Ancestry Pro Tools: What Do You Get?
What's Inside Ancestry.ca's New Pro Tools?
About two weeks ago I subscribed to Ancestry.ca's newly-launched (at least, in Canada) Pro Tools add-on membership. Before subscribing, I found it frustratingly hard to find information about what features were included in the monthly subscription, so I decided to take the plunge and find out.
Although I wasn't quite sure what I was signing up for, I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have been using some of the Pro Tools features. But for those of you who want to know more before diving in, here's an overview of what you get for your (at time of writing) $12.99 / month (Canadian $) Ancestry.ca Pro Tools subscription.
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| Figure 1: Inside Ancestry.ca's Pro Tools - A Snip from my Dashboard |
Note: As I understand it, currently the only requirement for subscribing to the Pro Tools add-on membership is having an active paid Ancestry.ca membership -- Pro Tools is independent of your Ancestry.ca membership level.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and it is not intended to be a comprehensive nor comparative review. Rather, it is intended as an informational overview; it reflects my own personal experience and opinions relating to the "unboxing" and use, to date, of my personal Pro Tools subscription -- a subscription that I have paid for out of my own pocket. Also, I use my PC almost entirely for my family history research, not a mobile device, and what follows reflects a PC-environment experience.
Tree Checker
The Tree Checker tool analyzes your tree and summarizes into categories any possible errors with the data or the records, such as:
- possible duplicates;
- no documentation;
- only tree documentation; and
- other possible errors.
The Tree Checker summary lists the individual records that are considered to have these errors (default is by Name, but you can also sort the results by Birth or Death), and you can filter the records you want to investigate using any combination of the above four categories.
Tree Checker also provides your tree with a rating out of 10 (where 10 is the best rating) based on an overall weighting of these categories.
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| Figure 2: Snip from the Tree Checker Pro Tool - Results Summary |
I started my tree on Ancestry.ca over 15 years ago, and discovered to my surprise that a lot of errors I wasn't aware of had crept into my data. In the two weeks since subscribing to Pro Tools, I found that I have used Tree Checker frequently to clean up problems with the data in my tree, such as fixing duplicate records or deciding what to do with records without attached individuals or relationships (I call these "orphaned records"), or ensuring source documentation is attached to individual records (not simply mentioned in notes).
Since I am turning my time lately to large research projects, writing, and sharing family histories, I find Tree Checker helpful to quickly identify duplicates, problems with relationships, and where my source documentation needs to be improved.
Enhanced Shared Matches (DNA)
This Pro Tool allows you to sort your AncestryDNA matches using a range of filters: Unviewed, Common Ancestors, Notes, Trees, Shared DNA, and Groups. These filters can be applied to All Matches, matches By Parent, matches By Ancestor, and matches By Location.
Using the Enhanced Shared Matches feature, if you then select one DNA match, you can view the other matches that the two of you have in common.
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| Figure 3: Snip of Enhanced Shared Matches (DNA) Pro Tool - Example Results |
With my existing All Access Membership, I found that I already had most of these options. And before subscribing to Pro Tools, I already had done a lot of close-DNA match and shared-match reviews using standard AncestryDNA shared match capability combined with applying The Leeds Method of Clustering DNA Matches.
This Pro Tool seems to have re-packaged DNA match search capabilities into a redesigned user interface and user-friendly display of the results. Since I already did a lot of work in this area (the hard way), so far the Enhanced Shared Matches (DNA) tool is one of the Pro Tools that I currently use the least.
That said, when I turn my interests back to this aspect of research, I can see how Ancestry.ca has made it easier to find and understand relevant DNA matches and results, possibly making research easier for more distant DNA matches.
Smart Filters
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| Figure 4: Snip of Smart Filters Pro Tool - 3 of the 4 Enhanced Filters |
Smart Filters is just that: a tree filter tool with new and helpful options for filtering and finding the records you actually want.
At time of writing, my tree included over 6700 individuals; Smart Filters helps me find specific people quickly.
While some of the filters (such as Ancestry MyTreeTags) were already available in the standard "Find In Tree" search tool, Smart Filters adds four enhanced filtering options:
- Family Line;
- Events & Places;
- Possible Errors; and
- Hints.
