Family Tree Maker 2017 - worth paying to upgrade?

[suzyvan]

Why do you need to have two FTM programmes to run two trees? I am currently run 8 different trees in my FTM 2017.
You simply close your tree from file tab top left hand drop down box and click close then click on new tree tab and start a new tree.
You then go through same process to open and close the tree you need to work in.
The list of your trees you have made are listed on left hand side of screen, you double click the named tree you want to work in.
I have been using this method for many versions of FTM its not a new feature.

[Elizajb]

Hi Kim,

I have sent Mackiev a message so awaiting reply now.

That's a good idea about Rootsmagic - I did back up all my trees on the old FTM so that is worth a try. I mainly use other software as a form of backup anyway.

I tried to re-download a tree to RM yesterday but the programme kept disconnecting half way through.
 
I wrote to RM for their advice and they replied very promptly saying they were having some issues with the Ancestry sync right now and are in the middle of trying to sort it out.

At least I know it's not my computer!! Yay!

Regards Eliza.

[Elizajb]

Thanks Suzy,

Yes I understand how it works, same as my old one on which like you, I have several trees.

However, in the short term, I wanted to retain my old trees on my old FTM (which has not been synced since Mackiev took over) and download a handful of them completely fresh from Ancestry onto FTM2017.

I never intended to use both programmes to open the same tree, just wanted to hold onto the old temporarily as insurance against any possible problems. It was only when I opened the first one after the file converted that I realised that it no longer existed on FTM2014.

So, have only opened the one at this stage.

Regards Eliza.

[groom]

In think the problem could be that when you downloaded FTM 2017, in reality you weren't downloading a new programme, you were updating from FTM 2014, so it overwrote everything on there.

[Elizajb]

Yes that might be the case.

At this stage I can still open the old FTM and open the unconverted trees, but not the tree which was converted to the 2017 format.

I'm a bit undecided now whether I bypass 2017 in favour of the new 2019 which is due out soon. The advantage of upgrading from 2014 being that I can sync and download up to date copies of my trees periodically.  I could do that on RootsMagic, as mentioned in a previous post, if the Ancestry sync on that was working properly but at the moment it isn't.

In the past, I have tended to use RM and FTM as backups really, in addition to backing up to an external drive. After the amount of work put into research, I'd hate to lose any of it just because I didn't have good backups.

Anyway, I now know that if I use a newer version of FTM, the files can no longer be opened on the old - so a matter of ditching the old once I'm confident the new one has no unforeseen bugs.

Regards Eliza.

[Elizajb]

Hi All,

I emailed Mackiev regarding what I was trying to do and asked them whether it was possible to retain old files somehow, at least for a while, and also if there was a way of not having all my files show in the new FTM2017 tree list.

Happily, there is a way - so I am quoting here the text of Mackiev's reply to me in case it is of assistance to anyone else.

"First, you can remove it from the list in FTM 2017. Just go to tree list and select there "Remove from the List" option.

If the files were already opened in FTM 2017 they won't be opened in FTM 2014.1 so you need to export those in FTM 2014.1 format.

Select the file that should be opened in previous FTM version and go to "File" -> "Export" and there in "Output format" select "Family Tree Maker 2014.1" so the file will be converted in to FTM 2014.1 format."

I have now tried it and this has worked for me and I have been able to import the gedcom (which I re-named) into my old programme successfully. So - now I have both FTM versions and can open the files in both.

Bit pedantic I know, but I have done volumes of research over the past 10 years and I would be devastated if I lost any of it.

Many thanks again for everyone's input - much appreciated.

Regards Eliza.

[groom]

I must say that I’m impressed with Mackiev’s customer service - a quick and thorough answer.

[Elizajb]

Yes - me too, I wasn't really expecting it, just hoping.

I had one further email from them with another comment and I must say, the feedback has given me quite a bit of reassurance about getting on and using my FTM2017, possibly upgrading to the newer one when it is released.

It's nice when you "win  some".

[andrewalston]

I have to say that the main problem with having two versions of the program dealing with your tree is figuring out just which of the databases is the CORRECT one.

I know which of mine are the up-to-date ones, because anything online is just a GEDCOM export, from the single version of software I have installed.

But is the best version of your data the Ancestry one, the FTM 2017 one or the FTM2014 one? There will come a time when you will accidentally make a major change to your tree in the OLD software. You will need to copy all those amendments to your later software, and that will not be easy.

So now you have seen how FTM 2017 works, it's probably time to convert all your trees to the new version.