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In Part 1 we noted some of the reasons to use WorldConnect (WC) as an off-site backup of your genealogical data. We will now look at how to control what data is viewable by others online.

To make this work, you will NOT want to use the GEDCOM creation process to limit the information that goes into the GEDCOM file. Any information you choose to leave out as you create the GEDCOM file will not be available if you have to use it as a backup. Use the WC controls to limit the information that is displayed to those searching for your ancestors.

The following WC settings under Living Persons Options are important:

1. Set the cut off year high enough to eliminate the oldest living person in your collection. 1900 should be sufficient for all databases. (NOTE: Make sure that everyone in your database that might still be living has a birth date listed, even if you have to estimate it.)
2. Remove Notes may be important if you have entered personal or controversial information about someone in your database. This option can be set to affect the living or everyone in the database.
3. Remove Sources will normally not be necessary unless you don’t want others to see the notes you have entered into your source citations.
4. The Process Events as Notes field allows you display special events that you have created. For example, you may have created events for Census information on individuals rather than put that information into Sources or Notes.
5. The Other tags to treat as notes field, by default includes tags for LDS ordinances and some others. Leaving these allows this information to be included as notes for the individual. If you don’t want these displayed, cut & paste them to the Tags to Remove field.
6. Use the Individuals to Remove field to add the identifying numbers, which are assigned in your genealogy program, for other individuals that should not be viewable online. You can identify the ID number of an individual in WC on the line above the name, when you display the individual page. These numbers begin with a capital I, which must be included. Place one ID number on each line. For example, you may want to remove the spouse and the children from that union because it may give offense to some family members to have that data displayed.

When you’ve made all your selections, complete the process and your GEDCOM file will be uploaded. The resulting screen will change to indicate that the upload is complete and the data is available for view. Your data is now viewable for you and others to whom you send the link at this time. The data you sent will not be searchable until the database is reindexed. This is usually done every one or two days. This gives you some time to view the data and see if your selections worked the way you expected them to. If they did not, you can go back and change the criteria as often as you want, until it’s the way you want it to be.

None of these changes affect the GEDCOM file you uploaded, only what is visible online.

Additional details are located on the WC Help Pages at http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/wcindex.html.