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If you looked at all of those buttons on the top and side and haven't the slightest idea
where to go or what this site offers, then you probably feel like poor Stan over there;
confused and bewildered. If so, then this is the right place to be! There're a number
of different pages and areas on this site that'll be useful to you. This section should
help you get started exploring the wonders and mysteries (or at least the pages) of
Paul's Family History web site.
The Banner
Besides the pretty picture at the top with the coats of arms and the fancy font, the banner
(displayed on all pages) contains buttons that link to the various major parts of the site.
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 This button will always
return you to the home page, just in case you get lost.
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 This button displays
my "About Me" page, just in case you're wondering what I'm all
about. This page will probably change quite a bit as soon as
I think of more things to put in it, so check back regularly if
you're interested.
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 This button will
bring up the main Tree Search page. This page allows you to
search my family tree (all 3500+ names). If you want to find
someone in particular, or search by different criteria, such as
birth or death date, name, spouse name, parents name, or any
combination, then this is the page to be. Once you select
your critera, click the "Search!" button. This will bring up
the Individuals page displaying everyone that matches your
criteria. Clicking on the individual you want will bring up
the Family Sheet. From here, you can traverse the tree at
will, clicking on the children, parents, or whoever else you want
to display in the Family Sheet.
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 This button brings
up the Surnames page which lists all of the surnames in my tree
(something like 700 of them last time I looked). Click on the
letter the surname you're looking for starts with and then click
on the surname that shows up in the table below. The number
of individuals with that surname is shown in parentheses.
This will then bring up the Individuals page, just as Search does,
only just using surname as a criteria.
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 This button will bring
up a list of all pictures and documents currently associated with
individuals and marriages in my tree. There're currently
about 120 files, each with a thumbnail, so clicking the page might
take a while to show up (especially if you're on a dial-up
modem). You can also view pictures and documents just for an
individual or marriage by clicking on the appropriate icon to the
right of the name in the Family Sheet.
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This button will bring up the guestbook and allow you to view the entries
or add your own entry.
Going through the comment entries works similarly to going through people
in the Individuals page. To add your own entry, click on "Sign Guestbook"
right above the list. Besides your name and comment, you can put
your email address (your name becomes a link to the email), your
home page (a link is also created for your home page), city/state/country, how you discovered my corner of the
web, and a surname list. The surname list allows you to enter
all of the surnames you're interested in. When the entry is viewed,
a link is created to perform a tree search on all of your surnames. Just
separate the individual surnames with a comma. Please sign the guestbook at least once and let me know
how you like (or dislike) the website!
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Finally, click here to send me some email. Don't be shy; I've had all of my shots, I'm
very polite, and I'll always answer you!
The Sidebar
The sidebar differs from page to page (and sometimes doesn't show up at all), so I
won't go into any specifics here. On non-tree related pages (such as the
home page, the "About Me" page, and the family histories), the sidebar to the left
of the content area contains two sections:
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A row of buttons for navigating to the
particular section of the page. For instance, you got here
by clicking on the "Getting Started" button in the sidebar.
Whenever a section of a page is being displayed, it's button is
not shown.
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The "Quick Search!" panel. This
panel is like a mini-Search page. If you know the given name
or surname (or both) of a particular person you want to find in my
tree, just enter the info and click "Search!". This saves
you the step of going to the Search page or the Surnames page in
order to find someone.
The Family Sheet
The family sheet is the main page that will be displayed as you traverse the tree.
At the top will be the primary person (husband or wife) that is being displayed, along
with any vital information. Next will be spouse of the primary, including marriage information.
After the spouse will be children with that spouse. If there is more than one spouse, they
will appear sequentially on the page.
Additionally, a series of icons may appear to the right of either the primary individual or a
marriage. Each icon, when clicked, will perform a particular function, as stated below
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 This icon will bring up the relationship calculator. A search
page will be presented that will allow you to search and display any set of people in the tree. Each
person listed will have his or her relationship to the primary person calculated. Only the closest
relationship will be displayed; if multiple relationships exist, additional ones will not be displayed.
Also, only blood relations are shown. Spouses of relations will always show as "No Relation."
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This icon will bring up the pedigree chart generator. Up to six generations, starting from the
primary and working back, may be displayed. Clicking on the small pedigree chart icon to the right
of names in this chart will bring up another pedigree chart starting with that person.
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This icon will bring up the GEDCOM export screen. GEDCOM is the exchange standard for almost all
genealogy software on the market today. The GEDCOM file created will be for either ancestors or
descendants of the primary person (up to 20 generations) with options for including siblings
of descendant/ancestral individuals.
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This icon will be displayed only if there are pictures associated with this individual or
marriage. It will bring you to the Files page and display thumbnails for all associated pictures.
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Similarly, this icon will be displayed only if there are documents associated with this individual or
marriage. It will bring you to the Files page and display thumbnails for all associated documents.
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This icon will appear only if there are additional facts and events for this individual or
marriage. Additional facts and events could include baptism, divorce, occupation, and
alternative names.
The following icon may also appear next to children of the primary:
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 This symbol indicates that children
listed for the primary have children of their own. Hovering over this icon will show the number
children this person has.
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