Fold3 records: Tips for using

[lupaglupa]

Only it would be revealed to everyone how bass ackwards I am at it!

In general I find that most people get a system that works for them and they stick with it. I probably take longer to do searches than other people do. But my method works for me so I'm happy with it.

 

[DixieRifles]

Have you tried putting your cursor on top of the words that are just under the filters? Where it says "People, Records, Places, Dates, Service Number...?" Once the cursor is there, click on it, and then just type what you are looking for, and it will add that filter to your search.

Yes I have tried it. Never worked before but I found my problem.
Here is an example.
I tried to search for the name "COLE" in all the Mississippi units.
I selected filters: Civil War and Confederate, Service Records and finally Mississippi Regiments.
When I typed COLE in that top box, it added it to the top line. However, that top box did not have the last filter that I had clicked on and I got 3,000 results.

I went through the process again and made sure Mississippi was one of the filters. It worked.
I tried it again and can't repeat my success. Maybe I should hit a CLEAR and start over.

Thanks.

 

[Stoney Dee]

I'm not sure I'm making this clear!

This technique is much better than what I have been doing. I do still have to download by individual rather than whole company, but it is much faster and involves very little keyboard skill. Thank you.

 

[scooter748driver]

Thank you for the helpful hints and clarifications. I'll have to try these in my own research.

 

[danny]

My father always said that he would be willing to pay extra for a computer system that never did "updates" to "improve" things. Whenever they would update things, it was never an improvement and the changes always left him baffled.

I can relate

 

[JPChurch]

I recently re-upped with Ancestry.com after leaving it in '07. Much more complicated now and I found it more difficult to navigate. It got agravating.The option for overseas records wasn't very helpful either. So I dropped them again after 3 months. Talking with customer service live over the telephone was a laugh a minute since I was talking with someone in the Philippines that had a terrible command of the English language. I can't imagine attempting to get un-stuck in Fold3's various quagmires. Can you search for ancestors in the various state volunteer militia units during the Revolutionary war?? How about the early Indian wars in New England during the 1600's? I have a few ancestors that served in the Pequot war and then later in King Phillips war.

 

[Library Lady]

Only it would be revealed to everyone how bass ackwards I am at it!

In general I find that most people get a system that works for them and they stick with it. I probably take longer to do searches than other people do. But my method works for me so I'm happy with it.

For users who are new to a program or users who are frustrated by a "revised edition" of a program, having someone show them a reliable way to get it to work for them is valuable. It doesn't have to be the fastest, most elegant way, just a reliable way. Once they are comfortable with that reliable way to get what they want from a program, they can start looking for any shortcuts that might exist if the fastest, most elegant way wasn't what they were taught to begin with. I suspect that you would do an excellent job of showing your method step by step from the beginning with screen shots.

 

[lupaglupa]

I recently re-upped with Ancestry.com after leaving it in '07. Much more complicated now and I found it more difficult to navigate. It got agravating.The option for overseas records wasn't very helpful either. So I dropped them again after 3 months. Talking with customer service live over the telephone was a laugh a minute since I was talking with someone in the Philippines that had a terrible command of the English language. I can't imagine attempting to get un-stuck in Fold3's various quagmires. Can you search for ancestors in the various state volunteer militia units during the Revolutionary war?? How about the early Indian wars in New England during the 1600's? I have a few ancestors that served in the Pequot war and then later in King Phillips war.

I've had pretty good luck getting early records.

 

[JPChurch]

I've had pretty good luck getting early records.

How far back have you searched?????

 

[danny]

For users who are new to a program or users who are frustrated by a "revised edition" of a program, having someone show them a reliable way to get it to work for them is valuable. It doesn't have to be the fastest, most elegant way, just a reliable way. Once they are comfortable with that reliable way to get what they want from a program, they can start looking for any shortcuts that might exist if the fastest, most elegant way wasn't what they were taught to begin with. I suspect that you would do an excellent job of showing your method step by step from the beginning with screen shots.

 

[lupaglupa]

How far back have you searched?????

I've done some pre-Rev War as has my husband. But as they always say, YMMV

 

[bdtex]

Only it would be revealed to everyone how bass ackwards I am at it!

In general I find that most people get a system that works for them and they stick with it. I probably take longer to do searches than other people do. But my method works for me so I'm happy with it.

Same here. For what I use it for, what I do works for me.

 

[lelliott19]

OMG. Don't even get me started on Fold3's "new and improved" search functions. Which IMHO should actually be called "revised and non-intuitive" search functions. I love advanced search functions and the ability to narrow down as much as possible before I run a search. I liked the old way.....

Has anyone found a way in the "revised and non-intuitive" new format to search in the State or the Regiment and in Miscellaneous at the same time? I can barely even find Miscellaneous now. Let alone run a search in both places at once.

 

[Stoney Dee]

OMG. Don't even get me started on Fold3's "new and improved" search functions. Which IMHO should actually be called "revised and non-intuitive" search functions. I love advanced search functions and the ability to narrow down as much as possible before I run a search. I liked the old way.....

Has anyone found a way in the "revised and non-intuitive" new format to search in the State or the Regiment and in Miscellaneous at the same time? I can barely even find Miscellaneous now. Let alone run a search in both places at once.

Few weeks back it seems like the site was down for at least a week, perhaps they were doing an upgrade during that time. Anyway, ever since then I have found the search feature yields different and surprising results as opposed to what it used to. I've switched almost enirely to the browse mode and using the drop down options to get what I am wanting.

 

[gjpratt]

Hey, Lupaglupa,

You should be an online speaker some Wednesday night and walk people through how to use Fold3! (I would even try to stay up late to watch!)

I second the motion.

 

[JPChurch]

Me three

 

[scooter748driver]

How does one print records from Fold3? I am a member there but when I try to print I end up with the entire web page and not just the record.

 

[bdtex]

How does one print records from Fold3? I am a member there but when I try to print I end up with the entire web page and not just the record.

I download the records I want to print because it's usually later before I do the printing.

 

[lupaglupa]

How does one print records from Fold3? I am a member there but when I try to print I end up with the entire web page and not just the record.

@bdtex is right, download the records into a file and print that. It takes a lot of paper because they do one card per page. If you want to save paper you can do a print screen and select just the card as a photo and paste them three to a page. But it's a lot of work.

 

[scooter748driver]

Thank you, I'll try that.