New Tree Tool ???

[rivergirl]

Its good to see that FTDNA have tried to fix some of the problems with the new tree.
I tried it and while its not great it is better than a few weeks ago. I'm only wanting to quickly scan the names and places to see if any connections jump out. I don't need stories or pictures at FTDNA.

Going from Family view to the Ancestral took ages, watching the grey lines go around and around and around.
I would have preferred Ancestral to be the default.
Detailed view didn't seem to be any different when on than off.
The surnames are in such a large font that most got cut off. I found it really hard on the eyes and distracting with the different font sizes and colours, and having to zoom in and out to read the details and get a clear view of that section of the tree. If the surname was in a smaller font it might be better.
I also got fed up with all the dragging involved to see sections of the tree.

I really don't know why they had to change from the old version to this new one.

PS; If I hadn't read these posts, I wouldn't have known how to get rid of the annoying little tree in the right hand corner.

[AngeliaR]

The answer to "Why?"

Below is the response I received from email feedback, in addition to postings in this forum. (a few of the details edited slightly)

I must say I was pleased with how quickly a response came back and I encourage others to send their thoughts from the feedback button. I find it on most of the FF related pages in the upper right corner.

Hopefully, there will be at least a few who will be able to express concerns as well as kudos (where due) at the upcoming conference in TX next week.

I'm still a bit saddened that a change of this magnitude was made for the stated reason. It would have been easier to swallow if there had been some "pie in the sky" end goal at the end of it all... something bigger and better than what the competition has... like ancestor mapping of chromosomes.

________________________________________

Request Update Request ID: 123456

Dear Name,

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your well thought out feedback and I will pass along your suggestions to the team.

As to why the change was made it was primarily done to make it easier for those that don't have a gedcom to upload to input data and create a simple tree for others to view. I agree there is still work to be done and the group admin conference will be a good sounding forum for it as well.

[LynCra]

If that was the reason for the change, then I would have expected it to be easier just to develop the functionality to create and add to trees using the previous more user friendly layout. No need to waste time on the other changes that are so unpopular and are not fit for purpose.

[rivergirl]

Below is the response I received from email feedback, in addition to postings in this forum. (a few of the details edited slightly)
________________________________________

Request Update Request ID: 123456

Dear Name,

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your well thought out feedback and I will pass along your suggestions to the team.

As to why the change was made it was primarily done to make it easier for those that don't have a gedcom to upload to input data and create a simple tree for others to view. I agree there is still work to be done and the group admin conference will be a good sounding forum for it as well.

Why do I get the impression that FTDNA have gone down the Ancestry.com line and anyone can put in a name, little green leaf, and link to another family tree with the same name and import as their own.
No research required.
No evidence required.
Same name and birth or death date - must be same person....

Yeah right....

[Katydid]

The script to fix the issue of deceased people being marked private is still running. It should be done soon.

So, is this script still running? I'm still seeing a lot of "private" icons for people who could not possibly be living.

And, to add insult to injury, I clicked on the tree of one match this morning and got a page that said "Looks like you aren't authorized to view this family tree" (complete with an "Eeek" and a graphic of a stick figure falling off a ladder).

[LynCra]

That graphic sounds even more juvenile than the idiotic Houston message.

[Katydid]

That graphic sounds even more juvenile than the idiotic Houston message.

I looked at it again - it's actually someone trying to pole vault (not that makes it any better). This was from a match that appeared on May 14.

I've attached a partial screen shot.

(Edited to add: I'm more concerned about the inaccessible tree than the graphic chosen to represent it).

[LynCra]

Both the inacessible tree and the childish graphic are indicative of an IT dept that is not in tune with the needs of its users.

[travers]

It's still a jumbled MESS. It is still very difficult to look back in matches trees quickly and easily. Yes the images are gone in detailed vies and there are other slight improvements, but the overwhelming feature request is still being ignored. We want to be able to view as many names and generations as possible on the screen. This would be easily incorporated by having a horizontal pedigree view with only names of the ancestors shown as tightly packed as possible. If you hover your cursor over the names then the dates and places can be shown.

[MoberlyDrake]

I just tried it. I clicked on a tree with 15 generations. I reduced the number of generations to 4. Now I can't get it to show any more than 4. How do I get back to the original 15 generation view?

I happened to try the tree of my newest match. It is all Scandinavian, with very long surnames. I can only see a fraction of the surname.

We still need a horizontal pedigree view!

[LynCra]

This layout also makes it difficult to see where lines end. Distracting to see that there can be earlier generations of a different line appearing above a line that stops. Has to be read carefully rather than being able to skim and see the top of the line.

[I'm Hoppy]

I just tried it. I clicked on a tree with 15 generations. I reduced the number of generations to 4. Now I can't get it to show any more than 4. How do I get back to the original 15 generation view?

I happened to try the tree of my newest match. It is all Scandinavian, with very long surnames. I can only see a fraction of the surname.

We still need a horizontal pedigree view!

I clicked on a tree that showed 15 generations in the Ancestry View and then clicked on 4 generations and then back to 15 with no problem. Another intermittent bug?

Hoppy

[I'm Hoppy]

If you hover your cursor over the names then the dates and places can be shown.

I like that idea.

Hoppy

[gerlyons]

Questions about the 'Matches' tab

Thank you for all the updates.

I have a couple of questions on the matching part of myfamilytree. I have noticed that the matches are beginning to show now to the different tests, FamilyFinder, Y-DNA, and mtDNA. One question is why can I see the matches but not be able to click or hover over them to see their information? Why doesn't the mtDNA matches have the 'distance' number like the Y-DNA? Why are they not in the order of closest matches first?

In regards to the purple link icon and how it works. Is there a way to undo a link once it is done? Since there is no way to contact the link person prior to making the link, if it is wrong how do you undo it? Would it not be better to provide the contact information first and then once it is determined that there is a link between the family tree's that it could be completed?

[WCoaster]

Why do I get the impression that FTDNA have gone down the Ancestry.com line and anyone can put in a name, little green leaf, and link to another family tree with the same name and import as their own.
No research required.
No evidence required.
Same name and birth or death date - must be same person....

Yeah right....

Yup.

I think making the trees interactive/collaborative is the whole reason for the change - not just to make it easier for people who don't use genealogy software to build a tree. That's why any discussion of a return to the old view or substitution of a simple horizontal chart was shut down. The decision has clearly been made to go "collaborative."

The new options for sharing information - "matches only" or "public" (which I assume means non-matches in the FTDNA pool?)- are part and parcel of this new direction. The goal is to have us "share" as much as possible of our data.

How all of this works out remains to be seen.