Sierra Generations Family Tree Download Mac

Aug 12, 2017. I have Generations which used Windows 95 and 98. Need updates for current use. We researched 16 different genealogy software programs by importing GEDCOM files, creating family trees, exporting charts and analyzing reports. We tested programs for both PC and Mac computers, and Legacy Family Tree stands out as the best genealogy software. Legacy Family Tree is FamilySearch.

Family Tree DNA is starting this thread to have you vote for the Family Tree Software of your choice. If you use one that is not listed in this poll, please let me know and I'll be happy to add. I use Family Tree Maker 2005. I'd switch in a heartbeat if I could find a package that would offer what FTM provides, plus full text searching capability covering any entries I had made. For example, I put things in notes for an individual, but I can't search those notes and all others for a key word--name, location, date, etc.

I eagerly await results of your survey to find out where I might find a better choice. Max, I use RootsMagic. It's the new version of Family Origins which is one of the selections. The two are very much alike but RM has all of the new features and FO is no longer being updated.

I don't know if you want to make a single entry for Family Origins/RootsMagic or make RM a separate listing. Incidentally, I also have current versions of TMG and FTM, but RM is my preference. A tip for travelers: My Roots from Tapperware will pull a genealogy file from your computer to your Palm handheld. Jim Bullock Littleton, Colorado j.b.bullock@comcast.net.

I use Family Tree Maker 2005. I'd switch in a heartbeat if I could find a package that would offer what FTM provides, plus full text searching capability covering any entries I had made. For example, I put things in notes for an individual, but I can't search those notes and all others for a key word--name, location, date, etc.

I eagerly await results of your survey to find out where I might find a better choice. Try kith kin [spansoft] ythe new ones are good but the 3.1 is fantastic. Cutting and pasting from a record to a email or record is the best feature ever for people with large databases [80,000+] and people who actually use them in relationship to mailing lists. Retyping all that data is a real bummer it doesnt matter i have to use a ME2000 or lower computor. I hate xp anyways i dont need the clouds. I just wish they would rerelease a newer version of the 3.1 program with cut and paste of course.

I think it would be useful to see a software developed that could make practical use of y-DNA & mtDNA results. Free Antivirus Free Download 2016 Smadav. Imagine this: 1. A person is tested & has results for 25 markers. The 25 markers are entered into the genealogy software for the individual.

He is marked as 'y-DNA tested' in the database. The genealogy software then populates all patrilineal relatives with the 25 markers. All are marked as 'y-DNA suggested' in the database. If a data conflict develops (eg, two patrilineal first cousins don't come close to matching), the software alerts you to the discrepancy & suggests alternative test subjects from the database to resolve the discrepancy.

Ditto for mtDNA I don't know of any software that does this, but it would be really useful. Timothy Peterman. Ditto for mtDNA I don't know of any software that does this, but it would be really useful. Timothy Peterman i agree! Spansoft kith and kin is different from the ones i have seen.

They work from a screen with clusters using bubbles like cartoons encapsulate speech. I have uploaded a sample jpg. In this you easily can follow the lines pink and blue and the ydna and mtdna so adding the sensitivity to ydna lines should be easier since it will tell me if someone was dead before they were born great idea tim it also will make dna more mainstream and genealogists will always answer questions their programs ask. I tried the switch from Family Origins to Family Tree Maker and found that I would have to redo the sources from at least 4000 individuals to the new format. Plus FTM had limited note taking - I use a lot of notes and FTM had limited event types and I could not import all of my information from FO. I had to return the software for a refund as it was not very satisfactory for keeping a family history where I wanted to search by type of event.

My only gripe about FO is that the multimedia table (where you store your connections to your multimedia files that related to individuals, families, or places) is very unstable. I maintain an excel list outside of FO with the person's name and place a reference as an event inside FO so the two will relate. Anybody have this problem? I'm not sure if this is the correct place to put this, but oh well. I am trying to change my genealogy file from Generations to another software program. I like the layout and the reports, however it doesn't seem compatible with windows ME and the company no longer offers support or upgrades, since they were sold. My problem is I tried to send by GEDCOM to Family Tree Maker 2006, but my NOTES did not transfer.

My sources did transfer, but not the notes. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thanks, Sherry. As an experienced web and software developer, I'd really enjoy creating such an application. I've been working on a personal family tree web application for my own family and I might consider extending this to include genetic markers.

I'll put some thought into this. Any suggestions, feel free to send them my way. - Sean Silver I think it would be useful to see a software developed that could make practical use of y-DNA & mtDNA results. Imagine this: 1. A person is tested & has results for 25 markers.

