Use collections in Explore Historical Images

Article Id: 27248
October 17, 2024
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Explore Historical Images is where you can see the most up-to-date collection of record images on FamilySearch. Most often, you search the images by place and use filters to narrow the search results. You can also search for collections of similar documents. Explore Historical Images provides 3 ways to find the document collections.

All instructions are for the FamilySearch website. Explore Historical Images is not available on the mobile app or on Family Tree Lite.

Collection Title

When you know the title or keywords in the title, use the Collection Title search option. Every search is an exact search, meaning that the system looks for the exact words you enter in the order you enter them.

  1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org.
  2. Near the top of the screen, click Search and then click Images.
  3. Below the Explore Historical Images banner, find New to Explore Images?.
  4. Click in the Collection Title field and enter your search terms.
  5. As you type, collection titles appear. Click a title.
  6. You see a list of image group numbers included in the collection.
    1. To browse images, click an image group number.
    2. To add more filters, click Refine Search.

If the system does not find an exact match, you see Browse all Collections instead of collection titles.

Help Me Find a Collection

Start with a place and add information as you look for a collection.

  1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org
  2. Near the top of the screen, click Search and then click Images.
  3. Below the Explore Historical Images banner, find New to Explore Images?.
  4. Click Help Me Find a Collection.
  5. Enter a place in the search bar. As you type, standardized versions of the place appear. Click the standardized place.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. Optional: If available, you can limit the results to a place within the place you entered. Click the down arrow and click a place in the list. Click Continue. Alternatively, keep the place as you entered it and click Skip to Date.
  8. Optional: Enter a date and click Continue. Alternatively, leave the date field blank and click Skip to Life Event.
  9. Optional: In the Life Event field, click the down arrow and click an option. Click View Results. Or leave the Life Event as All and click View Results.

Search Results
Results default to a grid view. You see information about each collection:

  • The collection title
  • The number of image groups in the collection
  • The number of images in the collection
  • The percentage of the images that are indexed
  • A link to browse the images
  • For indexed or partially indexed collections, a link to search the indexed records.

To switch to a list view, in the upper right portion of the screen, click the list icon. The list view shows information about each collection:

  • The collection title
  • The number of images in the collection
  • The percentage of the images that are indexed
  • The record types in the collection
  • The creator of the records—in cases where all of the images are from the same source
  • For indexed or partially indexed collections, a magnifying glass icon

Browse Images

  1. For the collection of interest, click Browse Images.
  2. You see a list of image group numbers included in the collection.
  3. Click an Image Group Number

To further refine the results, click Refine Search.

Search Indexed Records

  1. For the collection of interest, click Search Indexed Records.
  2. Enter your search terms, and click Search.

Browse All Collections

You can see a list of all of the image collections.

  1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org
  2. Near the top of the screen, click Search and then click Images.
  3. Below the Explore Historical Images banner, find New to Explore Images?.
  4. Click Browse All Collections.
  5. Collections display in alphabetical order by collection title.
  6. To filter the list, in the upper right portion of the screen, click Filters. Apply as many filters as you want.
    1. Keyword
    2. Life Events
    3. Place
    4. Dates
  7. Click Update.
  8. Click a collection title.
  9. You see all of the image groups included in the collection.
  10. To filter the results, click Refine Search.
  11. Click an Image Group Number and browse the images.

This tip will help you filter collections for records such as census records that cover an entire country. In the following example, you want to find the Canada census for the year 1931:Keyword: Enter census
Place: Click Canada. If you see a list of subcategories, click All Canada.
Dates: Click in the circle to the left of 1900-1949.

Search tips for historical records
How do I find an image in an unindexed collection in Historical Records?

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