Genealogy & History News » Family Tree Program

Family Tree Maker 2012 Tutorial Videos [VIDEO]

Alona Tester — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:22:20 +0000

Family Tree Maker is one of the most popular genealogy software programs around. Now owned by Ancestry.com, Family Tree Maker has been around since the late 1980s, and it’s popularity is such that people most people who have does even a little family history, have heard of Family Tree Maker.

From a genealogy reseller point of view, the one disappointing thing (and this is my own personal opinion) is that Family Tree Maker does not have a demo which allows people download and play with it to try it out before buying [although they did with an earlier version]. Every other genealogy program that we sell, such as Ancestral Quest, Family Historian, iFamily for Leopard, Legacy Family Tree, Reunion, RootsMagic, and The Master Genealogist does.

Anyway found a collection of Family Tree Maker tutorial videos on YouTube. For users of Family Tree Maker, you can use these to help you with your program. For those of you who don’t, check them out, as it’s a great way to see just what the program is like, and how it works.

In these first four video tutorials you’ll learn the basics of Family Tree Maker 2012, how to create a tree, how to add to your tree, and about using maps.

Family Historian Version 5 is Coming Soon

Alona Tester — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:37:50 +0000

Calico Pie, the publisher’s of Family Historian, the UK’s leading genealogy software program, have just announced that Family Historian version 5 is coming soon. The new version is due for release in February 2012, but thanks to a Christmas offer, anyone who buys Family Historian 4 now from a participating stockist (which includes us here at Gould Genealogy), will get a free upgrade to version 5 when released.

SPECIAL OFFER
While stocks last, customers who buy the full version of Family Historian 4 (not the Aus/NZ edition)on or after November 10th, from participating stockists only, will be sent a free CD upgrade to version 5 when it is released. So you can give friends or relatives version 4 to unwrap on Christmas Day, with the upgrade to follow shortly. Or you can just keep it yourself of course …

For full details of this offer, including the list of participating stockists, see www.family-historian.co.uk/v5-xmas-offer.

WHAT’S COMING IN FAMILY HISTORIAN VERSION 5
- New tool for creating family tree books and booklets
- Much improved website generation and support for family tree CDs & DVDs
- New Fan Chart diagrams
- New ‘flat’ style All-Relatives diagram (much-requested)
- Improved data entry – especially with regard to date-handling and date validation
- New query for detecting possible errors with dates in existing records
- Enhanced ‘How Related’ tool shows graphically exactly how people are related
- Improved, more comprehensive backup-and-restore
- Improved import and export, including direct import from other program formats
- All reports have enhanced performance and features, including optionally an index
- Silhouettes can now be used in diagrams where required
- Much improved support for background pictures in diagrams
- Much faster diagram loading
- New reports, including a new ‘how-related’ report
- New tool for marking lines connecting individuals & branches in diagrams
- New ‘shapes’ toolbar for diagrams, including ‘smart shapes’ such as arrows
- Extensive new formatting options for diagrams
- Enhancements to the query capability for searching & analyzing records
- Support for plugins – a new way of extending the power of the program
- Integrated access to a new Plugin Store, with numerous free plugins adding even more features – such as a new mapping tool – and more being added all the time
- Numerous improvements to make the program even easier and more enjoyable to use
- And much more…

Calico Pie say that in the coming weeks, they’ll be adding more details about version 5 and the new features on our website, at www.family-historian.co.uk/whats-new-in-v5.

So buy your copy of Family Historian 4 (UK edition) now, and you’ll receive a free copy of Family Historian 5 when it is released.

More Free RootsMagic Classes Online

Alona Tester — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:34:07 +0000

RootsMagic is one world’s leading genealogy software programs. Easy-to-use, yet with a lot of features that many might not use to their full potential, the publishers of RootsMagic have decided to offer some online webinar courses for you to help you gain more from your program.

