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JL, 01 May 2008 If you're not using Legacy's Research Guidance, you're
missing half the show.
I've been missing half the show. Research Guidance, as the name suggests, is about being organized. I tried it when Legacy 6.0 first came out and gave it up because it made me claustrophobic. All of my family history has been put together so far by my being chronically side-tracked. I am genetically incapable of working in a straight line. In Grade Two I was chastised for putting curly-cues on my handwriting. Deep breath. Basically, what it does is suggest where to search, (which you can do right on the spot) or give you a button to add a search item to your To-Do List. Later, you can filter the To-Do List to get focused in one category, database or geographical area. Starting here:  Here's an example of a timeline that Legacy generates automatically when you click Research Guidance for an individual:  The
red indicates Legacy's best guesses, based on what's
already in
your database using the Vital and custom Events. If you know
it's a bad guess you can untick the 'Use' box so it doesn't play into
what comes next.
Under Tab 2, Preliminary Survey, I can see what other people are doing around the world. Large databases, message boards, locality message boards, genealogies and local histories. Under each of the sub-tabs is a list. The databases and message boards will open in the same window. This is where most of my derailments have taken place as I've gone crab-walking in the message boards.  It's
also where I'd like a way to copy information I find that's not related
to the
person I'm using Research Guidance for at the moment. But I
can't because I'm on a single-person track here and there's no way out.
There's no way out. Just breathe. I can click the Edit button (top of
the
screen) and add information directly for that one person. Or
I
can zip over to my desktop, start a new text document and
paste it there. You're in a web browser window here so you
have
all the usual right-click options for Copy/Paste/Add to Favorites, etc
that
you have in your IE browser normally. Although Firefox is my
default
browser, it insists on using Internet Explorer. If you're an
IE
user this will suit you to a T.
If you have EverNote installed, you can right-click on a selection and send it over there. This would be much quicker as it hardly puts a dent in your train of thought as you go. You can catch up to your web clips there later and try to remember why you clipped them in the first place.  I think there really ought to be a direct way to navigate to other people as well and add to their To-Do's or Research Notes in Legacy. You can also go directly to the Internet from the other tabs, Genealogies and Local Histories, or add your intention to search to the To-Do List for that person with the "Plan to search" button. Tab 3. Suggested Sources. Here it gives you lists of sources based on different types of events.  You
can toggle back to the first screen, Review Timeline, to see what
you're missing. Each suggested source shows
what's freely available and what has a fee. There's plenty of
both. This column and the
other three can be used as filters. In this case I'm wanting
to see
only what's Online. To the right is a description of each
source.
 Again,
you can go to a website directly, send an email, or add the item to the
To-Do List. In the lower left is a list of different
repositories
for each source.
Now we're at the last section, the To-Do List.  If
you click on the Edit button for a To-Do, you get the
same
screen for editing a To-Do as you would anywhere in Legacy.
It's all
integrated. Just boggles the mind how ingenious this is.
You can change or add any other information that you want to each item.  Notice that the task is 'Search: Michigan Death Index'. In the Filter options there's no way to filter by Task. It would be my preference to do all my searching of the Michigan Death Index at the same time. If I go to the All To-Do's list I will find all the other Michigan Death Index searches lined up together alphabetically so that works out fine. Of course, every step of the way you can keep track of where you've been and when, so you aren't repeating yourself. If you're accustomed to keeping your genealogy to-do's on scraps of paper, or have a sneaking suspicion you're wandering aimlessly in circles, do give this a try.
COMMENTS 01 May 2008
"All of my family history has been put together so far by my being chronically side-tracked. I am genetically incapable of working in a straight line." Are there any Scroggs or Oliver"s in your North Carolina family? GCO Athens, Ga. 01 May 2008 Not a one. Have you searched through my charts at Jgen for other connections? JL 02 May 2008 Actually it was a rhetorical question. I never seem to be able to complete a project without getting side tracked into a loop and a month later trying to remember what I set out to do. My legacy file is in many different stages depending on what I had learned about the program, how I decided to handle a certain type of data and what I was doing at the time I learned it. My current project is a mix of adding GPS data to address/locations along with moving all my headstone entries to an event so the picture will print. I do appreciate your insight into Legacy and the other programs you write about. GCO 02 May 2008 I didn't completely miss it. I just wasn't sure if it was totally rhetorical or a mix of humor and a serious question. I do understand your dilemma as described. JL
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