Are you using the WikiTree X browser extension?

Question

Hi WikiTreers,

The WikiTree X extension hasn't been actively maintained for quite a while, and using it to add new profiles will stop working once the new add person form is out of beta.

We are recommending that people switch to the WikiTree Sourcer extension since it is being actively updated and is available on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

The instructions for how to add or update a profile using Sourcer can be found on the WikiTree Sourcer User Guide page.

Comments

Thank you Jamie, for this post. I use Sourcerer regularly to find sources for the profiles that I add or update but did not realize that it could assist with creating the profiles. After trying this with sourcerer, it will surely eliminate the weekly Suggestions list I get for the weird mistakes I make while filling in the data manually.  Will be exploring that instruction page thoroughly for info on what I've been missing out on. 

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Can Wikitree X be removed from the Apps drop down list?   Could the Help page be removed or 'cleared' so it doesn't have links to the chrome store?

That would help to prevent people from getting to the app which has caused thousands of profiles from being created incorrectly since the 'New person add' process was changed.

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I removed it from the Apps page. The Help page has a warning message at the top.

Answer 1

I am still using WikiTree X extension because I use the Microsoft Edge browser. I also use WikiTree Sourcer to build citiations, however it is not the new wt[1].

Comments

Hi Denise, I don't understand the part where you say "however it is not the new wt[1]". The large icon for WikiTree Sourcer has always said wt[1] and the small icon in the browser toolbar looks like [1].

WikiTree Sourcer does work in the Edge browser and it sounds like you are using it for citations. Are you saying that you use on older version of it? The latest version is 1.6.4. Version 1.6.1 was the first version that worked with the beta add person page and the three releases after that included improvements on how it works with add person.

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Hi Rob,

It's is probably easier to show you on Discord, where I can share my screen with you. Do you use Discord? If so, what would be a good date/time to review this with you?

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I'm looking for this.  How do I get WikiTree Sourcer on my wikitree?

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It is a browser extension so you need to install the extension in your browser. How to do it depends on which browser you are using. See the "How to install" section on the WikiTree Sourcer FSP.

Answer 2

I use both.   But, I find that I like how WikiTree X adds facts to the biography from a Family Search profile and creates a citation  for the profile all in one step, whether updating an existing profile or creating a new profile on WikiTree.

Comments

I don't understand how you can regard a Family Search profile as a legitimate "source"?

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Please take a look at our sources help page.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Sources#Web_page

While it may not be a complete source, it is a starting point and an acceptable source.

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I like that it creates a link to the Family Search profile.  I would not call this a source per se.  But establishing the links enables easier switching to the FS profile to check on updates and changes and possibly missed information.

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Robin and Michael - I just saw this comment after creating a post with a similar question on how to create a neat looking citation that refers back to the FS page. I hope someone can help!

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WikiTree Sourcer has an option to create a "See also:" that links back to the FamilySearch or Ancestry profile. See the options under the "Add/Merge" tab - then use the dropdown to select "Add Profile".

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Rob - good to know! I am still finding my way around using Sourcer's "Save Person Data" and this is very helpful. I notice that this only adds "{{FamilySearch|G7ZS-4P8}}" rather than a citation with footnote, the way Wikitree X or the Wikitree FS Merge does (e.g. "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 02 February 2023, 20:58), entry for John C Anderson (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:MDKF-B4Z ); contributed by various users.). Is there anyway to make that style an option in Wikitree Sourcer? It was my favorite thing about Wikitree X because it added a time stamp and the citation format looked very orderly alongside the other sources. 

Answer 3

I am glad for this post. I depend on both extensions, although I probably have not utilized the full potential of Sourcer. I can't upload gedcoms because I mainly work on WikiTree through Chromebooks so I am a big user of WikiTree X.

Answer 4

While I use Sourcer and Bee, I find Wikitree-X extremely useful, although as I am using beta add person I can only use it for updating profiles.

 Is it possible for an updated version be incorporated in the Wikitree extension?

Having it adds flexibility.

Answer 5

hello Jamie,

Somebody is going to have to do something about these browser extention names, I have the one which is multi-tasking, only shows as ''WikiTree Browser Extention'' on my browser (Chrome).  So may lead to confusion.  Don't use an app to do my sourcing, so that would be useless to me.

Answer 6

WikiTree X is my primary method of adding data from Family Search and linking the profiles.  

I am open to alternatives that are not more cumbersome to use.

Comments

I have not used the Updating Existing WikiTree profiles using MergeEdit on the Sourcer.   So I will start giving that a try. 

Can anyone give an account of their experience with this and compare the two?

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I just tried it and can work with that but I agree with Robin's comments above.

Answer 7

I tried WikiTreeX for AncestryTree-to-WikiTree and thought what it did with the bio was nice, but citing just the Ancestry.com profile page a as "source" had no appeal. I can see by studying the way the Ancestry profile page works that getting to the actual sources would entail multiple web api invocations that would be fragile and might also alarm the website, so, I do not think WikiTreeX could realistically be extended to get those real sources from the ancestry profile page.

I did study the code of WikiTreeX to understand how to launch the WT add person process and incorporated that into my desktop application that generates documented, paragraph-structured bio narrative in WT markup format from GEDCOM data (called Ged2Markup, a followon project from my earlier report generator, Ged2Reg ).  And in Ged2Markup I use a copy of the code from Wikitree Sourcer running in a "captive" browser instance to format some types of citations.

BTW, I got Ged2Markup to a feature-complete, beta-ready condition a couple of months ago, generated scores of new or reworked bios here, and, seeing the link etc. on the developers google group I messaged and emailed you, Jaime, repeatedly about it.  You never responded in any way, and based on this apparent indifference to my work I turned to other projects and my work on WT has been limited to an occasional glance at the feed emails.  

