www.Leazott.com

The "Down-Low" on "What's Up"!!                                             2015 07 01
3 Months In-And Big Things Are Still Happening!!



This Months Biggest News...

More big news this month for the family website!
The new Family Tree Software is even better than anticipated, and it's starting to show already!!
Newly developed report pages are evolving daily, and data is being organized in ways not imagined!
Reports have already begun posting as The Leazott Family Tree and The Leazott Family Calendar!!

These enhanced report pages are more thorough than others, and the linkable calendar is spot-on!
Calendar pages have clickable names on their birthdates that bring you straight to the report page!
Previously, other calendars that were looked into weren't even close to what this software provides!

The actual family tree member report pages & calendar are reserved only for those who join.
But a set of demo calendar & report pages is shown below for viewers that are considering joining.
With this software, you can follow and add tree members to your own tree at your convienience!
SHAA-ZAAM!!

On top of all that, the page reports themselves are SO much better than others seen on the internet!
They has the ability to sort the tree members in numerous ways, where other software can't!
It's very helpful and interesting in so many ways!

There are so many other things you can do with this software that you can't do with the others...
Pictures and documents can be added as well whenever users share them!
There's just not enough newsletter pagespace here to describe it all. This is a very LARGE program!

There's a lot planned for this software combination for many years to come.
Each month, additional family tree members will be added to both the pages and the calendar.

You're encouraged to get the software, follow along, and add the pages to your own tree.
Check the data and references, and report any discrepancies so we can all enjoy a better site!
Additional information, documents and photographs are always welcome!



The Deeper Story...

Here's some helpful hints on sorting tree members to start you off...
Supported sort methods:

Home...
This is the most current information about the subjects in both the Family Tree & Family Calendar.
It has links to the calendar and any added pages or changes to previous pages in the past month.

Introduction...
A brief Family Tree description and instructions for use is shown.
Any relevant information and user tips regarding its features will be found here.

Individuals...
This page contains an index of all the individuals in the database, sorted by their last names.
Selecting the person’s name will take you to that person’s individual page.
Use this page for viewing all names in cases of only partial name knowledge or of uncertain spellings.

Surnames...
This page contains an index of all the surnames in the database.
Selecting a link will lead to a list of individuals in the database with this same surname.
With this, you can look for families that have been married multiple ways into or from the Leazott line.

Families...
This page contains an index of all the families/ relationships in the database,
sorted by their family name/ surname.
Clicking on a person’s name will take you to their family/ relationship’s page.
View all the family members of any surname, regardless of year, location or any other criteria.

Events...
This page contains an index of all the events in the database,
sorted by their type and date (if one is present).
Clicking on an event’s Gramps ID will open a page for that event.
Common listings are birth and death, but also includes things like baptism, marriage, etc.
Useful to see things in common with other members.

Places...
This page contains an index of all the places in the database, sorted by their title.
Clicking on a place’s title will take you to that place’s page.
With this, you visit cemetaries in an area to photograph property, buildings, and tombstones!

Sources...
This page contains an index of all the sources in the database, sorted by their title.
Clicking on a source’s title will take you to that source’s page.
Provides the ability to check reference materials to prevent any misinterpretaions.

Media...
(Not Yet Activated--Uploads begin in July)
This page contains an index of all the media objects in the database, sorted by their title.
Clicking on the title will take you to that media object’s page for viewing it in full size.
If you see media size dimensions above an image, click on the image to see the full sized version.
Documents, photo's and other media are labeled by name spellings from this site in order to group them together for easy searches. Multiple names may be in anothers file.

Thumbnails...
(Not Yet Activated--Uploads begin in July)
Eventually will provide a small picture image view of all media links for larger viewing.
Clicking on the title will take you to that media object’s page for viewing it in full size.

Address Book...
This page contains an index of all the individuals in the database, sorted by their surname,
with one of the following: Address, Residence, or Web Links.
Selecting the person’s name will take you to their individual Address Book page.
Useful for comparing locations between family members.

Contact...
Use this page for sending information regarding user expierience.
Report any page problems, informational discrepancies or other necessary reasons.
Contact method for available fee services regarding your website & family tree building.

The Family Calendar (Linked)...
Interactive clickable links. Can be viewed and printed by either whole year or individual months.
The birth dates of the tree members are automatically listed with clickable links to their data sheet.

SHAA-ZAAM!! (Just worth saying again!!)
This is already showing itself to be far more advanced software than previously thought.
And there's still so much more to add.
There's also many "Behind The Scene" developer tools that only show on other types of reports.
Bottom line is... Join up and download it!!!! You won't be sorry!





This Months L-Page...

