Class:  PAF INSIGHT

Sections of the Class Notes

• Welcome and What This Class Is All About
• Overview of PAF Insight and How to Get Started
• Repair, Compact, and Save The Database
• Edit RIN's and Pedigrees Option
• Edit Place Option
• Merge Option
• Compare and Sync Option
• Search IGI Option
• Assignment

Return to Don's Class Listings page or to the home page of Utah Valley PAF Users Group .  This page was last updated 2007-11-11.

• Instructors are Elder and Sister Donald R. and Diane M. Snow of the England London Mission, Hyde Park Family History Centre  (snowd@math.byu.edu, dms34@juno.com)
• These notes with active Internet links are posted on the Utah Valley PAF Users Group website http://uvpafug.org under Class Outlines, Don's Listings.  Many other class notes and outlines for family history are there also.
• This class is to show you how to use the program PAF Insight by John Vilburn of Ohana Software.

• PAF Insight works with PAF databases to help with editing places, comparing and updating two databases, merging duplicates, changing RIN's, finding and trimming isolated "islands", and searching the IIGI for already completed temple ordinances.
• Commercial program (downloadable version $25, CD version $35) from Ohana Software, https://www.ohanasoftware.com/ and http://pafinsight.com/ -- free for FHC's (contact Ohana Software for a license) -- current version is dated 2007-09-01 and works with the LDS Church's http://www.familysearch.org web site
• New version called Family Insight is being written to sync PAF (allow uploads and downloads) with the LDS Church's new FamilySearch which is already online in several temple districts and will be throughout the Church by the end of 2008.
• Besides these notes there are good help screens and step-by-step instructions in PAF Insight and other lessons on the Ohana Software website.
• Can open PAF Insight in two ways
  • (1)  Directly from within PAF when a database is opened in PAF -- go to Tools/PAF Insight -- and
  • (2)  By opening PAF Insight, then clicking on File/Open and navigating to where your database is located -- this way sometimes avoids problems when saving the database later
• When first opened on a database PAF Insight recommends that you clean up your database by 
  • (1)  Determine how many separate pedigree "islands" of data you have in your database, i.e. blocks of data connected to each other, but not to the main pedigree, and edit RIN's (see below)
  • (2)  Merge duplicate entries, and
  • (3)  Edit all the places

• PAF Insight automatically repairs some file structure errors that PAF cannot (computer-science type errors, not logical errors)
• File structure errors creep into PAF databases due to some types of merges, deletions, and moving data.
• PAF itself can correct some file structure errors by File/Check-Repair/Check-Repair, but be careful since there is a bug in PAF 5.2.
  • In PAF follow these directions (see more detailed instructions in the notes Cleaning Up Your Database on http://uvpafug.org
  • Run File/Check-Repair/Check to get a list of any errors.  If none of the errors involve an individual's Notes you are safe to run File/Check-Repair/Check-Repair to fix them.  If any errors do involve an individual's Notes, DON'T run PAF's final Check-Repair option since it may disconnect the Notes from some of the individuals.  PAF Insight's Repair option does not have this problem.
• Some file structure errors require you to re-enter data by hand; when this occurs either PAF or PAF Insight will show you what you need to do.
• Compact Option in PAF Insight
  • Deleted records in PAF leave those Record Index Numbers (RIN's) vacant and the first new name entered is assigned to the last RIN deleted
  • PAF Insight will remove all the "holes" (deleted record numbers) and thereby make the file size smaller, BUT this changes RIN's for ALL individuals after the first empty RIN.
• Saving your database when finished editing
  • While working on the database, any changes you make are held in the computer's memory and not saved until you actually click Save
  • Then, clicking Save saves it, but it overwrites your original file since it has the same name.
  • Clicking Save As and giving it a new name doesn't overwrite the original file -- this helps in case you make a mistake or want to see how it was
  • Helpful to change the file name by adding the date to the file name as e.g. Snow-2007-11-11, or Snow-2007-11-11a, if there is more than one version with the same date.
  • Reason for writing file name and date in this format with all numbers and as year-month-date, is so that all files alphabetize in order with the latest one last -- later after you are sure there are no problems you can delete some of the earlier generations of files
  • Reason for keeping several generations of old files is so that when your database gets fouled up (and it will sooner or later), you have previous versions to go back to and you haven't lost everything as you would have if you had overwritten the old version every time
  • PAF Insight also has an "Archives" feature where it stores older versions of your file for a given length of time

