Where can I get training on correcting mistakes in my family tree and training on how to merge?

mforbush3813358

Are there videos or other tutorials that I could watch?

lstolk36

Good morning,

We know that there are several people have answered your question and they are all helpful.

We have found the following information that assist many patrons with making corrections in Family Tree.

How to change vital information

In Family Tree, you can correct the name, sex, or event information for a person, regardless of whether you added it.

Family Tree is an open, collaborative environment. Your change shows in a change history, along with your user ID and a means to contact you. Any user, including you, can reverse changes if you make a mistake.

Before you start

• Focus on accuracy. Your change should make the information about a person more correct.
• Be prepared to explain your changes, and, when possible, attach sources.
• Consider contacting the user who made the last change before you make a correction. To find contact information, click Detail View. Then click the name showing in the "Last Changed" details.
• Be aware that other Family Tree users could be watching this record. (You can see how many are watching when you make your correction.) They receive an email notification if you change the record. They might contact you to discuss your change.

Steps (Website)

1. In Family Tree, display the person page of the individual whose information you want to correct.
2. If you do not see Vitals near the top of the screen, click Details.
3. For the information you need to correct, click Edit.
4. Review the sources and reason statement. Continue only if your change makes the information more accurate.
5. When editing a name, choose the appropriate language in the field above the name fields.
6. Make your changes.

• If the option is available to delete information, you can click Delete in the bottom right corner of the box.

1. If you change a date or place, select a standardized date or place.​ If no matching standard is available, click None of the Above.
2. Enter a reason statement to explain why the information is correct. If the existing reasoning is applicable, leave the existing explanation, and add your own comments.
3. Click Save.

Note: We recommend that you refresh the web page after you save changes.

On your question about Merging, this is a step by step that we find helpful. We hope you do as well.

In Family Tree, the Possible Duplicates feature may not list all of a person’s duplicate records. If you know the ID number of a duplicate that is not listed, you can use it to merge the records. 

Before you start      

Obtain the ID number of the record to be merged. 

Steps (website)        

1. In Family Tree, display the person page of one of the duplicate records.
2. If the Details section is not displayed, click Details. 
3. Click Merge by ID. It is located in the Tools section, along the right side of the page. 
4. Enter the ID number with capital letters and the hyphen. 
5. Click Continue. The merge screen opens in a new browser tab.

• Left side: This is the possible duplicate. It is deleted if you merge the records.
• ​​Right side: This is the record you started from. It is saved if you merge the records.

1. Decide if the records are about the same person. 

• Compare the left and right sides for matching names, dates, places, and family members. 
• Read any warning messages on the screen.  
• If the record on the left is the most accurate, click Switch to keep it instead. 
• If the records are not about the same person, click Not a Match. If the records are about the same person, click Yes Continue. If you are not sure, click Cancel. 

1. On the surviving record, review all information that has a green background. Highlighted information will be copied to the surviving record when you complete the merge. If this information should not be saved on the surviving record, click Undo.
2. Click Continue. 
3. Finish the merge: 

• Review the surviving record. 
• If everything looks as it should, click Finish Merge. 
• To explain why you merged these records, either select a suggested reason statement or enter one of your own.

1. Click Save. 

Immediately after the merge and for a short time, an “undo” option is available. It lets you easily unmerge the two records.           

Recommended next steps   

1. Remove incorrect sources or memories from the surviving record. 
2. Review the person’s family members to see if they also have possible duplicates.

Related articles

How do I merge possible duplicates in Family Tree?

How can I find a deceased person in Family Tree?

How do I decide if two records in Family Tree are about the same person?

How do I undo a merge in Family Tree?

Thank you for the work you are doing in Family Tree and we wish you much success.

CHold

When you click on the question mark with the circle around it and then click on Help Center in the bottom left you will find a blue circle that is labeled Family Tree. There are many help articles there and a search bar where you can search for something specific. Here is a link to that page.

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/family-tree

For example you can type in merging duplicates and find this link

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-merge-possible-duplicates-in-family-tree

There is also local help at the your nearest Family History Center. Often there are classes there and always Family History Consultants willing to help.

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/family-history-center

Also look at the Wiki and online courses

https://www.familysearch.org/help/helpcenter/

If you have anything specific you need assistance with you can ask in the community.

Hopefully this will be of help to you!

AllanH01

Another accepted course for Family Tree is at The Family History Guide at https://www.thefhguide.com/index.html

Lesson 1 is about the Family Tree and goal 11 is specifically about merging. https://www.thefhguide.com/project-1-family-tree11.html

Gordon Collett

Kathryn Grant always gives excellent information and instructions in her webinars. If you put her name and Family Tree into a google search you will find these and more:

Beginner Series 2: Adding and Correcting Information in Family Tree - Kathryn Grant - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-LEf6YP68w

Intermediate Series: 2 Duplicates in Family Tree- How to Resolve Them - Kathryn Grant: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1G4KJ_U2rE

Duplicates in Family Tree, Part 2: How to Resolve Them - Kathryn Grant - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sh3Dv7fJkQ

How to Repair Incorrect Merges in Family Tree - Kathryn Grant - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3wVkWt581Y

mforbush3813358

Thank you so much! I viewed and listened one of Kathryn Grant's tutorial and I plan on looking at more. This will help me a lot.