Is it just me or is anyone else finding the new 'add records' annoying?

[Susan]

I use a Windows laptop. The old way of adding records to a person was straight forward. A small box containing the details to be added followed by any other people to add for marriages, censuses etc. All the information with only a bit of scrolling down the page for even the largest family.
Now the box is huge with so much empty space. To enter a census there are only name and birth boxes filling the screen; I have to scroll down to the bottom half of the page to reach the 'residence' box. Having ticked that, I then have to click 'Next'. On the second page is the spouse followed by the children. Each person fills more than the screen. Scroll down past name and birth boxes to the spouse's residence box and tick. Scroll down past the first child's name and birth boxes to their residence box and tick. Do the same for each child and hopefully don't miss one during all the scrolling. Finally reach the 'save to tree' box. I'm wearing out the mouse scroll button.

And for some reason, they've started putting the youngest child in a census first and the oldest last.
I've attached two screenshots and they are just the first page. Each person on the second page takes up the same screen space.

 

[Susan]

A few weeks after I posted the above, everything went back to the old way of adding events, that is, every person in the record listed on the same page. Today, I find the 'new' way back again, every person is on a separate page and so much of the page is filled with empty space.

Last week, the list of everyone in my tree was changed for a few days before going back to the original format. In this other listing, I could no longer search by just surname, I could only search by the full name. I could not find all the surnames beginning with a specific letter I had to click page by page till I reached that letter. I should explain that I am working through one of my trees alphabetically, tidying up loose ends and now had to go through the list page by page to next person after the one I finished the day before.




What are Ancestry doing, trying out new things on a small number of members?

 

[jorghes]

Just realised that you are talking about the hints coming from the side of the screen... There's an easy way around that - but it can be a little fiddly - when the first slide comes out there is a small blue link that says "view record page" which will take you to a different view which will generally have everyone on the same page (it's the same page you will access if you try and add sources from the "view all hints menu".

That being said, they have just updated the look of this adding of records is seen too. It looks as if it has been adjusted to better suit smaller screens such as phones and tablets as it will be viewable better than the old system, which I can say (as I've used it) was absolutely painful to use... but then they have the app on both phones and tablets which is a much easier and quicker way of adding records so I'm not sure why it needs to be adjusted.

My issue with the new process (when clicking through to "view record page" or through the "all hints" option) is there is absolutely NO WAY to identify that the record is not "new" and instead add the source to an already existing event. For example, you have a marriage with about 3 different sources - this new way will add that marriage three times for each source, and you will either have to simply add the source and go back and manually add the source to the event or delete each separate event that has been created.

Happy to share images of this new format if others haven't seen it yet.

 

[Susan]

I don't mean that screen for hints which opens up at the side of the page - when reviewing hints I always right click and open in a new tab. It's one thing changing the way to review hints as that changed and stayed changed. But the changes I'm experiencing revert back again after a few weeks or days.

The way of adding events to a tree I talked about in the first post reverted back after a few weeks. Yesterday it changed again, but not quite in the same way. Back last August I found the event I wanted to add, lets say a census entry for a household with several children. Last August clicking save gave a page with just the named person. I had to click next to add the second person, next again for the third, next again for the fourth and so on. Each person's details were so spread out that they fell off the bottom of my laptop screen. I was so relieved when it reverted back a few weeks later.

Yesterday, I clicked save for a census and just the named person's details appeared, this time fitting on the screen. I had to click next to get the rest of the household, this time they were all on the same page, but still on a separate page from the first person. Each person's details were in a box which fit on my screen, but only one person at a time, so I had to keep scrolling down to reach the next person. This isn't nearly as bad as last August but still more time consuming to add a census to everyone listed than the way it was two days ago.
This feels as though there were complaints about last August's change so they tweaked it and are trying another version.

Last week, the 'List of All People' changed for a few days, then went back. At the moment, at the top of there list there are two boxes, one for forename, one for surname. I can enter a forename and a surname and it will find everyone with that name. Or I can search using just the surname, that will give me a list of everyone in my tree with that surname. Or I can type a single letter in the surname box and I will have a list of everyone with a surname starting with that letter.
For several days last week, there was just one box to enter both forename and surname. It would not accept just a single letter. I am currently working through one of my trees alphabetically looking for things I had missed - have I entered a death for everyone? Have I found all the censuses for everyone? Entered everyone's children? Last week, I had to click page by page till I reached the place I left the night before. That lasted about 5 days, then it reverted back and I now have a forename box and a surname box again, and I can search by initial letter again.




Is it just me experiencing these changes, or are all Ancestry members experiencing them?
And why do they keep reverting back after a few days or weeks?

 

[Mitch_in_Notts]

I had the new layout for the first time yesterday with the huge waste of space on screen. And, as with jorghes, it was adding a Marriage as a new entry when I already had it on the tree, with no other choice other than not citing it - which is what I did then, added it as a source subsequently. A pain.
This evening I am getting the old format again. Phew.....

 

[Susan]

I'm still on the new format.

I have just added the record from the birth index to a person where I had already entered the birth details using the information form the GRO searchable birth index to conform it was the entry with the correct mother's maiden name.
I have learned that I need to open the 'edit' to check the 'cite source' boxes are ticked, but do not tick the little boxes immediately below name, birth etc.

In this example, I had already entered the birth details, identifying the correct mother's maiden name in the GRO birth index and the place on lancashirebmd.org.uk. This latter site separates entries in Prescot registration district into Prescot itself and St Helens. As you can see from the image, I have left the boxes under name and birth unticked. When I clicked on save, it added the source to the correct event in my tree, leaving what I had entered untouched. But if I tick those boxes, it changes my entry from St Helens to Prescot so I then have to edit it back to St Helens.

 

[jorghes]

In this example, I had already entered the birth details, identifying the correct mother's maiden name in the GRO birth index and the place on lancashirebmd.org.uk. This latter site separates entries in Prescot registration district into Prescot itself and St Helens. As you can see from the image, I have left the boxes under name and birth unticked. When I clicked on save, it added the source to the correct event in my tree, leaving what I had entered untouched. But if I tick those boxes, it changes my entry from St Helens to Prescot so I then have to edit it back to St Helens.

That's not something new as even with the old version, clicking the box (on the left hand side next to the record information) when adding a record overrides your information with that which is presented by the record. That is why you have the opportunity to check the box or leave it unchecked and just add the source.

I have only ever had the "next" page screen when adding records when using the sidebar. Not sure why you got it while not using the sidebar.

I have seen some new improvements on the latest "add records" page, which allows some records to be added to existing events, but there is still no button to suggest that it is not a new event, I see it particularly when adding GRO marriage entries where there is only one person on the record.

 

[Susan]

The record I mentioned in my last post wasn't from a hint; I searched for it in the 1837 - 1915 birth index.

It doesn't matter where I find the record, the format of attaching it is the same.

 

[Susan]

And within the last few minutes, between attaching one record and the next, I've been switched back to the old format just as I was getting used to the new one.

Why do I keep being switched back and forth between formats?



Having got used to the new one, there are a few things I didn't like.
For records involving multiple people (eg census, marriage), there was one person on the first page, then I had to click 'next' to reach the rest of the people in the record who were all together on the second page. Why couldn't they all be on the same page like the old format?
For censuses, the new format arranged the children from youngest to oldest rather than oldest to youngest.