FH Software Question

[Kazza]

Hi all,

I know we have had lots of discussion on the Best software,  but what in Rootschatters opinions is the Easiest to use.

I have a good reason for asking,  I have been asked to recommend one to a computer newbie.  She has been tracing  her family for about 7 months,  and now the paper is becoming difficult to keep track of.

So I recommended she use some software,  but she is not convinced she could manage it.  If it looks too complicated she will not use it.

I use Roots Magic,  and have no real experience of any others.  Is PAF easy?

Looking forward to a lively discussion. 

Kazza.

[RJ_Paton]

personally I believe trying the programs via demos is a much preferred option.... what I may find easy in a computer program could be completely different from your own choices.

When I was looking for a new program due to printer problems with my previous one I chose The Family Historian over The Master Genealogist despite it not being as powerful in some areas as the latter program. I found some of the input methods in TMG rather awkward .... purely a personal opinion.

[Kazza]

Falkyrn,

I agree,  and I have some demos for her,  but she is so new to computers she is not keen on the idea of trying them out.  She just wants me to tell her what is the most straightforward and easy.

Kazza.

[RJ_Paton]

Sounds like a lot of people I know ..... although once they've dipped that first toe in the virtual water thers's often no holding them back .... the oldest pupil I had was over 80 when she started ... before she was 81 she was publishing her own newsletter 

For a complete newbie I would recommend one of the less powerful programs but with a very visual approach .... Generations Family Tree published by Sierra is one.

[trish251]

I use FTM and its the simplist one I have found. I tried others and was probably too lazy to put in the effort to use them properly. I believe there was a version available for free with a recent magazine purchase (I can't remember where I saw this) and have also in the past seen old versions available for download. Until very recently I used V5 and for what now appears a senseless reason decided to pay to upgrade. The only benefit I have found from the latest version is the ability to export more of the reports to word and/or excel. There are also new features related to albums etc which I shall probably use in the future.
Many changes seem to relate to online links which I do not use - so if your friend can find an inexpensive V5 or later it's well worth a trial.
It opens to a very simple family page and you can immediately start keying in your data.
Trish

[Jane Taubman]

I have a bias towards Family Historian,  one advantage for Newbies is the ability to enter data by drawing the family tree.

I would also recommend any newbies to learn how to play solitare on the computer,  why,   so you learn how to drag and drop,  also to play minesweeper as this teaches left and right clicking plus double clicking and duel clicking.

It might sound silly but those skills are very useful.

My Dad was struggling to get to grips with the mouse but after a few games he was going well.