Niggles with Find My Past Website

[SMJ]

Is it just me...

When using FindMyPast Family Tree Builder in Pedigree View, I often click on the Hints offered for each person to see the latest suggestions. The software opens the Hints panel (that's OK) but changes to the Tree View, whether I want it to or not (that's not OK), often obscuring the person of interest and their nearby relatives on the View.

On closing the Hints panel, the Tree View stays rather than returning to the Pedigree View with the Tree View now being re-centred on a seemingly random person.

I'm thinking this is a bad or lazy programming and makes the software difficult and inconsistent in use. I have tried giving feedback to FindMyPast with no luck. It is also the main reason I am not willing to pay £200 for the yearly subscription.

Has anyone else found this a problem or a work around, or am I being too critical.

[SMJ]

Forgot to add computer details

MacOS Ventura 13.2.1
Safari 16.3

[fhtess1165]

While I agree it's annoying, for me, I pay the money for access to the records (including the newspapers), not to the tree-builder. My main tree is on my computer in a separate program.

In my experience, most websites change their tree-building interface fairly frequently. And just because they didn't respond to your feedback, doesn't mean they didn't note it. If enough people comment, it could lead to change.

Teresa

Is it just me...

When using FindMyPast Family Tree Builder in Pedigree View, I often click on the Hints offered for each person to see the latest suggestions. The software opens the Hints panel (that's OK) but changes to the Tree View, whether I want it to or not (that's not OK), often obscuring the person of interest and their nearby relatives on the View.

On closing the Hints panel, the Tree View stays rather than returning to the Pedigree View with the Tree View now being re-centred on a seemingly random person.

I'm thinking this is a bad or lazy programming and makes the software difficult and inconsistent in use. I have tried giving feedback to FindMyPast with no luck. It is also the main reason I am not willing to pay £200 for the yearly subscription.

Has anyone else found this a problem or a work around, or am I being too critical.

[SMJ]

Hi Teresa,

I agree that it's up to every individual to get their own perceived value from a product. If I see a feature provided, it would be nice if it worked, especially if I've paid for it. The various 'tree-builders' can be fun for playing fantasy Family Trees at times.

It does make me sad that a company fails to follow well documented guidelines and recommended practices when designing their software. Trying to converge one programming codebase that works across all delivery platforms is difficult but not impossible. Too often the feedback from user experience is not implemented as it adds time and cost.

Like you, I use other software to provide access to my family tree records with a separate supplementary database to keep things in order, just in case.

[fhtess1165]

I quite agree with you that the tree-building function really isn't up to snuff. At one point I'd hoped to use a tree at FindMyPast as an alternative to the online one I keep at Ancestry, but quickly realized it was nowhere near as good.

It is sad they don't follow through on making the tree-building aspect of their website fully functional. I just focus on the features most useful to me and put out of my my mind how much I dislike the tree, though I still use it.

Sorry if I came off as being grumpy about your post.

Teresa

Hi Teresa,

I agree that it's up to every individual to get their own perceived value from a product. If I see a feature provided, it would be nice if it worked, especially if I've paid for it. The various 'tree-builders' can be fun for playing fantasy Family Trees at times.

It does make me sad that a company fails to follow well documented guidelines and recommended practices when designing their software. Trying to converge one programming codebase that works across all delivery platforms is difficult but not impossible. Too often the feedback from user experience is not implemented as it adds time and cost.

Like you, I use other software to provide access to my family tree records with a separate supplementary database to keep things in order, just in case.