Custodian 3 - Opinions sought Lads and Lasses

[MythicalMarian]

As I got a bit bogged down lately with the actual people in my family history research, and need a bit of a break, I decided to do some computer housekeeping. I run Family Historian as my main FH program - love it - no complaints. However, I was looking around the house the other day (during a massive spring clean) and realise that I still have so much paper rubbish hanging about. Years ago I used Custodian 2 to record all my data - even on those folk you collect from parish registers at the time who you discard later. I thought this would be useful to do in case some other person was searching for that name etc.

I have changed computers twice since the days of my old Custodian, so never really used it again. However, I have just visited the website for its new incarnation as Custodian 3 and downloaded the free trial. I am seriously thinking of having another program to record all my data in an easy format - especially for exporting into and out of Access at will to write more rigorous queries etc., so I wondered if any of our experts out there have opinions on Custodian 3. I know it will be quite a bit of work to input all the data that lies around the house in various notebooks etc., but it seems a decent way to store things, especially for quick reference - when you know you've seen that baptism of a Bloggs and you can't quite remember whether it was in Manchester or Denton - you know the sort of thing.

I think we all worry about losing precious data, and the more options we have to store it in different places the better. I think it may be a good way to record all the data on main family line names (including those that may not be related but you never know for the future sort of thing).

So, any users out there? Would you recommend I do it? It would also save the need to have files all over the computer with 'Tameside Stokes births' and such like. Some are in Word, some in pdf - some in Excel. Do you think it would be a good idea to collect everything under one roof in Custodian?

Opinions welcome - good and bad. Tell it like it is, folks before I pay the £26 quid :) (Not that it's a fortune in any case - but, still, I value your opinions)

[Margaret08]

I really liked Custodian II, it did everything that I wanted but I can't get on with version 3, it seems to do too much when all I really want is a simple list of my documents and their contents, maybe I am missing something with the programme!

There will be a new version out soon (well sometime in the future) I'm not sure how close the release date is.

Margaret

[Geoffers]

I like Custodian 3 and prefer it to 2 for its ability to record a greater variety of records and to display group entries (such as census returns) in a single window. I know that several did not like the change from 2 to 3; it is a matter of individual personal taste; in much the same way as some will like fH (I use an early version of fH2 just to print off diagrams) and others like different programmes.

I find it exceptionally useful for single place studies - if you are studying a single named family you may well be able to manage with just fH. Having a good system of individual personal references and applying them is essential to get the full use out of the programme. It is also of use to employ the family reference; and to have a system that is simple and flexible.


As mentioned, it would seem that a Custodian4 may appear at sometime in the future.

[Peter Goodey]

Custodian 3 is well spoken of by one-name study people.

However, it runs under Windows only which is a black mark in many people's books.

[MythicalMarian]

Thanks, folks - as I say, it's not terribly expensive, so I think I'll give it a go and see how I get on.

[MythicalMarian]

OK - as I'm in housekeeping mode (PC wise at least) I have been entering my first batch of local Cheshire births into this Custodian. I really like the idea that you can customise the forms to suit each source. I can have a form for entering Cheshire BMDs with that particular reference for ordering certs, and then at the click of a button can go back to the normal GRO view with Volume and Page No. etc.

So - good news so far. The only blips I've found - no big deal but irritating - is I keep getting the odd error message that I have to click away at until all is restored. This could be a Vista thing, but if it starts to interfere to any great degree I will e-mail the support team.

The only other thing that makes me chuckle is that the export facility to Access is based on Access 2000! By all the gods - we are on 2007, and most dedicated Access users I know left 2000 years ago! However, this is no real problem - yet again - because I can do it from Access and import rather than the other way round.

What I really want - and it seems the program will do it - is to keep all my various source records in one place at last. It even has the Commonwealth War Graves Commission form - and I've collected a few lads from the First World War - so I can ask for nothing more.

I have a lot of work ahead, folks - but it should be worth it in the end.

Thanks for your help, as always.

[Geoffers]

if it starts to interfere to any great degree I will e-mail the support team.

The support team 'Phil and Sonja' are very helpful - there is a mailing list for the programme.


What I really want - and it seems the program will do it - is to keep all my various source records in one place at last.

....which helps to identify different records which may relate to the same person.

[MythicalMarian]

The support team 'Phil and Sonja' are very helpful - there is a mailing list for the programme.

Couldn't agree more, Geoffers. Sonja sent me an e-mail because she still had my old reference number from when I bought the old Custodian 2 aeons ago!

Still going great guns so far.

(I've also - finally - given in and bought the second edition of the NBI - arrived today. Still lots of gaps - Lancashire is appalling - but I've managed to find some useful leads for looking up in Cheshire, which seems to have grown a lot more this time around.)

[Margaret08]

I'm obviously missing something, I'll have to have another look at Cust3 and see if I can work out where I'm going wrong and how I can get the best from it.

I read somewhere that there will be a new version of the NBI out shortly.

Margaret