Features Of PHPGedView

August 7, 2012August 7, 2012kira0030

In my previous post I talked about how to install PHPGedView and now I want to tell you about my favourite features in this software.

One of the most common questions I am asked, when someone contacts me via my website, is how are you related to the person I am researching. Using PHPGedView I can quickly bring up a chart which shows the relationship between me and another person in my tree. Here is an example:

How am I related to Francis Henry Chapman? I look up Francis Henry Chapman. This is his profile page below.

This is the welcome page. It is very customisable. I have chosen the background and border colours and the blocks of content which I want to have on here. There are many you can choose from – GEDCOM Statistics, Welcome, GEDCOM News, TO DO List, Charts, HTML and Advanced HTML, Favourites, and Logged In Users.

If I want to share part of my tree with someone who has contacted me then I can clip the part of my tree that I want to share and send it to them as a .gedcom file. Using Francis Henry Chapman as an example again;

I chose the second box from the top – Add this person, his parents and siblings.

I want a .gedcom file so I leave the first option set to .gedcom. A .zip file will be smaller to download so yes I want it zipped and with the media files included. There is no need for privacy settings on this file because all the people included are deceased and because I’ve chosen who I am giving it to. If there was anyone in the list that I didn’t want in the file I can remove them now by clicking the x on the right hand side next to their name. All the sources, repositories, and media are included. Now that I have everything set as I want it I can click the Download Now button and email the generated file to my contact.

For me using PHPGedView means I can collaborate on my tree with my sister, maintain ownership of the data and photos, I can set up tasks and assign them to the members who are collaborating with me or just keep the list for myself as a reminder of things to do in the Research Assistant section of the software.

These are just some of the features I enjoy using with PHPGedView. Would you consider using PHPGedView for your online family tree?

Stay tuned for my next post which is called Connecting Cousins.

Installing PHPGedView For Your Online Family Tree

August 2, 2012August 2, 2012kira0030

Following on from my previous posts of the benefits of having your own website and blog this is a post about installing PHPGedView on your website for your family tree. This is the software I use for my tree.

PhpGedView is a revolutionary genealogy program which allows you to view and edit your genealogy on your website. PhpGedView has full editing capabilities, full privacy functions, can import from GEDCOM files, and supports multimedia like photos and document images. PhpGedView also simplifies the process of collaborating with others working on your family tree. Your latest genealogy information is always on your website and available for others to see.

PHPGedView is what is known as Free and Open Source software it is free as in cost as well as free as in freedom.

To install PHPGedView on a website hosted by DreamHost I use their One Click Installer. This is the same method which I used to install WordPress which was demonstrated in a previous post. If you already have a web hosting account with DreamHost and have registered a domain then this is the method to use to install PHPGedView. You cannot install it in the same place that you installed WordPress or any other software. If you already have other files or software installed on your website you will need to make a new directory to install PHPGedView into.

*Please note* I do receive a cash payment from DreamHost if you sign up using the above link.

screenshot of DreamHost administration panel

Screenshot of DreamHost Web Panel

In the top left hand corner of your Web Panel, in the Toolbox, click on One Click Installs.

In the list of applications click PHPGedView and then click Custom Installation.

Choose where you want your installation to be and then click Install it for me now! This is where you need to make a new directory to install PHPGedView into if you already have other files or software installed on your website. For example I installed PHPGedView into a testing sub domain I had previously created and in its own directory. E.G. http://testing.kyliesgenes.com/PHPGedView

Note the section in green above – PHPGedView is being installed and you will receive an email with final instructions on how to configure the software. All the best with using PHPGedView. Please leave me a comment if you do use these instructions to do this installation, I’d love to know.

If you already have your own website with your tree on it what software do you use? Have you been inspired through this series of posts to create your own website and put your blog or family tree on it?

My next post will cover the features of PHPGedView which I like and use!

Installing WordPress On DreamHost With Their One Click Installer

July 27, 2012July 27, 2012kira0030

I used Blogger for many years but I have now found that WordPress is easier to use and has a more intuitive interface than Blogger. I kept my Blogger blog going until I was happy with my new WordPress set up and then transferred my blog from Blogger to my website with WordPress installed on it.

This tutorial is for people with an intermediate level of computer skills. I am only showing you the basic settings here which I used to install WordPress for this blog.

If you choose to have DreamHost host your website then this is how to install the WordPress blogging software using DreamHost’s one click installer.

Once you have signed up for a DreamHost account and registered your chosen domain name you will receive an email from DreamHost with details of how to access your website’s Administration Panel shown below.

