by Cathy Gilmore | Nov 3, 2017 | Features
Many Kindex users have asked us, “What exactly do I get when I sign up for Kindex?” We’re glad you asked! Here’s a summary of all our key features.
Create Your Cloud or Closet Archive
- Kindex Cloud archive is a publicly accessible archive. Cloud owners may invite Collaborators to add or index records. Guests must have a free, “Kindexer” account to index records.
- Kindex Closet archive is a private, invite-only archive. Closet owners may invite Collaborators to add or index records. It is only accessible and searchable to the archive owner and invited Collaborators
- All archives receive a custom subdomain, can add unlimited records, and may invite unlimited collaborators
- Archive backed by Amazon Web Services.
Gather Your Records
- Add unlimited records (jpg, png, pdf up to 15MB each)
- Import Memories from FamilySearch.
- Individual or batch uploads
Collaborate with Others
- Invite unlimited friends and family to access the archive, free
- Collaborators can search, add, and index records
- Unite records scattered among various households or locations
- Create a crowdsourced indexing project (public archives only)
Share Your Records
Share records & transcriptions with anyone on a custom page
Add Data to Your Records
- Add searchable metadata (title, description, keywords, etc.) in single records or in batches
- Add a transcription with our built-in transcription tools
- Add tags for people, places, and events
Search Your Records
- Easily and quickly search every word of your archive
- Search includes metadata and transcriptions
Archive Tools
- Download your archive data as a CSV or XLS file
- Download your archive records as a ZIP file
- Print individual transcriptions as QR-Coded PDFs
- View record totals and indexing stats
Support
- Free customer support
- Free training
by Cathy Gilmore | Nov 3, 2017 | Software
It’s your archive—use what’s in it! Just-released software updates make it easier than ever to access, save, and utilize your archive data and source records. Kindex archive owners can now:
- Download archive data as XLS (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet)
- Download archive data as CSV (Comma-Separated Values)
- Download archive records as ZIP (Compressed Archive File)
When you download archive data, your archive and record data is saved to a separate XLS or CSV file, including:
- Archive Info: Your archive name and subdomain
- Record Info: Metadata, including File Name (linked to source on Kindex), Collection, Title, Person, Description, Keywords, Provenance, Date, Place
- Record Transcription
- Tags (markup within transcription)
Learn more about how Kindex metadata tools add value to your family records.
When you download archive records, you get a ZIP file of:
- All records you contributed to your Kindex archive
- All records Collaborators have contributed to your archive
- All records shared to your archive from FamilySearch
How do I Get Started?
- Log in to your Kindex archive
- Click the green cog
(upper right corner) to open Manage Archive
Select the Tools tab and choose your download.
- To download your archive data, choose either XLS or CSV and the file will save directly to your download folder.
- To download your archive records, choose the ZIP option. The ZIP file is accessed through an email link you will be sent once your archive is ready to download.
- When you receive the email, click the Download Now button and the ZIP file will be saved to your download folder.
Note: You can only download archive data or records if you are the archive owner. Archive owners may download records and data as often as they wish.
Which Data Download Should I Choose?
When you download your archive data, you can choose to save as an XLS (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet) or a CSV (Comma-Separated Values). Which should you choose? That depends on how you want to use your data.When you download your archive data as an XLS file, you can view it in a spreadsheet format.
This is what our family archive data looks like in an XLS file:
Looks like some records in my Art Collection are missing some metadata!
When you download your archive data as a CSV, your data is saved as plain text in a series of values (cells) separated by commas (,) in a series of lines (rows). This format offers flexibility when importing into other spreadsheet formats or databases.
How Can I Use my Data Download?
- View archive data side-by-side in a spreadsheet and see at a glance what fields are missing or incomplete. For example, in the XLS spreadsheet example above, it appears that several records in the Art collection are Record Info, including Descriptions, Keywords, and Place. I can now add that information exactly where it needs to be.
- Import your archive data into another database. If you are a family organization, genealogy society, or historical society, this data can be a very useful addition to your existing database.
- Use your data to create digital or paper publications. When you copy or export transcriptions from your spreadsheet download (with accompanying markup), you can apply styles and formats to create new publications, like a book of primary source transcriptions. In the example below, I pasted some transcription text into a basic HTML template.
Note: Markup (paragraph tags, line breaks, etc.) are retained in data exports. Markup is helpful when you want to retain the original structure of the transcription as well as apply formatting in a new program.
Cool. What’s Next?
We’re working hard to develop tools that will make it easier to grow, discover, and share your Kindex archive. Upcoming features include:
- Advanced archive data search
- Improved record navigation
- Expanded archive import and export options
Have a question or suggestion?
Let’s chat.
by Cathy Gilmore | Nov 3, 2017 | Features, Software
If a family record can’t be discovered, searched, or shared, what value is it? How do we rescue our family records and transform them into a family archive that reaches beyond the walls of our own home and into the hearts of countless others?
