More than 70% of people in the UK have a smartphone now, and around a third have a tablet device. Their portability and ease of use mean they are rapidly replacing desktop computers as the main way in which we access the internet and indeed manage the many kinds of data inherent in modern life.

Family history has long been at the forefront of technology, from the earliest family tree applications through to the data sites we all rely upon today. Now these facilities have been combined into an all-in-one application which means you can always have your research to hand. If you visit a family member, or have a spare hour in an archive, or are stopping by a family grave (see page 56), you can now add new information or individuals to your tree without scrabbling for the back of a shopping list which you later misplace!

The answer lies in the form of TreeView, the powerful and very easy to use tree-building application from data website www.TheGenealogist.co.uk. TreeView has been providing family historians with an all-in-one solution for some time, but now it has gone mobile, thanks to the new TreeView app for all iOS (Apple) and Android-based smartphone and tablets. The interface has been cleverly designed to fit varying screen sizes, so will always make the best of what your device can achieve.

If you already have a tree with TheGenealogist, you can easily download this to the app. Once that’s done you can still view or work on your family tree when your device is not connected to a phone signal or Wi-Fi. Next time you are in range, it will update your data at the main site accordingly. You can also sign up to TheGenealogist for free within the app if you don’t already have an account.

Take a look bellow for details of the app’s many useful features.

IN FOCUS: the TreeView app

The TreeView app offers an intuitive way to keep your family tree in your pocket.

When you open the TreeView app on your device, you will need to log in to your account with www.TheGenealogist.co.uk – or you can use your Facebook credentials. (You do not need a subscription to TheGenealogist to use TreeView unless you want to view historical records, and it’s free to create an account.)
On login you will be taken to your default tree (you can store multiple family trees with TreeView)

If you click on an individual’s name, you will see their full record. Clicking the magnifying glass will search for this person across your other trees, trees stored by other TreeView users, and TheGenealogist’s vast collection of historic records (all from within the app).

Click the arrow to move to the next generation down. Or you can add new family members wherever you see the ‘+’ symbol

This settings button allows you to switch between different tree views: Pedigree, Hourglass, Ancestors or Descendants

Here’s a Family record for a specific individual, which again you can add to as you go – even with phone/tablet camera images

Bring up the main menu by clicking the symbol with horizontal lines at the top left of the main screen – you can get help here if you need it

Icons at the bottom take you straight to the sections for adding a new person, returning to your ‘home’ screen or the Family view

If other people’s trees contain the same individual as yours, you can make direct contact and allow them to see your tree

There are also tools such as a feature for showing how any two people in your tree are connected