Here are the upcoming classes for April and May:

Places and Mapping in RootsMagic
Wherever you go, there you are! Places and geography are an integral part of our lives and the lives of our ancestors. Join us for a look at the many tools in RootsMagic which help you accurately record the places in your family history, clean and standardize names, and even view them on a map!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
2pm MST See In Your Time Zone
90 minutes

Ask the RootsMagician!
This is your chance to ask your questions and get the answers straight from the source! Bruce Buzbee, the author of RootsMagic will be answering your questions about the software in this special, open-topic webinar.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
90 minutes
Google Search Tips and Tricks
Frustrated by thousands of irrelevant search results in your recent Google searches for your family history? Do you want to achieve better results in a shorter amount of time? Learn the art of online search with Google expert and genealogy podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke, author of the new book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. In this webinar you will expand your Google search repertoire and learn techniques, tricks and tips to achieve better genealogical search results.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
6pm MST See In Your Time Zone
90 minutes
Creating and Printing Wallcharts with RootsMagic
Ever wish your family tree wasn’t confined to a computer screen or a small sheet of paper? Wallcharts let you see the “big picture” of your family history! Join us for a look at RootsMagic’s wallcharts and how to customize them. Also joining us will be Janet Hovorka of Generation Maps to show us how to easily and affordably print our charts and some special services which they provide.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
90 minutes
Google Earth for Genealogy
Google Earth is a 360 degree, 3-dimensional way to view your ancestors world! In this webinar you will learn how to unlock mysteries in your research – from unidentified photographs, to how a location looked a hundred years ago or more. You’ll also see the potential this free program has for helping you tell your family history stories in a compelling visual way that will fascinate your family.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
6pm MST See In Your Time Zone
90 minutes

Converting the time
To convert the time for you own timezone can be done easily by using a timezone converter such as WorldTimeServer.com.

Cost
There is no cost to be involved in any of these Webinar’s, they are FREE!

Registering
However you do need to register if you wish to ‘attend’ and be involved in the Websinar. You can do so here http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

Past Webinars
Remember if you happen to have missed some webinars, you can always watch them online later. You can find them using this link http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars/

New History & Genealogy Titles – 14 January 2011

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:52:19 +0000

Click on titles below for more details on each. Some of the titles below are ‘special order’ titles.

Australia

Fair Game: Australia’s First Immigrant Women – P. McIntyre & E. Rushen – $34.95
Young women as fair game? In 1832, the British government sent 400 young single women to Sydney and Hobart to balance the male-dominated societies. The two ships were the ‘Red Rover’ from Cork and the ‘Princess Royal’ from London. Viewed as colourful butterflies alighting on the antipodean shores, the women were ‘fair game’ for employers and potential husbands. This book analyses how this migration was allowed to happen while telling the women’s stories, describing who netted them in the hiring scramble and how they ultimately spread their wings.

The Family History of Richard Garrett and his Known Descendants 1804-1982 – C. Garrett – PRIVATE PUBLICATION
Compiled and printed in 1982 this is a family history of Richard Garrett and his known descendants from 1804 through to 1982.

The Family Lineage of Richard Garrett 1804-2006 and the Family Lineage of William and Jane Argent (nee Burling) 1816-2006 – C. Garrett – PRIVATE PUBLICATION
The Family Lineage of Richard Garrett 1804-2006 and the Family Lineage of Willian and Jane Argent (nee Burling) 1816-2006.

Queensland Commonwealth Electoral Roll 1941 – DATA CD – $49.50
This CD indexes the details from the Commonwealth Electoral Rolls for electors (approximately 604,000) registered in Queensland in 1941.

Queensland Post Office Directory Compendium 1901-1905 (Wise) – DATA CD – $99.50
This compendium of Wise’s directories contains the five directories covering the 1901-1905 period.

