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Try PastPaths with Sample Data

Want to explore PastPaths' features without entering your own genealogy data? This guide takes you through the program using ready-made sample files — perfect if you want to get a feel for the program before diving in with your own material.

The guide has two parts:

  • Quick test — ten short steps that take about 20 minutes. Plenty if you just want to help out for a while.
  • Deep dives — choose one or more areas that interest you. You don't need to do them all.

Each step has a line What should happen. If it doesn't turn out that way, you've found something I want to know about.

If something doesn't work as expected

Note which step it concerns (for example "quick test step 5") and what happened. See report a bug →

If something doesn't work at all — move on to the next step, don't skip the whole walkthrough.

Preparation

Quick test

1. Import the sample file

  • [ ] Go to Administration → Import & Export and import the GEDCOM file with fake persons.

What should happen: The import completes and the persons show up under Persons.

2. Find a person

  • [ ] Search for a person with å, ä, or ö in their name.
  • [ ] Search for the same person again, but type the name without dots and rings, for example "o" instead of "ö".
  • [ ] Do the same two searches in the search box at the top of the window. Click the Persons tab in the box.

What should happen: The person is found every time. The box stays open when you switch tabs, and the number on the tab matches the list.

3. Look around a person

  • [ ] Open a person and click through the tabs.
  • [ ] Open Family Tree with the person in focus.

What should happen: The person's events, places, and relationships are shown. The family tree shows the person's relatives.

4. Add a person

  • [ ] Create a new person with a first name, last name, and birth year.
  • [ ] Add the new person as a child of an existing person.

What should happen: The date of birth is shown as just a year. The child shows up on the parent and in the family tree.

5. Create an event

  • [ ] Go to Events → Add event and choose the type Marriage.
  • [ ] Add two persons with the role Spouse and choose a place. Leave the title empty and save.

What should happen: The event gets a heading with the persons' names, for example "Marriage: Anna Andersson & Erik Berg". The event shows up on both persons' pages.

6. Media and profile picture

  • [ ] Go to Media, upload an image, and fill in a title. Link the image to a person.
  • [ ] Set a profile picture on a person using the Edit person pencil.

What should happen: The image shows up on the person. The profile picture is shown in the persons list and in the family tree.

7. The timeline

  • [ ] Open Timeline and choose the By year display mode.
  • [ ] Filter on the event type Death.

What should happen: The years are shown with their number of deaths. If you open a year, that year's deaths are shown.

8. Bookmark

  • [ ] Bookmark a person with the bookmark icon in the header of the person's page.
  • [ ] Go to Research → Bookmarks.

What should happen: The person is in the list of bookmarks.

9. Report

  • [ ] Go to Research → Reports and create an ancestor chart for a person.
  • [ ] Click Print.

What should happen: The ancestor chart is shown on the page. When you click Print, a PDF is created and opened in your PDF reader.

10. Undo the import

  • [ ] Go to Administration → Import & Export → Import history and undo the import from step 1.

What should happen: The persons, events, and places from the sample file disappear. What you created yourself is kept.

Deep dives

Choose whatever interests you. Import the sample file again first if you've undone it.

Persons and relationships

  • [ ] Use the A–Z index in the persons list and sort by birth year. Open a person and go back.

    What should happen: The list stays on the same letter, sorting, and page.

  • [ ] Add a partner with a marriage date. Open Research branch for the person.

    What should happen: The partner is shown with the date, and the Check column shows the age difference.

  • [ ] Create a copy of a person and merge them via Duplicates in the persons list.

    What should happen: You end up with one person with the details you chose. Relationships and events are kept.

Places and the Place Library

  • [ ] Create a place with country, county, and parish. Then browse the places list from country to county and parish.

    What should happen: The place is found at the right level of the hierarchy.

  • [ ] Go to Administration → Library and import a place pack.

    What should happen: The places show up in the places list, and the pack is shown as imported.

  • [ ] Open a place that has events and go to the Events tab.

    What should happen: The place's events are shown as a timeline. The number on the tab matches the count.

  • [ ] Try to delete a place that's used as a birthplace.

    What should happen: The deletion is stopped, and it says what is using the place.

Events and the timeline

  • [ ] Edit an event, add a person, and remove another. Save and open the event again.

    What should happen: The change to the participants is kept.

  • [ ] Sort the events list by title and go to page 2.

    What should happen: Page 2 continues in alphabetical order where page 1 ended.

  • [ ] Choose By person on the timeline and turn on the statistics with the analytics icon.

    What should happen: The timeline and the statistics apply only to the chosen person.

  • [ ] Delete an event via the ⋮ menu on the timeline.

    What should happen: You're shown what will be removed before you confirm. The event disappears from the timeline.

  • [ ] Type "death" in the search field on the Events page.

    What should happen: The deaths are shown, also those without a title of their own.

Birth and death

  • [ ] Choose a person without a date of death. Add an event of the type Death with a year on the person's Events tab.

    What should happen: The year of death shows on the person page, in the persons list, and in the family tree, and the person is shown as deceased.

  • [ ] Add another death for the same person.

    What should happen: The Events tab asks you to merge the deaths. After the merge, one death is left.

  • [ ] Edit the person, clear both the date and the place of death, and save.

    What should happen: A warning is shown first. If you choose to remove anyway, the death disappears from the person.

Media

  • [ ] Upload a PDF document.

    What should happen: The document shows up in the media library.

  • [ ] Link an image to an event and a place.

    What should happen: The image shows up on the event and the place.

  • [ ] Search the media library by title and filter by type.

    What should happen: The files you uploaded are found.

  • [ ] Delete one of the test images.

    What should happen: The image disappears from the media library and from whatever it was linked to.

Sources

  • [ ] Create a source under Administration → Sources.

  • [ ] Add a citation to an event. Use Reuse on another record and paste the citation onto a person.

    What should happen: The form is filled in automatically, and the citation shows up on both.

Research

  • [ ] Create a research note from a person with the note button next to the bookmark. Link a place to the note and change its status.

    What should happen: The note shows up under Research → Research notes with the right status and links.

  • [ ] Open Research → Calendar and click a day with events.

    What should happen: Birthdays and events on that day are shown.

  • [ ] Open Research → Recently changed.

    What should happen: What you changed during the test shows up, but not what was only imported.

  • [ ] Open Research → Reports, choose Source list, and click Generate report without choosing a person.

    What should happen: All sources are shown, grouped by source type.

Blog

  • [ ] Import the XML file with blog posts under Administration → Import & Export.

    What should happen: The posts show up in the blog.

  • [ ] Create a post of your own with an image. Save it as a draft and then publish it.

  • [ ] Add a tag and a category to the post and search for it in the blog list.

    What should happen: The post is found.

Backup

  • [ ] Go to Administration → Import & Export → System backup and click Create backup.

    What should happen: The backup is saved in Documents\PastPaths\Backups as pastpaths_backup_yyyymmdd_hhmmss.zip.

General usability

This isn't about "yes/no" — it's about your impressions of the whole:

  • Did you find your way around the program? Was it clear what the different menu options did?
  • Was anything unclear or confusing?
  • Were any features missing that you expected?
  • What did you particularly like?

Final questions

  • Would you keep using PastPaths for your own genealogy research? Why / why not?
  • What three things do you think are most important to improve?

Thanks for your time! Your feedback makes PastPaths better.

→ Report bugs and feedback