WeRelate:Current FAQ archive

Policies on Living or Ancient People

Recently, some questions were raised about the inclusion of "Living" and "Ancient" persons on WeRelate. Both topics are included in WeRelate's Policy Statement, covering those and other topics that all WeRelate Users should be aware of. Please consult the Frequently Asked Questions Section for more information. Thank you!

fact types

WeRelate allows you to add 68 different fact types to person pages such as baptism, census record, emancipation, bat mitzvah, immigration, employment... Just click on add event/type under the events and facts section and click on down arrow to the right of type of event. (week of July 26)

find/add link

If you have already added a person to your tree, use the find/add link when you want to link them to another page. If you add the person's name again, you will have two pages for that person. (week of March 8)

Positioning images

You can keep the text from wrapping around an image by inserting <p> and </p> on either side of the image link. i.e. <p>[[Image:Kerr_JamesNE473acres.jpg]]</p>

Making a gallery

You can group your scans in horizontal rows by typing <gallery> above a list of image titles and </gallery> at the bottom of the list. (week of Feb 16)

Navigate with FTE

Navigate between family pages from a graphical family tree by clicking on lauch FTE on the MyRelate menu.

Mapping vital events

Select pedigree-map from the more menu on any person or family page to map vital events. Sort events by individual, line, generation, birth date and death date. (week of 25 January 2010)

Network

You can easily network with others researching common ancestors? Select on Network from the MyRelate menu. Then, click on the number link by each username to see a list of common ancestors. See your network page.

email your tree

Email your tree by clicking on trees from the more menu and then choosing the email link. To send it to another WeRelate user, enter that user name in the "To:" field.  :)

email this user

You can send private email through WeRelate by going to a User's page and selecting email this user from the more menu. Email addresses are shared and anyone who doesn't want direct contact can opt out.  :) (week of Nov. 31)

editing comments

You can add comments that only appear when the page is being edited by putting a "<--" before and a "-->" the comment. (week of Nov 16)

reduce pixels

If you reduce the pixels in a photo, it reduces the resolution for "fair use" licensing purposes. (week of Nov. 9)

Label people in photos

You can attach labels to people in photos by clicking on edit on an image page. (example), See: Annotating images tutorial.

Categories

Click on the category links at the bottom of ancestor pages to find related pages. (week of October 26)

Red place links

If the place link is red, that place is not indexed. Click on the red link to add the place page and fill the blanks. Thanks for helping out.  :)

Network

Click on Network under the MyRelate menu to see if other users are watching common ancestor pages.

Check watched pages

Click on Watchlist from the MyRelate menu to see a list of watched pages that have been edited. (week of sep 28)

Find people watching common ancestors

Click on Trees from the MyRelate menu and select watchers to see if others are watching common ancestors. (week of Sep 21)

Rename your tree

Rename your tree by clicking on Trees under the MyRelate menu and selecting rename. (week of Sept 14)

Down Load Gedcom

To download your gedcom, click on Trees from the MyRelate menu. There is a Download link. (week of Aug 9)

Volunteers

WeRelate is supported by donations and volunteers. If you would like help out please contact User:Solveig

Font Colors

Type <font color="the color"> Your text </font>. For instance, <font color="purple"> Some purple words </font> would read Some purple words .

Duplicate pages

Several researchers may be working on the same person and not know it. Collaborate! From the more menu, click on Find duplicates. The compare screen makes it easy to combine duplicate pages. (Aug 3)

As of 29 July 2009, the "Current FAQ" items have been checked against Help:FAQ. jillaine 11:25, 29 July 2009 (EDT)

Dashboard

The dashboard option on the MyRelate menu lets you see your network, check your watchlist, view your contributions list, manage your trees, create password protected user pages, and access your profile. (July 27)

check Merges

Review merges affecting your tree. Click on the review/undo link from the page history screen to see a comparison of facts and familial relationship for the merged pages. (July 21)

Pedigree map

Select pedigree-map from the more menu on any person or family page to map vital events. Sort events by individual, line, generation, birth date and death date. (July 7)

Talk pages

Each page has a talk page where you can discuss sources and different opinions. Click on the Talk link at the top of any page to leave comments.

Blue external links

Getting a [1] for an external link? Enter [web address space title] i.e. [http://www.werelate.org WeRelate]. Words following the space appear as a blue link.

