A new version of TempleReady is being released to the Church's network of family history centers, along with an update of the International Genealogical Index.
With its first upgrade since 1997, TempleReady 2.0 is a Windows version that helps members prepare names for submission to temples. The International Genealogical Index, referred to as the IGI, includes the index of all ordinance work done by the Church. This massive library consists of about 63 CDs, and with the update contains more than 347 million names. The update has added another 62 million names and 31 CDs.
The TempleReady software, which accepts GEDCOM files from any software — or reads a Personal Ancestral File database directly — compares names being submitted with the 347 million names for whom work has already been done to prevent duplication, and then saves them in an appropriate file for temple work.
The simplified process of TempleReady 2.0 involves six steps, which the program tracks for the user, and prompts the user to go to the next step at the appropriate time.
These six steps are:
The user selects names of individuals and families to submit.
The software then compares these names with existing names for completed ordinances. The user is given a chance to add missing information, such as birth dates or places. The user is given a chance to see and verify the names that have had ordinance work already performed.
The user provides submitter information.
The user indicates who will provide the proxies, or whether the names will be done by patrons.
The user can review a summary list of the proposed work to be done, and the submission is saved to a floppy disk.
The user takes the floppy disk to the temple.
TempleReady is being distributed in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Japanese.
One of the features of the new software is that when it finds work that has been done, it will update the user's PAF file with this information. A user can also manually go into the file and look at the information.
Another feature is that a multi-media disk provides help information on how to use the program and features. This multimedia information also provides a tour of how to use a family history center, and how to order film. The multimedia CD is close-captioned for the hearing impaired as well. The program also shows the rules and policies for submitting names to the temple. In the past, these policies have been contained in separate manuals.
In addition, Personal Ancestral File 5.0, the Church's family history processing software, has been updated so that data can be downloaded to a read-only file on a Palm OS handheld computer. (PAF 5.0 was recently updated to accept most of the world's alphabets and now has screens in and prints reports in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Swedish and German.) The PAF 5.1 will check the FamilySearch Internet site and check for updates. This upgrade is now available on the FamilySearch.org Internet site, and CDs will be available in mid-April. PAF 5.1 is designed to work well with TempleReady 2.0.