The release of v. 1.1 on 3 June 2020 has been a twinkle of joy during the enduring challenges for us all in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. When we launched Name & Place at RootsTech in February, who could have predicted how massively our way of life would be altered. We have all now become part of recorded history by living through and experiencing such major societal upheaval and change.

So, with v. 1.1, we have created three major new features:

• A promotional website for each of your projects
• A spreadsheet (CSV) importer with structured templates for importing census and other data
• Unique identifiers for each name and place

We have introduced and refined many aspects of Name & Place, some will be obvious and some more subtle behind the scene elements. Detailed blogs will follow on each feature, however in the meantime, if you have any technical queries or constructive feedback, please contact us direct by email at support@nameandplace.com we’d love to hear from you.

Name & Place at RootsTech, Salt Lake City, February 2020

Wednesday, 26th Feb 2020 saw the launch of Name & Place, the innovative cloud database and mapping software. It was perhaps befitting that the launch took place in Salt Lake City, Utah where RootsTech, the world’s largest family history event was meeting to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

Name & Place, developed by Paul Carter, meets a need to manage research projects with a scope outside of traditional family history; the One-Place Study , One-Name Study, Local History Project or House History.

In contrast to the key assumption shared by family tree software, that the research subjects are related through birth or marriage, Name & Place empowers the researcher to define the scope of their project, whether the people simply lived, worked or were buried in the same place or just shared a common surname. A spreadsheet, the typical alternative explored by such researchers, lends itself well to structured data entry but fails quickly when attempting to layer multiple datasets and analyse results.

Name & Place’s unique ability to integrate names, places and sources through record linkage opens up a world of examining research data at a holistic level before drilling down to each event or fact. Names and places interact, through the source record, the common glue of research. Each name, place, event and fact may be captured, and the individual records automatically updated.

By defining a location for each place within the project, powerful mapping analysis becomes possible, tracking migration patterns or population changes throughout your research. Layer photographs and documents, linked to a name, place or source, and your project comes to life with colour and context. As a cloud-based solution, each Name & Place project comes with a dedicated web page, enabling you to promote your project to the online world with the aim of interacting with interested parties.

Your project’s scope is constrained solely by your requirements. Research of a graveyard or war memorial is as managed equally as well as a ship history, a DNA study or a worldwide surname project. Whatever the focus of your project, you will find Name & Place intuitive, powerful and above all, specifically designed to fit your research needs.

See how Name & Place can help your research. A free two-week evaluation copy is available when you register at www.nameandplace.com.

The RootsTech hall at London’s ExCEL

#RootsTechLondon at ExCeL was an unforgettable experience! The venue was buzzing with international delegates from Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The stand was busy for the full three days, with a number of people stopping by to say they kept waiting for us to have a quiet moment!

We enjoyed so many amazing conversations with like-minded people all keen to share their stories and discover how Name & Place can help them manage their projects wherever they and their community are in the world. A place is a place wherever it is and although the idea was developed in the UK, the app is designed for an international audience.

The stand was busy for the whole show with people wanting to see a demo and chat about our software

It was especially great to help people assemble their thoughts about their research projects and explain how a large amount of community data can be sliced in any way to produce historical outcomes be it mortality, migration or occupations.

Our method of categorising and manipulating data within the app did particularly impress those who visited the stand. While focusing on the features at launch, we were also able to give hints as to the exciting developments coming up in 2020 and beyond. Paul gave two talks in the Demo Theatre, introducing Name & Place and our concept beyond the app. A special memory and something that demonstrated what RootsTech is all about, was having so many of the younger generation visiting the stand and showing genuine interest in the software and what we’re able to do with the project data.

The team is busy working on the final details before our launch at the end of November. Register now on our website to access a free evaluation copy to try before you buy and take advantage of our special show offer.