Can we not just search for a wikitree ID instead of the entire name?

Question

So if I am looking for e.g. John Smith there are literally thousands of them but if I know it is e.g. Smith-2560 is there no mechanism for me to just type in Smith-2560 somewhere to get taken straight to the profile I am seeking?

Answer 1

Open any profile.  In your browser's URL box, change the end of the URL (current profile's WikiID) to the WikiID you want.  Hit Enter.  Bingo!

Comments

Duh.Now why didn't I think of that. I have been wondering about this same issue for some time now, and when you look at the URL it seems so obvious!

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For anyone in the internet business, its so obvious that we don't even think about it -- we don't think it needs its own help page topic.

We dissect URLs constantly, finding new root pages and reconstructing broken links from the information contained in the original URL.

But we forget that our parents and grandparents (and others less familiar with the internet or in particular, the innerworkings of the internet), need just that extra bit of hand-holding.

Answer 2

I was getting ready to ask the same question. As a Greeter, I often find myself trying to hunt down a certain profile and getting frustrated. If I type in the ID on the search page, it just kicks it back to my own profile and says "that person is not on my watch list".  What gives???

Comments

The Search pages need names.  Names don't have numbers in them.  WikiIDs therefore don't work in Search pages.  If you know the ID, you know the profile URL.  See answer above.

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That is so simple, why is it not explained in the introduction to Wiki?? I'm sure that Mark and I are not the only ones who found this annoying!

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Thanks Herb

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You're welcome, Bill, and good question.  Maybe it is explained somewhere in the Help files, IDK.  Every couple of weeks, someone asks here how to find a specific WikiID.  I think G2G would benefit from a permanent FAQ thread accessible at the top of the G2G page.

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I just checked the Help section and looked at "How to Climb--". it tells how to check on a surname, but not how to use the URL. Perhaps this could be incorporated in the How-To section there. I like the idea of a FAQ thread, possibly to a page like the "Help Index" where they are alphabetized.