why the downgrade?

camp_she

I used to use this site all of the time but can't find anything on it anymore. The search function was great but now it's so difficult to use that I'm just gutted. Since you've "upgraded" there is absolutely no joy in using this site. Since when is "user-friendly" a bad option? Please give us the option to revert to the old search... this is horrible.

LGPreston

Good evening @camp_she. I can understand your frustration and recognise that as things develop, it doesn't always seem logical. However, I do feel it's worth persisting and adjusting to it as it is easier (I think) to search and use the filters where necessary to enhance the search. The following tips might be useful initially until you get used to the new search function.

Search tips for historical records • FamilySearch

I hope this helps and you can go back to enjoying the FamilySearch site to discover your Family Tree 🙂.

Marie4familysearch

You may be aware that the new format for the search page is created to make it easier for beginners. You may be an experienced researcher and are accustom to the traditional search fields. I can relate to the frustration to the changes that have been made, however I have spent some time getting accustom to the new format. Rest assured that the records are available and the wonderful engineers are working tirelessly to improve the functions in FamilySearch as they add billions of new records and the capacity to support more new languages.

Please check out the Help Center.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/search-help-center

I hope that many guests will add their ideas on how to use the new search format.

camp_she

Thanks for your responses. I don't see how any of this could be of any help for a beginner... if I just started searching this site would turn me right off of doing any genealogy at all. The old way was very simple... this?? This not. Instead of spending a few minutes to find one record it is taking ... can't even tell you because I've still not found anything that I've looked for in months. I keep hoping they'll fix this mess but I guess my only hope now is that Ancestry will pick up the records that I'm looking for. At least their search ability is still straight forward and user-friendly

G Arscott

The answer is that the new search screen has not been tested properly and so doesn't work properly. The original search screen worked well but apparently some poor soul found it "intimidating" apparently, so they spent a fortune on changing everything.

You could write it could you? Seems like someone at the top wanted top make their mark, well they have done. Now the search function is near useless.

G Arscott

"You may be aware that the new format for the search page is created to make it easier for beginners". Making the search function different, doesn't make it easier. Instead of everything being down the left hand side of one page it is now reliant on numerous clicks to bring up boxes placed on different parts of the screen making it more complicated and exactly the opposite of your intentions.

"You may be an experienced researcher and are accustom to the traditional search fields. I can relate to the frustration to the changes that have been made, however I have spent some time getting accustom to the new format." If you had actually spent time getting accustomed to the new changes, you would know that the search function doesn't actually work properly. So it appears that you might not actually have spent much time on the new screen.

"Rest assured that the records are available and the wonderful engineers are working tirelessly to improve the functions in FamilySearch as they add billions of new records and the capacity to support more new languages." You may have wonderful engineers but any IT artichectural engineer will tell you that you need to beta test all changes and not roll it out direct to the public. If you do that, you normally give the impression that you don't have a clue what you are doing, which is the case here.

"Please check out the Help Center. https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/search-help-centerI hope that many guests will add their ideas on how to use the new search format." There is no section herte specifically referring to the new search function, so the link is useless.

Apart from these points. Great post - and the new search function still doesn't work properly.