Using FamilySearch Memories more efficiently
Most
users of FamilySearch are aware of the FamilySearch Memories option
which allows for uploading of photos, documents, scans, stories, audio
files and other items.
But so many users are often using these
options and processes in a very inefficient way/method. For
example many people dont realize they can actually upload numerous
photos in a single upload batch - rather than just uploading them one
by one. There are numerous Memories processes that can be
applied to more than one item at a time. For anyone working with
hundreds or even thousands of items - its critical to understand these
ways to use the tools more efficiently.
Uploading a Family Search Memory item to a specific person.
For
many years now FamilySearch has allowed users to upload things like
photos, pdf documents, document scans, text files and even audio
files and hook them (tag them) to specific people in the Family Tree
database. Many people will do this from the profile record of the
deceased person and then clicking on the Memories tab and then clicking
on an upload Icon on the appropriate upload type and then selecting the
desired file from their local storage device / computer. Many users
will process one item at a time - but you can actually select more than
one item at a time - though more than like 3-4 items will usually
cause some sort of error - often with no explanation as to the cause of
the error. Most people who are working with a large number of
upload items will find it much more efficient to upload first to a
Memories "Album" (Folder) first rather than uploading directly to
the person record. This is because the upload through-put speed
on an album is MUCH greater than the speed doing the same thing on a
person record.
Uploading to Albums/Folders
As stated many
people will initially learn how to upload items - by uploading a photo
or document directly via the profile page and memory tab of a given
person record in Family Tree. This may be the more natural and
intuitive way to go about it.
BUT
it is not the most efficient. You can upload at much greater speeds and
with many more items using an album than you can by just uploading
directly to the person record.
To create a new album in your general
memories gallery - first click on "Memories", "Gallery" and then
click on "New Album" on the left hand side. You can do this to create
numerous albums or folders to use as ways to group and categorize your
items. Note that a single item can actually be part of multiple
albums - even though the document is only stored once in FamilySearch
Memories. So for example you could, in theory, create albums for
each of the surnames you are researching and place items in each album.
BUT you could also do groupings/albums for specific item types - such
as Family Bibles, Probate Records, Census Records, Newspaper Articles
and add items already stored in a surname folder also in a Family Bible
folder. The rhyme or reason as to how you create and name
different albums and which items you include in which album(s) is
totally up to you. Items uploaded to a Memories Album will
not initially be linked/tagged to a given person in Family Tree - but
you can tag them - and you can do this in large batches as needed.
Warning: You should not load more than 1,000 items to a specific
folder. The system will allow you to go beyond the 1,000 item max
- and will even show you the correct file count. BUT the system is
currently set to only DISPLAY 1,000 items and wont give you any
indication that there are records it didnt display - same applies
to doing a search - which will not find items beyond the 1,000 range.
To see how to in turn link a large set of item in a specific
folder (that are currently unlinked) to a specific person record in
Family Tree - see the item below labeled "Hooking Multiple Memories
items to a single person"
Multi item Select
In
most cases uploads to FamilySearch will let you select more than one
item to upload in a single batch. The mult-file select option is
the same as with any other process - under the Windows operating system
you can hold down the shift key with the left hand and click the
first and last items in a contiguous file list - to select all the items
between the first and last. If you want to select multiple files that
are not in a contiguous list you can use the CTRL key instead of the
Shift Key.
There really is no explicit maximum file count that you
can select in a single selection - however it is usually best to keep
it under 100 items and less than 50 if they are very large files.
Selecting more than that can often cause time outs and errors. All
the items of a batch select - should be of the same item type
(photo, pdf, etc,) Even
after your items have been uploaded
into the gallery and to albums - you can still use the SHIFT or
CTRL key inside FamilySearch to allow for a multi-select and then to
apply an action to the group selected. However you may find that
any muti-select operations with more than like 100 items in a single
batch may sometimes fail.
Merging Albums
- There is no explicit/direct "album merge" option. But you can
easily perform a merge - simply by selecting the items in one folder -
and using the "add album" option to include them (also) in another
album. Realize that any item can be included in as many albums
as needed - and still really only be stored once in memory. Be
aware as previously discussed, though, that normally you can only
multi-select and process about 100 or so items at a time. Doing more
may end up in the operation stalling and getting stuck in the "looping
status" mode.
Hooking Multiple Memories items to a single person.
You will not find
this capability (of attaching multiple items to a single family tree
person record in a single batch) when you are looking at the gallery or
album. HOWEVER - you can still simply accomplish this task - by FIRST
going to the person record in Family Tree - and then clicking on
"Memories" and then choosing "Select from Gallery" - then choosing the
desired items from the gallery - or often even better - from a specific
album/folder - using the multi-item select as needed. You can use this
method to link a very large number of items to a specific person.
You will eventually bump up to a limit of 1,000 items that
can/should be tagged to a specific person record - but 1,000 items
should be more than plenty.
Adding Multiple Items to a specific Folder.
