A step-by-step guide to finding the best results on FamilySearch. Where to start, a demonstration of the options for filtering your results, and how the results might be different.

Stop struggling with faded, unreadable documents on FamilySearch! Most researchers overlook the powerful tools hidden right in the image viewer—tools that can instantly reveal impossible-to-read handwriting and save you hours of scrolling. In this video, you will learn how to manipulate images to make faint ink pop and navigate massive record collections with speed. Don’t let a bad scan hide your ancestor. Master these essential features to improve your accuracy, speed up your workflow, and finally break through those stubborn genealogy brick walls. Watch now to see what you’ve been missing! * * * Author’s Note: I want to be transparent that this material – DESC Tech Tip – FamilySearch Image Tools – was created in part with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) language model – Gemini Pro 3. The AI assisted in generating an early draft of the article, but every paragraph was subsequently reviewed, edited, and refined by me. The final content is the result of extensive human curation and creativity. I am proud to present this work and assure readers that while AI was a tool in the process, the story, style, and substance have been carefully shaped by the author.

En esta clase presentaremos diferentes maneras de buscar eficazmente para poder encontrar a nuestros antepasados escondidos en los registros históricos de FamilySearch.

La búsqueda de texto completo es una nueva y emocionante forma de encontrar información en más de 100 millones de registros históricos que no han sido indexados, utilizando tecnología que lee el texto de las imágenes. ¡Sácale todo el partido!

Learn what FamilySearch’s full-text search capability can do for you! This class will provide you with tips and tricks for making the most of this innovation in genealogical research. We’ll cover various ways to search, how to use wildcards and other tools, ways to filter your results, how to read and save images and transcriptions, and what to do with the information you find in the records.

FamilySearch full text search is currently in a beta testing phase that is open to the public. FamilySearch has offered this service for free on a select but large set of records. Learn how to activate this feature, utilize it, and reap the benefits of new tech!

Did you mark your wish list in the Sears Christmas catalog as a child? FamilySearch Catalog lists everything available in the FamilySearch Library. Many of these items are also available online, at FamilySearch Centers and Affiliated Libraries. Items include books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications. This session will go through the steps on how to search by location, surname, title, author, subject, or keywords, and combinations of these. Learn to find where the items are located and what type of media they are stored in. Search online in film images, and adjust their image or zoom in and out. When you find records for your research, mark each to view later in a to-do list of items which may be printed to the library when you got in person. See how the FamilySearch Wiki will help find records for an area anywhere. Just like the Christmas Catalog had something for every member of the family, this catalog has something for everyone, no matter where you are researching.

Have you enjoyed a unified effort in which you accomplished so much more with the help of others than you could ever have done alone? The cooperation, connection, and associations that result from such unified effort also established a protection to the results that were unexpected. Join Karen Clifford as she shares a ten-year experiment using the Collaborate tool at FamilySearch to shine a light on selected ancestors, and help to attract unknown, yet later proven relatives to our common family tree. See how the partnership between FamilySearch, and MyHeritage opened the previously closed door to a new generation.

Genealogists can work together using the FamilySearch Family Tree, WikiTree, and Geni. Learn the differences among them and the best practices for each.