Have you heard that "Family Tree & Tools" will become "Tree Apps"? [closed]

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

This is a heads-up about some significant changes coming in the new year.

As some of you already know, WikiTree's technical development is becoming more decentralized and community-based. WikiTree has always been about collaboration, but for a long time, the collaboration was really just on the tree, not the technology.

We have been working to minimize what has to be centrally-managed by the team and simplify what new members and non-members see, while at the same time expanding the opportunities for advanced members to use and collaborate on powerful, specialized tools and cutting-edge possibilities for viewing genealogy.

This new paradigm for technical development has two sides: one side for growing the tree, and one for viewing it. Advanced tools for growing the tree are going in the WikiTree Browser Extension, discussed last month. Advanced tools for viewing genealogy are what we're calling Tree Apps.

The foundation of Tree Apps is what you can see now as the Dynamic Tree. Select that option on the person pull-down menu on any profile, e.g. Windsor-1&view=wt-dynamic-tree. Play with the selector and you'll see some very cool tree views collaboratively created through an open source project by Greg Clarke, Michal Vašut, Riël Smit, Geoff Riley, Steve Harris and others. And they're just getting started.

In the new year we'll be moving these independent apps to center stage by replacing the current "Family Tree & Tools" tab on profiles with a "Tree Apps" tab.

WikiTree's good old-fashioned pedigree charts won't disappear, e.g. Windsor-Family-Tree-1. That's what you already see when you click the Ancestors button on profiles. We're going to do something similar to what we did last year when we removed Descendant pages and made it possible to directly access the descendant list on profiles with a single click and a shareable URL, e.g. Windsor-1#Descendants. Soon you will be able to use a direct link like Windsor-1#Ancestors to view or share the basic pedigree chart.

Also, don't worry that other tools currently linked from Tree & Tools pages will disappear. If they're not already accessible in another way, they will be accessible through an option on the Tree Apps page, or linked from elsewhere.

Do you have thoughts, suggestions, or questions? If so, please post an answer below. Comments at the top here will be hidden after they are read once.

Onward and upward, for the future of genealogy,

Chris and the WikiTree Team

Answer 1

How does one access these Tree Apps?

Comments

Sometime next year it will replace the Family Tree tab, so you'll see it there. For now, if you opened the fan chart or the dynamic tree, there's a drop-down list at the top you can use to change the view.

If you haven't, go check it out, very cool stuff! And I particularly enjoy the Fandoku game

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On any person profile, click the upper right menu that has the person's ID, such as yours with "Ross-19791" and you'll find "Dynamic Tree" in the pull-down menu.

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I have looked at the Dynamic tree etc many times, I'll be waiting to see what else there will be.

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I don't "do" apps or extensions, so will this exclude me from what I can do now?

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M., be sure to select the different views from the top of the dynamic tree page, like Jonathan mentioned.

Melanie, you don't have to "do" apps. It's true that they used to stand alone, apart from the rest of WikiTree. But they are becoming increasingly integrated, so using them won't feel like you're leaving the website. However, the advanced tools in the browser extension will only be available to those who install the extension.

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Thanks, Chris, been there done that.

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It's more about what my old devices can handle, than concerns about leaving the website.  So long as I can continue doing what I do using the vanilla interface, I'll be fine.

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Along with you, Melanie, on this. I'm a sort of app-allergic, sorry about that. How I miss good old Web 1.0, with no apps, no ads, simple ...

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Bonjour!

Personnellement, je trouvais l'ancienne version de Family Tree and Tools, beaucoup plus conviviale.

Je trouve regrettable que la forme DNA confirmation ne soit plus accessible pour la page de l'individu consultée.

Elle ne l'est maintenant que pour MOI! Soit l'utilisateur présentiel.

Si je veux connaître la DNA congirmation d'un de mes ancêtres, cela ne m'est plus possible, ni pour l'ancêtre d'un autre membre!

J'espère que mon commentaire ne vous est pas trop NÉGATIF!

Merci!

Real TremblaY

Answer 2

I have a suggestion for a DNA related Tree App.  Add a [compare] link next to X-DNA.  This would function similar to the existing auDNA [compare] except it would access GEDmatch’s One-to-One X-DNA Comparison.

One issue that has been previously noted it that the DNA Connections uses too much page space.  A possible solution is to use a scale symbol instead of [compare].  For example there could be an "au [scale symbol]" which links to autosomal One-to-One comparison and an "X [scale symbol]" which links to One-to-One X-DNA Comparison. 

