"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) Recommendation #4: Show what types of hints are available

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) Recommendation #4:  Show what types of hints are available

Background: I love Ancestry hints. However, there's a lot of circular reporting.  If someone viewing my tree clicks "Saves this person to your tree," I inevitable get a family tree hint. If I have a new hint,I'd like to know what kind (i.e. historical record or user submitted image) so I know whether to purse it or not.

- New Ancestry:  simply lists the number of hints.

- Old Ancestry: listed the number by type.

Recommendation:  Identify the number of  hints by type, not just the number of hints.

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) Recommendation #3: Thumbnails of ancestry.com documents in the Gallery

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) Recommendation #3:  Remove or color-code thumbnails of ancestry.com documents in the gallery

Background: Sometimes I want to see images of  Ancestry.com documents attached to an individual.

- Old Ancestry: I scroll down to Source Information (below the family names); click on the source (e.g. 1860 Census) to get the index and transcription (what Ancestry calls the Record, as opposed to the image), then click on "view" to see the image. (3 steps)

- New Ancestry: Now includes thumbnails of images on the fact page.  Click on the image and you see it (1 step) unless it's below the fold, then you have to scroll and click (2 steps).  Or go to the Gallery to view them. In the Gallery, user submitted media is shown first, then ancestry documents.  So, if there were a significant amount of images, I may have to scroll to find the document I want (making it 3 steps).  Since the images are available from the fact page, it's redundant to put them in the gallery. They just make a mess of the page.

Recommendation:  Remove ancestry.com document thumbnails from the Gallery, or outline them in a different color than user submitted media.

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) - Recommendation #2: Provide a Count of User Submitted Media in the Gallery

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) - Recommendation #2:  Provide a count of user submitted media in the gallery

Background: If I'm viewing an individual on another user's tree, I'd like to know if they have any user submitted media. These items can be especially valuable because they may be out of a user's personal holdings or they may be from another website.

- Old Ancestry: shows thumbnails of 5 media items; underneath it provides a count of the number of each type. I can easily assess whether I should spend valuable time clicking to the gallery page.

- New Ancestry: does show any user submitted photos on the fact page nor does it provide a count (as it does for hints).

Recommendation: Add a count of user submitted media items in the gallery and include some images on the fact page.  

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) - Recommendation #1: User submitted photos attached to other trees

"New" Ancestry.com (15 Dec 2015) - Recommendation #1:  List the other trees to which user submitted photos have been saved

I'm still not terribly happy about the new Ancestry.com  I'm not so concerned about the dull colors, but rather the functionality.  On 15 Dec 2015 there will be no option but to use it. I'm submitting a final round of suggestions. I put "new" in quotes because eventually this won't be the "new" ancestry.

New Ancestry Recommendation #1:  User submitted photos

Background: When looking at a user submitted photo:

- Old Ancestry - shows a list of other users' trees it's attached to (gives tree name and user name)

- New Ancestry - shows only avatars/profile pics of other users' trees. Must click on each to see names (one at a time).  Can't see them all at one time. (Image below)

Recommendation: change new Ancestry to  show a list of user trees that user submitted photos are attached to.