* Find My Past pale hints

[Johnr65]

Sometimes their hints appear but are hardly readable-is there any reason for this? I have a sub to FMP so really shouldn't be a membership problem.

[tatewise]

Please attach a screenshot John so we can see your problem.

[rabble]

I too have had hints appear that are hardly readable but have found that if I close the property box the hints then become readable.

[Johnr65]

Attached screen shot which is better than some I've seen!
Also when I log into fmp on fh, it doesn't remember it for the next time!

[tatewise]

John, you do not need to insert the screenshot into a document, just attach the image (JPG/PNG) file.

What is the problem? Is that they are a little pale and greyed out?

Does the cog Menu > Default Text Size > Biggest help?

Try the refresh button (blue circular arrow to left of address bar).

Does opening in external browser help?

When you Sign in do you tick the Remember me next session option?

[Johnr65]

I use fh and fmp in combination, usually when researching on fmp it's the 1939 register in another tab but on fh I look at their 'hints' which don't include the 1939 and that is when I sometimes find that the 'hints' are greyed out such that they are unreadable, I press 'new' and makes no difference!
As yet I'm not senile thankfully and so I always tick the Remember me next session box but it doesn't work!

[tatewise]

John, there is an aspect of this you may be unaware of.

When you Sign In to FMP in your preferred browser I suspect it is NOT Internet Explorer but Firefox or Chrome, etc. That Sign In has no affect on the Sign In status of FH because Sign In sessions are specific to one browser, one Windows account, and one PC.

The FH internal Web Search window only uses Internet Explorer (it is not possible to use anything else).
You must Sign In to FMP using Internet Explorer externally, or via the Web Search window in FH and tick Remember me next session.
I suspect then that the FMP hint pages in FH will display OK.

[Johnr65]

Why do these organisations use IE-it's useless and full of security problems. It doesn't do 'copy and paste', so out of choice I use Opera which is very fast and does all I need.

[AdrianBruce]

Why do these organisations use IE ...

In these cases, because it's the browser internal to Windows. Microsoft have to include an HTML rendering engine, etc., otherwise the OS would be unable to show an HTML page without downloading another component. It would be like not including Notepad and telling everyone that they must go and find a text file editor themselves. Or, here's your new PC - by the way, you do realise you've got to go out and buy your own keyboard?

Providing alternatives to the internal browser / HTML renderer is, I suspect, very non-trivial, given it's such a low-level feature.

In this case, the answer is simple - set FH to use your External Web Browser for Internet Data Matches.

[tatewise]

Organisations have little choice. Although not strictly IE, it is the IE Shell rendering engine, that is easiest and most stable for programs to use. Anything else would rely upon support from another organisation, but would never satisfy everyone's preferred choice.

[Johnr65]

Attached another screen shot of a really poor hint series. I don't know how to do jpg images!

[tatewise]

John, you must 'know how to do jpg images' because you have inserted an image into your Word doc.
Instead of selecting and inserting that image into Word, just attach that image file via the Upload attachment dialogue in the same way you do the Word doc.

What is a bit odd about the hints is that it says Unknown top right, even though the Date of Birth is known and there is a hint for a Birth Certificate.

What happens when you open the web address in an external browser (including IE itself)?

What is the IE FMP login status?

[Johnr65]

I don't use IE myself, preferring Opera and even Chrome sometimes. Epic is a good browser too for ad free browsing and no tracking.
I usually have fmp open in Opera anyway to check 1939 register with no problems.

[tatewise]

Yes John, but as has been said before, FH has no option but to use IE in its internal Web Search window, so your FMP sign-in status in IE will impact the internal Web Search window.

Have you tried the alternative of choosing an external browser for FH to use?
See Tools > Preferences > Internet Data Matches > Location to Display Matches = External Web Browser.

[gerrynuk]

I'm getting the same problem even when I'm signed in. But sometimes - not always - maximising the window clears the "fog".

[Johnr65]

I'll try your suggestion, Mike, thank you.

[Johnr65]

That suggestion worked superbly Mike.