Introducing Table View for Historical Record Search Results

Introducing Table View for Historical Record Search Results

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve added a new view for your search results when using our search engine for historical records. With the new view, named Table view, it’s now easier than ever to search through our treasure trove of over 16 billion historical records and locate the historical records of interest to you.

The new Table view is more condensed than the classic Card view, which means that each page will usually display more results. Its tabular format helps you identify relevant results more easily.

The New Table view for search results (Click to zoom)

The New Table view for search results (Click to zoom)

Researching your family history

To begin a search, visit the main search form by clicking Research on the MyHeritage website’s navigation bar, or go to https://www.myheritage.com/research. Enter your search criteria, such as an ancestor’s first (and middle) name, last name, year of birth, and any place of a life event associated with that person (none of which are mandatory fields), and click the Search button.

Card view and Table view

Once your search results appear, you’ll notice a toggle on the upper right corner of the page. Click this toggle to switch between the new Table view (right) and the classic Card view (left).

Toggling between the search result views, marked in red. The new Table view is on the right (Click to zoom). The image above shows results using Card view.

Toggling between the search result views, marked in red. The new Table view is on the right (Click to zoom). The image above shows results using Card view.

You can switch between the two views at any point in your search. Your last view will be saved for you (persisted) — for example, if you leave the site and come back at another time.

Clicking any card in Card view, or any row in Table view, will open the record in a new tab and display its full details. This allows you to keep working on the main list of results, without losing orientation.

The main features of Table view

As with Card view, Table view also allows you to narrow down your search results by category or collection. You can do that by using the panel on the left-hand side of the search results page. You’ll notice that the search results will change accordingly, and you may narrow your search even further by clicking additional sub-categories and collections that appear in the panel.

Narrowing down your search (Click to zoom)

Narrowing down your search (Click to zoom)

One of the most useful features of Table view, is that it automatically adapts, and displays the most appropriate columns according to the context.

In the example below, when you search the Birth, Marriage & Death category, the results displayed by Table view include the following columns: Name, Birth, Death, Relatives, More details, and Image.

Table view search results in the Birth, Marriage & Death category (Click to zoom)

Table view search results in the Birth, Marriage & Death category (Click to zoom)

In the example below, search results in the Schools & Universities category displays different columns: Name, School, More details, and Photos.

Table view search results in the School & Universities category (Click to zoom)

Table view search results in the School & Universities category (Click to zoom)

By comparison, viewing the same results on Card view shows half the number of results per page, because Card view is less condensed than Table view:

Card view results of the same search (Click to zoom)

Card view results of the same search (Click to zoom)

Conclusion

The new Table view for historical record search results provides a more condensed listing of search results, organized by columns, that some of our users will find easier to use. There is no need to compromise, as both views are available to you and you can switch at any time from one to the other, to use the view that you prefer for the search at hand.

Because it is better suited for larger displays, Table view is currently available only on desktop, and not in the mobile app or when viewing your family site through a browser from your mobile phone or tablet.

Searching historical record collections on MyHeritage is free. To view most records or to save records to your family tree, you’ll need a Data or Complete subscription.

In the future, we are planning to add sorting options by the different columns displayed in the Table view, to let you drill down faster into the results of most interest to you. We love feedback and would be happy to receive requests from our users for further enhancing the search experience on MyHeritage.

Enjoy!