Data Base

[James Harshman]

Does anyone know a easy-to-use data base that does not require being competent with Excel or Filemaker? I want one that I can add many columns to so that I can have a complete listing of my hundreds of photos, letters, and other documents. Some will be on my computer and some in a file cabinet or archival storage. I want to be able to organize the lists by name, date, or other category. Then I can review or print out the lists.

[suzivegemite]

Re: Data Base

I use Bento which is created by Filemaker but a lot simpler than Filemaker Pro. I use it for heaps of things including home inventory, recipes, client records and stock control. Last year I starting using it for logging my family history research, the possibilities are endless.
As far as I know Bento is only available for Mac
S

[kmgenealogy]

Re: Data Base

Does anyone know a easy-to-use data base that does not require being competent with Excel or Filemaker? <snip>

James, Have you looked at Bento 4? It's by Filemaker but much easier to use. Some great templates available too. Take a look at http://www.filemaker.com/products/bento/mac.html and the app itself on the Mac App Store for reviews. ***just looked on the app store and special price of $29.99 until 31 Jul 2012!***

There are some great Bento genealogy templates that might work for you at:

http://solutions.filemaker.com/database-templates/index_home.jsp

Try searching by keyword - genealogy. Or, look at other organization templates.

The "Genealogical Research System" template has a photos section and an artifacts section. There is also a template (by a different person) called "Genealogy Photos & Artifacts". Either might work for you.

One other app that might be helpful, if you think Bento 4 will work for you, is "Tutor for Bento 4". For $4.99 you get 29 videos to help with Bento 4. I love Dan's (Noteboom Productions) "Tutor..." series! Very clear and helpful!

Hope this is helpful.

[Allsop]

Re: Data Base

Does anyone know a easy-to-use data base that does not require being competent with Excel or Filemaker? I want one that I can add many columns to so that I can have a complete listing of my hundreds of photos, letters, and other documents. Some will be on my computer and some in a file cabinet or archival storage. I want to be able to organize the lists by name, date, or other category. Then I can review or print out the lists.

James, I would heartedly recommend DevonThink Pro, (DVP) (http://www.devontechnologies.com/pro.../overview.html). It is so useful for any serious research, including genealogical research, that I consider it to be as important as Reunion and the best &#163;50 or so value for money in terms of what it can do. I have set up a database in it that has a folder for any person for whom I have a 'document' (and a document can be anything, picture, certificate, sound file etc.). I have scanned all of the physical documents I have and imported them into DVP, it is then possible to create a link to any document and paste it into a field in Reunion—all you have to do if you are in Reunion and want to see the document is click on the link in Reunion! Fantastic. There are many other features in DTP that are so useful that it would take me all day to write about them all, but one other thing I have done is to create a link between Reunion and each folder in DTP. Do have a look at it. I have attached a screenshot of my DTP and Reunion for you to see what I mean, (DTP on left, Reunion 10 on right).

[Allsop]

Re: Data Base

Forgot to say in previous post that it is very easy to make an entire listing of the documents that you have in DTP through an inbuilt script, (Menu>Scripts>Export>Listing) this produces a text of al the folders, (Groups in DTP) with all the documents within those folders.

[sgtbob]

Re: Data Base

I'm a bit late in viewing this message traffic, but am interested in the DVP software for my genealogy projects. Could you expand on how you set up the connection between those in Reunion 10 and the DVP? I have about 5,000 photographs and some 5,000 Documents (.pdf, .doc, etc) scanned into my MAC (Mac --> home --> Genealogy --> Docs or Pictures). The DVP program looks promising to keep track of all that paper and scanned data, so I would appreciate some guiding information on how you set up your system and how to use - you can send to me offline at 's2f@cox.net' to preclude using the forum since some folks might not be interested in the details.

Bob

[Allsop]

Re: Data Base

I'm a bit late in viewing this message traffic, but am interested in the DVP software for my genealogy projects. Could you expand on how you set up the connection between those in Reunion 10 and the DVP? I have about 5,000 photographs and some 5,000 Documents (.pdf, .doc, etc) scanned into my MAC (Mac --> home --> Genealogy --> Docs or Pictures). The DVP program looks promising to keep track of all that paper and scanned data, so I would appreciate some guiding information on how you set up your system and how to use - you can send to me offline at 's2f@cox.net' to preclude using the forum since some folks might not be interested in the details.

Bob

Privately emailed you Bob

[Al Poulin]

Re: Data Base

Hmmm, has anyone experimented with, or is anyone now using, both Bento and DTP. What would be the factors tipping the balance one way or the other?

[Allsop]

Re: Data Base

I have privately emailed Bob.

Al, I tried Bento and didn't like it, DTP works great for me.

Andrew

[Maureen]

Re: Data Base

I have just downloaded the 'app' for 'Tutor for Bento4'. If you are a Mac user you might be interested in looking at this. They have free forms that you can download that other people have designed specifically for genealogy. You can then change them to specifically meet your needs. Bento is designed by Filemaker but is much easier.

[Lauren Mallory]

Re: Data Base

I have privately emailed Bob.