South Australian Government Gazette 1844 – DATA CD – $23.50
Issued weekly with occasional special issues, the South Australian Government Gazette contains information such as proclamations, land transactions, court notices, notice of acts, public notices, tenders, appointments and resignations, bankrupt and insolvency notices, impoundments, police auctions, unclaimed letters, licenses (publican’s, wine and beer, storekeeper’s, occupation, and depasturing), notices of protection, dissolution of partnerships, rewards on offer and more …

Victorian Directory 1923 (Sands and McDougall) – DATA CD – $47.50
A massive directory of almost 3,200 pages, this Sands and McDougall directory, which in 1923 was in its 67th year of publication, consists not only of a Melbourne Directory, but also its Suburbs and the country areas too.

Western Australia Commonwealth Electoral Roll 1949 – DATA CD – $59.50
This CD includes the rolls for the Canning, Curtin, Forrest, Fremantle, Kalgoorlie, Moore, Perth and Swan Divisions of Western Australia in 1949 – more than 5,000 pages. Entries are arranged alphabetically within each subdivision. You will find the details of over 300,000 voters who resided in Western Australia at this time, and who were entitled (and registered) to vote. Importantly, the roll includes the names of many women qualified to vote for the election of members of the Commonwealth parliament.

Also available in individual electoral divisions:

England

Yorkshire Parish Registers: Patrington 1570-1731 – DATA CD – $25.00
Edited by the Rev. Henry Edward Maddock, and published in 1900, this book contains transcripts of the registers for the parish of Patrington. Contains Christenings, Marriages and Burials 1570-1731. Also includes a Terrier and listing of the owners stalls or pews in the church. Complete with an index of names.

The Nottingham Date Book 850-1884 – DATA CD – $25.00
This rare book records the history of Nottingham and its neighbourhood from 850 through to 1884. This CD contains the complete 1884 edition by Henry Field which includes the original John Frost Sutton compilation of 1852 (covering the period 1750 to 1849) plus the supplements extending the coverage of the work from 850 to 1884.

Somersetshire Monumental Inscriptions: Wells Cathedral – DATA CD – $25.00
Written by Arthur J. Jewers and published in 1892, this title “Wells Cathedral: It’s Monumental Inscriptions and Heraldry, Together with the heraldry of the Palace, Deanery, and Vicar’s Close” also contains annotations from wills, registers, etc. and illustrations of Arms. Also included are monumental inscriptions from the Palm Churchyard and the New Churchyard.

A Guide to Seaton and District – DATA CD – $16.00
Republished here on CD-ROM is the 5th edition of A Guide to Seaton and District. Including Axmouth, Colyford, Colyton, Beer and Branscombe. Containing some 161 printed pages the Guide was first published in 1912 and this edition was published by E.J. Burnham in Seaton at the height of the town’s popularity as a flourishing seaside resort.

Wales

A Book of North Wales – DATA CD – $24.00
First published in 1903, this was initially issued as a companion to series of books that included A Book of Dartmoor, A Book of the West, A Book of Brittany and A Book of Exmoor, this publication was intended for an English readership who often puzzled over Welsh history and according to the author ‘without a knowledge of the history of the country in which one travels more than half the interest is lost’.

North Wales Parish Registers: Conway (Conwy) 1541-1793 – DATA CD – $35.00
Published in 1900, this CD contains transcripts of the parish registers for the Welsh Parish of Conway. Contains Baptisms 1541-1754, Marriages 1541-1754. Burials 1541-1793. Also contains transcripts of monumental inscriptions inside the church. Complete with indexes of names, places and trades.

Scotland

The Cuthberts of Castlehill – DATA CD – $29.50
This family history selection contains the following articles relating to the Cuthbert family:

“The Cuthberts of Castlehill, Styled Mac Sheorais,” by Charles Fraser-Mackintosh, from the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness.
“The Cuthberts of Castlehill,” from The Celtic Magazine.

Highland Personal Names – DATA CD – $29.50
This is a collection of articles which first appeared in the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, all of which discuss some aspect of Highland traditions regarding given names.