Image names

Images need unique titles, i.e. John Smith (5) at the farm. If an image has the same title as another image, it will over write the old image when it is saved. June 15

History

WeRelate archives every version of every page. So, if you want to see how the page has changed, Click on History, and mark the versions you want to compare. June 8

Place Names

Start with the smaller jurisdiction, a comma, the next largest jurisdiction, comma, and so on. The words after the last comma are indexed as the country. See,Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States  :)

Scanned documents

Upload scans of your documentation like birth, military, draft cards, snippets of newspaper articles, obituaries, deeds, census records, etc., by selecting image from the add menu. (18 May 2009)

Google maps

You can insert a Google map on any page by typing {{googlemap|latitude|longitude|link text|label+with+plus+signs+for+spaces|zoom level|map type}}. instructions.

Headers

Create Headers by typing double equal signs on each side of the header. Subheaders are made by increasing the number of equal signs, i.e. ==Header== ===Subheader=== :) (4 May 2009)

Email this page

See an interesting page? You can email the url to a friend. Select the More menu and click on email this page.  :)--april 27

Making citation superscripts to sources

Link your sources to text in your ancestor's biography. Just type {{cite|the Source number}} i.e. {{cite|S1}} and a superscript notation will link to that item on your source list. :)--sq 10:19, 27 April 2009 (EDT)

Edit during upload

The new gedcom upload system will warn you if there are problems, like a grandfather died before he was married. Then, you can edit your gedcom during the upload process. :)--sq 16:11, 20 April 2009 (EDT)

You can see Old versions of the page

Click on the history link at the top of any page to see how the page has been edited. Nothing is ever lost. --sq 11:02, 15 April 2009 (EDT)

Watch pages you are interested in

You can click on the watch link in the top right hand corner of any page and get an email when new information is added to the page.--sq 15:49, 6 April 2009 (EDT)

Internal Email

You can email a page to your cousin by clicking on the Email this page link from the More menu.--sq 14:16, 30 March 2009 (EDT)

Creating Person pages

You can create Person and Family pages without a GEDCOM. Click on Person or Family from the Add menu and fill in the blanks. Pages will be automatically formatted for you.

Family Tree Explorer

Family Tree Explorer splits the screen so you can view and navigate from a combined pedigree and descendancy chart. Click on launch FTE from the MyRelate menu.--sq 21:30, 16 March 2009 (EDT)

Pedigree maps

You can see pedigrees, maps, and timelines for your ancestors by clicking on Pedigree-Map in the More menu at the top of any person or family page (example).

Annotating images

You can annotate family group photos! Label the people you recognize and ask your cousins label the others (example). Collaboration is easy! See: Annotating images tutorial.

Network

Who's in your network? WeRelate keeps track of which users are watching the same pages. You can contact these people to collaborate. Click here to see your network.

Password protection

WeRelate has password protected User pages. These are blank pages for your notes that only you can edit. Click on the Add menu item and select User page. See: Caddell research log.

Network

You can easily network with others researching common ancestors? Select on Network from the MyRelate menu. Then, click on the number link by each username to see a list of common ancestors. See your network page.

Volunteers

WeRelate is supported by donations and volunteers. Please record your time at Volunteer log when you work on to Source or Place pages, or work on Articles of common interest. It shows the IRS we are publicly supported. Thanks.

Duplicate pages

Several researchers may be working on the same person and not know it. Collaborate! From the more menu, click on Find duplicates. The compare screen makes it easy to combine duplicate pages.

Dashboard

The dashboard option on the MyRelate menu lets you see your network, check your watchlist, view your contributions list, manage your trees, create password protected user pages, and access your profile.

Check Merges

Review merges affecting your tree. Click on the review/undo link from the page history screen to see a comparison of facts and familial relationship for the merged pages.

Pedigree Map

Select pedigree-map from the more menu on any person or family page to map vital events. Sort events by individual, line, generation, birth date and death date.

What is WeRelate.org?

WeRelate is a free genealogy web site where genealogists and family historians share their work in a collaborative "wiki" environment, connecting the work of multiple contributors into a single family tree, supported with excellent, user-contributed source information and rich contextual and historical data.

WeRelate is developed and sponsored by the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc., a non-profit (501c3) organization, and operated in partnership with the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library. It is funded by your tax-deductible donations and supported by a host of Volunteers. WeRelate seeks to be the number one community website for genealogy. WeRelate is already the largest genealogy wiki on the web. Read more...

How does WeRelate differ from other Genealogy Web Sites?

Where sites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org focus on providing research tools and information to help individuals build their own family trees, WeRelate.org provides a web-based environment (using wiki technology) to support sharing and collaboration across multiple researchers and family trees, resulting in a single "tree" with one page per individual. WeRelate achieves this, in part, through uploaded individual GEDCOMs that are then merged with matching information already on the site. Therefore, by sharing your tree or research with WeRelate, you are contributing your work to a larger community effort.