Q. When I find an entry through a search on WorldConnect, the entries always have an ID number. What is the significance of the ID number and where does it come from?

A. Individual entries in a family tree file you find at WorldConnect have ID numbers that are assigned by the genealogy program that created the file. The purpose of the ID number is to identify a specific individual within a file. No two ID numbers in a specific family tree are the same, although the same ID numbers will appear in other files. Because the ID number of an individual within a file is unique it can be used to help you locate the record of an individual in that file, but it cannot be used to locate a file itself.

To locate a file you need to know the user code for the account. If you know the user code and the ID number for the individual you wish to find, use this formula to locate the page on which you will find that individual.
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=usercode&id=xxxx

Replace the word "usercode" with the actual user code for the account and replace xxxx with the ID number for the individual to arrive at the URL (address) where this entry may be found. Caution is advised in copying ID numbers because they often begin with the capital letter "I" which easily can be misinterpreted as the number "1."

You will find the ID number for an entry in a WorldConnect file on the individual record page, which is displayed when you click on a name listed in the index of a file. See:
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/wcresults5.html

When you add a Post-em Note to an individual's record in a file, the Post-em attaches to the entry by means of the ID number for that individual. For more information see:
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/postem1.html

RootsWeb Review's WorldConnect Tip-of-the-Week Storehouse:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~review/tips/index.html

RootsWeb's Guide to Tracing Family Trees Using Technology to Dig up Roots:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson3.htm




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