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- Ancestor Alerts <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=EditAncestorAlerts>, <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=viewancestoralerts>
- Collections <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=collections>
- Community Forum <www.archives.com/forum>
- County Records <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=orrbuy>
- Customer Support <www.archives.com/?_act=contactus>
- Expert Articles <experts.archives.com>
- Family Trees Guide <www.archives.com/member/images/resources/Family_Tree_Guide.pdf>
- Grow Your Tree <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=learntree>
- Help Center <www.archives.com/faq.shtml>
- How to Search <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=learnsearch>
- Learn <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=Learn>
- My Account <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=myaccount>
- My Tree <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=familytree>
- Search <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=searchall>
- Search Guide <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=searchguide>
- Seven-Day Free Trial <www.archives.com/ga.aspx?_act=checkoutorg>
- Video Tutorials <www.archives.com/member/default.aspx?_act=learntutorials>
Hacks and Shortcuts
- Because you can’t use wildcards, toggling the Exact checkbox is the only way to narrow or widen your search results.
- You can further fine-tune your search locale by using the optional county and city fields. You can fill in one or the other or both, and both fields also offer the Exact option.
- Even if you’re fairly sure of a birth date, use the plus-or-minus option to find someone in the census. Birth years are estimated based on census data and the enumeration year. For instance, in the 1870 census, a person born in September 1835 would show up as being born in 1836, since he or she would not yet have turned 35 at the time of enumeration.
- Non-Footnote members can plumb that site’s data via Archives.com without having to subscribe. Be aware, though, that if you view a lot of images at $2.95 or more a pop, it will add up.
- Some of Archives.com’s coverage can be spotty as its collections grow, so you may get the most bang for your buck by, say, searching all records within a given state for an ancestor’s surname.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page showing your family tree for a snapshot of statistics: how many individuals are in your tree, how many stories and events you’ve entered about these ancestors, and counts of scrapbook items and records.
- Since Archives.com’s trees don’t have a separate source feature, use the Notes tab within an ancestor’s profile to record all your sources for genealogical data about that person.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
If you can’t find an answer to your question in Archives.com’s Help Center <www.archives.com/faq.shtml>, fill out the customer-support form at <www.archives.com/?_act=ContactUs>. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time, Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central, and Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central.
From the December 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine
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