Answer 3

Is anyone working on a printable descendant list suitable for a handout at family gatherings, or printed into a book form?  I know you can do a GEDCOM export and use a third party program to do that now but there is always something lost in the translation.  People put great effort into the online profiles with pictures, biographies, etc. and it would be great if that was retained in its native format.

Comments

I was going to ask the same thing. This is a question I get from people--how can we print a descendant list.

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You can do an Ahnentafel Ancestor List with the current API tools,.

Yes it would be bottom up, it could be run for for many different people.

I usually use Family Tree Maker for the many different reports and Tree creating and printing options they have.

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yes you can do that but that's far from ideal.  As it is I can run a family list of x number of generations, however, there is no structure or order that is of any use.  I would like it broken by generations and in NGSQ order as one would expect.  I would also like it to include pictures and biographies and if chosen, include research notes and sources.  I'm sure this is straight forward enough, would be immensely useful and easy to program.  I just don't know why it's not a default feature.

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Stu, you're right it isn't ideal, hopefully your idea will inspire a WikiTreer.

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I'm quite confident that a reasonable solution will be released soon.

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This is something I have worked on (and struggled with) for a long time. One major issue is that images, templates, categories, etc. can be quite challenging to pull through the API and display in the same way one would expect of the biography.

There is a Printer Friendly Bio option in the Extension; however, it focuses on only one profile at a time. It strips out much of the page structure and formatting, leaving you with a Biography that is easy to print without all the extra page data (sidebar, header, etc.). To achieve what you were looking for, you would have to go profile by profile an print out the pages, then compile them manually.

Obviously this is not an elegant solution for this use case.

I have some free time today, let me see if I can work on this some more and come up with a solution.

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I am trying to do our Craigie Berthoud Family history, also My husband Charlie Ricetti's Memoirs.  Daisy Craigie .

Answer 4

If you are going to "rename" the tab, DO NOT just call it Tree Apps.  That would be totally uninformative for new users or users who are not WikTree members.  The format for the standard pedigree chart view is what most people are familiar with, and the tab should reference that.  So "Family Tree & Tree Apps"  would be more appropriate.  I am still fairly new to WikiTree and it sometimes seems that WikiTree is becoming more obtuse, rather than more helpful.

Comments

How about Charts & Reports?

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Agree!

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indeed, the term App is overused and abused already for anything and everything (not just on WikiTree, everywhere), so not tempted to go there when I see it.

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Charts, Reports and Trees or Tree Views ???????

And I agree with Danielle, Apps is a very overused term.

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Adding my voice; however one feels about the term "Apps," it does not convey to the end user what the apps make possible. I think end users would appreciate a tab label that conveys what the end user can accomplish [thru the apps], not the apps themselves.

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Oups!

Answer 5

I have been unable to use the new WikiTree extension because I use Safari on my iPad and I’m still waiting for the Safari version. Will this happen with the new changes also?

Comments

Yes, please! 

Don't forget about Safari and iPad. 

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I’m with you there, Liza.

Answer 6

I greatly dislike the previous change of only showing Descendants on the person's profile as a separate section (i.e. <wikitree ID>#Descendants). I really wish we had a separate page / tab like we used to have. I use that heavily in research and integrating it like it is now causes headaches.

How is this relevant? If other Apps are going to be available, then I would like to see a separate Descendant chart again. But this time with the useful Expand / Collapse buttons (from the WT extension) for branches of the tree  as native.

Comments

As far as I understand, the separate page for the pedigree chart will be going the way of the separate page for the descendant chart - it's going to be unfolded on the profile page like what you get with the ANCESTORS button.

I don't think I'm going to like that more than I like the transmutation of the DESCENDANTS view. But one learns to work with it.

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Yes, I won't like that either. There are valid reasons to have them both integrated and separate.

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Eric, I'm just curious... What is/was the benefit of having the descendants on a separate page as well as on the profile page?

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One forgets, Ian. But when the change was new somebody wrote:

I dislike the change to the descendants chart.  Previously I would show it and, as I added profiles, reload it to see the change in the chart.  This was nice as the scroll bar slider would not change by much (which is important when there are hundreds of profiles displayed).  But now the scroll bar  slider always ends up at the top when reloaded and one must find the change again.

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1401464/did-you-notice-the-gender-related-or-descendant-page-changes?show=1401879#a1401879

This describes the way it still behaves. One does get used to it.