• Changing RIN's allows you to make yourself RIN 1, your spouse RIN 2, your children or parents RIN's 3, 4, etc.
  • Screen shows you everyone in your database with their RIN's
  • To change RIN for an individual, highlight the person and click the Change RIN button, select whatever RIN you want -- you see new RIN for the person
  • Can change as many as you want -- old RIN's column shows you the way they were originally
  • Nothing is saved to your hard drive until you click Save or Save As, so you can quit anytime or restore any RIN's until you click Save or Save As
• List shows Main Pedigree, Pedigree 1, Pedigree 2, etc
• Names in each pedigree are connected by family relationships
• Main Pedigree is usually the largest
• Pedigrees 1, 2, etc., are "islands" in your database where the individuals are connected to each other, but not to the main pedigree
• Showing that Pedigree shows that island of data and its structure -- can work with just those or "Trim" them out
• Can change the Pedigree number you are working on by changing the box in upper left corner to All Records, Main Pedigree, Pedigree 1, etc.
• Be sure to save the database with your changes, if you want them.
• To close the database, but stay in the program, click File/Close -- clicking File/Exit takes you out of the program

• One of the most powerful editing feature of PAF Insight and makes cleaning up your PAF database much easier
• Shows list of all the places used in your PAF database with the number of times each occurs, e.g. a 7 in the right column indicates that place is used 7 times in your database
• List is sorted alphabetically from largest to smallest jurisdiction, i.e. by country, then state or county, then by city or parish -- this sorting is not obvious since they are left-justified and the countries and states don't line up under each other
• To edit all records with that location at the same time, double click on it and edit it -- that corrects it in every record where it occurs throughout the entire database
• Can also drag and drop misspelled locations onto correct ones to change all the misspelled ones -- the total number of times that location is used then increases according to how many records were changed
• Highlighting any location shows the records that use that location in the panel to the upper right, and clicking on a name in that panel shows that person's record in the panel in the lower right -- you can edit that person's record there, but editing there doesn't change the place in other occurrences
• This place editing option is extremely helpful to get places uniform in your database, but doesn't show whether those are correct locations at all, i.e. is there really such a parish in that city in that county in that state in that country? -- that requires other ways to check it

• Merge Option analyzes your database and shows a list of possible duplicates -- picks up many that PAF doesn't since it also checks family relationships
  
  • Also in PAF you may not have the options set well to pick up different types of matches for possible merges (see the Options button in PAF's Merge screen)
• List of Possible Duplicates in PAF Insight shows ranking by an algorithm of "percentage" match -- this is indicative with higher percentages being more probable matches 
• Default sort of possible matches is by percentage with best possible matches at top -- to sort on any column click in the heading of that column -- second click there reverses the sort on that column
• Pink highlighted data are matches, but with differences in the two records -- when merging it will keep the record (and RIN) on the left
  
  • Switch sides if you want to keep the other RIN
  • Check the boxes for items on right that you want to have replace the data you have on the left
• On the Notes tab you see an Edit button on the left individual so you can edit the notes and type in anything you don't want to lose, e.g. variant birth dates or places, or different temple ordinance data -- can enter note with VARIANT:  so you can search for these later to research further
• Also in Notes tab the default is to merge both sets of notes which may duplicate them in your final record -- or can select to keep only left notes or right notes
• If you want to save the source citations from the right, click on the small pencil icons at the ends of the data lines and check to Add citation when merging
• When ready, click the Merge button -- after the merge you see the merged record
• Remember that your database is not saved until you click Save -- good idea to save your file periodically, so if you goof you can recover without having to redo too much 
• All the standard features of Windows work in PAF Insight, e.g. can highlight several names at a time by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the others; or for an entire block of names, highlight the first and go down to the last you want, hold down the shift key, and click Enter -- then clicking Merge or Not a Match, etc., does them all at once
• Small pedigrees to the right show how the possible duplicate individuals fit into their pedigrees -- sometimes helpful to see what you will be linking by merging
• Options you can select here are
  • "Not a Match" -- writes a note that says these two are not a match, so they are never shown as a match again -- depending on how you set the preferences, this note is either put into the notes of the individuals or else written to a separate file that PAF Insight checks when doing a future merge check on this file
  • "Switch" -- changes sides so you can keep the other RIN and whatever data you want, unless parts are checked;
  • "Research" -- enters a note that you need to check this further, since these two might be a match
• Save the file by File/Save As and give it a new name, e.g. Snow-2007-11-11

