Family History Software for Mac

[JAKnighton]

GRAMPS is totally free, but can be overwhelming if you've never used family tree software before.

I use it mainly for cleaning up GEDCOMs. My main software is Family Tree Maker for Mac 3.

[davidgp]

Yes, GRAMPS is free but it is complex to 'drive' and can be overwhelming. I've tried out and bought various versions of Heredis and MacFamilyTree but having started with Reunion for Mac years ago I still come back to it. It's very tempting to use free software but it never has the polish and longevity of paid-for software - I suspect you might find your enthusiasm draining fast if you don't have software you can use easily and confidently.
David 

[guest189040]

After researching for a few weeks and trying a few different software titles I decided to buy Roots Magic?

Three reasons why it looks more suitable for me:-

1 Buy one licence and install on as many machines in the household I want
2 The above includes a MAC version so we can do my Wifes family on her MAC
3 The software includes a Go version which puts the software and data on a USB stick for use on any machine anywhere.

Gedcoms from Ancestry have imported OK

[Tautriadelta]

Although this thread is quite old now, the dilemma still remains. I have just switched from PC to Mac and can't find a solution.
I used Family Historian 6, which for me, was the best program by a country mile. Having researched options for the Mac, I don't see any of them being a satisfactory replacement for FH6. I vowed I would never do it, but I have succumbed to the temptation to use FH6 on the Mac facilitated by Crossover, a commercial version of WINE. There are a few glitches e.g. with source citations, so I am not entirely comfortable with this option.
I'd be interested to learn how others in a similar situation have resolved the problem.

[davisd]

While I've been doing genealogy for many decades as an amateur - I'm at a complete loss about software. I use Mac OX S and have an Ancestry tree (actually a few) . I'd like to export the Ancestry data (I know not everything transfers) to what I believe is a Gedcom but I'm not even sure what is and what isn't a gedcom./ I looked at Mac Family Tree but I know that Ancestry resists exporting to certain software (?). Can someone guide me? I'm happy to buy the right program, app, whatever, if it was transfer my data. To be clear - I want to get the data, the tree, onto my computer, not another genealogy website. Thank for any guidance.

[andrewalston]

GEDCOM is a text file which uses various keywords and text data to describe a family tree. For example here's the start of the bit about myself:

GEDCOM line	Comment
0 @I1@ INDI	I am individual number 1 in this tree.
1 NAME Andrew /ALSTON/	That's my full name.
1 SEX M	I'm male.
1 CHAN	The record for this individual was last changed...
2 DATE 01 JUN 2018	...a couple of years ago.

                        
Because the file is in plain text, virtually any computer can be used to handle them.

The various record types are defined, but many implementations extend them. For example, the software I use defines various censuses using a keyword EVEN (short for EVENT) to describe arbitrary events.

Any genealogy software worth the name will allow you to import and export files in GEDCOM format. The current "standard" is many years old now. There are proposals for an update, but until the document becomes official, few software authors are going to spend effort on it.

Of course, not every brand understands those extensions. Ancestry can understand those EVEN types when importing a GEDCOM, display them properly, and will even re-export them later. I sometimes export a GEDCOM from Ancestry, run a script to change "Residence" events to the relevant "Census yyyy" events, then import it back, just because I like to see the censuses clearly.

Things get more awkward when it comes to describing the sources involved because various brands handle them differently. Ancestry converts my sources into "Unsourced Citation" types, but the result is at least accessible. Within Ancestry, a source consists of a pointer to somewhere in their databases rather than, say, a National Archives reference. If you create a GEDCOM from there, the relevant text line will contain a set of pointers into their data. Re-importing to Ancestry will re-link those same records (provided your account has access). Importing these things into the software I use throws away the pointer to the image, but does leave the text part so that I can locate it online. Some software can follow these pointers and actually download the image for you.

As I mentioned, pretty much any genealogy software will understand a GEDCOM from Ancestry. However a little tweaking might be needed to make it look "pretty" afterwards.

You can export and download a GEDCOM from Ancestry at any time - it is not destructive.

[davisd]

Many thanks for your helpful reply!