Information for Users of PAF
If you are one of the millions of people who have downloaded PAF 5, you have come
to appreciate the excellent program that it is. And you may
be surprised to discover that you are already largely familiar
with Ancestral Quest, as the Windows versions of PAF were developed
from an earlier version of AQ (version 3.0). We like to think
of Ancestral Quest as PAF's "Big Brother."
Background. Incline Software received permission
to use the .paf database created for PAF 3 by the LDS Church,
and then engineered the enhancements to the database used later
by PAF 4. With the release of PAF 5.x, more capabilities were
given to the database and to the program. But through the years,
Incline Software has continued to add new improvements, refinements
and features to Ancestral Quest. A PAF user will feel like he has
just obtained a major upgrade to PAF if he converts over to
Ancestral Quest. Because AQ 12 can work directly with a PAF 5
database, you won't even have to convert your data.
Ancestral
Quest, can not only edit PAF 5 files, but its own database structure,
the .aq database file, allows for even more flexibility and
capabilities. If you choose to convert your data from the PAF format
to the AQ format, you'll find you can accomplish more. But if you
keep your data in the PAF format, you'll be able to continue to use
PAF 5 if you so choose, while taking advantage of the many
additional features of AQ. You will also be able to continue to use
any other add-on utilities you have purchased for use with PAF 5.
New FamilySearch. The LDS Church has
begun the rollout of its new FamilySearch system throughout the world.
They have created an API (Application Programming Interface) which
allows commercial products like AQ to directly access the Family Tree
database of new FamilySearch. As of April, 2008, Incline Software is
nearing completion of developing new screens that will allow a user of
the new FamilySearch system to directly exchange and link data between
his local .paf or .aq file and the data on the Family Tree of new
FamilySearch.
New Features. Ancestral Quest
12 was released in early 2007, adding some of the most requested
and helpful tools ever.
We present, here, a list of several
major reasons why you may want to supplement your PAF program
with Ancestral Quest 12, or replace PAF with AQ 12.
You may also want to view
a comparison chart that identifies the enhanced features
available in PAFWiz 2.0 and Ancestral Quest 12.
Additional Features in Ancestral Quest
12
|
Additional Features in Ancestral Quest 12
Compare and Merge Databases
Compatible databases (AQ, PAF and GEDCOM files) can be
compared with a main database. Similarities and differences
can be discovered. Then selected new individuals, family lines,
or changes can be imported and merged.
This revolutionary new feature supplements
AQ’s Collaboration capability in providing two means of coordinating
research efforts in ways that eliminate the tedium of any past
methods.
Back to Top
Record DNA Test Results
One of the exciting newer developments in family history work is the use of DNA to link relatives when the recorded documentation leaves gaps and holes.
If a DNA test has been completed for any individual in your database, you can now enter those test results into the Individual record, through a special screen.
Back to Top
Publish a Family Book
Now users can print out any combination of many of
the popular reports under an umbrella of a master Table of Contents
and master Index. Reports from AQ (such as Pedigree Charts, Fan Charts, Family Group Records, Ancestry Charts, Descendant Charts, Scrapbook Pages, narrative reports and more) can be supplemented with other documents and narratives in a way that allows the user to create a family book from their recorded data in a form ready to be published.
Back to Top
Improved Source Documentation
Ancestral Quest gives you more control
of your sources, and more efficient ways to enter and maintain
them:
- Connect a single source citation to multiple events, eliminating duplicate footnotes on reports
- Once you've converted from a .paf database to a .aq
database, auto merge all the duplicate citations
- Assign a citation to just the date or just the place of an event to more specifically document the information
- Memorize up to 9 citations, rather than just 1, and also be able to select from the last 9 used citations
- Reorder citations within an event
- View a list of citations for any source
- Work from the summary list of sources to add, edit,
delete and reorder source citations for any individual or marriage
- Categorize sources, and view just those sources that
match a category
- An extra field in the Source Record allows you to
handle the Editor or Translator of a volume
- Extra fields in sources and citations allow you
specify the quality of the information
- Extra fields in the citation detail record allows you
to enter your own filing number for the information in your files
- Print scanned images of sources on many reports as
attachments
(*Note that most of these improvements will work on a .paf file, but some require that you convert
your data to the .aq format.)