Memoirs of the Families of M’Combie and Thoms – DATA CD – $29.50
Memoirs of the Families of M’Combie and Thoms: Originally M’Intosh and M’Thomas. This history of the McCombie family provides substantial information about a family which long was associated with Clan Macintosh. Sometimes called Clan M’Thomas, the McCombies settled in Glenshee by the end of the 16th century where they intermarried with the Farquharsons and where they entered into a bond of manrent with Lachlan Mor, 16th chief of the McIntoshes.

The New Picture of Edinburgh 1816 – DATA CD – $21.50
First published by William Whyte of St. Andrew’s Street Edinburgh and republished here on fully-searchable CD-Rom, is The New Picture of Edinburgh. Containing 343 printed pages The New Picture of Edinburgh is subtitled ‘Being a Correct Guide to the Curiosities, Public Establishments, and Remarkable Objects in and Near Edinburgh. To which are added, a Description of Leith, and The Trosachs. Containing some twenty-seven engravings of the principal public buildings and a number of very detailed street plans, The New Picture of Edinburgh provides an intimate portrait of the capital as it was in 1816.

Scrapbooking

Reminisce 12×12 New Zealand – Scrapbooking – $1.80
This double-sided New Zealand paper comes with the outline of a New Zealand map, and the New Zealand crest and the words New Zealand on the front – the back has the New Zealand flag and the words ‘New Zealand’ over the whole page.

Seven Gypsies 8×8 Gypsy Market Scrap Pack – Scrapbooking – $19.95
Free and unfettered, not tied to one place – that is the feeling that Seven Gypsies have translated into their Gypsy Market Collection. This collection ties together all the tidbits, flotsam and feeling from our travels into a beautiful collection of products especially for our fellow heritage scrappers.

Paper House Productions Mini Cut-Outs Windmill – Scrapbooking – $0.60
For those with a connection to The Netherlands, Paper House Productions has die-cuts for you too. Windmills are a Dutch icon, so this will go nicely on your pages about Holland, or people from there.

Paper House Productions Mini Cut-Outs Celtic Cross – Scrapbooking – $0.60
Dating back into as early as the 590 A.D., the Celtic Cross has become one of the traditional symbols associated with Ireland. A free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated, these have been popular for funerary monuments and other uses. Use it to create a memoral page of your Irish ancestors, or just as a symbol of Ireland … the choice is yours!!.

Software

Family Tree Maker for Macintosh Australia and New Zealand Edition – Software – $99.95
There is no doubt that Family Tree Maker is one of the leading genealogy programs available. It provides users with the tools they need to build their family tree, record their memories, as well as organise their family photos, stories, videos and audio clips in a way that will help them easily capture and share the story of their ancestors.

Some may not know that the very first Macintosh version of Family Tree Maker appeared 13 years ago, but didn’t last very long. The Mac market has changed radically in the last few years, and now it is back, totally rewritten, and updated to current Mac specifications and is based on Family Tree Maker 2010 (PC version) feature-wise.

Free RootsMagic Online Classes – Sign Up Now!!

Alona Tester — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:14:13 +0000

RootsMagic is one world’s leading genealogy software programs. Easy-to-use, yet with a lot of features that many might not use to their full potential. So with a growing number of RootsMagic users worldwide, the publishers have decided to offer some online webinar courses for you to help you gain more from your program.

The following is the announcement direct from RootsMagic:

Throughout the year we travel to various cities teaching RootsMagic classes. We are always asked when we will be visiting different areas of the country (or world). The simple answer is that we just haven’t gotten the cloning process down well enough to do that yet.

So we’re doing the next best thing. We are now offering free online classes. You will be able to sit at your computer and watch as we present classes on everything from getting started with RootsMagic to advanced features like creating custom reports, and everything in between. We’ll also be able to answer questions from attendees. And classes won’t be limited to just RootsMagic. We will be offering classes on our other products as well: Personal Historian, Family Atlas, and Family Reunion Organizer.