Engaging our families through searchable archives is our primary mission at Kindex. Check out our five essential steps that add value to records and bring families one step closer to getting face-to-face with their own history.
1. Gather your records for scanning. Take an inventory of what you have, start with a small project (think shoebox-sized), and get scanning.
2. Add your digitized records to an online database. Google and Dropbox are great, but consider tools like Kindex that offer collaborative and indexing tools. After all, what good are digitized records if no one can access or search them?
3. Add metadata to your records. In Kindex, this can be done on-the-fly when uploading records in batch mode, making it quick and easy to get records searchable.
4. Transcribe your records. While you can do this in a word processing program, adding transcriptions in Kindex is easy and keeps the indexed data attached to the original record.
5. Add tags for names, dates, and places. (Note: our tagging tool is temporarily offline while we make some improvements.)
Are you ready to rescue your history?
Get started on Kindex today to take advantage of unlimited records and collaborative tools that will get your records out of the closet and into the hearts of your family everywhere.
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by Cathy Gilmore | Sep 6, 2017 | Features, Software
Kindex is excited to announce several updates to our archival web software that will make indexing your family records faster and easier.
1. View Record Progress at a Glance
See at a glance your record transcription status with our new “In Progress” label. Start a new transcription (click “Transcribe”), finish incomplete transcriptions (click “In Progress”), or read completed transcriptions (click records with a white checkmark).
2. Transcribe Records Back-to-Back
Get transcriptions done quickly and efficiently with our new “Save & Do Next” option. When you are done transcribing a record, click “Save & Do Next” and Kindex will automatically load the next record in the Collection for transcription.
Alternatively, you can click “Save & Read”, which opens a new page where you can review, edit, or tag your transcription.
3. Transcribe tables, forms, and other tabular text with new table tool
Our new table tool enables you to create tables in the transcription field to transcribe records that require some organization of text, such as official records, ledgers, or records with columns or tabulated text. With the table tool you can add a table, merge, edit rows and columns, add a table header, and customize vertical and horizontal text alignment.
Hint: If you are transcribing text from common record types that have repeated fields (i.e., postcards, marriage records, ledgers), create a table template that designates data fields. Then, copy and paste the table from your existing transcription window into the transcription of each new record so transcribers can input the text in the correct fields.
4. Download archive data as a CSV file
Our CSV archive download is a fantastic tool archive owners can use to access archive data, analyze archive status and needs, and backup archive data.
To download your archive as a CSV:
- Log in to your archive and go to Manage Archive (click the green cog in upper right corner
) and
- Select the Tools tab.
- Click “Download Archive as CSV”)
Open your downloaded CSV file to your archive data. Includes Archive Name, Archive Subdomain, File Name, Collection, Title, Person, Description, Keywords, Provenance, Date, Place, Contributor, Transcription, and Tags.
We hope you find these tools helpful when transcribing your family or historical society records! Is there a feature you would like to see? Contact us and tell us about it.
It’s time to be the record rescuer your family needs. Start or upgrade your family archive on Kindex.org today.
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by Cathy Gilmore | Jul 14, 2017 | News
A few days ago, we visited The Alamo. No, not
that one. The
historic home of Ezra T. and Mary Stevenson Clark in Farmington, Utah, with its architectural stylings reflective of the Alamo, was the childhood home of Kindex founder Kimball Clark. On a mission to rescue records for a treasure hunt for the upcoming
MyFamily History Youth Camp at BYU, we thought of no better place to start than in our own backyard.
Welcome to the Alamo.
I had a few minutes waiting for Kimball to arrive, so I poked around outside, walking deep into the expansive property. Situated on historic “Clark Lane” in Farmington, Utah, the property stretches north reaching the Farmington Creek Trail and Lagoon Park. So close is Lagoon that I could hear clack of amusement rides and the screams of thrill-seekers just a stone’s throw away.
Kimball’s father Charles Clark collected, among other things, wagon wheels.
And other kinds of wheels.
The random patterns of native field stones.
A marker for the old telephone system cables. It has not been disturbed.
At last, Kimball is here! Now, where’s that key.
Once inside, we had a great time exploring the home. I remember coming to this home once in a while to visit Charles and Sally’s family, but it had been at least 20 years. Wandering from room to room in the heavy July heat, we discovered some great things. Buried between craft boxes, tools, and boxes of old bills were family genealogies, old photos, letters, and a few other surprises.
A few items from a dusty old suitcase.
This 161-year old home is thick with memory. Treasure hunting aside, I loved looking around the various rooms and hearing Kimball’s memories of growing up here. With eight brothers and one sister, Kimball has no shortage of stories from this house.
A view in the kitchen.
A well-worn banister post cap.
Someday soon, Kimball will share some memories of him growing up in that historic pioneer home. That’s his story to tell. In the mean time, we’ll keep hunting for treasures and putting them on Kindex, one dusty suitcase at a time.
