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The NGS 2016 app is now available. Here’s how to customize your conference experience by adding the free Genealogy Gems booth sessions to your schedule.

Those attending the National Genealogical Society conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on May 4-7 will find the new NGS 2016 app enormously helpful. With it, you can:

• keep up-to-the-minute with conference news,
• connect with other attendees,
• build a personalized schedule for sessions you want to attend,
• find exhibitors (we’re in the Genealogy Gems booth #228!),
• take notes and download handouts and presentations, and
• comment on the sessions you attend.

Here’s how to set it up.

First, click here to download the NGS 2016 app, which is available for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and web-enabled devices. You don’t need to be registered already for NGS to download and use the app. Here’s the NGS app home screen:

Tap “My Schedule” to add official NGS classes to your custom calendar. For example, you can add my Thursday 4:00 pm session, “How to Follow and Envision Your Ancestor’s Footprints Through Time with Google Earth” or Friday 9:30 am session, “Ultimate Google Search Strategies For Genealogy 2.0.”

You can also add the extra, FREE classes being taught at the Genealogy Gems theater in the Exhibitor Hall, which include my own and those of my NGS 2016 special guests:

You won’t find these listed in the app under “My Schedule,” but you can still add them to your custom calendar. Here’s how.

From the home screen, tap “Exhibitors.” On the exhibitor screen you can tap “L” for Lisa or search any part of the name in the search box. Here’s the easiest way to find us: search Gems.

Tap our listing to get more details. Tap the star button in the left column (image below) to bookmark us as one of your favorites. (And yes, you’re one of our favorites, too!)

Tap the settings icon (3 horizontal lines) and you can Filter by Bookmarks (image below.)

Now add the free sessions you want to choose. It’s easy to do. From our exhibitor screen, tap the MySchedule icon. (Be sure to do this from our exhibit screen rather than the home screen because it’s going to save you a lot of typing. You’ll thank me!)

When you tap MySchedule (image above), the screen below will pop up. Perhaps you’d really like to learn how to use Evernote for genealogy. Terrific, because I’ll be teaching that class on Wednesday, May 4 at 1:15 PM in the Genealogy Gems booth in the Exhibitor Hall. Let’s add it to your calendar.

Simply tap TITLE and start typing. The location is conveniently already linked (see, I told you that you would save time using this method!). Tap the date and use the scroll menu to select the exact time and date of the class. Wrap it all up by adding the length: our classes are 30 minutes. You’ve even got a spot to add your own Notes.

When you’re all done, tap DONE. And there you go! Beginner Evernote is now on your schedule at 1:15 PM.

Now tap the Plus sign again and add the Advanced Evernote class. (You know you want to!)

I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible at NGS 2016! Click here to see all the Genealogy Gems events at NGS 2016–and the free swag you can win. See you there!