Each class will be limited to the first 1000 people to sign up, but if you miss out or can’t make it, don’t worry because we will record the class for you to download and watch later.

To sign up for the free classes, visit us at: http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

Here are the first 5 classes we will be offering:

Getting Started with RootsMagic
Saturday, January 8, 2011
3pm (PST), 4pm (MST), 5pm (CST), 6pm (EST), 11pm (GMT)
90 minutes

Publishing a Family History with RootsMagic
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
5pm (PST), 6pm (MST), 7pm (CST), 8pm (EST), Wednesday 1am (GMT)
90 minutes

FamilySearch Made Easy with RootsMagic
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
5pm (PST), 6pm (MST), 7pm (CST), 8pm (EST), Wednesday 1am (GMT)
2 hours

RootsMagic To-Go: Running RootsMagic on a Flash Drive
Monday, January 24, 2011
1pm (PST), 2pm (MST), 3pm (CST), 4pm (EST), 9pm (GMT)
90 minutes

Sources, Citations, and Documentation with RootsMagic
Friday, February 4, 2011
9am (PST), 10am (MST), 11am (CST) 12pm (EST), 5pm (GMT)
90 minutes

Converting the time
To convert the time for you own timezone can be done easily by using a timezone converter such as WorldTimeServer.com.

Cost
There is no cost to be involved in any of these Webinar’s, they are FREE!

Registering
However you do need to register if you wish to ‘attend’ and be involved in the Websinar. You can do so here http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

What Do You Want RootsMagic to Teach?
The first month of classes is as above, but now RootsMagic want to know what you want to learn about, and what days and times work the best. So they’ve set up a short survey so you can let them know your needs: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RMWebinar

Family Historian 4 (UK edition) drops in price!!

Alona Tester — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:14:35 +0000

It is not often that we see significant price drops in our industry, but it sure nice when we do. Even better when it is on a popular genealogy software program.

The good news for you is that Family Historian 4 (UK edition) has now dropped in price to $69.95 – which saves you $30.00!!

Family Historian is a very different looking genealogy program, as it is a ‘person based’, in preference to most which are ‘family based’. But it does have a number of unique features that others don’t, mostly in the way you view information, but also in its ability to view charts on screen.

If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of using Family Historian 4, why not give it a whirl using their 30 day trial version which you can download for free.

Still not quite convinced? Don’t take my word for it, have a read of of the ‘Choice’ Magazine’s genealogy software overview for 2010.

Please note, the price drop only applies to Family Historian UK edition, not Family Historian Aus/NZ edition.

Useful Websites:
Family Historian website
Family Historian Users Group website
RootsWeb Family Historian Mailing List

Getting Started With Reunion for Mac [VIDEO]

Alona Tester — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:04:20 +0000

Reunion is one of the easiest and well-written genealogy programs around, and what’s more it is written specifically for the Mac. Having been around for over 20 years, this family tree program just gets better and better with each version, with the current release being Reunion version 9.

As it is also not the cheapest of programs, you do want to be sure of just what the program does before going ahead and buying it. One way to do this is to download the free Demo of Reunion, or to view the YouTube videos that Leister Productions (the publishers of Reunion) have put together to help you with getting started or to evaluate if this genealogy program is right for you.

Family Tree Software: Try BEFORE you Buy, with FREE Demos

Alona Tester — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:19:10 +0000

When starting your journey into the whole realm of family history, somehow paperwork seems to miraculously multiply around you. I have never quite worked out how it happens, but it does. And if you’re not to this stage of your research yet … expect it!! It will come.

This paperwork is your research, and as such contains, names, dates, notes, mini pedigrees, contact details of distant cousins who might have family photos etc. So all extremely important stuff. But to really make sense of it all, and to keep a track of the info that you already have, you really need to put in into a genealogy program.

There’s several things to note when looking for a genealogy program. Choose a program that is right for YOU. They are all a little different, and one may well be better suited to you than another. Recommendations from others are great, but nothing beats being able to try a program out for yourself.

