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 Tutorial and Help

 Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started : Creating a simple Family Tree site

Let us create a family tree starting with your name:
  1. Open your Web Site in a Browser and click Edit in the menu. Enter your password and click Login.
  2. If you haven't added any names to your site, click the Add Name button or pick "Add New" from the People in the Menu.
  3. Click the Male or Female button. You will get the Edit Name page.
  4. Enter your name and details and click the Save button to take you "Family View" page.
  5. Use the <<add Spouse>> (or add Father/Mother/Son/Daughter) links to complete your family.

Adding Grandparents and Grandchildren

Grandparents- Say you want to add your father's parents. We will assume you have already added your father (see above).
  1. Pick "Family" from Tree in the Menu
  2. If your name is not in the middle of the page, pick your name from the list of names.
  3. Click on your father's name to bring up his Family View
  4. Use the <<add Father>> and <<add Mother>> links to add your Grandparents.
  5. Alternately you can use the Ancestor Chart to add your grandchildren.
Grandchildren- We will assume you have already added your children (see above).
  1. Pick "Family" from Tree in the Menu
  2. If your name is not in the middle of the page, pick your name from the list of names.
  3. Click on your child's name to bring up his/her Family View
  4. Use the <<add Son>> and <<add Daughter>> links to add your grandchildren.
  5. Alternately you can use the Descendant Chart to add your grandchildren.

Multiple Spouses

  1. Pick "Family" from Tree in the Menu
  2. Pick the name of the person with multiple spouses from the list of names.
  3. To add the first spouse use the <<add Spouse>> link
  4. To add another spouse click the icon next to his/her name.
  5. Click the "Spouse #2" option in the drop down menu.

Adding Photos

Now let's add a couple of photographs.
  1. Click Photos in the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
  2. Click the "Upload a Photo" Button. You will be taken to the "Upload a New Photo" page
    1. Click the Browse button in the Photograph section. Select the photograph you would like to import.
    2. Click Upload Photo button. Depending on the size of the photograph, you may have to wait a while for the file to upload. Once your photo has been uploaded, you will be taken to the "Edit Photo" page.
    3. If this is a photo of a name in your tree, select a name, then click the Attach button. The page will refresh. It will now say "This is a photo of ..."
    4. Click the Save button.
Note: You can attach multiple names to a name at selecting each name and clicking the "Attach" button (described above).

Connecting Families - Marriages

Say you have already created two families. You would like to marry a member of one family to one in the other. Here's how:
  1. Click Edit and log into your site
  2. Select Tree from the menu.
  3. Pick the name of one spouse in the list of names.
  4. Click the icon next to his/her name. The edit page is displayed.
  5. Select the spouse's name from the list and click the Save button.


Fixing Relationships - parents/children/spouses

Say you have the wrong names connected as a parent or child or spouse. Here's how to fix this:
  1. Click Edit and log into your site
  2. Select Tree from the menu.
  3. Pick the name of you wish to edit from the list of names.
  4. To change parents or spouse, click the next the name
  5. To change a child, click the next the child's name
  6. You will be taken to the person's Edit form. Select the correction parent or spouse from the name lists or select none.
  7. Click the Save button.


Fixing Mistakes - Deleting a Name

  1. Click Edit and log into your site
  2. Select Tree from the menu.
  3. Pick the name of you which to edit from the list of names.
  4. Click the icon next to his/her name. The edit page is displayed.
  5. Click the Delete button.
  6. The name will be deleted.


Your FamilyTree Website

The direct link (URL) to your site http://$userid.tribalpages.com where $userid is the userID of your site.

Alternately, you can view your website by entering your UserID in the "Visit A Site" section in TribalPages' Homepage (http://www.tribalpages.com). A detailed description of your website is provided in the "Browsing a WebSite at TribalPages" section of our Features Page

Logging In as Administrator

  1. Bring up your family tree website in your Internet Browser.
  2. Click Edit and log into your site
  3. Enter your Administrator Password and click the Login button

Individual Details - the Edit Page

You can add or change details of any individual by visiting that persons "Edit" page.
  1. Login to your site as administrator if you haven't done so already.
  2. Click the Tree option in the menu.
  3. Pick the person's name from the list of names to display his/her Family View
  4. Click the icon next to his/her name. The edit page is displayed.

