Saved Searches

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logan
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Saved Searches

Post by logan »

There is a major new feature at Genealogy Indexer: saved searches. Suppose you have 100 searches of interest, maybe one for each surname on your family tree, and you want to know when new sources were added to Genealogy Indexer that match those 100 searches. Before saved searches, you would have to manually enter each of the 100 searches any time you wanted to check for new matches. Now, with saved searches, you can see a list of all 100 searches and the dates of the most recent matches in one place, without re-entering anything, and then click on a search with a recent match to see the new search results, again without re-entering the search term or search options. This should be a major time saver for researchers with many searches who want to stay current with additions to the site. As with the rest of Genealogy Indexer, this feature is completely free.

To save searches, you first need to choose a password. To do this, go to http://genealogyindexer.org/saved-search-help, enter your email address below "To choose a password," and press the "Submit" button. You will then receive an email with a link enabling you to choose a password. Please note that you MUST use an email address that is subscribed to our weekly newsletter. If you have not yet subscribed, you can do so at http://genealogyindexer.org/news. Be sure to click the confirmation link in the welcome email you will receive.

Once you have your password, conduct any search as you normally would. Below the search box, you will see a "Save Search" button and fields to enter your email address and password. Enter them and press the "Save Search" button to save your search. For the rest of your session, you should not need to re-enter your email address or password, but only have to click the "Save Search" button to add new searches to your list of saved searches.

To view your list of saved searches and the dates of most recent matches, go to http://genealogyindexer.org/saved or click the "Saved Searches" link in the top right of the website or to the right of the "Save Search" button. If you see that a search has a recent match, click on the "Newest Match" date to re-run the search and show the results sorted by match date, newest at the top.

At http://genealogyindexer.org/saved, you can also delete saved searches and find a link you can share with anyone you are collaborating with on your research (e.g., a cousin). That link will enable others to view your list of saved searches and the search results but not add or delete saved searches, without using a password.

The saved searches functionality will be developed further in the future. My ultimate goal is to not even require you to check http://genealogyindexer.org/saved for new matches, but to instead include a notice in the weekly newsletter about any new matches. So, whenever I add new sources, you would automatically be notified about the sources AND whether any match your searches. No ETA on when that will happen, as there are some technical challenges (especially for a non-commercial website), but it's in the works.

Please let me know if you encounter any problems with saved searches.

Logan
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