O.R.A. Online Repository Assistant
What would I do without it? I once taught myself to touch type, but my current method of fat fingers typing is to rearrange the letters afterwards, so to have accurate text is a godsend. ORA finds the data I need and pastes accurately it into Family Historian where I want it to be, along with the source/citation record. No rushing through and promising to come back to it later (which I then forget to do in the thrill of the “chase”).
In June 2021, I was a participant in the Pharos Tutors Introduction to One-Name Studies course and followed this up with the Practicalities of a One Name Study the following October.
Early on in the course, I stumbled upon ORA and quickly realised that I needed it if I was going to get anywhere with the ONS I had just signed up for; I subscribed on the spot and then set about learning how to use it.
At the same time, I needed to get up to speed with Family Historian. Although I had used Family Historian since version 2, I had never really bothered with all the possibilities of the software, I could make custom queries and facts and used flags and diagrams but very little else, and had set myself the task of learning it more thoroughly when Version 7 was published, so was gradually getting to grips with it.
When I started using ORA there was very little to be found online to help, especially for Family Historian users, but watching the videos from the author of ORA, John Cardinal, demonstrate it to the Guild soon after I first found it, started me off, and eventually I came across two sites which I still often visit to get ideas or to check that I am along the correct lines.
Technology Tools for Your Study – ORA (Online Repository Assistant)
PaulTT’s ORA Templates for Family Historian
There is an active Family Historian User Group with a Forum, Knowledge Base and newsletter which I often trawled for information. Then in October 2022, a Family Historian Zoom Group was started by Derek Heritage, which I was lucky to join very early on, where those people who already have knowledge of FH7 and ORA generously share their knowledge with the group. Being able to revisit the recordings of the presentations is invaluable.
I don’t lack confidence with using computers, but although I have always enjoyed using new software, exploring how it works and to make it do what I want, I did find it laborious to read and read and read and then experiment until it worked. I learn by doing, but seeing the visual demonstrations and listening to the informal talks, suddenly all those things I knew were possible began to make more sense, and now I am able to make the most of both FH7 and ORA – I still have much to learn, but I am getting there slowly.
Starting as a complete novice with ORA in June 2021, I have gradually become more confident in using it and hope that these pages will be useful to anyone who comes across them. I have added tips and visuals to demonstrate what took me a while to discover.
All my templates are for use with Family Historian 7, but they are straightforward enough to give ideas for use with other software. The following links are to the latest uploads of my Reports for Auto Type and Library Templates, with the caveat that they may not all be 100% error free.
July 2023: ORA Collection Report
July 2023: ORA Library Templates