Relatives at RootsTech Overview for Support

Join Relatives at RootsTech

Video Instruction

English - Relatives at RootsTech - Join Event

Joining Relatives at RootsTech

• No registration for RootsTech is required to join Relatives at RootsTech.
• Anyone can join using their FamilySearch account.
• Guests may need to update their profile information, including:
  • Profile Name
  • Last Name
  • Country or Location
  • State or Province
  • Optionally, add a profile picture.

Privacy Note: Personal information is never shared with third parties and is protected. Only shared information is visible to other participants.

Video Instruction

English - Relatives at RootsTech - Main Page View

Relatives at RootsTech Main Page

Main Features:

• Relatives at RootsTech Banner: Shows the number of relatives and a button to view them.
• Sharing Options: Share with family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, WhatsApp, Email, and Copy Link.
• Last Name Search: See how many participants share your last name.
• Total Participants: View the total number of participants.
• Area Attendance: See a global map of participants.
• Update Your Settings: Change your photo, profile name, and location, or opt out of the event.

Leaving or Opting Out of Relatives at RootsTech

1. Scroll to the bottom of the main page to the Update Your Settings section.
2. Click on User Settings.
3. Click on the Opt Out of Event link.

Discover Your Relatives in Relatives at RootsTech

Video Instruction

English- Relatives at RootsTech - Discover Your Relatives

Discover Your Relatives on the Web

After joining Relatives at RootsTech and after adding a sufficient number of names to connect to the global Family Tree on FamilySearch, the Relatives at RootsTech webpage will show the following information:

• Total Number of Relatives Found: This number is found near the top of the page and shows a guest’s total number of relatives. Only those relatives who have also joined Relatives at RootsTech will be seen. Guests can click on the View Relatives button found near the top of the screen to see more about their relatives.
• Top Closest Relatives: After clicking on the View Relatives button, guests will see a list of the closest relatives who have also joined Relatives at RootsTech. This is the main feature of Relatives at RootsTech. The maximum number that will appear in the list is 300 relatives.

List of Top Closest Relatives

On this page, guests will see a list of usernames of other participants, as well as a short relationship description to that person, such as Third Cousin or Close Relative. A close relative may be one of the following:

• Parent
• Sibling
• Child
• Spouse
• Aunt
• Uncle
• Cousin
• Niece
• Nephew
• Grandparent

Note: In order to protect the privacy of others, FamilySearch will not show the exact relationship between close relatives.

From the list of Top Closest Relatives, guests can click on the name of another user that appears in this list and do the following:

• Send a message to their relative
• View their relationship with their relative,
• Add a relative to their contacts on FamilySearch.

Note: More information on this will be provided here: Interact with Your Relatives

Filtering the List of Relatives

• By Location: Find relatives by general location.
• By Ancestor: See participants who are descendants of a specific ancestor.
• By Family Line: Find relatives sharing the same ancestor.
• Search: Search for specific relatives by name.

Using the Family Tree App to Participate in Relatives at RootsTech

Video Instruction

English - Relatives at RootsTech - Family Tree App

Relatives at RootsTech on the Family Tree App

Features on the App:

• Total Number of Relatives: Includes only those who have joined.
• Sharing Options: Share with others on mobile devices.
• Last Name Search: See if other attendees share your last name.
• Total Participants: View the total number of participants.
• Area Attendance: See a global map of participants.
• Update Your Settings: Change your photo, profile name, and location, or opt out of the event.

Viewing Relatives on the Family Tree App

• By Location: Guests can choose a location to find relatives by that location. To protect the privacy of participants, this will only show a general location. Guests can tap on the Map icon to see a map with a general location of their relatives. They can also tap on the Filter icon to filter relatives from their maternal or paternal lines.
• By Ancestor: Guests can select a specific ancestor to see the Relatives at RootsTech participants who also descend from that ancestor. Guests will also be able to tap on the Map icon to see a general location of their relatives
• Search: Guests can search for a specific relative by typing in their name to see a relationship exists. Guests will only see a relationship between other people who have joined Relatives at RootsTech.

Other Features in the Family Tree App

• View relationships: Tapping on the name of a relative will open up the relationship between the guest and their relative.
• Send messages: While viewing a relationship, guests can tap on the Message icon to send a message to their relative.
• View sent messages: Tapping on the triple dot icon will give the option to view any messages that have been sent to other users.
• Add to contacts: While viewing a relationship, guests can tap the + Contact icon to add their relative to their contacts list. Tapping on the triple dot icon (or submenu icon) will open up a list of resources where guests can find their contacts list.
• View contacts list: Tapping on the triple dot icon will give the option to view relatives that have been added to the contacts list.
• Find additional help: Tapping on the triple dot icon (or submenu icon) will open up a list of resources where guests can find additional help on connecting to the global Family Tree on FamilySearch.
• Leave or opt out of the event: Found in User Settings, guests can tap on the Opt Out of Event button to leave Relatives at RootsTech. The information they had shared with others will no longer be available and they will not be able to see relationships. Guests can always rejoin Relatives at RootsTech at any time.

Connect to the Family Tree in Relatives at RootsTech

Video Instruction

English - Relatives at RootsTech - Connect to the Family Tree

Shared Family Tree on FamilySearch

• Relatives at RootsTech connects participants through shared family lines and common ancestors on FamilySearch.
• Ensure your tree includes at least a few generations, ideally up to great-grandparents.