• Allows comparing two PAF databases to see the differences and bring in or update only the parts you want -- avoids having to make a GEDCOM and import it, since you see the comparison and only select the records you want
• First database opened is the "Primary" database (the one you want to update) and is on left -- second database opened is the "Secondary" database (the one you want to get the data from to update the Primary one) and is on right
• Options are to show All Differences, Changed or New Records, or where the Right Side is More Recent (has a later modification date)
• Screen is like the Merge Option with pink highlighting to indicate differences -- you put checks by what you want to keep from the record on the right -- green items are new items and will be added as a new person (e.g. spouse or possible parents, unless you tell it otherwise)
• When ready click Update to bring the selected info from the Secondary database into the Primary database -- remember that nothing is overwritten in your file until the file is saved -- save the file periodically with a new name, so you don't lose much work when you decide you didn't like some update
• Click Add to add names from the Secondary database which don't have matches in the Primary database already
• Can use Windows option of highlighting several names at once -- then Update or Add does them all at once
• When done click File/Save or File/Save As to save the results -- the Primary database is only overwritten when you save the results with the same name

• This is one of the most powerful features of PAF Insight -- it will do searches in the IGI for individuals in your database and try various combinations of places to look 
  • Anyone can use PAF Insight to search the IGI for genealogical data
  • Only registered LDS members can see the temple ordinances -- you need your LDS FamilySearch user name and password to get to the LDS temple ordinances
  • PAF Insight usually does a more complete IGI search than people do by hand, so PAF Insight usually finds many matches that individuals don't find
  • Try PAF Insight next time someone in a FHC says there is an ordinance in the old DOS FamilySearch that isn't in the IIGI.
• User Name and Password box that opens is for your LDS FamilySearch user name and password (that you obtained with your LDS membership number and confirmation date) -- PAF Insight logs you onto FamilySearch.org  
  • For home use, once you have entered your LDS log in information, PAF Insight remembers it and does it automatically for you
  • For FHC use patrons must enter their LDS log in information each time they use it, since the FHC version doesn't retain their LDS registration info
• Set the option to see the names you want to check, e.g. All Records, Incomplete Dates or Places, Needs Ordinances, Incomplete Sealing to Spouse Info, etc.
  • Cleared or Submitted option allows checking and updating your file for just those with cleared or submitted in individual or sealing ordinances
• Search Regions -- it searches the regions indicated by the locations in your database and you have no control over these
  • Because of this when it doesn't find someone, you should probably search "by hand" for them, since they may be in the wrong region, e.g. some early proxy temple work for British individuals is in the North America region since they were done in early Utah temples and were put in North America
  • Also try World Misc since records with incomplete or unrecognizable places are in there
  • The IGI Staff is cleaning up these "strays", but some are still in there. 
• Year Range -- default is to search for Exact year since 95% of records found are with the exact year -- if it doesn't find it in the exact year, then try expanding the year range to + or - 2 years, etc.-- PAF Insight keeps track of the years it has already searched and doesn't repeat those.
• Highlight an individual and click Search
  • Search Details column shows you the things it is trying, e.g. names in reverse order, or married to same person, etc.
  • It shows you the "Hits" and "Matches", with "Matches" the final results selected from among the possible "Hits"
• When finished searching it says Done and only shows the matches (unless you have turned on the option of showing all the hits, which is not recommended)
  • Matches are shown in "% Match" order so best chances of a real match are at top -- differences are highlighted in pink, as in the Merge Option
  • Can look through the matches and select any data you want for genealogical data, ordinances,  add spouse, etc. -- unlike in other programs
  • In some areas of world, e.g. England and New England, when you get more than one match, it may help to look in Sources for a match that says "Extracted record", i.e. indexed, and not just "Submitted by an LDS member" -- reason is these were indexed into the IIGI from microfilms of original records and data is frequently more accurate than "Submitted by LDS Member" records; can also check for "Membership Record of a Deceased LDS Church Member" since that was what was on the individual's LDS membership record when he or she was alive
  • Put checks by the data you want to save and click Update (just like in the Merge option).
  • Can select baptism from one record, endowment from another, and sealing to parents from a third, if you want -- the earliest ordinance date is the only effective one, but if it has been done at all you wouldn't want to redo it
  • The small pedigrees on the right show how the person or the IIGI match fits in -- but remember that the IIGI usually only links at most two generations, i.e. child to parents
• One major advantage of PAF Insight IIGI searches is that it brings possible matches to your computer for you to decide without you having to look at them one at a time online
• Not necessary to have it search for more than one or two individuals at a time since it will take you some time to work through the results it found and decide what you want to save -- can start it searching for the next individual while you are working through the results it found for the previous one

• PAF Insight is a powerful utility for PAF in several ways, especially for editing places and searching the IIGI

1. Open your PAF database in PAF Insight and run the Edit Rin's/Pedigrees on it and see how many "islands" of data you have.
2. Run the Merge Option on your database and see if there are duplicate individuals in it.  Did you think you had that many islands?
3. If you have another old database, run your master database as the primary one and the old one as the secondary one and check to see whether there is any data that you need to update into your primary database so you can delete the old one.
4. Do an IIGI search on some name in your database using PAF Insight.