Notes: Adding some text to a person

In the person's Edit page, enter some text in the "Notes" section. About 500 words (for Free sites, paid sites have more space) may be entered for each person in your family tree. This information is displayed on that person's page on your site.

  • Links

    • You can add links in your pages. You do this by placing the link in the notes section of that person's page. Say you wanted to place a link to http://www.geocities.com in John Doe's page and you would like to call the link "Favorite Site". Just enter the text 
    <a href="http://www.geocities.com">Favorite Site</a>
    in the notes section of John Doe's page.
  • Email Addresses

    • You can include links that let people send email to a particular address. This type of link is known as a "mailto". You do this by placing the mailto link in the notes section of that person's page. Say you wanted to place a mailto link to marydoe@hotmail.com in Mary Doe's page and you would like to call the link "Contact Mary". Just enter the text 
    <a href="mailto:marydoe@hotmail.com">Contact Mary</a>
    in the notes section of Mary Doe's page.

    Events

    Individual Events are Birth, Death, Marriage, Adoption, Christening, Burial etc. You can update these events in the individual's Edit Page. For events other than Birth, Death and Marriage use the "Other Events" section. Just pick the event type and click the "add Event" button.

    To create a custom event, click "custom" in the other events section. Then enter the Event Type and click the "add event" button. The new event type is now available to all the names in your site.

    The format for Dates depends on your country. For USA it is Month followed by Day and finally Year. For all other countries it is Day, Month and Year. The Year must be 4 digits (e.g 1943). All event fields are optional. You may enter only the Year or Month if you wish. Birthdays and Anniversaries for living persons will appear in the Events page of your site. Any person born after 1900 and without a death year is considered living.

    Citations

    Each event can be associated with one or more citations. They give an indication of the quality and source of the information. Citations include the Source of the information, a reliability indicator, date and other information.

    To add citations ...

    1. Go the Edit Page of the person.
    2. Click the "Citations" tab.
    3. Pick an Event from the Event list (for events other that Birth, Death and Marriage you must add the event first).
    4. Pick the Source for the list. (click the "New Source" button to add a new source).
    5. Fill in the relevant fields.

    Sources

    Every event (Birth, Marriage, Death, Burial, Christening etc) in your family tree has a source. It is where you got that information from. You can create a citation for the source of information for each of these events.

    Examples of sources are "Personal knowledge", "Information from my maternal grandmother", "Dates from a tombstone inscription", online databases, library records etc.

    To add a source ..

    1. Login to your site as administrator if you haven't done so already.
    2. Click the Sources from the Tree option in the menu.
    3. Click the "Add New Source" button
    4. Enter the source information and click the "Add Source" button
    5. The next time you add a citation you will have this source in the list to pick from.

    Order Of Marriages

    If a person has more than one spouse you can change the order in which the spouses appear (note: the last spouse is assumed to be the current spouse)
    1. Go the Edit Page of the person.
    2. In the "Family" section on the right, select the new order of the spouses by changing the numbers in the list.

    Privacy & Security

    The privacy of the information (especially of living persons) on your site is very important to you and us. You have several levels of privacy to choose from. You could even set your own custom privacy level.

    The Administrator Password

    When you signed up with TribalPages.com you provided a password. This is your Administrator password. You use the Administrator password to login to your website to make changes. You can setup an optional Visitor Password that visitors to your site would need to know in order access private information on your site.

    To change your Administrator Password ...

    1. Login to your site as administrator if you haven't done so already.
    2. Click the "Admin Password" link in the Security section (or pick "Administrator" from "Tools" in the menu)

    Privacy Levels

    You can control which aspects of your site are available to visitors. You can do this with or without setting up the optional Visitor Password.

    TribalPages recommends that you setup the Visitor Password. Login to your site as administrator and click the "Privacy Settings" link in the Security section.