Screenshot of DreamHost administration panel

Log in to the administration panel. In the above picture you can see that I have a number of domain names which I’ve blanked out and I’ve just left www.kyliesgenes.com visible. I created a sub domain called www.blog.kyliesgenes.com and this is where I installed the WordPress software. It is a good idea to do this so that you can install other databases or software packages in the top level domain. In the administration panel under Manage Domains where it says Add New Domain/Sub-domain click it.

Type in the sub-domain you have chosen. You may like to call it www.blog.yourdomain.com.

There may be some time to wait for these changes to take effect. Once it shows in your DreamHost administration panel that everything is ready to proceed then you can go on to installing WordPress. In the top left hand corner of the screen is the Toolbox, click on One Click Installs.

Once WordPress is installed you will receive an email with instructions on how to choose your theme and start blogging.

Benefits Of Having Your Blog On Your Own Website

July 24, 2012kira0030

The benefits of having your blog on your own website are similar to the benefits of having your own website which I listed in my last post. Having your blog on your own website means;

you get to choose the blogging software you use
you choose the URL of your blog
it is more customisable than a free site
there are no ads unless you choose to have them
you are promoting yourself and your ‘blogging name or business name’ more fully
you can back up your blog regularly
you are the owner of the content you create – your writing, photos etc.

I use the WordPress blogging software for this blog. I installed it myself and yes I am a bit of a computer geek but it really isn’t very hard to install. One of the reasons I love and use WordPress is because I am a supporter of Free and Open Source Software. Here is a blurb about WordPress.

WordPress is Free and open source software, built by a distributed community of mostly volunteer developers from around the world. WordPress comes with some awesome, worldview-changing rights courtesy of its license, the GPL.

You have the freedom to run the program, for any purpose.

You have access to the source code, the freedom to study how the program works, and the freedom to change it to make it do what you wish.

You have the freedom to redistribute copies of the original program so you can help your neighbor.

You have the freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes.

What do you feel are the stumbling blocks to having your blog on your own website?

My next blog post will be, “Installing WordPress On DreamHost With Their One Click Installer”.

Also thanks goes to Fi from Dance Skeletons. Fi uses Wylio – Free pictures for Bloggers on her blog and I was so impressed with her pictures that I had a look at it and decided to use it myself. Wylio provides you with free from cost and free from copyright pictures to use on your blog and it includes attribution to the creator of the picture. A very nice, handy tool.

Benefits Of Having Your Own Website

July 22, 2012kira0030

picture of http://www
This blog is part of my own website. I registered the domain name www.kyliesgenes.com for two years which means that I now own that name for the two years and no one else can use it in that time. As long as I continue the registration I can continue to use the domain name.

The other thing I did was to find somewhere to put that domain name, someone to ‘host’ it for me. I chose the hosting company DreamHost. I have two parts to my website, my blog and my family tree.

Please note – I do receive a payment from DreamHost if someone clicks my link to DreamHost and signs up for a hosting package with them however this isn’t a paid advertisement for DreamHost. They have not asked me to write this. I chose to write about the benefits of having your own website and it is up to you to choose who you wish to have host your website 🙂

The benefits that I see of having your own website are:

you get to choose your own URL eg. www.aussiefamilyhistory.com
you choose your web host and how much you can afford to pay for the hosting (hosting can be paid monthly or yearly)
you maintain the ownership of your content
you can set up your website how you want it to look
it is more professional to have your own URL rather than eg. www.geocities.com/myfamilytree
you’re not providing content for someone else and building their business
better security and privacy for your data
no banner ads unless you want them
being ‘your own boss’ – you don’t have to follow someone else’s rules (except for your own Government’s laws regarding website content and your web hosting company’s rules)
you can release your data/content under a Creative Commons license if you choose
visitors don’t need an account with another entity to view your website eg. a Facebook account, an Ancestry account
search engines can properly index your website content

I would like to hear from you what things are stopping you from having your own website. Or simply why you choose not to have your own website. Please leave me a comment below.

My next blog post will be, “Benefits Of Having Your Blog On Your Own Website”.

The National Library Of Australia’s Web Videos

July 21, 2012kira0030

I receive the National Library’s eNews emails and today I found out about their animated web videos. This is what they say;

Want to know what the National Library has to offer? We’ve created a fun series of animated web videos to help get you started using our collections and services. In less than 90 seconds you’ll learn how to access our reading rooms and galleries, research your family history, use online resources and order copies from the collection. Watch the full series online.

The videos are:

Even if you already know how to do these things these are very well made animations and still worth watching. A big surprise for me was that the captions are accurate, because so many youtube.com videos aren’t, but you do have to read very quickly.