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General => Technical Help => Family History Programs, Tree Organisation, Presentation => Topic started by: sammidav on Sunday 06 March 05 19:00 GMT (UK)
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Hi All,
Now I've got quite a lot of information in my family tree I am getting lost amongst it?
Can anyone recommend any software? Have been looking but the reviews seem to conflict!
Also could anyone tell me how much useful information would be in family Tree maker which says it features 5 UK Data CDs; English Parish Records, Scottish Parish Records, 1851 Census (selected Records), British Chancery Vol.1 & Vol. 2
Thanks
Sam
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To answer your questions in order
1. Everybody has their own personal favourite piece of software and there are several threads in Rootschat on this very topic ... my own favourite is "Family Historian"
2. If the contents of these disks are comparible to the ones given away on other "collections" then the answer is that they would be of limited use ..... that said if you decide to go for that program look upon these disks as a bonus NOT the reason for choosing the program
(a personal opinion only)
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Hello Sam,
I bought the Family Tree Maker version you mention before Christmas, and so far have found nothing on the extra CD's of use. The month's free trial on Ancestry, however, was really useful. The program itself is great; it is easy to use and gives you various report/tree options to view your work.
Whatever you decide to buy I would advise you to shop around, I bought mine on eBay in a rush of excitement thinking I had found a bargain price - £35 - and have since seen it for £20.
It may also be worth your while to investigate some trial options on software packages to see what you are comfortable with. A number of packages were reviewed in ComputerActive magazine last year (article is here http://www.computeractive.co.uk/features/1159331) which may also help you decide.
Once you start keep a backup - it would break my heart to lose all my info now ;)
Hope this helps.
Stephanie.
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Hello,
Can anyone recommend a good genealogy database please? I've had a look around, and as usual theres way too much choice. I looked at ancestrys 'family tree maker', but don't want one that links and searches the net, just a basic database to organized the chaos of my research. Any help greatfully appreciated.
regards,
andy coltman
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Hi Andy
Its worth picking up a copy of a family history magazine witha disc that contains a few trial copies of software, so you can try before you buy. I tried The Master Genealogist - a very complex but powerful package, but I didn't give it the time to really get to know it. It seemed to import my GEDCOM from GenesReunited quite seamlessly, however.
cheers
Paul
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Cheers for the advice Paul. Just checked out the magazine site and theres a version of 'rootsmagic 2' trial to download.
regards,
andy
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Hi Andy
I used to use The Master Genealogist but like Paul says its pretty complex but very good. Just recently I decided to buy a new programme and also tried the trial version of Rootsmagic and thought it was really good. I bought it and have found it very easy to use and does everything that I need well worth buying.
Fiona
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Thanks Floss, just playing with rootsmagic2 trial at the moment, but it only accepts 50 names in demo. Will look at the other facilities it has to offer, but this looks fine for what I need.
many thanks,
andy
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Hi Andy,
Your question is a bit like asking which car should I buy (how long is a piece of string ...).
I use TMG (The Master Genealogist) and wouldn't dream of using anything else. But that's me!
And most programs - like most cars - are good, all have the basic requirements, and all certainly do the basic job (just as all cars tend to get one from A to B). But are you after a bubble car, a family runabout, a 4WD, a Rolls, a Lamborghini or whatever. Do you want a program where you can relax while it tells you what to do - or one where you need to be alert and over which you have almost complete control?
It's probably not a bad idea to start with a free program - like PAF which you can download from the FamilySearch site. And also have a look at the many free demo programs which one can try. Put a sample (say 100 max) of your people into a few programs, play around with each program, and see what you think of how comfortable you are with the program.
Good luck,
JAP
PS: And, if later you decide you need a more powerful program (albeit it is a bit complex) you can always move to TMG knowing that you will almost certainly be able to import virtually all of your data into it via TMG's GenBridge - not just the limited data in a GEDCOM but virtually all of your data.
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Legacy 5.0 is a free download from the legacy website. Although it is American, it seems to do much of what is required. You can always upgrade to the later version if you like that one.
Grothenwell
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Try a free download of Family Historian only a demo programme, I currently use Rootsmagic, and it is very easy to use, I like the style of entry and search, but It's not so hot on producing the "tree" print out.
I'm thinking of the FH that seems to have an excellent tree output.....