    • Privacy Levels with a Visitor Password
      • Private Site: Restricted: Entire Site. Without entering your visitor password, visitors to your site will not be able to see any information. All they see is a prompt to enter the password and optionally the password hint.
      • High Privacy: Restricted: Everything but your Homepage. Visitors without the password can see only the homepage of your site. The homepage will contain some statistics about your site, a list of all the surnames on your site and an introduction to your site (the "About" section, if you have one). They will not have access to any other page on your site. They will not see any names or photos.
      • Medium Privacy: Restricted: Living Relative Information. Password is required to see living names, information and photos. No password is required to see your homepage or any deceased relatives or their photos. If they do not enter a password, they will only see the word LIVING in places of information of living relatives.
      • Custom: Custom Sites allow you to completely control which aspects of your site are available to users with your visitor password, to the public, and to search engines.
    • Privacy Levels without a Visitor Password
      • Custom: Custom Sites allow you to completely control which aspects of your site are available.

    The Visitor Password

    You can setup an optional Visitor Password that visitors to your site would need to know in order access private information on your site.

    To setup or change your Visitor Password ...

    1. Login to your site as administrator if you haven't done so already.
    2. Click the "Privacy Settings" link in the Security section (or pick "Privacy" from "Tools" in the menu)

    Import Photographs into your site.

    You can display a photograph for each person in your Tribe. Additionally, photographs are organized into your Tribes Photo Album. You can upload any number of photographs of any size (up to 5Mb Each) form your computer into your web site as long as you do not exceed your allocated limit (50 photos for free sites, 250 for Standard and 1000 for Premium sites). If you need to upload more photographs you will need to upgrade your site from a free site for a small fee.

    Sending photos to your TribalPages' site.

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Send a Photo Button. You will be taken to the "Send a New Photo" page
      1. Click the Browse button in the Photograph section. Select the photograph you would like to import and click the Open button.
      2. Click Upload Photo button. Depending on the size of the photograph, you may have to wait a while for the file to upload. Once your photo has been uploaded, you will be taken to the "Edit Photo" page.
      3. Select the name of the person in the photo from the lists. Then click the Attach button. The page will refresh. It will now say "This is a photo of ..."
      4. Enter a Caption and the Description for the photo if you like.
      5. If you would like this photo to be on the cover of the photo album, then check the "Use this as the cover photo for the album" box.
      6. Click the Save button.

    Creating a photo album.

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Add New Album link.
    4. A window will pop-up prompting for a title for the album. Enter a suitable title (up to 100 characters) and click to OK button.
    5. The new Album is created and you are ready to Add Photos to it. If you would like to move photos from another album see the Moving Photos around section.

    Moving Photos from one Album to another.

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Album you wish to move photos from. The Album Edit page is displayed.
    4. Check the box on the top left corner of each photo you would like to move.
    5. From the Move to Album ... List, select the Album you would like to move to. Click the OK button next to it.
    6. The photos will disappear from the current album and appear in the To: Album.

    Deleting Photos

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Album where the photos are located.
    4. Check the box on the top left corner of each photo you would like to delete.
    5. Click the Delete button.

    Deleting an Album

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Manage Albums link. This will take you to the Album Settings page.
    4. Check the box in the Delete column of the Album you would like to delete. Click the Save button.
    5. If there are any photos in the Album, a message box will pop up asking for confirmation. Note: this operation will delete all photos in the Album. Click the OK button.

    Changing an Album's Title

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. Click the Manage Albums link. This will take you to the Album Settings page.
    4. Update the Title in the Album Title area. Click the Save button.

    Finding a Person's Photo

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. In the Names with Photos section click on the name of the person.
    4. This will take you to a page with the his/her photos. To change the Caption, Description, Photo Year etc, click the Edit link above the photo.

    Deleting a Person's Photos

    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. In the Names with Photos section click on the name of the person.
    4. This will take you to a page with the his/her photos. Click the Edit link above a photo.
    5. Once the page with photo is loaded, click the Delete Photo at the bottom.

    Choosing a Favorite photo

    If a person has more that one photo, you can select which one is the favourite photo for that person. This is the photo that will be displayed first for that name.
    1. Click Edit and log into your site
    2. Select Photos from the menu. This will take you to the Albums page.
    3. In the Names with Photos section click on the name of the person.
    4. This will take you to a page with the his/her photos. Click the Favourite selection over the photo.