Guided Tree Builder

1. After joining Relatives at RootsTech on the Relatives at RootsTech webpage, guests with empty trees will be taken to the Guided Tree Builder.
2. Input basic information (name, gender, birth year, birth place).
3. Add information for parents and grandparents.
4. Connect to deceased ancestors to populate your tree.
5. Verify or correct possible matches from the global Family Tree.
6. If no matches are found, try another family line or seek additional help.
   1. If guests add all the information they know for their ancestors and no matches are found in the global Family Tree, refer them to other discovery experiences, such as last name search on the Relatives at RootsTech webpage  or Famous Relative search.
   2. You may help them do research so they can find family names, or you can help them set up an appointment on the Contact Us page for additional help.
   3. You may also refer them to sign up for a free research consultation to learn more about adding names to their family tree.

Note: It is important to connect to at least one deceased relative in the Family Tree in order to show potential connections with other participants of Relatives at RootsTech. The more information that can be added from the global Family Tree on FamilySearch, the more likely you are to see relatives while using Relatives at RootsTech.

Interact with Your Relatives in Relatives at RootsTech

Video Instruction

English - Relatives at RootsTech - Interact with Relatives

Messaging and Connecting to Relatives

• Send Message in Relatives at RootsTech: Click on a relative’s username to send a message. Messages are saved in FamilySearch Messaging after RootsTech ends.
• RootsTech Chat: Use the chat feature on the RootsTech website during the conference. Messages are not saved after RootsTech ends.
• FamilySearch Messaging: Contact others anytime via FamilySearch.org or the Family Tree app. Messages remain in the inbox after RootsTech ends.

Adding a Relative to Contacts List in FamilySearch

1. On the View Relatives page, click on the name of the relative to be added to your contacts list.
2. A submenu will appear under the name of your relative. This submenu will include these options: Message, Relationship, and Contact.
3. Click the + Contact button to add your relative to your contacts list on FamilySearch. You will see a notification in the upper right of your screen that says This person was added to your contacts list.
4. To view your contacts list, click on your name at the top right of the FamilySearch screen and click on Contacts from the drop-down menu. This will take you to the list of all the users you have added to your contacts list on FamilySearch.

Note: To remove someone from your contacts list, do one of the following:

• Click the name of the relative to be removed on the View Relatives page in the Relatives at RootsTech experience, then click on the X Contact button. You will see a notification in the upper right of your screen that says This person was removed from your contacts list.
• Click on your username at the top right of the screen and then click on Contacts from the drop-down menu. On the contacts page, find the name of the person to remove and click their name. From the pop out box, click on Remove Contact.

Troubleshooting Guest Problems in Relatives at RootsTech

If a guest cannot see any relatives in Relatives at RootsTech

If guests express that their Relatives at RootsTech page shows no relatives, the following reasons could be the issue:

• The guest needs to join Relatives at RootsTech: If the guest has not yet joined Relatives at RootsTech, he or she will not be able to see any relatives. Remember that registering at RootsTech does not register them for Relatives at RootsTech. A guest will need to join Relatives at RootsTech separately from registering for RootsTech.

   

• Guests have no tree on FamilySearch: If guests have not added their family to the global Family Tree on FamilySearch, they will not be able to find any relatives. It can take up to an hour to recalculate relationships after a guest updates his or her Family Tree. Guests can use the easy tree building experience to connect to the global Family Tree on FamilySearch. Refer to Connect to the Family Tree for additional support information on connecting to the Family Tree.
• Guests do not have enough information on Family Tree: It is possible that guests do not have enough generations in their family tree to connect to other Relatives at RootsTech participants. The further they can connect their family line, the more likely they are to find relatives. You can help guests connect one (or both) of their ancestral lines (i.e., maternal or paternal) to at least their great-grandparents. The more ancestors that can be added, the more likely for a guest’s relatives to show up in Relatives at RootsTech.
• Not enough trees from area: There may not be enough family trees submitted yet from a guest’s particular area of the world. If this is the case, help the guest find additional discovery experiences, such as last name search, connections to famous people, and memories.

If the guest's relative list decreases

It requires a lot of internal processes to scan family trees and calculate relationships between. If Relatives at RootsTech has a high number of participants, the system performance may slow down, which will result in a lower number of generations being scanned. This may decrease the number of relatives shown to a guest. Assure guests that their data is still preserved in Family Tree and that Relatives at RootsTech is simply calculating fewer relationships because the fewer generations of the Family Tree are being scanned for connections.

Another reason a guest's relative list may decrease is when other participants opt out of the Relatives at RootsTech experience. FamilySearch will only share information that guests have also shared publicly. If a guest opts out of Relatives at RootsTech, his or her information will be removed from the experience and other participants will no longer see that information.

Helper Mode Issue: How do we solve a user having the helper's name in Relatives at RootsTech?

Get the name of the user or helper and home person ID number and send that information to Todd Powell: tpowell@familysearch.org or through slack.

Requests for Personal Information Post RootsTech

Patrons may call support to report contacts from unknown individuals who may have attended RootsTech Connect. These unknown individuals may be asking for or requesting information that seems unnatural or fraudulent in nature from the Patron.

Please give the following information to patrons calling in to report these incidents:

• Thank the patron for using caution before sharing any personal information and applaud them for seeking help.
• Encourage the patron to not provide any personal information if they have concerns about the person contacting them.
• Encourage them to report the matter to law enforcement if they believe it is a scam.

Do not imply that you will do anything with the information. Do not promise you will get back to them. The patron will have the responsibility to pursue the matter with law enforcement if they have further concerns.