Here are answers to FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions - about matters affecting the Society or its products.
If there is a question that you would like to see answered here please send it to.

Berkshire 1851 Census CD

What is on the Berkshire 1851 census CD? Feb 2002

When I place my mouse curser on the screen an information box pops up ...useful the first time, after that it becomes really boring how do I turn it off? July 2003

When I do a search a box comes up proudly announcing there are "x" items and then sits there waiting for me to press a button ...presumably I am stuck with this?

I am really irritated by the "do you really want to exit?" dialog.

CDs published by BerksFHS

Why cannot I read a CD published by BerksFHS? Feb 2002

Payment

I live outside the UK. How can I pay for items I buy from the BerksFHS? Feb 2002

Membership

I have renewed my membership but not received my new Membership Card. July 2003

Faulty Goods

What do I do if an item I buy from the BerksFHS is faulty? Feb 2002

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Berkshire 1851 Census CD.

When I place my mouse curser on the screen an information box pops up ... useful the first time, after that it becomes really boring how do I turn it off?

Go to Help

No you are not!

What is on the Berkshire 1851 census CD?

response by Phil Wood - Berks Census Transcription Coordinator

The Berks 1851 Census CD holds indexed transcripts for ALL of 1851 Berkshire. It also has a small amount of data for adjoining parishes or part parishes.

Simplistically this is what is generally known as "old Berkshire" and includes the parts lost to Oxfordshire in 1974.

1851 Berkshire was the result of fairly major changes in 1844 (or was that 1846?) and remained pretty constant until 1974.  You will find birthplaces in the transcript that reflect  the 1840 era boundaries - like Langford, Berks or Shinfield, Wilts - which can be confusing!

The CD will contain a gazetteer and mapping features that will help with the basics of Berkshire geography - but several of us at Berks FHS also have the dream of a far more extensive gazetteer of "Berkshire over the years" which would show the changing face of Berkshire.  A lot of work is involved before we can get that out!

The best basic reference is sadly out of print - "Berkshire Historical Atlas" edited by Joan Dils for the Berkshire Record Society.  We are campaigning for a reprint!  If you can get to the Research Centre it is available for reference.

The transcript is in the order in which the census was originally listed and shows each dwelling by address with the occupants listed by surname, first name, relationship to head, marital status, age, occupation and town of birth.

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Why cannot I read a CD published by BerksFHS?

response by Phil Wood - Berks FHS CD support

Many of our CDs are read using Acrobat Reader (v5 or later). You may experience a problem if your PC contains an old version of the Acrobat Reader (vers. 4 or earlier). You may get an error message saying that Acrobat Reader is unable to decrypt files.

Version 5.1 certainly has the capability to decrypt and read the data. However it does not install itself as the default reader for PDF files - which is bizarre as it is the only reason to install it.

If you have installed Acrobat Reader 5.1 then I suggest you try running Acrobat Reader 5.1 first (there should be an icon installed on your desktop). Once the Reader is running it might be worth checking that it is version 5.1 (use the taskbar menu item  "Help", then "About Acrobat Reader").

Then use the File / Open (or use the Open icon at the left of the taskbar) and navigate to your CD drive and select the file BERKSBI and open it.

Hopefully this will then give you full access to the data!

If this works you then need to decide whether to remove the old Acrobat Reader from your system. There is no advantage to keeping it but removing it can remove bits of other Adobe programs at the same time! It will remove the Acrobat Reader 5.1 you have just installed (so you will need to re-install it) and, if you use Adobe Acrobat (full Program-Writer as well as Reader) or Acrobat PDFMaker you need may need to re-install these after removing the Acrobat Reader.  My installations of Abobe Illustrator and Photoshop functioned after removing Acrobat Reader and installing version 5.1.

To remove Acrobat Reader you need to use the Add/Remove Programs program from the Windows "Control Panel".  This will remove all versions of Acrobat Reader, so you will need to install Acrobat Reader 5.1 again - when all should finally be well!

The simple alternative to removing Acrobat Reader 4 is to modify the "file association" that links pdf files to version 4 and change it to point at version 5.1. Whilst I can readily tell you how to do this under Windows 98 I am afraid I would need to check my facts before instructing you how to do it using another Windows version.  If you want help then let me know which version of Windows you are using and I well get back to you.

If you have any problems with this process please do not hesitate to get in touch - by email to.  We can also demonstrate the processes if you care to drop into our Research Centre off Castle Hill in Reading any Tuesday evening between 7 and 9:30 when we have IT experts on hand to help with any problems like these.

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I live outside the UK. How can I pay for items or services I buy from BerksFHS?

response by the Webmaster

Payment may be made in sterling (GB pounds) by cheque, money order or postal order.

We also accept dollar cheques drawn on your own bank account from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. (A minimum order of £10 is required for non-sterling payments.) See further details which includes links to Currency Conversion Sites.

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I have renewed my membership but not received my new Membership Card.

What do I do if an item I buy from the BerksFHS is faulty?

In the first instance contact us by eMail tooras appropriate explaining the problem. You should expect a response within 5 days. If you have no response by that time contact.

If you still have no satisfactory response then write to the Chairman at:
BerksFHS Research Centre, Yeomanry House, 131 Castle Hill, READING, RG1 7TJ, United Kingdom.

We would normally expect to replace faulty goods and, under the Sale Of Goods Act, accept back goods for a full refund which are not 'fit for purpose' provided they are still in the condition we supplied them. CDs will not be accepted for refund if the cellophane cover has been opened.

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