Newbie
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oops forgot the link to Family Historian
http://www.family-historian.co.uk/downloads/index.htm
sorry
Newbie
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A note of caution!
I bought the original version of Family Tree Maker when Broderbund made it.
I obtained a free upgrade disk from a family tree magazine, but after a trial period it expired.
So far, so predictable.
The disk offered a bargain upgrade from Ancestry who now own the thing. I decided that I liked most of the Features and agreed to pay $29 to upgrade.
No sooner had I paid with my flexible friend, than the site directed me to their "shop" where the same product was offered - for $19!!!!!!!
I complained to Ancestry but did not recieve the courtesy of a reply.
BE VERY CAREFUL - I am sure they are not the only ones, so check prices before parting with cash.
kind regards, Arranroots ;)
p.s. I am quite happy with the product, just would have preferred to pay less!
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wise man say check everything first..
oh how frustrating Arranroots.
I noticed in the FRC shop on Saturday that FH is £49.95, and I found it just now for £39.95 I think ??? on one site, and £42 on another.....
Newbie
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I've just changed over the The Master Genealogist and like it.
The standard layout seems logical. You can see virtually everything about a person on screen at once. Events in their life, parents, children, and siblings are all to hand. Double-clicking on a name in any window changes to the same view centred on that person.
It has forced me to put some structure into my record keeping. There was a fair bit of editing after my conversion from a very cheap and cheerful product (Family Tree Creator), but I'm now happy with things. Shows how bad I'd got!
It seems to make loads of tasks easier - the old product forced you to enter both parents longhand, TMG suggests the other parent for you.
They do a 30-day trial, which is actually the full version. You can unlock if you decide to buy, you don't need to download again.
Do look out though - the "Silver edition" doesn't do some things that ought to be standard. For example, you can't print a chart of ancestors - the traditional "family tree".
For those interested, it's written in Microsoft Visual Foxpro, which uses a well-tested database engine.
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Hi Andrew,
I am a TMG aficionado - probably no-one on RC more so.
But it would be less than honest not to admit that occasionally one runs into problems with MS FoxPro (hmm - MS ...). But, even if FoxPro very occasionally crashes, TMG is so robust that data is not lost - TMG is great.
Incidentally, I understand that with TMG one can - if one wishes or if it means anything to one (doesn't to me) - look behind the scenes at the actual programming and do with it what one will 8) Endless flexibility - though this does add a degree of complexity ;)
TMG is (properly) recognised as the most powerful genealogical program there is - it is certainly the tops for me though not everyone wants to drive the top of the range car (sorry that should be program ;D).
JAP
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Way back in 1998 I got Family Tree Maker 3 which I still use and am very happy with, though I now have 1600 names on it and it crashes if I cut and paste text into it ???
I liked all the charts (ancestor, descendant tree), but this old version wouldn't allow me to do much with the trees.
Time to upgrade............
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casliber,
Your choice!
I have about 12,000 names in my program (TMG) - I'm sure many RootsChatters have much larger numbers.
Can only repeat - it's not a matter of what is best (how long is a piece of string) but of what is best for YOU!
Cheers,
JAP
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12000 !?!? - wow............ :o
Cas
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I've also used Family Historian for the last year and found it very easy. Again there are the "behind the scenes" customising that you can do to create your own queries, diagrams and reports as well as lots of standard ones.
One of the big advantages for me is the User Group which has its own site and list and excellent support. It is constantly being worked on and improvements made, and since I bought it there have been I think, three upgrades, none of which were charged for.
Definitely check around for prices though, I bought from Amazon for considerably cheaper than the Family History Fairs were charging.
Mary
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I use a program called Great Family. I got it a few years ago on a (computer) mag cover disc as a trial version, and then paid my $30 for the licence.
The interface on Great Family is very user-friendly, you can add loads of pictures, it generates web pages (which I use locally as a quick reference tool), and also produces a complete Tree in Flash.
The one area which is missing for me is a narrative style output .
I keep thinking there's something better, but have not taken the plunge yet. Family Historian looks good, but I'd miss my local web pages from Great Family.
JULIAN
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That's true Julian, although FH does produce the narrative reports, as yet there isn't the option to export to html, although I believe this may be on the wish-list. That's why I've used Gedmill which did only take about 2 minutes to produce the website.
