Family Trees
If you have already set up an online family tree on our webserver, you
can go direct to your login page by using the following link.
Family Tree Login
Otherwise please read the rest of this page.
Online Genealogy
Genealogy is now a very popular hobby, with millions of people around
the world busy piecing together details of their family histories. The recent popularity
of genealogical research has arisen partly because the internet has made access to census
records and other family information easier than ever before.
A new facility on this website allows you to build your own family
tree, and to do much of the necesary record building on our webserver rather than writing
information down manually in notebooks or storing it on your own personal computer. The
great advantage of creating an online version of your family tree is that you can share it
with your relatives or with other interested parties around the world, regardless of where
they are geographically located. Not only can relatives in distant places - even in
Australia or the USA for example - see the records you have created, but they can add to
your joint stock of information to create a truly comprehensive family history that you
can all share.
Privacy and Security Issues
When you begin to create an online version of your family tree, your
own private database is set up on the webserver. A very simple setup process, controlled
by you, allows you to create your own username ('User ID') and 'administrator' password,
plus two other passwords which allow you to control who can see your family tree, and who
can add to it or correct errors in existing records. The person who sets up the family
tree is effectively the 'owner' of the database, and can share it as widely or as narrowly
as they choose with other users of the system. Users can be given 'read only' access or
can be allowed 'general' access which allows them to update records. Levels of access are
determined by which passwords you issue to other users. You should not of course reveal
your main ('administrator') password to anyone.
Backups
While our webserver is 'backed up' centrally on a regular basis, you
should not rely entirely on this for the security of your data. Your family tree should
also be 'backed up' to your local PC from time to time, especially after substantial
changes have been made to your records. This gives the best protection against accidental
corruption or loss of your online information.
To create a local backup, you need to export a copy of your family
tree in GEDCOM format and download it to your PC. (GEDCOM is the standard format used by
genealogists to share family tree data electronically. Most standard genealogical software
packages can import and export data in this format.) For details of how to export a copy
of your data in GEDCOM format, see the main menu which appears to the left of the screen
when you are logged on to your family tree.
Experienced Researchers
If you are an experienced genealogist, this online facility will
provide you with additional powerful tools to help you spread your research efforts, and
to share the the resulting information with your own extended family, or other interested
parties wherever they are in the world. If you have an existing family tree which is held
on your personal computer, you can very probably 'export' the data in GEDCOM file format
(see above) and upload it to your online database.
'Newbies'
If you are entirely new to the task of creating a family tree, you
will find this online facility a very simple and straightforward way of making a start -
and, if you wish, sharing your results with other people.
You do not need any previous experience of computers or databases. All
you need to make a start are a few simple facts about your immediate family. Having
reached this page of the PPS Portal website you are practically there! Why not give it a
try by clicking on the login link below.
Getting Started
Whether you are an experienced researcher or a 'newbie' you can log
onto the Family Tree database by clicking on the following link.
Family Tree Login
Once you are logged into a family tree - existing or new - you will
find that there is a useful 'Help' facility to guide you though every stage of building a
detailed family history.
To learn more about genealogical material on other websites, please
use the following link.
Genealogical Resources
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