The 25 markers are entered into the genealogy software for the individual. He is marked as 'y-DNA tested' in the database.

The genealogy software then populates all patrilineal relatives with the 25 markers. All are marked as 'y-DNA suggested' in the database.

If a data conflict develops (eg, two patrilineal first cousins don't come close to matching), the software alerts you to the discrepancy & suggests alternative test subjects from the database to resolve the discrepancy. Ditto for mtDNA I don't know of any software that does this, but it would be really useful. Timothy Peterman.

After reading the above advice, The Master Genealogist sounds like it might be a winner. I was wondering if anyone can comment on its companion program for making web pages.

Does it support privacy restricted to registered users? I would like to make some data public and some data restricted to family members. Also, I would like to include a comment section so anyone with helpful information can add their comments and respond to each other. If it doesn't support interactive participation, can I include links to a separate blog site? But it would be great if I can integrate blog with family history information, pictures, DNA profiles, etc. With security levels.

If I should be looking at a different software package, let me know that as well. Thank you, --Steve. I have spent very many hours scanning and studying Church Records and censuses and still have many ancestral lines to research. It is important to document the family relationships thoroughly. Of course this work is done for my self and my family, but because there exists some free family tree software I want to share my findings with other people.

The PAF 5.2 is very convincing: Besides for the usual names, birth, christening, burial, nick names, married name, cause of death, physical description it allow adding for instance informational sources, write personal information, add photos and Internet links on each individual, and to seal persons and families to each other. Have not tried any other system, therefore I cannot compare them.

I have spent very many hours scanning and studying Church Records and censuses and still have many ancestral lines to research. It is important to document the family relationships thoroughly. Of course this work is done for my self and my family, but because there exists some free family tree software I want to share my findings with other people. The PAF 5.2 is very convincing: Besides for the usual names, birth, christening, burial, nick names, married name, cause of death, physical description it allow adding for instance informational sources, write personal information, add photos and Internet links on each individual, and to seal persons and families to each other. Have not tried any other system, therefore I cannot compare them.

After reading your post, I downloaded PAF 5.2 for free from the Mormon site and have started using it. Thus far, I like it. The price was right, that's for sure!:D. I have paf, family tree, and TMC (wholly genes) on my computer right now. I am new as can be to all this, so I can just give my first impressions. I looked at this forum, and bought the most popular, family tree. A little exploring showed that paf was free, so I downloaded it.

I also found I could get a 30 day trial version of tmc for free. First impressions, tmc's interface confuses me. This may be the sign of a powerful program, but the multiple windows make very simple things hard to do without reading instructions (heaven forbid). I produced some beautiful charts and reports with it very easily (after reading how to do it) from the GEDCOM I imported. I bet this software would be fine if you were used to it. There is a clear section for adding genetic information to your family file.

PAF is fast to open and easy to use. The chart and report producing functions seem to be limited compared to family tree or tmc, but are very good for the price. There is a companion program, which costs money (I have only looked at the free evaluation version). This program looks clean, powerful and easy to use for report writing. I plan to buy the full version of the add-on program. Family Tree is the popularity winner on this site, and is a powerful program.

On my computer it seems to be a little slower than paf and a little faster than tmc. It comes with easy report writing functions, and I produced some very pretty stuff very quickly (I have to prove to my family that I'm actually accomplishing something with all this time on the computer). My conclusion is that I will continue to use paf and ft, but may uninstall tmc when its 30 days are up. All programs (paf with the added support software) will do amazing things. I plan to plug away at tmc while its still alive, and try to see if I can get to a point where I can easily do what I want to do.

Right now paf and ft are a tie as far as I'm concerned. I want both:) Either would do. I'm liking paf better and better myself.:) The one report that I haven't figured out how to do yet is a 'timeline' where they space out historical events through a list of people's lifetimes.

It's just eye candy, and it's probably in there somewhere (but it makes my family think I did a lot of work, so.). I unlocked the paf companion today. Technical support was fast, polite, and helpful with my dumb mistakes. Steve I was just adding some more info to my paf last night. It really is an easy, fast, convenient program. I may buy that companion program you mentioned and give it a whirl. While all of the basic programs will handle simple tasks of building GEDCOMs and the like, I continue to enjoy paf the most.

It is inexpensive (free for the basic program), even with the add-on paf companion. I find myself getting bolder and bolder using it. One of the things that I found in ftm and legacy, which is not in paf even with the paf companion, is the ability to produce sophisticated timelines. There is, however, addon timeline software available that will produce very nice timelines and timeline charts.

