Solutions - Questions and Answers


? Learning to use the program
Can a novice learn how to use this program? Is is hard to use? *Answer* Heritage Collector provides many tools and make it easy for you to get started. "How To" Tutorial movies Watch the tutorial movies that come with Heritage Collector. It's like having someone showing and telling you exactly what to do. Click here to learn more. Digital Family History Guidebook Consult chapter one, Getting Started, in the Digital Family History Guidebook that comes installed as a PDF in Heritage Collector. Click here to learn more
? How to work with hundreds of photos
I'm overwhelmed with hundreds of photos and information. How and where should I start? How should I organize a large number of photos? I have an old trunk full of photos. I'm having difficulty determining the kinds of photos I have. What should I do before I make a serious attempt at organization? *Answer* Start simple. There's no need to anguish about trying to get everything perfect when you start. It's easy to move or add photos to different collections. Add and edit information as you find it. Presorting is not necessary or recommended. Start scanning or importing photos into a sorting collection or into collections you have created. Later, rename collections, create new collections and change the content of any collection.

? Scanning Help
"I'm just starting and I need assistance with scanning. Can you help me?" *Answer* Consult chapter two, Easier Scanning in the Digital Family History Guidebook. Scanning tips are available in our Registered Users web site. Watch the How To tutorial scanning movie that shows how to save time by scanning a photo directly into a collection. Scanning classes are taught at many of the conventions we attend. Consult the Events link for specific times and places. Click here for Events

? Naming Collections
How are photo collections named? *Answer* There are no limitations on naming collections. Use names, dates, or event titles. Names can be changed or edited at any time.
? Naming People in Photos
How can I name everyone in a group photo? This seems very difficult or impossible. Should I make copies of group photos and place the duplicates into different folders / collections? *Answer* Use the Hot Spot option to name every person in a photo. Passing the cursor across the photo will reveal the name of each person. Watch the Hot Spot How To movie to see how easily you can add Hot Spots to any photo. Using the Hot Spot search eliminates the need to save more than one copy of a group photo. Select the Hot Spot search, type in a name and click the search button. All collections will be searched for the name of the person. In seconds ALL the photos containing the name will be displayed. More information about Hot Spots

? Eliminate Duplicates
How can I find and eliminate duplicate photos? I need to free up some space on my hard drive. Answer Heritage Collector has a tool that will search all your collections and display all the duplicate images it finds. You can then choose the photos you'd like to delete.

? Save Drive Space
My hard drive is filling up with scanned images and photos from my digital camera. Help! What can I do I'm running out of hard drive space? *Answer* Use the Archive Function to move collections off your hard drive to an archive on an external hard drive or make archive CD/DVDs. Use the special archive search option to find photos and files contained in your archive. After the search, a thumbnail image image will appear and a prompt telling you which CD/DVD to insert or to access the archive external drive. You will still have almost instant access to your photos and files while saving space on your C drive.

? Sharing Information
How can I share my information and collections with family and friends? *Answer* You have three options: 1. Create a slide show. 2. Create a self running Gift CD/DVD. 3. Create a TV/DVD
? Backing Up
I'm worried about having a hard drive crash or a virus attack on my computer. What can I do to preserve and protect my photos and information? *Answer* Heritage Collector has a complete backup system. It's fast and easy to use. You can choose to backup to an external hard drive or to CD/DVDs. If your hard drive dies or you have another problem you can restore all of your collections from your backup.

? PDF
Can I make a PDF of a collection to share with my family? *Answer* The new PDF creation tool allows you to select all photos or specific photos and information in a collection. Type in a name, click create and the PDF is created in seconds.
? Storage Capacity
How many photos can I put into Heritage Collector? Is there a limit? *Answer* Unlike other programs, no limit is imposed on you except the size of your hard drive. Our patented software makes it possible to continue to quickly find photos and information even if you have thousands of photos in the system.
? Install on External Hard Dive
Can I install Heritage Collector on an external hard drive? *Answer* Yes! You can run Heritage Collector installed on an external hard drive. Best of all, you can plug the external drive into the USB port of another computer. Our unique system makes it possible to run the Heritage Collector just like you were at home running from your computer. Nothing special is needed! So have fun taking all your collections to reunions and other special family events. Make slide show presentations, import photos, make gift CD/DVDs and more while running from the external drive. Finally you can leave your heavy laptop at home. No need to purchase an expensive laptop for portability. Just take an external drive along on the next trip and plug it into the computer of relative or friend and run from their drive. Yes, they will be very impressed and you will look like some real computer wizard. More Information