Genealogy Chat

I still have the old search, but tried the new search on my phone...clicked to view a transcription it logged me out...now tells me my email address and password are wrong.....so will stick with the old search on my laptop.....until they remove it

So right Linda, the new format IS a disaster, I was also being logged out on the turn of pages or trying new searches! and all the fannying about having to click on so many headings to get to where you want to be is just silly!
I do wonder WHY do the search boxes re the census have to be soooo BIG? that we now have to scroll down several times to put in the names dates etc it's just daft, plus the length of time it takes waiting for the search results to come up is just terrible,so slow.

I don't think that giving current members (who complain) an extension of 2 months on their subscriptions is going to make them stick with the site.
I sent a complaint email because I was sooo cross / upset about what they have done,something I have never done before in all the time I have been a subscriber, I used to love FMP & readily recommended the site to others but not any more,in my opinion FMP is NO longer the friendly user, easy to navigate site that it used to be!

Joan.

I have been banging my head on the wall at the stupidity of the new format

Every time I change page, it logs me out

When looking at the newspapers, every time I narrowed the field down by applying a filter, it removed the name I was looking for

I wanted to look at a specific 1901 census which I already have on my tree, I couldn't bring up the result at all. In the end I went back to Ancestry which I also have and got it in seconds.

This new format is an absolute disaster, heaven help any new subscribers trying to build their tree

Hi All,

Well I have read the bit about not being able to print or download newspapers images, so I have tried what they suggest about being able to download it and I simply can't do it, neither can they spell!!

Kind regards
Amanda

How do I print a newspaper article?

Answer:

We are in the process of moving our newspaper articles to a more efficient type of viewer. We have had to temporarily withdraw the print and download options while that happens.

In the meanwhile, you can work around this by vewing the article, right clicking with your mouse and saving the article to your computer then printing from there.

Just got my OH to do a 1911 census search on FMP. He is what I would call a 'real world' IT expert.

It took him half an hour to find the entry and print a transcription. Mostly spent with him yelling at the machine at how slow the search was.
I then logged him into A.... took him five minutes to find the same thing-----------------

(Real World IT expert = can tell the IT expert how to do things on their computer like the rest of us and has been employed to help an IT firm ensure its program is usable)

This was posted on FamilyTreeForum last night - nothing like this on their own forum which grows ever faster. I haven't tried it out again myself:-

Reply from FMP



this is the reply I got from a complaint I made tonight, so they are listening?


Thanks for getting in touch with your feedback. We're actively working to bring improvements to the new site, the first set of which went live yesterday. These include:

- A new way to browse every single record set available on the site.? You can access that here:http://search.new.findmypast.co.uk/historical-records
- New search options across all our main categories and subcategories
- The ability to sort all the results for every type of search we offer
- Improvements to category and individual census search forms


These improvements are just the start, and we hope to continue to release regularly updates, based on the feedback users such as yourself are providing. So please continue to try these improvements, and let us know you thoughts. We've also launched a page where you can keep track of the changes and improvements we make as they go live, which you can access here anytime: http://new.findmypast.co.uk/articles/help/whats-new?

Paul Dunlop
findmypast Product Manager

I complained and had this reply...

Dear Judith,

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry to hear that you have been disappointed with the site and hope that this will not deter you from using it again in the future.

Having customer feedback is very important to us and this feedback will be used to assist us with future site development.

Any suggested site changes have already been read and noted. We shall be reviewing these and where possible suggested changes will be included.

There is still an address search facility available on the site and you can access it via the following link;

http://search.new.findmypast.co.uk/search-united-kingdom-records-in-census-land-and-surveys

If you wish to search a specific census year for an address, please type the census year into the "when" field and you can then type in the registration district, or county, you are searching in into the "where" field.

Further down the page you will see the option to enter the address details.

So I replied that I knew all this, did all this and it came up with a big fat zero results - even when I typed in the occupant's name (which I knew) another big fat zero.....