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Thanks, Eva.  Honestly, I never used the page, so I didn't notice the difference, but now, I see.

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I will also add that you can press the "Descendants" button on a profile, and yes, it will display the descendants. But the URL (the link in the browser) for the page itself does not change. Let's say you have added a new descendant on another tab. So when you refresh the page (of the top level ancestor), you get the person's profile all over again with the descendants not showing. You have to press the "Descendants" button again to display them. And as Eva just said, everything starts all over again at the top.

Now there is a slight way around this. In the URL you can add at the end: "#Descendants" (without the quotes of course). Now you have a full URL that will show the profile and the descendant list will automatically show. Great, you say. 

But if you go to the "Family Tree & Tools" tab, at the top of a Profile, you'll see there is no longer a nice link to that particular URL that will automatically show the Descendant list of that profile. Which means that you have to manually add that "#Descendants" suffix to the URL. And to top it off, you better get the spelling correct, and the word has to be capitalized at the beginning, otherwise it doesn't work. Oh, and I just discovered you can't do it in the open tab you have, you have to copy it to a new tab and then it will open.

Because of all the above, in my opinion, this was a major step backwards from what we had before. Yes, I enjoy having the descendant tree and the ancestor tree viewable in the profile. But I need to have a separate view of it as well. 

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Thanks for the explanation, Eric.  That makes a lot of sense.

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I have been wondering why sometimes the descendant list disappears when I refresh the profile I'm working from - and sometimes it doesn't.

Thanks to this discussion I think I have figured it out: If I have unfolded the descendants list by clicking the button, the list disappears. If I have reached the descendant list by choosing Descendants in the profile menu, or if I have reached it by clicking the descendants icon in the pedigree view it has the #Descendants in the URL and does not disappear upon refresh.

Answer 7

I hope not too much is changed with the Family Tree in the normal page view because I use it for navigation and general reference constantly as I work on profiles.

Comments

Changed? It seems to have disappeared.  I can't fid it anywhere (even usingtheunhelpful help).  Wikitree is becoming very difficult to use.  None of these New Apps are any use to me, some just don't work at all. I am informed that my own profile is private and I am not on the trusted list.

How do I do Rootssearch on a losed profile?

Retrograde step.

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Not to continue on an old, now outdated thread, but : https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1528175/have-you-seen-the-changes-to-family-trees-profile-tabs-etc

Also - rootsearch on a closed profile - start from an open profile, and change the information.  I do this all the time.

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Thanks Melanie.

Answer 8

Hello, I have given this idea more thought, and I am no longer sure I like it as much. Here is why:

The current solution provides an easy at-a-glance overview of the past four ancestor generations including names, full birth dates and locations, a picture and whether a relationship is DNA verified. The view also allows to navigate quickly through the structure, and to get to the next four ancestral generations of a GFF, it takes only one click.

With a dynamic solution, we lose the at-a-glance 4-generation overview and a lot of the details given in the current boxes. I am doubtful that the new solution will provide a better user experience for the purposes of getting a quick overview.

Please do not get me wrong, I totally love all the new additional navigation options, but I am also more mindful now about when maybe to use them.

Is there maybe an option to add the "apps" as separate tabs next to "Family Tree"? Or maybe a selector that allows me to pick the navigation view I'd prefer.

Perhaps some user testing (A/B) might be a good idea for such a large change.

Thanks for all your great work!

Sven

Comments

Hi Sven,

WikiTree's good old-fashioned pedigree charts won't disappear, e.g. Windsor-Family-Tree-1. That's what you already see when you click the Ancestors button on profiles. We're going to do something similar to what we did last year when we removed Descendant pages and made it possible to directly access the descendant list on profiles with a single click and a shareable URL, e.g. Windsor-1#Descendants. Soon you will be able to use a direct link like Windsor-1#Ancestors to view or share the basic pedigree chart.

Answer 9

Please don't continue any further down the browser extension path without support for mobile browsers. Thanks.

Answer 10

So far not happy! I try to bring up the family tree for a quick look and either nothing happens or the old view is not available (the closest thing is that thing you see on other sites that requires clicks to expand it etc, very unwieldy!). It doesn't offer tree apps at all for living people even though I am the profile manager (and I've taken myself off all their ancestors!), this makes working the out the tree very difficult, I can no longer see where the gaps are to be worked on.

Comments

Hi Judith, are you saying nothing is happening when you click on the "Ancestors" button on a profile? Or is something not working on the "Tree Apps" tab?