RootsIreland

Ponster · 20-11-2014 4:51pm

CassieManson wrote: »

A couple of days into my one month sub I have used nearly 300 of my views already. So not so generous really. I thought it was strange that new new system is more restrictive in searching, I guess this is the reason. Does not make sense for long term customer satisfaction though!

Believe it or not but this means that you viewed 300 certs which would normally have cost you 1500e so pretty good value I think. If you believe that you have not viewed 300 certs then I'd suggest contacting them as something seems to be wrong. Views are cert views, not searches.

dido2 · 20-11-2014 5:19pm

When it comes to the records on Rootsireland, the GRO Certs etc, I'd only take them as guidelines, and if possible even with the GRO records they can be used with church records aswell to find info....
I just don't think it's too wise to take someones version of what they think is wrote on a cert that at the best of times isn't very clear and often it requires someone who knows the area to figure out a place name

pinkypinky · 21-11-2014 12:04am

I'm just finishing up a month's sub with Rootsireland. My genealogy is quite advanced but I used this month to verify some research done by another branch of the family. I also did some speculative work with a couple of my more unusual surnames. I feel I've had good value for the month and only used 205 searches out of the 1000. I can see if I was a newbie, I'd make more use of it but my ancestors are mostly Dubliners, so this site is unhelpful.

CassieManson · 21-11-2014 7:35pm

Ponster wrote: »

Believe it or not but this means that you viewed 300 certs which would normally have cost you 1500e so pretty good value I think. If you believe that you have not viewed 300 certs then I'd suggest contacting them as something seems to be wrong. Views are cert views, not searches.

Yes, when you put it like that its not too bad. I did get a lot for my money so far. Just frustrating to think that I may run out of views so quickly. I guess I am used to the flexibility of searches on Ancestry and FamilySearch!

KildareFan · 21-11-2014 8:51pm

I've taken the plunge with RootsIreland and paid €25 for the month; so far I've 'viewed' over 50 records most of which are relevant. So, yes, it's a better deal than seeing those valuable credits disappearing every time you select a record that may or may not be the one you want. My main problem is that I'm not sure how far I can trust the transcription and would love to see the original image.

dido2 · 21-11-2014 11:48pm

Kildarefan

I would use Rootsireland as means to filtering out all the wrong ones and then either order the Civil Record from the GRO or try getting a copy of the baptism if it's available, these are all open to being transcribed wrong, I've seen it with my grandmothers baptism and marriage details being transcribed wrong, even my own marriage cert has the wrong surname for my brother in law and that was only 2003!!

Hermy · 24-11-2014 12:25pm

So my sub has just four days to go and I'm trying to get the most out of what's left. Despite my misgivings I have to say it was €25 well spent. I found a lot of new information and I even found the odd baptismal record had a note about who the person later married which was a bonus.

Having said all that, the site is so terribly restrictive and I've just discovered that I can only save 100 records online which is a bit of a pain.

pinkypinky · 24-11-2014 12:41pm

I took screenshots of every cert I wanted to keep, even wrong ones.

Rox_88 · 24-11-2014 12:54pm

I've been hitting print and saving as a pdf from there (using chrome). I have about 400 relevant files saved, it's been invaluable for the Limerick/Tipp branch of my family. My heads spinning a bit if I'm honest.

KildareFan · 24-11-2014 3:20pm

I'm transferring the data to an excel spreadsheet; I started printing the details, but there's so little on each sheet that it wasn't worth it. Also the 100 limit on saved searches isn't much use.

Hermy · 24-11-2014 6:00pm

pinkypinky wrote: »

I took screenshots of every cert I wanted to keep, even wrong ones.

That's exactly what I had been doing up till now.
Ridiculous that there isn't a function allowing you to save images to your pc.

dido2 · 24-11-2014 6:28pm

Funnily enough since my subscription ran out I can't access my saved records, I keep getting an error....

Hermy · 24-11-2014 6:45pm

So it's screenshots all the way!

pinkypinky · 24-11-2014 7:03pm

dido2 wrote: »

Funnily enough since my subscription ran out I can't access my saved records, I keep getting an error....