So below is a listing of the genealogy software we sell, together with a little about each, the price, and the publisher’s websites .

ANCESTRAL QUEST

Ancestral Quest 12.1 – $49.50
Win 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.ancquest.com
download the demo

Ancestral Quest (AQ) family tree software is an easy-to-use and versatile genealogy program for Windows. Its format is perfect for the beginner and yet powerful enough for the most advanced genealogist. Easy data entry, keyboard shortcuts, scrapbooking, professional printouts, and excellent sourcing capabilities are just some of this genealogy software program’s wonderful, award-winning features. The publishers offer a fully-functional version for 60 days, which gives you plenty of time to work out if this is the program for you.

FAMILY HISTORIAN

Family Historian 4 UK Edition – $99.95
Win 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7
Family Historian 4 Aus/NZ Edition – $99.95Win XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.family-historian.co.uk
download the demo

This is a very different looking program, as it is a person based program, in preference to most which are family based. Apart from that it does have a number of unique features that others don’t, mostly in the way you view information, but also in its ability to view charts on screen. There is a demo available, so have a look at it if you wish. This came out at top choice in the ‘Choice’ Magazine’s genealogy software overviews in 2010.

FAMILY TREE MAKER

Family Tree Maker 2010 Aus/NZ Platinum Edition – $99.95
Family Tree Maker 2010 Aus/NZ Deluxe Edition – $59.95
Win XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.familytreemaker.com

The best known of all programs, this has been around the longest, and is owned by Ancestry.com, the world’s largest genealogy company. For many people it is their program of choice, while others won’t go near it, so it is really a personal opinion. This new 2010 edition has been added to from 2008 total rewrite. There is no demo of FTM, but the publishers have put a slideshow as well as a video tutorial on their website which you can look at.

LEGACY FAMILY TREE

Legacy Family Tree 7.0 Deluxe – $59.50
Legacy Family Tree 7.0 Platinum Aus/NZ Edition- $79.95
Win 98, Me, 2000, NT, XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.legacyfamilytree.com
download the demo

You can download the ‘Standardd’ edition of Legacy for free. This is not a trial or demo version, and can be used for as long as you like. The difference between the standard and the Deluxe editions is that you don’t get the program CD, the printed manual, the licence code and some features have been disabled. The difference between the Deluxe edition, and the Platinum Aus/NZ Edition is that the Aus/NZ one comes with extra data CDs, a 3 month subscription to WorldVitalRecords.com and some gift vouchers. The program in both versions is identical.

ROOTSMAGIC

RootsMagic 4 - $49.50
Win 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.rootsmagic.com
download the demo

This is a good quality program that is continually gaining support through new users. Easy to use, and well supported, with good reports and charting capability, this is a good program for those wishing to start adding their family tree data to a genealogy program. There is a free version called ‘RootsMagic Essentials’, which is a functional program, with some features that are in the full program disabled but if nothing else it is an excellent way to assess the program.

THE MASTER GENEALOGIST

The Master Genealogist Version 7 Gold – $82.00 (program on CD)
$69.50 (program as a download) or $112.00 (program & manual)
Win 2000, XP, Vista, Win 7
http://www.whollygenes.com
download the demo

This is at the top of end of programs, but it is way too much for many in relation to what it can offer. If you’re wanting a nice easy program to use just to add names, dates etc. this program probably isn’t for you. It is so different from the other programs in so many ways, such as visually, its terminology, and its charting capability. The publishers offer a fully functional (allows import, export, printing, saving etc) 30 day trial of the program. After that, the demo is viewable, but not useable.

iFAMILY FOR LEOPARD

iFamily for Leopard – $44.00 (download only)
Apple Mac OSX 10.4 or later (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard)
http://ifamilyforleopard.com
download the demo

iFamily for Leopard is a relatively new genealogy program specifically for the latest Macintosh with Leopard. It is a genealogy application for people who think differently. There is a demo available, so feel free to have a look.

