Tuesday’s Tip – Working with a Search List (Intermediate)

Tuesday's Tips provide brief how-to's to help you learn to use the Legacy Family Tree software with new tricks and techniques.

Working with a Search List (Intermediate)

I did a survey on Facebook awhile back asking our users which view in Legacy they use most often. The Family View was number one by far (my preference) followed by the Index View. Because those were the top two I wanted to spend some time on my second favorite view, the Name List, or more specifically, the Search List. The Name List and any generated Search List work almost identically though the Search List has a couple of special features specifically related to your search.

I like working from a Search List because everyone on the list is nice and neat on my screen. Not only can I view them but I can do additions/deletions/edits. While I am doing these edits I can switch back and forth between people with a simple mouse click.

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Notice the six tabs to the right. It you see an * (asterisk) on a tab that means there is information entered there.  There is a Special Characters Ribbon on every tab (far right) which you can use when entering data. If you need to edit the ribbon just click the little blue square at the top.

The blue triangle at the upper left of the screen is how you access the Source Clipboard from here. 

At the bottom left you will see icons for AKAs, Media Gallery, To-Do List, and Stories. These pertain to the highlighted person. You should already be acquainted with the Options button from using the Name List. The Search button has some nifty shortcuts. You can get to the main Search page (Find) or you can switch over to the Name List. There are also options for the more common search types.

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Detail Tab

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There are some features here that you might not know about. If you click on any of the labels you can Customize what you see. 

You can display up to 8 items.  If you are not familiar with how this screen works, please see Customize the Family View. Even though you are doing this on a Search List this will also affect the Name List.

You can click on any person that appears in the mini pedigree chart at the bottom and you will get this:

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This is one of the things that is specific to a Search List and isn't on the Name List. It is a nice shortcut if you are building your Search List.

If you hover over the little dark blue box to the left of Flemon's name on the little pedigree chart you will see what will happen if you click it. 

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If Flemon's preferred child is not in the Search List you will be asked if you want to add him.

The blank looking box at the bottom right under the mini pedigree chart is for the Ancestor Colors. Flemon is not in my direct line so there is no color there. If I had chosen Corrine Graham at the top of the Search List in the first screenshot then this box would have been blue because Corrine is my great-grandmother on my father's side. You can see that she is highlighted blue on the list itself.

Edit Tab

This is basically the person's Individual's Information screen. This screen is pretty self-explanatory. You just type right into the fields to make changes. You can see that I have Legacy set up so that if a field has a source the field name will be red. If you don't know how to do this, please see, Which Fields Have Sources? 

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I do want to point out one thing. If you remember on the Detail Tab there was a blue triangle in the upper left corner to access the Source Clipboard. Once you get to the Detail Tab you have some additional options in that upper left corner. 

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The blue triangle opens the Source Clipboard, the single blue line is the paste button to add a source to a field, the three blue lines will paste the source to all fields, and the blue square will add the source to the Unspecified field. These are the same icons used on the Individual's Information screen and they are basically in the same location though on the Individual's Information screen they are arranged vertically instead of in a box shape. I am only pointing this out because for some reason users seem to miss these. 

Events Tab

I don't think you will have any problems here. Highlight the event that you want to work with and then you can use the buttons at the bottom. 

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Notes Tab

If there is an * (asterisk) next to the type of note that means you have information entered there. I switched over to Celia Simmons so that you can see that I have two different types of notes for her, Research and Medical. I have a source for her medical information so the field name is red.

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Family Tab

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You can do a lot here. You can edit any of the nuclear family members. If you double click anyone you will be able to add them to your current Search List. You can edit marriages and you can see the siblings on the Siblings List (Edit Children screen) where you can add a Child Status and Relationship to Father/Mother. If you click on a spouse and then the Spouse List you can work there as well.

Sources Tab

This one is also pretty self-explanatory. Don't forget your clipboard buttons in the upper left corner of this screen (not visible in this screenshot). The Source Clipboard Copy icon is at the bottom to the right of the Del button. 

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I hope this information has been useful and if you edit a Search List from these screens let me know how you like it in the comments. 

Find tech tips every day in the Facebook Legacy User Group. The group is free and is available to anyone with a Facebook account.

For video tech tips check out the Legacy Quick Tips page.  These short videos will make it easy for you to learn all sort of fun and interesting ways to look at your genealogy research.

Michele Simmons Lewis, CG^® is part of the Legacy Family Tree team at MyHeritage. She handles the enhancement suggestions that come in from our users as well as writing for Legacy News. You can usually find her hanging out on the Legacy User Group Facebook page answering questions and posting tips.