Al, I tried Bento and didn't like it, DTP works great for me.

Andrew

Andrew, Would you also be willing to email me with some basic information on how you initially set up your data on DVT and how you link it to Reunion? I have downloaded a trial version of DVT and am wondering if this is more program than I need. BUT I have a GREAT need to organize my scanned documents! Many are stored, sort of organized, in my documents folder, but my entire 24" desktop is covered at the moment & I am feeling paralyzed. I can be reached at zweeder at verizon dot net.

[Katharine Ott]

Re: Data Base

I use Bento which is created by Filemaker but a lot simpler than Filemaker Pro. I use it for heaps of things including home inventory, recipes, client records and stock control. Last year I starting using it for logging my family history research, the possibilities are endless.
As far as I know Bento is only available for Mac
S

Hello everyone,

A distant cousin and I are embarking on what will probably be a lengthy research project, to document immigrants to America from a little town in Germany - Liedolsheim (Baden). We know lots of the family names from a recently published Ortssippenbuch and from our own family trees, so there's no problem finding names to research. But how to organize it, both during research and for possible publication or sharing opportunities?

Three of us will be doing research, one Mac user (Reunion), and two PC users (one in Germany), so I would think something we could put in Dropbox would be ideal. I really like the idea of designing a Bento template, with fields for vital records, ship manifests, naturalization data, et al, but can the PC users access the template?

I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to manage a database like this so we're not just sending data-laden emails back and forth.

Thanks much

[theKiwi]

Re: Data Base

Hello everyone,

A distant cousin and I are embarking on what will probably be a lengthy research project, to document immigrants to America from a little town in Germany - Liedolsheim (Baden). We know lots of the family names from a recently published Ortssippenbuch and from our own family trees, so there's no problem finding names to research. But how to organize it, both during research and for possible publication or sharing opportunities?

Three of us will be doing research, one Mac user (Reunion), and two PC users (one in Germany), so I would think something we could put in Dropbox would be ideal. I really like the idea of designing a Bento template, with fields for vital records, ship manifests, naturalization data, et al, but can the PC users access the template?

I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to manage a database like this so we're not just sending data-laden emails back and forth.

Thanks much

I think you'd be best served by an actual online genealogy database.

TNG - The Next Generation of Genealogy Site Building - is a great tool that would be ideally suited to such a venture - anyone you allow to have Edit/Admin rights to the database would be able to add data to it, and you can choose to share the public side of the site with the world at large, or keep it all hidden requiring a password to see anything at all.

http://tngsitebuilding.com/

You can see my TNG site and its output on this page for example

http://lisaandroger.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I16&tree=Roger

(although this site is the result of data entry in Reunion, and then exporting a GEDCOM file from Reunion in to TNG rather than doing the data entry in TNG directly).

(Oh, and since you're related to my wife somehow, I should have provided an example from her TNG site -

http://lisa.lisaandroger.com/getperson.php?personID=I2098&tree=Lisa

:-)

Roger

[Katharine Ott]

Re: Data Base

I think you'd be best served by an actual online genealogy database.

TNG - The Next Generation of Genealogy Site Building - is a great tool that would be ideally suited to such a venture - anyone you allow to have Edit/Admin rights to the database would be able to add data to it, and you can choose to share the public side of the site with the world at large, or keep it all hidden requiring a password to see anything at all.

http://tngsitebuilding.com/

You can see my TNG site and its output on this page for example

http://lisaandroger.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I16&tree=Roger

(although this site is the result of data entry in Reunion, and then exporting a GEDCOM file from Reunion in to TNG rather than doing the data entry in TNG directly).

(Oh, and since you're related to my wife somehow, I should have provided an example from her TNG site -

http://lisa.lisaandroger.com/getperson.php?personID=I2098&tree=Lisa

:-)

Roger

Thanks for the suggestion Roger (nice touch, sending me a page on my father. Your pages actually look very close to what I was thinking of doing, with plenty of room for explanations and ability to include digital images. It's definitely on my very short list of possibilities. Thanks again!

Kathy Ott

[Katharine Ott]

Re: Data Base

I think you'd be best served by an actual online genealogy database.

TNG - The Next Generation of Genealogy Site Building - is a great tool that would be ideally suited to such a venture - anyone you allow to have Edit/Admin rights to the database would be able to add data to it, and you can choose to share the public side of the site with the world at large, or keep it all hidden requiring a password to see anything at all.

http://tngsitebuilding.com/

You can see my TNG site and its output on this page for example

http://lisaandroger.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I16&tree=Roger

(although this site is the result of data entry in Reunion, and then exporting a GEDCOM file from Reunion in to TNG rather than doing the data entry in TNG directly).

(Oh, and since you're related to my wife somehow, I should have provided an example from her TNG site -

http://lisa.lisaandroger.com/getperson.php?personID=I2098&tree=Lisa

:-)

Roger

Hello Roger - We have decided to proceed with TNG, my research partner in Germany has a website with the needed functions, but he reported that his first attempt to install the TNG software did not work. Would you be willing to give him some advice? You can email me at kathott77 at gmail.com. Thanks! Katharine