If
you have already populated your general gallery (set of item uploads)
before you started creating and using "albums" - you can move
items, in large batches, from your general gallery into newly created
albums - by selecting a group of items (using a group select) and
then click on "Action" - and click on "Add to Album". (You should
probably restrict such operations no more than like 100 items to ensure
it works as expected. All the
items selected will be added to the designated album (assuming you have
already created the new albums ahead of time). BUT you will still
find the items in the general gallery view as well. You can also
go
to a specific album - and select a group of items within the album and
go through the same process - of "Add to Album" to also add those items
into a different album as well (leaving them in the source album).
There
is also an option to remove an item from a given album (which does not
delete the item- simply removing it from its part of a given album).
Mark Public or Private
From
your gallery or album view - you can also select given items that you
want to mark as private (instead of the default public status).
Marking an item as "private" seems like a good option for photos
of living persons. But one should use caution in using the private
status. If anything were to happen to you - no one would ever be
able to restore these files back into public status to allow them to be
accessed. Rather I suggest items for living persons be left
public - but with no title or description used on them - so that if
anyone does a SEARCH they will not come up in a search result. If an
item is so private you dont want anyone else seeing it - it begs the
question - should it even be uploaded in the fitst place. Whether
you mark items as private or not - is totally up to you - just be aware
of what could happen - if you passed on - and no one else had
access to the account.
Delete Items
If
you look into the possible actions that can be applied to a single item
in FS Memories - you can indeed delete a single item. BUT
deleting multiple items in a single batch is not so obvious and even a
little frustrating - but probably intentional to avoid people deleting
things by accident and then wishing they hadn't. To delete group
items - you must select them from the general gallery view - and not
the album view. If you need to use the album view to facilitate
finding them - then you must choose the option "Remove from Album", and
then afterwards refresh your view and go to the general gallery where
you will find them (note you can use the filter option to filter on
items "not in an album" - and then you can group select and delete.
Note
that you can indeed delete an album - but deleting an album - does NOT
deleting the items that were in the album at the point of deletion.
Such items will continue to exist - via the main gallery view.
Duplicate Items
FamilySearch
tries its best to help you avoid wasting valuable storage space - as an
example if you attempt to upload an item more than once - the system
will generate an error - indicating that this upload would generate
a duplicate entry. Any one item can exist ONLY once across
the entire gallery of items for a given user. Thus
if a person wanted to attach a single photo to more than one person -
they would NOT upload the item multiple times to each profile - rather
they would choose the "select from gallery" option on each profile that
they were attaching to - to attach the photo that has already been
uploaded.
When you do get a "duplicate" error message - it might be
a surprise to you because you dont see the item already linked to a specific
person - so you assume it hasn't been already loaded. But if you get a
duplicate message it is an indication that the item is already part of
your gallery - even if you dont see it on a specific FamilyTree
profile. When this happens it might be that you have a difficult
time locating the pre-existing duplicate. One of the best ways to find
duplicates is to go to your general gallery view - and do a search with
the search value being the file name of the item. Searches against
one's own gallery will work with the file name - and can be quite
useful in locating a given item using file name. Note, however,
you cannot do a file name search when searching the entire set of
Memories items (across many users)
"Try again Later"
If
you ever get an error message when processing FamilySearch Memories -
that includes the phrase "try again later" - 99.9% of the time -
trying again later - will simply result in the same exact error and
failure again. Obviously when you get the error you know
something is wrong - but waiting time - usually doesnt correct whatever
is wrong. One example of this is that sometimes instead of
telling you an item is a duplicate - it merely gives you a generic
error and tells you to try again later. If an item is a duplicate
- it will give you an error every time you try to load - no matter how
much time you wait to go by. After a couple attempts at any given
process that generates a "try again later" message - consider waiting
an hour for one more attempt - and if you still get the error - then
you should assume you will always get the error. If you
have no clue what may be generating the error - then consider
submitting a post to the Memories section of Community for help
from FS personnel. Note that the "try again later" error message
is simply a "catch all" error message - when the system for whatever
reason can't (or hasn't been coded to) explicitly determine what
the error is. Continuing to submit the process time and time again -
will simply result in the same error message again and again. Seek help
- instead of banging your head against the wall.
Your Gallery View - Note
that all of your memories items should always be available for view at
any time using your gallery view (avoiding looking at specific
albums). For example you should always be able to find any item
by looking at the general gallery and either just a visual check - or
by doing a SEARCH/FILTER. However, once you have more than like
10,000 items in your entire gallery - you may actually have to wait a
minute or so for your gallerry view to display and for your gallery
item counter to populate.
Some examples of various FamilySearch Albums:
Dedicated to a Specific Surname: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/gallery/album/644885
Dedicated to a specific Person: or Family: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/gallery/album/510196
Dedicated to Family Bibles: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/gallery/album/508280
Dedicated to a specific research trip: https://www.familysearch.org/photos/gallery/album/78812
And DONT Forget this page that can be used to FIND Memories items from among the MILLIONS that have been uploaded
https://www.familysearch.org/photos/find
When doing a FIND with MULTIPLE TERMS - be sure and use the AND between them and always make sure it is is UPPER CASE
(Example: Yancey AND Bible)