Recently I was teaching a genealogy online class, and one of the students was stumped because the class materials said to use the Advanced search link on Google.com. She stopped worked and posted that she couldn't do it because the link wasn't there.

In today's constantly changing online environment it's essential that we nurture and use our problem solving skills. I totally get that it can be frustrating to visit a familiar website or refer to something in a book (or a class!) and find that things are not as they used to be. In this case, Google removed the "Advanced Search" link from the Web Search and Image Search home pages. 

However, if we come to expect change then we won't have to be quite so surprised and frustrated when we run into it. And of course in most cases that change is really an attempt by the website to improve and evolve, although that can seem debatable when it's something you enjoy or depend on.

When you run up against change, you are better equipped than most to deal with it. As Genealogists the sleuthing skills we have honed become our greatest assets!

The quickest way to determine what's going on when something changes online (which again can happen nearly every day) is to "just Google It!"

After reading the student's message, that's exactly what I did, because I didn't have the answer on the top of my head either! 

So I went to Google.com and searched on the phrase I suspected other frustrated Googlers would post in a 'Help' message forum: google advanced search no longer on home page. 

The results quickly led me to the answer: At both the Image Search page (google.com/imghp) and the Web search page (www.google.com) the Advanced Search has been moved to "Settings." Simply click "Settings" in the bottom right corner and you will find "Advanced Search" there as one of the options.

The good news is if we have noticed the change, chances are others are already talking about it online, and often will have already shared the answer. "Just Googling It" is often the easiest way to determine what's going on, so that you can get on with your family history work.