More time was taken uploading it to the webspace about 10-15 minutes as each of the trees are a separate gif file, I don't know whether other programmes are quicker.
Mary
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Hi Mary
Did you use Gedmill 1.5 or 1.5Pro?
Does Gedmill generate the site's index page, or can you use another index page and then link to the gedmill-created pages?
Seems like its not a bad little package, after looking at your site.
cheers
Paul
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genopro is an excellent program for gedcom to HTML conversion ..... only one of its attributes and while the full commercial version may not appeal to everybody I've been trying the beta version for the new version which has not been publicly announced http://www.genopro.com/beta/ and is available for a free download.
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Hi,
could anyone advise me as to which family tree maker 2005 would be the best buy??
I have looked on the internet & there appears to be many editions ranging from £20 to £70 +?
Is it wise to spash out & buy the most expensive with all the additional cd's attached or should I stick to the less expensive, probably making it easier to understand, (I need something fairly straight forward!!)?
I would like to purchase the most comprehensible. Could anyone advise me??
Many thanks - JH
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Hello JH
FTM 2005 is easy peasy to understand. I upgraded from one of the original editions, so not sure what the differences are in the newer offerings, but my advice would be: if you are not researching in the US, you can probably manage without all the CDs!
I think i am right in saying 2006 has just been issued - not sure that the extra bells and whistles are worth it there either - it appears to be the addition of colour to your charts.
Have a good look and either get hold of a sample disk for one or more programs that you are considering or download a trial version if possible.
Best of luck!
Arranroots ;)
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Dear all
I found this interesting item on "Top Ten Reviews" (from the USA). It is a review of ten genealogy programs, and quite comprehensive in looking at the ten chosen proigrams.
http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
JULIAN
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Hi Julian,
That's an interesting and informative site.
Though, as I keep saying (harping?!), it's like asking which CAR is BEST!
An unanswerable question ;D
It's like asking how long is a piece of string :)
Virtually all genealogical computer programs are very very good (they wouldn't still be around if they were not), and reliable, and do the basic job very well indeed.
There's no absolute BEST - just what is best for YOU (i.e. for each person) given each person's own requirements, whether the person wants a quick and easy program, how much time the person is prepared to spend learning and practising, whether the person wants the program to decide what to do or wants to make those decisions him/herself, the constraints of the person's purse, etc, etc.
8)
JAP
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Did you use Gedmill 1.5 or 1.5Pro?
Does Gedmill generate the site's index page, or can you use another index page and then link to the gedmill-created pages?
Paul, you can try out Gedmill for free, only takes a couple of seconds to download and it does no harm to your gedcom file, doesn't make any changes or anything, just produces the html files in a separate folder so you can see whether you like it. Yes it did produce the index page, but the website said that you couldn't customise the free version, also it didn't include the trees at the top, which was something I wanted, so £15 seems more like a donation than an actual purchase and worth it since I believe I've got a website starting off as I want and can add to it as I please.
Mary
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Hi all
I use Family Tree Maker 10 and have no problems with the 12600 ancestors on it including photos and a lot of text. I just love collecting all branches and twigs as it helps you go back. Importing gedcoms and merging is very easy and searching for duplicates. Tend not to use the match on the web as it is very slow with 12600 names but even the small selection tends to be American biased. I tend not to use the CDs as not very relevant yet to my research. Produces outline and detailed word docs and prints out the box tree or fan. Been very happy with the FTM software since I bought version 7 about 7 years ago. Never had a problem.
John Rowley
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Hi Sam,
I have been researching for some years now and have tried just about all the genealogy programs available,these comments are just my own personal thoughts for what they may be worth,One of the best I have used was Generations De-luxe 8,and I still use it but alas it is no longer available,and it could not be used to its full potential in Windows XP.
the program I am currently using the most is Personal Ancestral File (PAF 5) with its sister program for creating tree's etc,Good programs and they are both free to dpwnload from Latter day Saints,try them,I do not think you will be dissapointed.
Regards,
langtry
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Legacy is the best program around IMO. And you can download it for free. If you want the extra bells & whistles, it costs just US $20 to upgrade.
http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Index.asp
The latest version - number 6 has just been released. :)
BD
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Why BD ?
What are the bells & whistles?
Wendi