Back to Top
Improved Handling of Notes
Ancestral Quest makes working with
notes easier yet more powerful:
- View and edit all notes for an individual and his/her
marriages from a single screen -- coordinate your notes
- Spell Check Notes
- Search and Replace in Notes
- Use the Tag List to categorize notes
Back to Top
Efficient Searching of Online IGI
Use the Filtered IGI search capability to quickly
learn if LDS Ordinances have been completed for an individual
or marriage.
With the new Internal IGI Search tool, not only
can you view current ordinance data, but you can easily merge
the IGI data right into your database! [View
the Tutorial]
Back to Top
Built in Research Manager and Research Log
- Record To Do items, and organize them into lists
based on Location, Priority, Category, Individual, etc.
- Print lists to take on a research trip
- Maintain notes in the log as to the results of your
research -- keep from repeating the same research over again
Back to Top
More Reports
- Create a Family Book with any number of popular
charts and reports, a Title Page, Table of Contents and Master
Index.
- Print Fan Charts in Full, Half or Quarter
circles, up to 13 generations, on paper up to 4 foot wide
- Print direct Line-of-Descent
drop line charts
- Print a list of scrapbook items in your file
- Dropline
Descendancy Chart report
Back to Top
More Options on Existing Reports
- Print Siblings of Ancestors on Ancestry Charts
and Ahnentafel Book Reports
- Print Documentation
pages to accompany your Pedigree Charts
- Print Images
of Sources on Pedigree Charts, Family Group Records, Individual
Summaries, and Book reports (Ahnentafel and Modified Register)
- Print Book reports to WordPerfect files
- Print Fill-In-The-Blank lines for missing
data in book reports
- Print a summary version of the Sorted Places
report
- Enhanced Calendar report
- Print just Odd or Even pages
Back to Top
Print Reports to PDF Files
Once you have created a report to a .pdf file, send it
as an attachment in an e-mail to a relative so they can see it and print
it fully formatted, or make it part of your ancestral web page.
Back to Top
Direct Links to Ancestry.com Databases
Incline Software has worked with Ancestry.com to
provide direct links between names on the Pedigree screen and records in
the extensive online data collections of Ancestry.com. You can use these
links to dramatically speed up your online research. View the segment on
our video tutorial to get the most out of
this feature.
Back to Top
Sort the Name Index on Any Field
If you like PAF's "Individual" name list view, on
which you can sort the information by Name or by RIN, wait till you see
AQ's similar screen that lets you sort by any field, and by any
combination of up to 3 fields. Imagine sorting your names by birth
place, then by name, and finally by age. Or sort by gender, then
spouse's surname, followed by the given names to find women by their
married name.
Back to Top
Improved Merging of Sources
In addition to providing an Auto Merge on Sources,
which merges all exact duplicate source records, you can choose any two
sources and merge them, even if the information is not exactly
identical.
Back to Top
Merging of Repositories and Citations
Auto merge repositories and citations with Ancestral
Quest. You can also select any two repositories or any two citations and
merge them.
Back to Top
Store Unicode Characters
Ancestral Quest can now store information in any language in the world, as it now supports Unicode. Whether information is from North America, Europe, Arabia, Israel, Russia, Japan, China, Vietnam, Australia or anywhere else in the world, names, places, and documentation can be recorded in the original language.
Back to Top
Translate the Program into other Languages
A new feature allows a user to translate the program itself into any language, so that users in any country can use Ancestral Quest to record their data. Reports can be generated in any language to be sent to relatives anywhere in the world in their native language.
Back to Top
Better Handling of Broken Families
PAF lets you indicate that a child is adopted
by his/her parents. AQ lets you separate the parent ties. For
example, you could indicate that the mother might be the Biological
mother, while the father is Adoptive. (You must be using the AQ
database to utilize this feature, as the PAF database won't support
it.)
Back to Top
Scrapbook Items linked to your Internet Files
Now link to scrapbook items you have stored on the Internet as well as on the hard drive. When a data file is later shared, the pictures do not have to be sent along with the file, as they can be accessed from the Internet.
Back to Top
|