This months subject: Lewis Alexandre Lazotte and Mary Polly Monty.
Now, if you're wondering who that is, you'll need to join first, then read here.

L-Page characters are chosen each month in connection with others being added to the family tree.
This way, we see how the family relationships grew, and the roles they played within their families.
As a bonus, the family tree flow-chart grows each month without having any gaps or "orphan pages".

If you haven't gotten it already, Download The Family Tree Software In The Geneology Section.
Follow along every month for new stories!



This Months L-Game...

Now there's a fun way for you to learn bits and pieces of information that would otherwise slip by.
Printable and viewable for non-subscribers, or an interactive format for those who choose to join.
There's word search, with crosswords and quiz's still to come!!

Several game formats are being used-Wordsearch, crosswords, and quiz software.
Each month effort will be made to bring a new variation of one of the games to the website.

Follow each month, play online if you've joined. If not, just print the PDF's for crayons & highlighters.
Youngsters too small for computers can still learn about their family history tree!

Be sure to leave some feedback about it for creating ones with more difficulty or easier needs.



This Months Highlighted Software...

It seems fairly obvious that the first "Software Highlights" would be those pertanent to this site!
Software for use at this website are found in the software download Geanealogy group section.
(Labeled that way in case more "site-essential" software is added at a later time for site use)

Within one section you'll find the family tree & calendar maker, jp2 viewer and a zip file opener.
These are essential/must haves for following along and creating your own similar tree for interacting.
Other software if found necessary or of major help will be added here too regardless of their topic.

This is the starting point is for getting everybody on the same page (So to speak).
Other software may be capable of handling the required formats, but those are up to you to find.
Since the ones used here work well on this site, they're also the ones that will be made available.

Each month, another good piece (or pieces) of usable software will be highlighted.
They may be related to genealogy, computers, websites, or for just plain fun!
If you've a particular need or interest, feel free to make a suggestion in the guestbook!






Improving The Website...

Every month, many new features are added to the website and older ones improved upon.
This section is a chance to brag a little bit about the past months accomplishments.
It's just a way to make sure all the hard work doesn't get forgotten or go un-noticed!

Sometimes, it may take days and days just to make a very small item work properly on the web.
Although users may not notice at all, it's a real sense of accomplishment to overcome these obstacles.
So this is the section where they get to shine!


Demo Links For The Family Tree...
(Coming Soon)


Demo Links For The Family Calendar...
(Coming Soon)

Demo Link pages have been tabled for this month in order to formulate a more concentrated plan.
The idea now is that we should have just one main "Demo Page" to link all new demo's from.
Not only does this simplifies the work, but also has the benefit of showing many items in one glance.
The last minute halt on this should be well worth the extra wait for all.


Photo Uploaders Added For Both Guests & Members...

This is huge!-So huge, there'll be a link added to every page for easy user access!
It means that visitors can contribute to a gallery folder for community viewing!
Plus it gives more pictures for adding to the tree members!
So go ahead and upload your heritage photos!

This uploader is the same one that will be added to members individual pages for uploads.
Member album pictures and documents are also shared with the other group members.

The link above takes you to the Upload Options Page:

Member Direct link uploads...
There is a  link for members to upload pictures to the album directly.

Non-Member Email Form With Attachments Uploads...
If you don't want to register here, but would like to contribute, just use the form.

In either case...
Remember to name your photo or document so it can be found easily in searches.


Please Help Donation Buttons...

Don't feel pressured, and if you can't afford to contribute, don't sweat it...
There's a lot that goes into the maintaining and improving a genealogy site.
Any and all help is truely appreciated!


Page-Look Improvements....

Organizing page appearances to a more uniform look with standard important links has begun.
The easier it is for users to navigate around the site and get to important features, the better!
If you'd like something added, please don't hesitate to say so! Suggest something.


Newsletter Format...

Little by little, each month, the newsletter taking shape and the layout is improving!
Having a routine helps insure that all the various features will get tended to every month.
It helps the readers be more comfortable and know exactly where their favorite sections are!




Site Feature Reminders For All...


Census Records Downloading Has Begun!!

Starting with the oldest first (1790), and for many reasons.
Newer records and family tree members are probably what most of us already have.
Getting the older ones always seems more difficult for anyone.

There's several ways to go about this, and they're still being tested here.
All are probably familiar to you. The standard scrolling PDF, individual pages, and zip files.
Zip files are easier to upload and download, but the PDF's may be better at enlarging.
Single pages help load easier for weaker machines, and are broke down well by zip packaging.
So it really came down to how well the PDF's looked and enlarged.

Zipped and single page browsing won out because of it's ease of loading.
Since pages are viewed one at a time, the entire census isn't doesn't have to be loaded into memory.

