Here's a 3-step process for adding the first item to your collection. Once this is added, you will have a much clearer understanding of the core elements of MyFamilyArchive.
Before you begin, we highly recommend that you watch at least the first overview video, An Introduction to MyFamilyArchive (the red screen video on our Help Videos page). The two adjacent videos on that first row may also save you time in the long run as they give a more throrough explanation of the organization process.
Three steps to complete:
- Create a Digital Album in a Cloud Site
- Add at least One Person to Your Family Tree
- Add a Chapter and a Linked Album to a Person's or Couple's Collection Page
1. Create a Digital Album in a Cloud Site, and get a Share Link
MyFamilyArchive does not store your photos and videos but instead acts as a hub, bringing everything together in an organized, shareable family collection. You can store your photos, videos, home movies and documents in one or more popular cloud sites. So the first step is to upload some of your photos into a photo-sharing cloud site and create a digital photo album. Here are instructions for some photo sites: Creating Albums in 3rd Party Photo Sites.
Once you have done this, you will get what's called a "Share Link" to this album, which is really the key to the functionality of MyFamilyArchive. This Share Link is not simply the URL or web address but a special link that allows a viewer to bypass login credentials in the cloud site and access only this selected item. Most all photo, video and document cloud sites use Share Links. You will then add this share link to MyFamilyArchive in Step 3, below.
If you do not yet use a photo cloud site, we suggest Google Photos as the easiest to use and manage due to its many well-developed features, including being able to back up all the photos from your phone, easily curate photos to create digital albums to share, etc. But you can actually use one or more of dozens of photo cloud sites, including Apple iCloud Photos, Flickr, SmugMug, MemoryWeb, Shutterfly, One Drive, Forever, Permanent.org and others. For our recommended cloud sites, click on this help topic: Which Cloud Sites Should I Use.
2. Add at least One Person to Your Family Tree
In MyFamilyArchive, you will build Collection Pages for each person and each family for whom you want to store memories and mementos. The way you access each page is via the Family Tree, where clicking on a person in the tree brings up their page.
You don't need to build out your tree to get up and running. You can just add a few people at first. And you can start with just their names and come back to enter their photo and other information later. Here's the information you can add for each person.
- First name, Last name (maiden name is suggested as this is standard genealogy practice, but you may choose maiden, last or both).
- Gender
- Birth Date and Place of Birth
- Date of Death and Place of Death
- You can upload a profile photo of this person from your phone or computer.
If you'd like a worksheet to pre-enter this info, please select here:
Family Tree Worksheet (PDF) Family Tree Worksheet (Word)
Here's a video explanation:
3. Add a Chapter and a Linked Album to a Person's or Couple's Collection Page
You will now link the digital album that you created in Step 1 to a person's or couple's collection. This is the core function of MyFamilyArchive and this step is used to build all Collection Pages.
First, make sure you've exited Edit Mode in your Tree (button on bottom right of tree). This puts you in Tree Standard Mode, your normal view of the tree.
Now, click on the person or couple to which you wish to add the link to your cloud album from Step 1 above. Then follow the steps shown in the tutorial video below.
If you'd like to know more about what a Collection Page is, click Creating a Collection Page.
Should you still be confused about the process, please log into your account and then write to us at Contact Us, and we'll take the time to explain the process.