REUNION FOR MACINTOSH

Reunion for Macintosh 9 – $149.50
Apple Mac OSX 10.3 or later (Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard)

http://www.leisterpro.com

download the demo

Reunion has been the best Macintosh program available for a long time now, and it continues to holds its place. It is a well-written, well-supported program, and is very easy to use, and does have powerful charting capability. There is a demo available if you wish to try before buying.

This is in no way intended to be a comprehensive list of all genealogy software that is currently available, but rather a good range of them. As each of them a little bit different, it is good for you to take the time to work out which program is going to suit you the best.

If you would like to read up some more before making your decision, here’s some great places to do so:
Genealogy Software Reviews
Choice Magazine

EGA or higher resolution display (VGA Recommended)
Mouse or compatible pointing device
8 MB RAM
40.0 MB hard disk space
CD-ROM drive for installation (if obtaining the program on CD)

GEDCOM … What is it? and why is it important?

Alona Tester — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:41:45 +0000

Having worked in the genealogy industry for many years now, I come across many people who have often heard of ‘GEDCOM’, but really don’t know what it is, how it works or understand the importance of it.

Firstly what is GEDCOM?
GEDCOM is an abbreviation that stands for GEnealogy Data COMmunications. In short,it is the language (file format) by which different genealogy software talk to one another. All recent genealogy software supports GEDCOM imports and exports.

Why do I need to know about it?
Can you imagine spending years and years typing in thousands of names, dates, places, and citations, only to find out that when you upgrade your trusty five-year-old desktop computer to a new swish little laptop you have to update your genealogy software too? Then you find out, your genealogy program won’t work on Windows 7 (or has since been discontinued) … what do you do? Would you consider starting all over again? If you have your files saved into GEDCOM you won’t have to!!

If this happens to you, the first step to do, is to save your current files into GEDCOM, because if your files are in this format you can then bring them into ANY current genealogy software. Then secondly look for another program (I won’t go into that here as that’s post for another day – but we do sell a range of genealogy software).

Another reason to know about GEDCOM, is that if you wish to send copies of your genealogy data to your reli’s who are also researching the family, there is a good chance that they may not be using the same program as you, so to be sure they can read it – the saftest way is to save your file as a .GED, and send that.

Another thing you will need to you know about GEDCOM is that it is good, but not perfect. Not all the data fields in a genealogy program are specified precisely in GEDCOM. Or your present genealogy program might be perfectly happy with a birth date listed as, “after 1847 but before 1852″. However once that information is exported to a GEDCOM file and then imported into a family tree program, the birth date may say something else, or typically is left blank. Despite all the shortcomings, GEDCOM is still a simple and somewhat effective method of transferring genealogy data from one program to another. Most of the data will transfer properly, and then there are easy ways of reviewing the data to look for errors.

Generally names, dates, places and relationships do transfer without a problem, text, events, notes and source citations may not always work perfectly. The exact problems encountered will depend upon the two genealogy programs involved. But for a family tree of 1000′s using GEDCOM to transfer your data still saves a lot of work, although retyping from scratch also does have its merits too.

How do I save my file into GEDCOM?
Without going into the specifics of each program, if you are wanting to save your file into a .GED format to send to a relative (or just for your own backup of course), this is usually done by going to the top bar of your program, click on File, then scroll down to something like ‘Export to’ or ‘Save As’ (programs do vary their wording, but they’re generally all pretty similar), then follow the prompts. If it isn’t obvious, press the F1 (Help) key, and search for GEDCOM.

When saving your GEDCOM file, the really important thing to know is “where” you are saving your file, as you will need to access that file sometime, so you will need to find it.

When should I save my file?
This is entirely up to you, as it also depends on how much work you do on your tree. Personally I backup my file into GEDCOM format everytime I do any work on it, some would suggest once a week, others once a month. I’ve also heard a number of bad news/good news stories of people who’s computer crashed and lost all data, only to then be able to recover most of it from recent backups or GEDCOM files. So it really does pay to take to extra time to have good backups.

