Here you will find examples and instructions for using the free web-based app Notion in family history.
Notion is a productivity and note-taking application, that can help you plan and organise your family history research. It has both free and paid options, but the free version is sufficient for the uses described here.
Notion is highly customisable, which means there are almost unlimited ways you could use it. The articles and instructions on this website will give you an idea of the potential of Notion for family history, and teach you some of the basics to get you started. If you decide to use it, you can then learn how to customise and change it to build a workspace that suits your own needs.
Key information
The Notion website is www.notion.com
You can install Notion on both Windows and Mac operating systems.
You can install it on an unlimited number of devices and sync the content.
As it is web-based, you can also link your Notion workspace to online resources and integrate it with some other web-based apps (such as Google docs).
The basics of Notion
The basic units of Notion are Pages. Create content within Pages using Blocks.
You can create Databases to organise and summarise Pages. You also place Databases on a Page.
Articles
Read more about this tool in my blog articles. This is a work in progress, please check back for more articles soon.
- Why Notion helps your family history
- Getting started using Notion in family history – Download the app, create a Home Page, learn some shortcuts.
- Manage family history projects with Notion How to set up your family history databases and add some projects.
- Develop your family history projects in Notion by adding macro buttons, tasks, research questions and notes pages, and assigning these to the appropriate project.
- Family history macro buttons in Notion
- Plan your family history in Notion How to use Notion to create a master family history research plan which is linked to your research notes. How to generate a list of high priority research tasks, and shortcuts to your favourite projects and notes.
- Manage your family history blog using Notion Notion is a great project management tool. It is not just useful in planning your research, you can also use it to write articles about your research. Here are two ways that you can manage a family history blog using Notion.
- Manage source citations in Notion How to create a source citations database and link citations to your Notes pages
- Collect family history resources in Notion Learn how to create a Resources Page in Notion to keep your family history workspace organised with tools, templates, checklists, examples and shortcuts.
- How to build a genealogy timeline in Notion (with linked views) In this post, I show you why a timeline in Notion is useful, how it complements Excel, and how to build one yourself.
- Customising pages in Notion for family history (coming soon)
- Notion tips and ideas for family history (coming soon)
- Family history tasks and questions in Notion (coming soon)
- Family history notes in Notion (coming soon)