Neither can I. Hmm. Must re-read T&Cs to see if not having a sub means you can't access already purchased certs.

ETA: Yep. Limited use licence
On completion of the registration and payment process you will have the ability to search our index and view records within the time period of your subscription only.

Presumably if I were to reactivate my sub, my saved certs would be available again, as it stated I could view them for 2 years.

shanew · 24-11-2014 7:26pm

pinkypinky wrote: »

I took screenshots of every cert I wanted to keep, even wrong ones.

same here - I use a Firefox plugin ScreenGrab. One click and the full page is saved, even if you need to scroll to see it all.

Ponster · 24-11-2014 7:38pm

I use the Windows Snipping Tool so as to just cut out the part that I want.

dido2 · 24-11-2014 8:28pm

Thats a bit of a cheat isn't it... Not being able to view the ones you've saved, doesn't really matter how long they are available if you have to have a subscription to view them......

I think I done a screenshot of all the ones I had viewed anyway...

Ponster · 26-11-2014 12:19am

So the thing that pisses me of right now is that now that my subscription has ended, I no longer have the 100's of free searches that I used to have before signing up for a month. I get a "You must purchase a subscription to view the search results" error when I try to search!

hblock21 · 26-11-2014 11:21am

I have not signed up yet but do have an account. I can view my free searches freely - 24months.

There are some very good tips on this thread. Very worthwhile of being aware off before signing up.

So to recap:
max 1000 cert views
cannot view certs after sub ends - so must screen print / write down or print
cannot view free searches after sub ends

So all in all EVERYTHING you look at ends to be screen printed or other before sub ends!

Jellybaby1 · 26-11-2014 8:26pm

I've been mulling over getting a FMP sub since my Ancestry sub ran out. This thread has made my mind up. I won't be getting a FMP sub. On irishgenealogy.ie I both save a copy to my computer, and I also print it out. I always worry that technology will let me down and I will lose everything I have saved. I did the same with Ancestry if I found any documents there. When I get certs from the GRO I also scan 'em and save to the computer. Its doubling up but I always need to be sure, to be sure.

Coolnabacky1873 · 21-12-2014 1:12pm

Chris Paton had a blogpost yesterday about possible changes made to the search function.

http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2014/12/have-rootsireland-search-restrictions.html?m=1

Hermy · 21-12-2014 1:57pm

Not sure how recent those changes are as I think they were in place when I was subscribed a month ago.
And even at that the site is still far too restrictive.
One should be able to search for a surname without any need to add a first name or year.

KildareFan · 22-12-2014 3:11pm

Just finished my month's subscription - didn't make the 1000 views although I got close.

It's worth the €25 for the amount of information I got. I may do another month at some stage once I've processed the data and see the gaps.

The search restrictions are a pain. You should be able to use a surname only search as a lot of the baptisms I was looking for didn't record the parents names. Also, it would be great to have the option to search on sponsors and witness names.

Still, a much better deal than the previous pay per view.

hjr · 01-01-2015 11:56am

Just wondering if anybody currently possessing a subscription to rootsireland would be able to get me one record! I had a monthly sub but its expired and now I've found a record I need to check...but spending €25 for one search seems tough to justify....I have a sub to ancestry and fmp at the moment to return the favour to some nice individual!

Many thanks!

Waitsian · 01-01-2015 2:51pm

hjr wrote: »

Just wondering if anybody currently possessing a subscription to rootsireland would be able to get me one record! I had a monthly sub but its expired and now I've found a record I need to check...but spending €25 for one search seems tough to justify....I have a sub to ancestry and fmp at the moment to return the favour to some nice individual!

Many thanks!

Sure, PM me.

pinkypinky · 07-01-2015 5:31pm

Carlow records launched today on rootsireland.
Am just having a play around with them.
They got up to 1899 unanimously, no burial records (as you would expect) and many parishes have 18th century coverage.

ETA: many RC records have got "Denomination: Baptist" on the record but I've just double-checked with Carlow library and this is a mistake - presumably a database field ticked when it shouldn't be.

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