Familysearch Helper Resources, FHAR and Messages Questions
Q1. Until a few days ago, as a T&FHC I could "Add Someone" (in the Planner under Helper Resources) so that I became their Familysearch Helper in at least two good ways. One was via sending the new patron an email from me (via Familysearch) and the other was to get the new patron's Familysearch User name and their 5-digit Helper Number. This last way (user name and 5-digit Helper Number) seems to no longer be an option. What happened - that was a great way to become a new patron's Familysearch Helper??
Q2. Our first January 2022 FHAR report says our 4- Generations YTD numbers dropped by 30-40% (this happened to the other wards in our stake too). How can that be?? In all previous reports our 4-Generatins number remained mostly constant.
Q3. Often when I first login to Familysearch there is a small red dot within the "Messages" function. That red dot is supposed to indicate that I have a new message from someone. But when I open my messages (after seeing the red dot) I rarely have a new message. Why is the red dot even showing??
Thanks in advance!!
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Q2: There has been a change in the way this particular statistic is calculated. Apparently there was supposed to have been a note included with the January FHAR, but that somehow didn't happen. Here is the note that was supposed to have been included:
The “Family History Activity Report” found in Leader and Clerk Resources (LCR) has been adjusted to represent only the Family Trees of members who have a FamilySearch account. This change will result in a lower number of “First Four Generation Trees” reported. This adjustment should give leaders more accurate information about member family history activity in their unit.
So basically there were members who never created a FamilySearch account, but a 4-gen tree was create for them anyway, and their numbers were part of the numerator in the calculation of the percentage of 4-generation ancestors. Now they are no longer part of the numerator, but the denominator is the same. If your ward has a large number of people who have no FamilySearch account, the drop in the percentage could be significant.
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Thanks Alan!!
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@robertleelathen1 Asking around in FS Support to see if anyone can answer Q1. I noticed the same things when I was training a newly called consultant in my stake yesterday. Hope we'll get answers soon. Stay tuned.
Q3 I've never seen the red dot unless there was a new message, so can't suggest what sort of gremlins are at work there.
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Thanks N Tychonievich!
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@robertleelathen1 Have confirmed that the change in options for adding to the Planner was intentional. Whether a reason will be forthcoming is less certain. Lots of times changes come without reasons being provided, as you well know.
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Thanks! That is too bad, I wish they would ask us users first, I have had many patron's who for one reason or or another the "Send an Email' invite method did not work but the "Username and 5-digit Helper Number" invite method did work!
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@robertleelathen1 Yes, I have had the same problem. I made that clear to some of the folks who might have some influence.
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@robertleelathen1 You might be interested to know that you can still add someone to your planner using either the birthdate or username if you do it from the Family Tree mobile app on an Android or iOS device.
Support has put in a formal request that the option be added back to the web interface too.
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Thanks again! I hope it it does get back to the web interface since I mostly use my computer (too hard for me to see things on my phone :) !
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I have recently invited a number of individuals via the email process and have not had any problem at all.
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@robertleelathen1 Word came back on our request to return the option to add to the Planner by username or birthdate and helper number. They are going to put it back, since it is still an option in the mobile app (probably not until after RootsTech since all hands are fully occupied preparing for that mega-event).
But be aware that it will eventually be removed across the board. There are some privacy concerns associated with that particular way of adding to the Planner. For most people we need to add, this will not be an issue. For those who struggle to get to their email accounts (or don't use email), it will be more of a challenge.
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Okay and thanks for all your help!!
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For those who want all the nitty-gritty details on the calculation and what changed, see this post:
https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/comment/427463/#Comment_427463
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Just checked my access and it is still there. Although you may not now be able to add a person to your list of people being helped, via the user name and helper number route, you can still help them. I use the Help Others feature, input username and helper number there and have access to their tree. The only things I can't do is make notes and lesson plans, which is a drawback.
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I have several who are not members of the Church and several of them are not in Utah at all, and I have one area of concern - there are some members in my ward who do NOT have any email at all. They are living in assisted centers. They retain me on long term, not occasionally.
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I am way behind. just discovered the helper area had changed. it is terrible change. i send invitation to a person, he singed into f.s. then what???
someone said we could still do sign a person up on the phone app. WHERE?
THANKS
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@LewisNORMANSharonMarie Here are steps to add someone to the Planner using the Tree Mobile app.
On Andriod, tap the 3 lines in the top-left. Tap Help. Tap Helper Resources. You see the people already on your list. In the bottom-right, tao the + in a circle. Enter the name of the person. As you enter the name, names of people in your ward (or stake if you are a stake consultant) appear. Tap the one you want to add. Tap Request Access. You have 3 options: Invite by Email, Share Link, and Add by Helper Number. If you tap Add by Helper Number, you see the options: Username or Birth Date. The birth date option lets you enter the birth date and helper number.
On an iPhone or iPad, the process is basically the same. The 3 lines icon is in the lower-right. Again, you go to Help and then Helper Resources. At the bottom, tap Add Someone. Enter the name and tap Request Access. You see the same options as on Android.
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sweet thank you!! this has been very helpful but the process was frustrating. I had not help anyone since 2021 and it was "normal" then...lol I am a consultant now and have several people asking for help that I want to be prepared to help. this change set me back!!! all okay now.
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On Question 3 above (red dot), if the red dot in FamilySearch is by the bell symbol, it means you have notifications (i.e. completed ordinances or other messages). If the red dot is by the rectangular icon, then it's a message from a person.
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