    Personalizing your Web Pages

    Click Edit and log into your site and select Tools from the menu. The settings have been divided into 3 categories:
    • Colors

    • Preferences

      • Title for your Site

      • Visitor Password

      • Password Hint

      • Start Name

      • Directory Listing

      • Order of names

    • Administrator

      • Your Login Password

      • Your Name

      • Your Email Address

  • Background color and texture

    • You can change the default colors for your Web Site. If you choose a light color background, the text appears in Black (links are in Blue). If you choose a dark color, the text appears in White (links are in Yellow).
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Colors".
    • Select a background color from the one of the lists.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Title for your Site

    • This is the title that is displayed on the top of your web site.
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Preferences".
    • Type your new Title in the "Site Title" field.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • The Visitor Password

    • The Visitor password is used to authenticate admission into your site. If you set the Visitor password, visitors to your site will be asked to enter it before they can browse your site. If you want to admit only those you know, please enter a password here.
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Privacy".
    • Enter a password in the Visitor Password section. Do not choose the same password as your login password, otherwise your visitors will be able to modify your site.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Selecting a Start Name
    • The Start Name is the first name displayed when one visits your family tree. By default it is the name of the first person you entered when you began building your Family Tree. To change the Start Name to begin with a different person ...
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Administrator".
    • Select a name from the "First Individual" list.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • View by First Name or Last Name

    • By default all the names in your Family Tree are sorted and displayed by Last Name. But you can change this to FirstName.
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Administrator".
    • Set the "List of Names" field to "Sort by First Name"
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Living Persons: Hiding/Displaying living persons
    •
    You can setup your Web site to hide or display information of living persons. First make sure that you have set the Living persons to "Alive". You can do this by selecting a name in the "Edit Tree" page and clicking the "Edit" button. In certain countries, the name, date of birth and mother's maiden name is used to establish one's identity. Hence for security reasons you may wish to not disclose such information for living persons. By default all the information is displayed. However, by going to your settings page, you can setup your site to hide the names, or date of birth etc. of living persons. To change the display settings for living persons
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Privacy".
    • (Pick the "Custom" privacy level if you have turned on the visitor password)
    • Select the details you would like to show or hide.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Your Login Password
    • The Login password is the one that you entered along with your user ID when you signed up with TribalPages. You use this password to modify your site. To change your login password ..
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Administrator".
    • Enter your email address in the "Login Password" field.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Your Name
    • Your name is displayed in your Web Site's homepage. To update your Name ..
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Administrator".
    • Enter your email address in the "Name" field.
    • Then click the OK Button.
  • Your Email Address
    • You email address serves several purposes:
    To automatically notify you whenever a visitor has signed your guest book.
    It is displayed in your Web Site's homepage so that visitors can contact you.
    To send you your password when you have forgotten it.
    Here's how to change your email address ...
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on "Administrator".
    • Enter your email address in the "Email Address" field.
    • Then click the OK Button.

    How do I send an Upgrade payment by Check ?

    Make the check out in US$ and made payable to TRIBALPAGES. Write your UserID in the bottom of the check and mail it to

    TRIBALPAGES
    PO BOX 699
    OLDSMAR, FL 34677-0699
    USA

    I have lost my UserId or password. Help!

    Click here for the userId and password help page.

    Security: Can anybody view my web site ?

    Only if you want them to. If you have turned off the "password" feature (it is off by default) then anybody with an Internet browser can access your web site using the URL
    "http://$userID.tribalpages.com" where $userID is your User ID. If you have set a password then the TribalPages will make sure that they have entered the correct password before allowing them into your web site.

    Security: How do I set a password for viewing my web site ?

    The Visitor password is used to authenticate admission into your site. If you set the Visitor password, visitors to your site will be asked to enter it before they can browse your site. If you want to admit only those you know, here's how...
    • Click Edit and log into your site
    • Select Tools from the menu.
    • Then click on Privacy.
    • Turn on the "Visitor Password" feature if you haven't done so already.

    Security: Can my web site be edited from another computer ?

    As long as you know your userID and password, you can login from any computer connected to the Internet and update your Family Tree. Members use the Login Screen to get administrative access to their web site.

    Security: Can I change my login password ?

    Absolutely ! Once you have logged in, click on the "Settings" option in the menu bar. In the Settings screen click the "Change Settings" button. This will bring up the "Change Settings" form. In the "Login Password" section, type in a new password in the "password" and the "confirm" fields. Click "Submit Changes" when your are done.

