It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated the spreadsheet in a major sort of way. Part of the issue I’ve ran into over the last year has been so many new babies. Actually, many not here yet, but some here and some on the way. Soooo…how do you display 100+ relatives with relational groupings efficiently, while still allowing for updating and editing of information? A lot of friggin’ work, that’s how. It’s been a several month process, but hopefully the new sheet will address several pain points and allow for easier updates and access.
Patch and Update
Family tree
Export
First up…put a band-aid on the original spreadsheet. It was starting to get confusing to keep up with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. So…we’ve got some fancy colors and borders to help with that. For now.
Next up…build the family tree so we can explicitly show familial relationships. I’m a visual person…I like seeing relationships and find it easier to wrap my head around versus a spreadsheet. Fun part about the tree…I can keep track of major milestones like weddings, graduations, etc.
Lastly…export the data from the original sheet and build out a new sheet directly accessible from the website while addressing pain points along the way. Once complete the sheet will be accessible via the site, adds and updates can be done in one place, and it will be exportable for address books.
What’s changing?
So, what will change with the sheet? Functionally…a lot.
Sheet Access
Previously (and a common pain point), the sheet would be accessed through the Schleicher Homepage but was hosted on my Synology NAS. Access required a password that either required an email to me, or successful completion of a security challenge. Since not all of us share and have the same traditions anymore, these questions are not as well-known as they used to be. Sheet access will transition over to the Schleicher Homepage and will require individual accounts with user-created passwords.
Structure
Familial relationships (for those interested) are shifting to the family tree. Families will still be grouped on the sheet, but color-coding will disappear, and families will be grouped primarily by last name and address.
Sheet updates
Any updates to the sheet will be made directly on the site. Click a line to highlight and then just hit the edit button at the top of the sheet or “New entry” to add a new line. The sheet populates from database, so multiple people can update at the same time but information changed by other users won’t update until page reload. Likewise, only one record can be updated at a time (no bulk updates).
Sheet Additions and Households
No more goofy permissions issues; just hit “New entry” and add away. That being said, just make sure to tag the 1st generation Schleicher sibling for any new entry, and which household the new entry belongs to. Households are just a way to filter the sheet to family groups (usually under the same address).
Member search
Since the sheet is in a database it is now fully searchable by any text string (e.g., street name, state, etc.). Note that the search will respect any filters applied, so if you filtered it down to a Schleicher sibling that lives in Georgia but are searching for Virginia…you’ll have to reset the filters first.
Additionally, you’ll be able to export to CSV or Excel directly from the page to edit or import into online address books. I’ve based the underlying structure on Shutterfly expectations, but you may need to match the fields on import.
How to access
Once all the pieces are in place the sheet will be accessed in the same location as the previous sheet (https://family.schleicher.social/#spreadsheet). The key change is that you will need a individual site account to access the sheet. The shared password will no longer be valid for the new sheet (it will remain valid for the old sheet until it is phased out). This is again to fix pain points associated with needing to access the sheet and not having the shared password. Accounts and passwords will be user-created and will function just like any other typical site account.
Importantly, the sheet is brand new and may be a little buggy (hopefully not since I’ve had a chance to work out most of the bugs and conflicts). If you run across something that doesn’t seem quite right or doesn’t work the way it should, email me, send a message through the site (My Account→Profile→Members), or comment on this post.
Author: Zack
Pharmacist, tech guy, gamer, fixer. Good at a little bit of everything.
