Exciting new 'pilot' databases being released by LDS

[GeoffE]

Cell, can I ask you a question given you have been transcribing some of the entries? On standard IGI searches, it will automatically provide you with spelling variants (not a 100% but pretty good on results).  However, given that this Irish database is working off the actual registers and references, variant spellings in the search results I would imagine will not be possible as they have to reflect what spelling is actually on the register. Irish names can be so much harder than the Scottish ones on variations  Do you know how this is planned to be handled?

Monica 

Searching for Lawrence COWAN finds

Lawrence COWAN
Laurence COWEN

so some degree of variance is accommodated.

[MonicaL]

Hi GeoffE

That's good to hear  I was thinking of slightly more obscure Irish name origins that if you went in searching with an 'anglicized' version of the name may be problem  I am hoping that with their vast experience of name variants on their database, this will be applied to the new BMD Irish database automatically and search results will show these variants. The opposite of this for example is FreeBmd and Scotlands People sites where you have to wildcard your way through possible spellings of names.

Monica 

[MarieC]

It seems to have Exact Match, Exact and Close Match, and Exact, Close and Partial Match.  If you try the last mentioned, you get far too many hits!  So it looks as though it will accommodate at least minor spelling variations (as the IGI always has).

My issue is that when I access it, if I try for one event (ie baptism, marriage or burial) it wants a specific year and only when I search for all events does it let me search a range of years.  Also, unless you put in a place (in Ireland) it wants to search all countries.  I can't seem to get round these things.  Haven't found anything new, sadly!

MarieC

[MonicaL]

Hi MarieC

Yep, I have found the same  I am hoping this is down its 'pilot' status  and the searching parameters will be enhanced to let you filter efficiently and accurately, which I agree with you, it is not doing very well at present.

Monica

[MarieC]

Glad to know it's not just me, Monica!

We hope for better things in the future.

(BTW, this thread got moved while I was in the process of posting to it!  Makes your head spin, it does!)

MarieC