Why is FS Limiting what I as a Helper can view in a patron's tree?
I am a stake T&FHC. I prepare Family History lessons in advance for many patrons so that during the actual lesson they receive Personalized Family History Discovery Experiences (PFHDEs). To prepare these written discovery lessons for patrons I use FamilySearch's (FS's) Planner by going to Helper Resources. After a patron has accepted me as their FS Helper, they are listed on the right side under the words " Added or Accepted". I then can access their family tree to prepare meaningful PFHDEs for them. Within Helper Resources I use "Plans" (on the left side) to write-up an outline of what I intend to teach the patron, and after the lesson l give a copy of the written plan to the patron.
Anyways, a couple months ago FS limited some of the functions I can view while in a patron's family tree and then again a few days ago (it is now 23 January 2024) it appears FS limited even more what I can access in a patron's family tree. This has severely limited my ability to prepare in advance meaningful written PFHDEs for my patrons and I am hoping FS will reverse or fix the limitations they have put on Helpers like me. And yes I did let FS Support know about this but so far no fixes have been done by them. And the FS support person I talked to was able to replicate the 5 problems discussed below with their own patrons (so it is not just me and not just my computer).
I probably don't know about all the changes FS has recently done that limit my ability as a Helper but below are a few:
1) When I click on one of my patron's names (from my list of patrons that I am the Helper for) I used to be able to then click on "Family Tree" and then on the drop down click "Person" and it would directly take me to my patron's Person Page. Now the the system "usually" no longer takes me to the patron's Person Page and instead the screen simply states "Person Not Found"! Very annoying!
2) If from "Family Search" I instead click "Tree" on the drop down the system "usually" no longer takes me to the patron's tree, but instead the screen says " Internal Server Error". Again, very annoying.
3) I have a sort of work around for the above two issues. I found that if after clicking on a patron's name (in my list of those I am the Helper for) I go directly to the Fan Chart icon and then click on the patron's name I can then get into the patron's Person Page. This work around takes a bit of doing and most "Helpers" like me won't catch on to it. But even if I do this work around, when I click on the patron's "Temple" and then click "My Reservations" the screen no longer shows the temple work my patron has reserved!! Instead the screen says "No Reservations Found" (even though I helped them put temple reservations in before FS made these horrible changes). This one makes it very difficult for me to be the patron's Helper and it is now more difficult for me to gage how much new patron's have been doing in FamilySearch.
There may be lots of other subtle limitations that FS has just done in the past couple days, but the next two also limit by ability to be a good Helper and they were done maybe 2-3 months ago. These are:
1) While in a patron's tree when I was being their Helper I used to be able to click on "Recents" to get right back to where we left off in the prior lesson. Now, when I click "Recents" (while in a patron's tree through the Planner) nothing shows up (not even the patron's name and not the previous ancestors the patron has been working on). This is very annoying and slows my lesson preparation efforts and my lesson deliveries with the patron way down.
2) I use the "My Contributions" function for several reasons as a Helper for my patrons. I especially like the "My Changes" function (middle column) within My Contributions to see if my patron has been working on FamilySearch in-between our formal lessons (which is a great sign if they have - and I congratulate them or reward them with chocolates etc when they have worked on their family history even without my help). But now, the "My Changes" function shows nothing for the current or past efforts done by my patron's when I as their Helper am looking at their Family Tree. Again very annoying and limits my ability to be a good Helper!
I can't imagine why FS keeps limiting the ability for Helpers to prepare good discovery experiences/lessons for their patrons in advance but that is the effect of the above changes they have done (again there may be more changes that I have not seen yet since the first three were just done in the past few days). My plea and hope is that FS will undo or fix these limiting changes that they have done so that Helpers like me can better do our jobs! As a reminder, when I contacted FS Support, they could not readily help me but the support person that I talked to was able to replicate all the problems I was encountering when they opened up their own patron lists where this support person is a Helper and tested the 5 items enumerated above (so it is not just me, and not just my computer).
Thanks for listening!
Comments
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@robertleelathen1 Thanks for the post. It helps us to figure out what is going on when you give such detail. There have been a few issues with Helper mode recently so I appreciate you outlining each issue separately. I know of several that have been fixed so we will look into each of your issues and find out what is happening with them. We will get back to you here to let you know what the resolution is.
@Maile L Can you note these concerns for review?
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Thanks Sam Sulser!
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Sam, it has been 10 days and FS has not fixed any of the 5 enumerated problems! Any updates??
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For weeks now, I repeatedly get "Internal Server Error" when trying to access the trees (AND temple reservations) of those I am trying to help, Please help. Thanks
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Sorry guys, I don't have an update yet. Sometimes issues take a while to investigate and resolve. But I am watching these and will see if I can at least get an update! Sam
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Hey Sam, thanks for your quick reply. We appreciate your help!
Blessings on you!
Valerie Hansen
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I still don't have an update but I'm working on it. I wanted to come back and share some things I did learn. I can duplicate everything you are seeing and you are right that it's not consistent. I tried your workaround and it does work sometimes but it's still inconsistent. What seems to be happening is it's losing connection to the Helper Mode. You've probably noticed that the green helper banner isn't always there. If that green banner is not there you won't see what you should but if it is there, you see it fine. There is some sort of disconnect. This is what I'm working with the engineers to better understand and fix.
I have another workaround that is consistent. There is a bit of pain in that you have to gather and keep some info on each person you are helping. But once you have this info, you can easily login time after time and get where you need to be. Logged in as a helper as opposed to going through Planner stays connected to Helper mode and allows you to navigate the site and see person pages, reservation lists, contributions and everything you should see. To do this you need the person's username and helper number or their first & last name, birthdate and helper number. You can login by finding the life preserver that says Help Others under the icon menu on the top right or by clicking your profile icon/name and selecting Help Others.
This is your best option while the Planner is being fixed. I'm so sorry. If you need any help making this work, please let me know. I can provide screenshots if you need them.
Sam 😕
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As a helper, I also have a problem that I cannot see anyone's temple reservations. I love helping people find their ancestors. But, my main goal is to help members of our ward to get to the temple. We have more than a few that find it hard to print out ordinance cards because they have no computer or printer and are not comfortable doing it on their phone. This way, when they are ready to go to the temple and want an ordinance card, I go through the list with them over the phone or use Ordinances Ready and print out the cards they would like to do. Then I bring the cards to church or in some cases, give them to them when we go as a group to the temple. We do not live where there are a lot of members or churches in our area, so we have found this a Huge help in our area to help members get to the temple with their own ordinance cards. There are other reasons, too, but this would be one of the most important. I pray this will be fixed soon. Thanks for your help! Bobbie Denhof
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Sam, you are right, the current workaround is a pain. :) I know you will continue to work with the engineers as they solve the problem via the planner within Helper Resources. Thank you!
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I have talked with the product manager and worked with the engineers as well. They are actively working to fix this. Thank you sharing the issue so we could let them know. I'll keep you posted.
@bobbiedenhof You can get to everything you need if you login via the Help Others links and not the Planner while the Planner is being fixed. See my post above.
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Unfortunately, some of my patrons don't want to give out info like their user name, Helper #, birthdates etc.
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Hi Sam, just checking in on any estimated timing for fixing the Planner. Thanks for all you do!
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Hi. I have been told that all of the issues that were raised have been corrected. Thanks for letting us know. We appreciate your help and your patience.
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