December 5

Using Personal
Ancestral File 5 2008
A tutorial covering how to add and edit the information of a three-
generation family. Picture examples included. A Tutorial for PAF 5

Prepared by Stacy Garner

Start by launching PAF 5 (available for free
download at familysearch.org). You will see the
welcome screen, as pictured here.

To begin, click on “New” to create your file. (In the

future, after you have created your file, you will
click on “Open.”)

You will be asked to name your file before you

begin inputting information. Select where you
would like to save your file, and choose a name.
Then click on “Save.”

A blank file will be loaded, and a

small window will automatically
pop open. In this window you may
choose whether or not you would
like the Enter key to be a command
to advance to the next line. Most
users choose to click “Yes,” as it
allows for quick data entry. This
can also be changed later.
Next a “Preferences” window will appear,
where you will enter your information
under the “Prepared by” tab. It is important
to list permanent information because
interaction with other researchers and
genealogists is a key source for family
history work. This information will appear
on any pedigrees, reports, etc. you print or
upload onto online databases from your
PAF file. When you are finished, click “OK.”

Now you are ready to begin

inputting information! If you
are creating a PAF file on your
own family, you will probably
want to put yourself as the
primary (first) individual.

To do this, double click on the

blue box, or go to
Add
Individual.

This blank form will appear for you to type

your information.

Note: After you have typed your full name,

a dialog box will appear and ask you to
verify that your surname is typed correctly
within the slashes.
This is so the
program can
recognize the same
surname in the
future.
After verifying your surname has been
entered correctly, continue filling out
the rest of your information.

For females enter their first, middle,

and maiden names only. If the
individual has a title in their name (i.e.
Jr., Sgt., etc.) it should not go in the Full
Name box. There is a box under the
“Other” category where titles/prefixes
can be entered.

If the person you are filling it out for has received LDS ordinances, include the dates and
places of those as well. (The abbreviation “BIC” stands for “Born in the Covenant,” and is
used for individuals who were born after their parents were sealed.)
Note the formats required:
Places: Dates:
• City, County, State, Country • dd mmm yyyy
• i.e.: Rexburg, Madison, Idaho • i.e.: 24 Dec 2008

If any specifics of date or place are unknown, simply leave them blank. Click on “Save”
when you have finished.

Your screen should now

display the birth date and
place of your primary
individual in the blue
highlighted box. Well done!

If you double-click on the

individual, it will bring up
the same information sheet
for you to view/edit again.
Next, if your primary individual is
married you will add their spouse.

You can double click on the empty box

labeled “Spouse,” or go to Add
Spouse
while you have the primary individual
still highlighted.

Once again, the information box

will appear for you to enter in the
spouse’s information.

Remember to verify the surname

(or maiden name, for females)
when prompted, and to format the
dates and places as required.

Once you click on “Save,” this

window will appear, where
you can enter the information
about the marriage.

(This window appears

anytime you insert a parent or
spouse.) Enter as much
information as you have, then
click “Save.”
Now you should see both
individuals, with their
marriage located in the box
in between.

Children are added one at

a time by double-clicking
in the box labeled
“Children,” or by going to
Add
Child while one of
the spouses is selected.

[Once you have more than two people entered into

your PAF file, this window will appear every time you
add a new individual. In this case, you will click on
“Add New Individual.” You would only click “Select
Existing Individual” if you had a person on your PAF
file that you wanted to link to another family.]
The “Edit Individual” window will
appear again, and you can enter all the
child’s vital information.

If you make a formatting mistake while

entering the information, PAF will bring up an
alert similar to this one when you advance to
the next line.

In this case, there is a number in the box indicating place of baptism. This is good
information to have, so the alert will be ignored.

Once you have

clicked “Save,” you
can see the child
listed in the Children
box at the same time
this window appears.
Click “Yes” if the
couple has more than
one child. In this
example, we will
click “No” and move
on.
Once there is a
child listed
under a
couple, the
PAF file has
two
generations.
You navigate
between
generations
using the
arrows next to the individuals’ names.

Clicking on the arrow next

to the child brings us to a
different screen where the
child has now become the
primary individual. From
this screen, a spouse and
children may be added.

Clicking on the arrow by

one of the parents brings
us back to the previous
screen.

From here, we can click on

the arrows between the
spouses. This alternates
the two individuals in and
out of the primary spot.
To add an individual’s
parents, double click on
one of the boxes labeled
“Parents,” or go to
Add
Father or
Add
Mother while the
individual is highlighted.

Select “Add New Individual,” and then fill

out the Edit Individual window and click
“Save.”
The automatic Marriage window will
appear again. Fill out the marriage
information for this new couple as well,
then click “Save.”

The new parent’s spouse will

automatically be named
“Unknown.” Double click on this
box to add their information. (Or
go to Add
Mother or
Add
Father again.)

Click on “Add New Individual”,

then fill out the Edit Individual
Form and click “Save.”
Your PAF file now
has three
generations! Well
done!

If you’ll notice, just

below the toolbar with
the File, Edit, Add, etc.,
options there are three
tabs.

We have been working

in the section of PAF
where family groups
are displayed.

Selecting an individual from the

Family view and then clicking on
the Pedigree tab shows us that
individual’s pedigree. Once again,
there are arrows next to the
names to allow navigation
between generations.
Click on the arrows until
you see the youngest
generation on your PAF.

Select that individual’s

name, and then click on the
Individual tab.

This shows a list of

all the individuals
you have entered
into your PAF file,
organized by RIN
number (Record
Identification
Number).

It is important to
remember that
whichever individual
you have highlighted
will stay highlighted
when you switch tabs.
In this example, Lucy
was highlighted in the
Individual tab so when
we clicked on Family
again she moved to
the primary spot.
Once your PAF file becomes larger, it may be difficult to navigate while in the Pedigree tab
because it does not display all of an individual’s children.

For example:

Jack and Abigail have

three children, and the
individual you are
researching is
descended from their
daughter named Jane.

If you click on Jack and switch to the Pedigree tab,

you will be able to navigate back through the
generations to Jane and her daughter Lucy. This is
because you found Jack by clicking forward
through the generations from Jane.

But if you were looking for Jack’s son Benjamin, he

does not appear on the pedigree.

To find him, you will have

to click on Jack and then
switch to the Family tab.

If you want a pedigree of

Benjamin’s direct line,
you would then click on
his name and select the
Pedigree tab.
 You now have sufficient knowledge to begin entering your
family’s information through PAF 5. Congratulations, and happy
researching!

For more tutorials on how to work with PAF 5, visit these websites:

1. http://paftutorial.byu.edu/
2. http://www.ohanasoftware.com/?sec=lessons (scroll down to the
“Beginning PAF” and “Beginning Family History” lessons by Liz Snow)