrow.

There are a few other tabs one should take time to review to make sure everything is set to your liking and creating a better environment to work in!

**Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified**!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Happy Ancestraling...
Claire ;)
AQ Cues & Clues
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Monday, April 14, 2014

AQ: Drop-Line Charts

Just how are we related to each other?

Often when doing research, one learns of new relationships, cousins, in-laws, etc. This usually is an opportunity to have a colleague in researching family lines and perhaps exchanging not only family information but also pictures and their family stories.

At some point, curiosity comes into the relationship as to just how two people are actually related.

Ancestral Quest handles these situations very easily through the "Line of Descent Drop-Line chart that can be created once two individuals have been identified as being related.

To begin this process, highlight the first person in the relationship and click on Print Reports and Charts which brings the following menu:

Click on Select and locate the Second Person which opens up the Find Individual/Marriage screen which allows you to either enter their RIN number or if you don't know their number, one clicks on Search for Individual and locate that person and click OK.

Next click on Verify and your results are shown as follows:

Next one has to click on Accept which brings you back to the Reports and Charts, at this point you can click on Print or Preview. In the Preview mode one can view the report. Here is a sampling:

Be sure to take advantage of the Line of Descent whenever and wherever needed, knowing that this chart can easily show two individuals exactly how they are related to each other!

**Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified**!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Friday, April 4, 2014

AQ: Creating Pedigree Charts

When it comes to reports, Ancestral Quest can provide you with a multiplicity of different ones as well as providing custom reports.

All the various reports are accessible from the "Reports and Charts" menu which opens up when you click on the "Printer Icon" or go to File, scroll down and click on "Print Reports and Charts".

The Pedigree Chart is easy to read and most informative. One can print a decorative one for a wall or a practical one to see where there is missing information. Charts can also be 'cascaded', so that you can print your entire ancestry on a series of charts.

The Fan Chart can be a full circle, half a circle or a quarter of a circle and with color or without color. All these charts can handle up to 13 generations, however, for viewing here, I've only chosen 6 generations:

Using these type of charts is very helpful especially when trying to figure out where the holes are in one's research. These charts do not have to be in color and one can print a half chart or even a quarter chart, it just depends on what is needed.

An extensive break down of these charts is explained in greater detail on Ancestral Quest's website here: http://ancquest.com/aqreprts.htm.

**Remember Ancestral Quest is fully FamilySearch Certified**!

Comments and questions are always welcome!

Friday, March 21, 2014

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!

Friday, March 14, 2014

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!

Friday, March 7, 2014

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!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

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!