Hopefully this gives you a brief introduction, and underlines the importance of having your file backed up in both your genealogy program’s normal format, and also GEDCOM.

Happy researching!!

Family Tree Maker for the Mac!

Alona Tester — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 06:06:58 +0000

So it is finally going to happen …

Ancestry.com have made the announcement at the NGS Conference today that they are planning a Macintosh version of Family Tree Maker due for release later this year.

While I’m not a Mac user myself, I do know that the Mac market is definately a growing one, and will no doubt make many previously-PC Family Tree Maker users happy, as they can continue to use their fav program on a Mac.

It is said that … “itÂ will be built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010 and constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience”.

So what do you think? Are you excited for a Mac version?

Stay tuned for more … we’ll let you know as we hear more details.

Legacy Tip: How to add a second set of parents (adopted etc.)

Alona Tester — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:03:18 +0000

This post was recently put on the Legacy Family Tree Blog and as it answers a question that we do get from time to time, felt that it was useful to pass this on to our customer and blog readers.

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The question from Tim was: “Can I use Legacy to trace more than one set of parents without creating two different family files?”

Legacy answer: Yes Tim. Here’s how…

First, notice in the image below (click to enlarge), that John Brown’s parents are Charles and Sally Carter Brown. Let’s assume that these are his biological parents.

To add a second set of parents (such as adding his adoptive parents) follow these steps:

1) Click on John’s “Parents” icon.

The “Parents of John Brown” screen appears. In the “Relationship to Father” and “Relationship to Mother” fields, you should enter how John is related to each parent.

2) Click on the “Add New Parents” button.

This adds the second set of parents (displayed as “Unknown & Unknown):

3)Â Click on “Unknown & Unknown”, and then click on the “Add Father” button.

Add the information for the father and click Save. Do the same with the “Add Mother” button. Add her information and click Save.

4) Enter how John is related to the second set of parents in the “Relationship to Father/Mother” fields.

Done!

When you click on the Select buttonÂ to return to the Family View, you’ll notice that John’s second set of parents appear above him, and John’s Parents icon now has the number 2 next to it, indicating that he has two sets of parents. When you want to navigate between the parents, just click on this icon and select the other set of parents.

I think this should answer your question Tim. Do others have experience in researching/recording two sets of parents? Do you have other suggestions?

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You can find more information on Legacy Deluxe or Platinum here
To visit the publisher’s website click here

Sneek Peek of The Master Genealogist 8 (TMG v8)

Alona Tester — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:39:16 +0000

Bob Velke, the creator of The Master Genealogist will be the featured speaker at the Dec 12th meeting of the Roots Users Group of Arlington, Virginia. If you’re in the area, you’ll want to attend because Bob will use that occasion to make the first public demonstration of The Master Genealogist v8! This upcoming new release includes a new report writer engine (including support for 64-bit operating systems) and many other exciting new features.

Following the meeting, a feature list and screen shots will be made available through the company’s website. A release date for TMG v8 has not yet been announced.

Family Tree Maker 2010 Update (Service Pack 1)

Alona Tester — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:50:49 +0000

There was an announcement a couple of days ago in the Ancestry.com blog that there was an update to Family Tree Maker 2010 imminent … this is now available for download to current Family Tree Maker 2010 users.

Here are some of the highlights:

Improved Relationship Calculator. Direct-line relationships now take precedence over less direct lines.
Greater control over hinting. A new option lets you turn tree hints off, so you can get hints from records only. See the new check box in the Options dialog. Also, the program will stop hinting on trees owned by the logged in user, as well as not hinting records that have been downloaded with a tree from Ancestry.com.
Improved data and formatting in a number of reports.
Improved support for GEDCOM, PAF and Legacy import.
Many other small changes throughout the program to help it run more smoothly.

You can read the full details of the announcement including where to download the update from, on the Ancestry.com blog.