    Security: Why do I need two passwords ?

    At TribalPages.com the privacy and integrity of your information is very important to us. Hence there are two passwords you will need to setup. The first password (Login password) is the one that you entered along with your user ID. You use this password to modify your site. The second password (Visitor Password) is optional. Visitors to your site will have to enter this password to view your pages.

    Why isn't my site listed when I search for a name ?

    The search feature looks for names in TribalPages' directory of names. This directory is refreshed twice a month, usually the middle and end of each month. If you have set the "Directory Listing" option for your site as "Yes" it will be added to TribalPages' directory of names. To do this, login as Administrator, then click on "settings" on the menu, then click the "Settings" button in the "Website Settings" section. In the "Web Site Settings" page click "Yes" for the "Directory Listing" option and click the "OK" button. Once you do this, your site will be included in subsequent refreshes of the names directory.

    Is there a means to backup the information that has been entered ?

    You may backup and download your tree as a GEDCOM file and download it to your computer. Here's how: once you have logged into your website using your userid and password, select the "Backup" option from "Tools" menu item. Here you will see instructions on backing up and downloading your tree. Once you have downloaded your tree as a GEDCOM file you can upload it to TribalPages at any time and your tree will be restored from the information in the GEDCOM file.

    What is a GEDCOM file ?

    GEDCOM was developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to provide a flexible, uniform format for exchanging computerized genealogical data. GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data Communication. Its purpose is to foster the sharing of genealogical information and the development of a wide range of inter-operable software products to assist genealogists, historians, and other researchers.

    Can Gedcoms be added for additional family lines on my website ?

    You will need to sign up a new site for each line. Each GEDCOM that is uploaded wipes out the names that exist on your site. However photos that you uploaded previously to your site are not deleted. If a photo was associated with a name, and the same name appears in the uploaded GEDCOM, then the photo remains linked to that name, otherwise the photo will not be linked to any name, but will remain in the album.

    How do I create a GEDCOM file in FTM ?

    To create a GEDCOM file in FTM ...
    • Open a family file
    • Select Copy/Export Family File from the File menu.
    • Under Save as type, select GEDCOM. If you want to save only part of your FTM file as a GEDCOM file, first display an ancestor, descendant or hourglass tree showing the individuals you want to include.
    • Then pick Copy/Export Individuals in Tree from the File menu and select a file name and folder for the GEDCOM file. Make sure the file ends with a .GED

    How do I open a GEDCOM file in FTM ?

    To open a GEDCOM file with FTM, select Open Family File from the File menu and locate and select the GEDCOM file. Then select a folder and name for the new file. For easy backup, you might choose a folder within My Documents such as C:\My Documents\Jones Family\. Finally, select the facts you'd like to import and the corresponding fact names in FTM. Open and examine the newly created FTM file. If it looks OK, go ahead and combine it with your main file by selecting Append/Merge Family File from the File menu (see tip number 5 for hints on merging).

    I am having trouble LOGGING into my website

    If you keep getting the message "You are not logged in as Administrator...", the problem you are having could be related to your Browser configuration.
    Try this ...
    In the Internet Explorer menu, select
    • Tools, then
    • Internet Options
      • Security Tab
        • Security Level .. click the "Default Level" button
        • Select "Medium" security level
      • Privacy Tab
        • Select "Medium-High" as the settings level
    • Click "Apply" then click "OK"
    • Try logging in again.

    Are there any charges ? Is this all free ? How much space can I use ? I have many names and photos.

    Currently we do not impose any limits to the number of names in your tree. Your free site is limited to 50 photos. If you need more photos you will need to upgrade your site for a small fee. Check the "Upgrades" tab once you have logged into your site. You can upload any number of photographs of any size (up to 5 Mb each) form your computer into your web site as long as you do not exceed your allocated limit.

    Do you sell or rent out my family tree information or photographs ? I hear some other websites do this.

    Here is our Privacy Policy shown in the "Join Now" page....
    Privacy Policy: Any information you enter is considered private. TribalPages.com will not sell, rent or disclose this information to anyone. Our privacy policy also covers any information you enter in your Family Tree. Although TribalPages will not disclose any the information in your Family Tree, it is up to you to use the password feature of your Family Tree to limit accessibility.


     

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