How are name variations entered?
I know that James Albert McMichael G9BV-JM1 went by Bert for the greatest portion of his life. He even signed legal documents this way. How do I enter this type of AKA so that other researchers don't waste effort trying to find James. A more effective search would be Bert McMichael. Thank you.
Answers
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These are what FamilySearch calls an "alternate name." You can enter an alternate name that is a birth name, married name, nickname, or "Also Known As." Here are some detailed instructions: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-add-nicknames-to-family-tree
Alternate name are used in searches for records, so it's great that you want to add this additional information -- it will help other researchers who want to learn more about this person.
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Both Find and the hinting system treat all of the names on a profile equivalently, that is, it makes no difference to them whether a name is in the Vitals box or under Other Information as an alternate name. Therefore, you can leave the name in Vitals as the "full and proper" name, and enter "Bert McMichael" as an alternate name. I would probably pick "Also Known As" for the type.
If you do this, and someone uses Find to look for "Bert McMichael", James Albert's profile will show up on the results list as Bert McMichael. That is, Find shows the name that matches the search term, regardless of where exactly that name happens to be entered.
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