Updated Chromosome Browser

[KATM]

I made up my own spreadsheet for features, based on chart in Roberta Estes' post "Family Tree DNA's New Chromosome Browser," and adding a few that were in the previous Chromosome Browser (CB) version. I added a column to compare the former version of the Chromosome Browser with the Match Page and the Updated Chromosome Browser. Doing that helped me to see where many features had been moved or graphically displayed in a new way, but many remain the same other than that. I had saved some screenshots of the former CB version, which helped in this comparison.

The new improvements that I see are:

1. New capabilities by having the added "intermediate" page before you get to the CB page, which is a big part of what people seem to be regarding as more intuitive (to update selected matches, ability to use ICW and NICW from there, ability to view relationship range, shared cM total, longest block; all vs. going back to the Family Finder match list)
2. Adding 7cM to the cM display selection
3. The ability to view profile of matches on the CB page

The features that did NOT change, other than position and new graphics:

• Name/Photo w/ segment color assignment (just moved it from left column list to a row at top)
• Ability to download all matches, or selected matches segments
• Ability to view and download each match's segment information (was in a pop-up table, now shows all or selected matches under one tab)
• Full name search (was a choice in the filtered match list dropdown menu in former CB version, now a separate field)
• Viewing individual segment information (in both versions, by hovering over a segment)

Features that were in the former version, but not always in the actual updated CB page:

• "Number of shared segments" used to be in the selected matches list, shown with each match, vs. the estimated relationship shown in the updated version (now on the "intermediate" page)
• More choices in the "Filter Matches by" dropdown menu ("confirmed relatives," "common surname," "New since last login," "Name," "Name (Last, First)*," "X matches," and "All matches")
• Ability to "Hide 3rd Party Matches" (was a checkbox below the match list names in the former CB)
• Reset Defaults
• Clear Compare list

The latter two in the last list are probably not needed.
*Name search in updated CB is a separate field, not in the dropdown menu, which is probably better.

Nitpicking: if you've already assigned a linked or known relationship (such as father, son, 1st cousin, etc.), this does not seem to carry through to either the DNA Matches page in the CB, or the estimated relationship shown on each selected match on the actual CB page.

Overall, it's an improvement, but much of it is simply moving existing features around, and having a new graphic display. I hope Roberta Estes is right, and this update is setting the Chromosome Browser up for the introduction of new features, such as the ability to compare even more matches, triangulation tool, etc.

I'm sure if enough people miss the few things that used to be in the former version (and/or want more new features), and enough of them let FTDNA know, the updated CB can add them in.

[MoberlyDrake]

It works fine for me. Select person as usual. Click Chromosome browser button and a page opens with the selected person on the left. But there's one extra step. You have to click the compare button.

A bit of a disappointment compared to the browser introduced by myHeritage, which shows when there is triangulation.

[barryrsmith]

Its introduction *broke* its other functionality -- inexcusable. Some extremely basic QA testing would have caught this. Does FTDNA employ QA testers?

The issue: you can no longer select a match from your matches list, select chromosome browser, and instantly see a visualization of where you match. That *might* be okay, if it took you to the new chromosome browser match selection window and had the match you selected already pre-selected and ready to go. Instead, it takes you to the main chromosome browser window and you have to search for the match you selected all over again (if you're lucky, you'll remember how to spell their name!).

Yet again, FTDNA shows that they place much more importance on their genetic infrastructure than on their front-end user experience, with issues running from buggy software to features that aren't "plug-and-play".

[phje]

Although I am pleased to see that the chromosome browser has been updated, I am also disappointed that we can compare only seven matches at a time. I had hoped that when the chromosome browser was finally updated we could compare more than the old five matches at a time, but not just two more!