Jude

FMP seems a much slower site since the alterations, I have been a member for years, but may not renew this year - Liz

Yep it's rubbish! I have just searched on my address in 1911. Nil search results. Even when I inserted the occupier's name and age it wouldn't find it (and I wouldn't necessarily know this of course)

Conversely - and it pains me to say so - it found it in Ancestry's new search with just road, town and number (in the keywords)

Jude

well I guess I left the old format open too long on my PC and it logged me out had to log in again and bullocks I am now on the new search on my PC too.

I tried to do an address search for the 1881 and couldnt find the faclity at all . It wanted me to search on a name I wnated to know who lived at an address.

Dont think I will be renewing FMP when the time comes its a pity I renewed in NOV for a year as am stuck with it till then

Hi Joan,

I didn't do the test drive, maybe I should have!

I stupidly thought that as I have been a member for a few years I COULD do it anyway all by myself!

Your help is very much appreciated.

Kind regards
Amanda

Hi Amanda, I only knew where to look because I spotted it in the listings during my test drive last night, LOL.

It takes such an age now to reach ones destination!!

Joan.

Hi Joan,

Yes it is, thank you so much.

Simples when you know where to go!

Just a shame I can't get the image to load now!!

Kind regards
Amanda

Hi Amanda.

Go to search all records, a drop down box will appear, click on the first heading which is Search all records (again) when new page shows, look to the top right of that page, there is the heading Special Collections, below this heading you will see several record headings,the 1st one is...British India Office Collection....click on that heading for another page to appear, then click on the search box........

Is this what you are looking for ??

Joan.

Just to add as another disappointed member of FMP.

I have just been changed over and had to log-in and now I can see why folks are having bother with it, yes we probably would get used to it eventually if we are still members!

But I was in the middle of something last night that I wanted to finish today!

Can someone tell me if the India Collection is still there and I am just being dim in trying to find it, or is it now part of the worldwide collection?

Kind regards
Amanda

Wow! Joan - you must have really ripped into them - well done!

It's HORRIBLE........

I was changed over to the new format last night,had a read through the various things then decided to have a test drive! absolute nightmare.
It is no longer the user friendly, easily navigated site that it once was.

I have used FMP for many years right back as far as when it used to be known as 1837 online,never had a problem finding my way round,or using it, it was quick,& printing off the results were simple.
Now we have to click on several headings to get to where we want to be,getting the results to come up is taking forever, & printing off is no longer the simple task that it once was! not for me at least.

When trying out the different records I was asked to sign in each time,even though I had ticked the remember me box,& not being familiar with how to work out the new printing off procedure it all got too much for me!! & I got rather annoyed with it all & sent the support team an email.

I have recieved a reply today & it was a very pleasant response considering my "outburst", I am not at all happy bunny re the new format.
As a gesture of goodwill they have extended my membership by 2 months,free of charge, but unless they can tweek things to make things less complcated I'm not sure if I shall continue to remain a "loyal" member!

Joan.

Mine opened with the new format for the first time this morning............and I absolutely hate it.
You could copy and paste it before so easily and everything was there including the occupations. Now it is just like ancestry and you have to type the additional information in from the original image.
Why they have changed something that was so good into something so complex to use and glean information from I will never know.
My sub doesn't expire until November but unless things improve I won't be renewing.

Its ok I renewed my ancestry world wide a week or so ago.....and find the complaints amusing about the new search on there.

I preferred the FMP format for the census and can c&p that, where as with ancestry I get huge gaps because I am using IE11.....but so few and far between requests now its probably not worth keeping FMP although it doesn't run out until Oct....so will see how it goes

The Feedback forum on the FMP website (don't need to log in) makes very interesting reading.

Some of it is similar to old complaints on here- only answering on Facebook etc.

FMP have just told me "..but inevitably, some of the changes suit certain member use more than others."

I wonder who those will be, not me after 10 years of research, not L, who I help, who is good on computers but didn't know to put in details another way round (eg. ask for any child of parents rather than just one) nor N, who is useless on computers.

Jax - get on do all you can NOW on FMP don't wait for your changeover!!!!