Research on a Single Screen
Using a laptop to work with records is possible with a couple of tricks
While I love the big screen monitor that my husband bought (Hello 36-inch screen!), there are many times when I have to rely on the single screen of my Macbook Pro. I may be doing research away from the house, or perhaps I need to catch up on Outlander episodes take a break from my office chair and spend some time next to my husband on the couch while finishing a post. For example, like right now, as I write this.
In terms of screen space, a laptop combined with my need to increase font size as I age are incrementally making it important to find ways to accommodate for them during my genealogy research. In this post I am going to be talking about how I use two of Microsoft Edge’s features that help me as I both compare and transcribe records and record data into WikiTree. Please note that I am writing about my experience on a MacBook with Edge but that I am relatively sure that you can find these or similar features in whatever browser you use. If not, you could always switch! Additionally, you will note that I prefer to have the tabs in my browser on the right edge rather than the top. Once again, seems to offer me more screen real estate.
The first feature is called Split Screen. It appears on the icon bar at the top as a box with a line vertically through the center.
One you click on that icon you will see another window open to the right of your current screen. If you would like to adjust how big each screen is horizontally, you can hover over the edge between them until a double-sided arrow appears. Once that is visible click and drag to adjust the size of each one.
Once this window is open you can go to any URL that you need to. As you can see, you can use this particular feature for almost anything you might need to use two different webpages. For example, in the image below, I am comparing my WikiTree family tree to a book on archive.org (an absolute gem of a resource which I will write about later).
In the above shot, you can also see the two separate URLs in the address bar, as well as at the very top, the name of the page I am currently “focused” on, currently the book on the right-hand side. To switch focus simply click your mouse anywhere inside the window you wish to interact with. In the example below, I can look at sources on FamilySearch to add a profile to WikiTree.
Sometimes it is helpful to actually open the window into full screen. On the top right corner of each screen, when you move your mouse you will see both an “X” (to close that screen), as well as 3 dots. Open 3 dots and you get the following menu which is fairly self-explanatory.
Finally, a couple of notes about using Split Screen. It makes copy/paste functions between windows so much easier. That said, browser extensions do not seem to work while in a split screen. If like me, you use the WikiTree Sourcer, you will need to have a separate tab for that. However, for comparisons and copying information to be added into another webpage, this is a helpful feature.
The second feature in MS Edge that I am starting to use more is “Workspaces”.
Workspaces are simply collections of webpages that you want to group together. Any webpages, and seemingly any number. As I’ve increased my work in projects on WikiTree, my writing and my own research into my family, I have increasingly wished for a way to just open my browser to exactly where I left off last time in terms of a particular project. As you can see in the list below, I currently have 4 Workspaces set up: Tuttle Research, Corinne WT, Watchlist Weevils, and Mark/McCurdy Genealogy.
Clicking on a Workspace will open a new window with all the webpages collected in that space. Whatever changes you make to the collection of tabs (opening or closing windows, changes on a particular page, etc.) will be maintained when you close the set. For example, when I click on the Workspace Tuttle research, it opened up 7 tabs, 2 of which were just new windows. I closed those tabs, and now my Tuttle research Workspace shows 5 tabs in the menu.
To add a Workspace, click on the plus in the circle in the top right of the menu, and to delete a Workspace click on the 2 dots to the right of the name. This simple feature in Edge allows me to take up right where I left off the last time I was working on a family or project.
Are there any tricks that work for you while researching your family? Share them below and let us know!
Hi. Hadn’t realised you could do split screen on a Mac laptop. I’m used to it on an iPad. I really enjoy reading about your toolkit.
I didn't know that Edge could do all of this - so now I'm planning to explore it later today! Many thanks for the tips!