Options in these filters can be combined to create a custom combination search.
One note about the Hints filter (not shown): it is either "on" or "off," so you can't search for specific types of hints. Since I have a large tree where most individuals have at least one hint, so far I haven't used the Hint filter very often.
Charts & Reports
Exploring the Charts & Reports feature was the main reason I subscribed to Pro Tools. Previously, I had been testing the reporting capabilities of two software applications:
- GrampsAIO64 (v. 5.1.6-1; version 5.2.3 is out, but I have not yet upgraded); and
- RootsMagic 9 (version 9.1.6.0; version 10 was recently released but I have not yet upgraded).
My first impression of the Charts & Reports Pro Tool is that it feels a little like a beta-version -- it seems a little rushed for the following reasons:
- there are no charts yet (with the exception of enhanced fan chart options, discussed below);
- the types of reports are limited (at time of writing, they include: Descendancy, Ahnentafel, Register, and Family Group); and
- they have minimal customization options (especially when compared to the reporting capabilities of other applications I have used).
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| Figure 5: Snip from the Charts & Reports Pro Tool |
Also, when the reports are downloaded as a PDF in Chrome (as opposed to being "printed" as a PDF in Chrome) the report margins cut off report data, and there are no page numbers. And unlike some other software applications I mentioned, there is no option to save or export the report as a Word or PowerPoint file.
However, the reports in the Charts & Reports Pro Tool are pleasing to the eye and come in four design/layout themes. Also, the font size can be increased or decreased, the individuals listed have links to their tree records, and it is easy to select or change a focus person. I am a particular fan of the Pine design theme (displayed in Figure 5 above), and the Descendancy and Family Group Sheet reports.
But since I am interested in writing family histories, the limitations of not being able to attach notes, sources, endnotes, a bibliography, or an index -- in my view, at least -- lets this tool down. That said, if I need a quick ad hoc report, the selection of reports in this Pro Tool fits the bill nicely.
I look forward to a future version update of this Pro Tool that fixes the aforementioned bugs, adds more report options and functionality, and adds charts such as a descendant chart to the Charts & Reports Pro Tool.
Note: Standard fan chart options have been enhanced with the Pro Tools subscription, but Ancestry.ca treats the fan chart feature separately from this Charts & Reports Pro Tool. Read on for more on the enhanced fan chart settings that come with the Pro Tools subscription.
Tree Mapper
The Tree Mapper Pro Tool adds a visual aspect to the data in your tree. It locates your ancestors on a world map using white dots; clicking on a dot gives you the data for each ancestor associated with that dot on a panel at the right of the screen.
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| Figure 6: Snip of Search Results using the Tree Mapper Pro Tool |
By applying various filters at the same time (such as those from the Smart Filters and the Tree Checker Pro Tools) you get a custom search result so you see only those individuals you are currently interested in.
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| Figure 7: Snip of Tree Mapper Pro Tool and Some Enhanced Search Filters |
For example, by using the filters, you can see plotted on a map the locations where only your Direct Line, Paternal ancestors lived. You could further limit the individuals by other filters such as specifying a date range, specific events (e.g., birth, marriage, death) or places (specifying a location), or using DNA or MyTreeTags, or possible errors to customize search results.
Tree Insights
- Surnames;
- Longevity;
- Large Families; and
- Couples' Ages.
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| Figure 8: Snip from Tree Insights Pro Tool - Large Families |
These results can also be filtered by Family Line (that is, Direct Line, Maternal Line or Paternal Line). And just a note that the Surnames category provides links to related Ancestry.ca research collections.
Additional Tools: Enhanced Fan Chart Settings
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| Figure 9: Pro Tools - Additional Tools Dashboard |
Subscribing to Pro Tools enhances the existing options for the standard fan chart available with my Ancestry.ca membership.
The enhanced settings increase the viewable generations from 5 to 7, and add more options (Hints, Photos, and Sources) to the already standard "Family Lines" in the Views menu.
These new settings are colour-coded to indicate where there are more (or fewer) hints, photos, or sources. This helps to quickly identify where you have a lot of hints to explore, or need to add more media or source references.
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| Figure 10: Snip from Pro Tools - Additional Tools | Fan Chart Settings |
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