Answer 8

Wikitree X has worked for many years and is used by many people. Why must it be killed?

Comments

Hi there David.  Jamie's message isn't that it is being "killed", it is to warn people that soon it will no longer work.  This extension - like most extensions and apps - was created by a WikiTree member and volunteer.  That person hasn't updated it in a while and no one is currently working on the code to keep it up to date.  With the latest changes in the Add Person form, the extension will not work properly.

However, Jamie pointed out that there is an extension that IS being actively updated regularly that will do the same job - and the point of this post is to let people know that in advance so they can be prepared.

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Too bad since so many people use and like it… :(

Isn’t there another developer that would be willing to take this app over and update/maintain it?

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Try out the Sourcer extension, and the way it handles this function. Its developer is very much involved and willing to continually improve and listen to feedback.

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WikiTree X is listed in the categories "Tools and Apps" but the Sourcer is not listed.  Sounds like it should be.  I don't even know where to find it.

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Janie: Top menu > Find > Apps

Answer 9

I must be very dense, or at least I just don't get it. I added Sourcer to Chrome, went to a Family Search page (following the instructions), and it says to:

From a profile

• When on a profile page (in FamilySearch, Ancestry or FindMyPast) there is a menu option "Save Person Data". Select that.

Where is this menu option? When I click on the Sourcer Extension, it says "waiting for page to respond" then it times out and says, "The content script did not respond. Cannot initialize the WikiTree Sourcer menu

Error:
Could not establish connection. Receiving end does not exist."

I guess I'm lost...

Comments

Oh - so I have to have a blank "New Person" page open first? This is a bit more work than WikiTree-X... hrm...

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That didn't seem to work either. I'll see if maybe there's a youtube on it...

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I think I figured it out. It operates differently than WikiTree-X for certain. More steps, less information transferred. I'll keep using WT-X for now until it stops working. But by default, it didn't have enough rights to use the menu described in the instructions, so the instructions are lacking a bit in details.

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It sounds like you may be using Safari. The permissions model is a bit different in that. Did Safari not popup a dialog asking you to grant permission to the Sourcer extension?

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No - it was Chrome, but it never prompted to add permissions. I finally got it to work by manually manipulating the permissions, and then the menus referenced came up for me. But it is a bit more challenging than WikiTree-X, so I'll stick with it until it fails.

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One question - would it be possible to incorporate the source like WikiTree-X does, of the Ancestry Tree or Family Search Tree page reference? I liked this feature of WTX, as it gave me a reference point back to where the data was retrieved from. I do get that some disagree that this is a source, but source is defined as "where you got the data from", so this is an irrelevant argument. However, I do get the point between a primary/secondary/tertiary source, or a strong vs. weak source, so there's always that.

But figured it was worth a discussion, as it should be fairly simple to capture the pertinent page data, format it into a basic source, and paste it into that field.

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There is an option to do that in Sourcer. Under the rightmost tab of the options page I think

Answer 10

I agree with Robin. WikitreeX is my favorite way to create a profile . It adds a list of real sources from the FamilySearch profile and a link to it. It also enters all the dates for me.

Ad for those of you fretting about this, I update the FamilySearch profile first and make sure it's the best it can be first. I think it's important to update FamilySearch too and make notes there-- i don't want cousins finding incorrect data there either.

I will miss WikitreeX

Comments

Michelle - completely agree. I like the opportunity to tidy up in both places and always go over the FS data before linking it through Wikitree X.

Answer 11

I have been trying to use the sourcer for importing profiles, it takes longer than inputtting all the date from a "family search" profile than it does just doing all of the adding to the blank add a profile.

I fould it cumbersome and like a lot of others would wish to see some take over the Wikitree X app and support this. I understand new things can feel smoother the more you use them but using the sourcer app to import profile just doesn't work for me

Comments

I am happy to add enhancements to WikiTree Sourcer for adding profiles from other sites such as FamilySearch if people give me detailed requests of what they would like.

To me it seems like Sourcer does not require any more steps/clicks than using WikiTree X so I'm confused when people say it is slower. Any more detail on this?

I believe WikiTree X did add more text to the generated biography - like a sentence for each fact in the FamilySearch or Ancestry biography. I could add that to Sourcer. I haven't so far because I'm not sure if I can generate as good a narrative and citation as can be generated if the user went to each record and generated the narrative and citation there. It may be possible to automate it for FamilySearch, for Ancestry it may involve opening a lot of records which might upset Ancestry.

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Also, check out the options in Sourcer under the Add/Merge tab. By default they are all off but you can choose to put various things into the bio text - like a link to the FamilySearch or Ancestry profile under "See also:" or an intro line giving the parent links.

Answer 12

I use mobile devices a lot of the time, so I am shut out of all the extensions, all of whose authors have not released mobile compatible versions, so far as I'm aware.

Comments

Daphne.  What mobile device do you use?  Sourcer is in Apple's App Store.  (The WBE will be coming to Safari at some point, too, though I don't know when (not my job).)

Personally, I'd recommend using a PC, but I know some people seem to be able to do things on a phone.

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The Sourcer extension works on iPhone in Safari and on Android in the Kiwi browser.

Answer 13

I added the extension but I don't see how to use it.  I don't see anything different on the Edit page.  Can you tell me hw to start using the X extension?  Thanks.

Comments

This post is about NOT using the WikiTree X extension. Are you trying to use WikiTree X or WikiTree Sourcer?

Answer 14

Was the AutoBio function removed? If so, why?

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1563930/was-the-wiki-bee-auto-bio-removed

Answer 15

I found the answer I was looking for - but cannot figure out how to delete my post?