If you use a digital camera or a scanner, then you have hopefully already learned about the "before-taking-your-first-picture" rules or the "before-you-scan" rules for genealogists. If not, you may have a little catch-up work to do.
The Digital Family History Guidebook, by Marlo Schult, does a thorough job of explaining all the rules and "mine fields" for digital imaging. Its nine chapters (over 200 pages) of helpful information is designed to help you with family history projects while saving you time, money and frustration.
Chapter 1 – Where to Begin?
Are you frustrated trying to determine the best place to start organizing all your family history photos and files? The Guidebook will provide you with some easy and logical ways to get started. Doing it right the first time will save time, money and frustration later.
Chapter 2 – Easier Scanning
Quality scans make a big difference when printing or zooming in on photos later. Step-by-step instructions are included such as the five most important steps to a great scan and more.
Chapter 3 – Using Sound and Narration
Using sound is easier than you think. All you need is an inexpensive microphone or a cable to attached to your cassette recorder. Use a microphone to tell stories or create oral histories. Learn to edit your narrations. Copy the priceless old cassette tapes to your computer with recordings of grandma or other family members. Save time, money and get better quality by doing it yourself. Internet links are provided for free sound editing software.
Chapter 4 – Digital Cameras, Video and GPS
Managing and finding your photos later and suggestions for buying a new camera are included . Converting Old Home Movies – do’s & don’ts. Read this chapter BEFORE you invest a lot of money getting your old movies converted to a DVD. Why You Need to Start Using GPS. New and fun things you can do – free software links. Adding screen captures of satellite images is both fun and adds realism to family history.
Chapter 5 – Digital Scrapbooking
Presents a different perspective about how to take advantage of new technology and samples of how to create digital scrapbooks. Something new and very different from traditional scrapbooking.
Chapter 6 – Interactive Storytelling
Stories are a real treat and the spice of life. This chapter offers some excellent suggestions that will help you put new life into old stories. You will discover some new ways to tell stories and make them more interesting. Are you struggling with how to organize ALL your materials – photos, sound files, video clips, text documents, PDFs and other file types? The Guidebook will show you how to make your file collections more useful and organized.
Chapter 7 – Creating a Bound History
Ways to save money and things you need to know and avoid BEFORE you begin. What’s Paper grain? Have you ever opened a book that resisted staying open? Have you seen a book with a broken or cracked spine? These are few of the symptoms of a book that has been printed and bound with the paper grain running in the wrong direction. There is much more you need to know. Chapter 7 takes you through each step required to create a beautiful history or biography. Checklists and simplified instructions will make it easy.
Chapter 8 – Preserving & Archiving
Ways to find and protect your treasures while saving hard drive space. Don’t wait until you have a hard drive crash or a virus attacks your computer.
Chapter 9 – Understanding Your Computer
Basic computer terminology is explained in everyday terms. Computer hardware is explained. If you are gong to buy a new computer you need to read this chapter first. Suggestions for maintaining your computer.
See what people are saying about the guidebook:
"When the Guidebook came out I was really excited because it actually teaches step by step what to do and what not to do in preserving photos, sound bites, videos etc. It is so simply written with graphic aids, how can anyone go wrong! It is the best teaching tool I have found to help even the most computer challenged individual to have success. It’s worth its weight in gold!" – Sondra Buckwalter
"The Guidebook is rock solid and chocked full of sound advice. Obviously, it speaks with the voice of experience. Anyone reading the mine field section of each chapter, would be rewarded in avoiding unexpected pitfalls, been there and done that too." – Reg Farnsworth
"The guidebook is a very useful resource. We were overwhelmed with knowing what accessories we needed to have to get ourselves started, but we used the guidebook through that whole process and are very pleased with the outcome. We can’t say thank you enough. We absolutely love it!" – Seth & Jessica Blatter
Order now for just $19.95
Click here to order from our secure store, or call 1-800-753-3453.
Thanks for the kind words and questions. The Digital Family History Guidebook was written to provide useful information about a variety of family history topics and projects. Each of the nine chapters have one or two pages explaining how Heritage Collector software may be used to make projects easier to accomplish.
Recently we changed the name of the software from ProMedia Manager to Heritage Collector to give the software a more descriptive name that serious family historians would easily recognize.
Earlier versions of ProMedia did not include the Guidebook because it was not released at that time. The Guidebook now comes as a free addition in PDF format in the Heritage Collector Professional version.
We are maintaining the photocollector.net website. However, free updates and other helpful information are now being added to the new support site at http://www.heritagecollector.com. We feel the name of our new website is also more descriptive.
The company (LifeStory) has not changed ownership except we have acquired a limited liability corporation called Puzzle Piece Technologies, LLC for tax benefits