Uploadings have been halted for now due to their inherent time consuming nature and size.
The time factor can be worked with, but their size would be far too much for this website to handle.
Downloading of the census files will continue while other methods of conveyance are looked into.



New Software Has Been Added To The Download Section!!

This one came out of necessity from the census downloads.
It's a viewer for jp2 (jpx or jp 2000) picture image files. It's not used out there very often.
From what I understand, the format is supposed to help files last longer...
This may be why it's used on these types of data photo files.

Anyway, it's been added to the other downloads and census sections for easy access.
Other types will be added if found to be reliable and offer more more or improved features.
Something with editing functions would be of tremendous aid to us all.
If you know of a good one for jp2 photo's, with proper licensing, send an email, Thanks.

Each month, new software will be in the spotlight as a free download.
Topics vary according to website and personal needs.
If anyone is interested in a specific category, just make it known!



A Newsletter Signup Link Has Been Added!!

The link is in the upper right corner of most pages now, and will be there indefinitely.
Use it for easy signup, and to opt out if you should ever decide that also.

The newsletters are only being sent to those that have joined.
Emails take up server resources, and after a while, consume a significant amount of cash flow.

While I'm thrilled that others might like to read about our stories and progress, it costs money.
Those interested enough to join should be the ones to benefit from their support (Thank You!).



Visitor Survey Page

The survey page is placed in the "News & Info" tabs, and open to visitors for responses.
Basic one-click yes/no answer format with an optional block for things to add if you desire.
Visitors can help decide what's important enough to put on the website-Even what questions to add!
Please take a look, it's very fast and big help for us all.



A Comments To The Guestbook Link Has Been Added!!

Your help and suggestions are very appreciated, and this should help make it easy for you!
It'll be added to the upper right of most pages for easy access whenever you're reading articles.
Use it often!



The Search Engine Feature Has Been Added!!

The feature will become more and more useful as L-Pages and family history items are added.
The software manual says that it has the ability to remember searches and get faster (AI).
So when adding family history stories, remember to use words that others might search for.
Your message or photo can't be seen if it can't be found. Img0012578 isn't likely to be searched for.
This is a nice add-on to make things easier in the future, and found at the top of each page.



The "Share-This" Icons Have Been Added To Every Page!!

This one was planned for some time now, but there was too much else to do.
Hopefully, when some of you are seeing these pages, you'll share them for other family members.
You can share any page to any social network, or email the page straight from the left-side links.
Give them a try and help spread the word!!









Here's What's Been Planned For The Future...



This list will stay on the newsletter, and be added to or subtracted from as needed.
Mostly as a "To Do" list, and something to be accountable to for making progress!
They're listed in no particular order of importance or lineup.
As the ideas or needs came into focus, they were written in...
Of course, with effort later to add new ones near related ones for train of thought.

Some items may be quick to get accomplished, while others may take longer...
Many may not even work out at all.
But we'll cross those bridges when we come to them.



Home Page Needs Some Work...
Page has been started...But needs some pizzazz!
Anyone have any ideas on what they'd like to see?
Functionality information are the immediate focus, but any insight is welcome!


Email Address Purchase Page Needs Updating...
It needs to tell more about the product details, and payment links.
It works fine as it is, go ahead and use the checkout.
But we all like for things to be simple and easy, don't we?
As time goes by, it'll get there.


Some Page Menu Changes Are Planned...
Probably a re-ordering of pagelinks in the menu column will be the result.
This should make it very easy to look, email & share pages with each other.
One step at a time... Some have already started...


The "Events" section could use a good calendar...
Searching for some online for an entire day yealded nothing but "snooper programs"...
Many were loaded & installed only to find they were the 30 day, monthly fee or other junk types.
If anyone knows of a good event calendar that can be used for websites, please speak up!
Thanks.

Update:
A very extensive and exhaustive searh was made in April 2015 to find one...
Results were posted in Mays Newsletter "What's been done section"...

Page has been started...But needs some work and pizzazz!


Possibly a higher quality blog may be created so users can better interact...
Somewhere down the line possibly... Does anyone know of a good software program?
One with file attachment and other capabilities that users might want.
File uploading for picture sharing, email responses to their posts, etc.... Something fun!
This one would be for members only due to picture postings and other interactive ability.


As ideas and knowledge grow, so will the site-Let's have some input!

All I can do is implement the ideas....
You are the ones that can help guide the site where you want to go!

So many needs...
And so little webspace...


Please join in and help us all to find our heritage.
It belongs to all of us.
It belongs here.

So that's the down-low on what's-up!
Thanks for reading,


Massachusetts

Our family. Our website.
Leazott.com