Genelines seems to do all that I will ever need in this area. I've found timelines to be a good way to introduce ancestors to people today who don't have a particular interest in genealogy. As an old Unix guy, I can see advantages in using a whole suite of programs to manipulate data rather than one, monolithic program. I suspect that with the proper add on programs and some time, paf will do al that I ever will need in a genealogy program. Even with addons, it is still cheaper than some of its competitors. Have a good day, everyone!:) steve.

I realize that Family Tree Maker is the 'default' choice for many people since it's been around for a long time, and many people are used to it. The main thing about any piece of software is the combination of power and ease of use. I've forced myself to get 'over the hump' with ftm and I have started to use it with some sense of ease. It still is slow to start, and occasionally does an autmated merge in a different way than I would expect.

I still find myself using paf, whenever I need to do something quick with my GEDCOM. Paf lacks some of the features found in other programs, but it is easy for an inexperienced user like me. I do have a new favorite though, RootsMagic. It feels fast and light like paf, but it seems to have some of the report writing and error checking power of some of the heavier programs.

I used it's error checking features to remove several blunders that my overenthusiastic merging had created (Hmmn, this baby was born 30 years before her father; amazing what they were doing in the 1700s). Paf seems to be much weaker in its error checking; although maybe that's just my poor steering. Anyway, if I could only keep 1, right now it would be RootsMagic. Give it a look; there is a free trial version. Good night and good luck, steve. Now that I have voted, I want to tell you how great I think this software is.

I will start first by saying that I have went through my share of family tree software, starting out with Family Tree Maker Version 1 - 3, which never fulfilled what I wanted a database to do. I tried PAF, Generations, and ect. It wasn't until I downloaded Legacy that I found a software with the power that I was looking for.

The first thing that caught my attention was that the standard version is 'FREE' not limited to a length of time that you and ues it, not limited to how many names that you can store, no restrictions on the free version at all, just a few options you can't use, one is that you can't create.pdf files of reports and so forth from inside the program, another is a secondary index that I find very nice. Also with the free version you can add any updates to the program that they might release 'FREE'. It execpts any gedcom file with a little minor cleanup once imported. Should you descide to pay for the deluxe version it only 29.95 for a download only.

I personaly have never found a need to order a CD and Users Guide. I have been able to find out anything I wanted to know from the built-in Help or from the Legacy website (I have still tried some other software since I started using Legacy, but have found nothing to compare with the power and easy interface.

This is just my personal opinion, if you are looking to try a new software check it out.:) You can't lose it's 'FREE'. Thank you for letting me Vote which software I prefer. Having been at family history research since 1984/5, began by hand with lots of notebooks. Graduated to PAF Personal Ancestral File 1.0 which it was available at the West Los Angeles, Ca. Family History Library. I purchased the software then, I cannot remember the price.

After a while, I got away from research, family, life, etc. I downloaded the new software, the price was right, FREE, could not pass it, as already had previous experience with the original software. It suits my purposes. I use the alternate fields for other information I wished to record as time permits. Presently, I keep a separate journal for family events, pictures, etc. Don't we all?

So far I have a small problem in that I cannot seem to print out any forms or reports. Must be a glitch between the new software download and the computer itself. Will deal with it later. A gedcom seems to do the trick for now.

No, I am not a Mormon. But do enjoy their software as it does the trick.

It all depends on your desire for all the bells and whistles that each software program out there can give you. Again, the magic word is 'CHOICE', what we do without that word in this day and age. The GEDCOM standard says to surround surnames with slashes.

This enables handling of names provided in a different order than 'first middle last' and also handles multi-part surnames. See I know at least Family Tree Maker will, by default, assume the last word of the name field is the surname, but that can be changed by entering the slashes, ie: George /van der Merwede/ I also use this convention when I know someone's given name(s), but not their surname. I enter their given names followed by // to indicate that the entered names are not the surname. The GEDCOM standard says to surround surnames with slashes. This enables handling of names provided in a different order than 'first middle last' and also handles multi-part surnames. See By default, Family Tree Maker will assume the last word of the name field is the surname, but that can be changed by entering the slashes, ie: Other major programs should behave the same way. The problem is that the slash's permanently fuse the prefix to the surname.

For instance van der Merwede and Merwede are the same. If you make the prefix part of the last name, which it isn't, then alphabetically van der Merwede would fall under 'V' and that is not correct. It should be under 'M'. When you do a search on Merwede and a program has combined the prefix with the surname the search will not perform correctly. The slash's are a poor and incorrect way to handle it. The makers of the non-US created software understand this and they have handled it correctly.

It should be a seperate field. You will see legal documents where someone named Jan van Holland sign their name as 'Jan v. Holland', they are also written as such at times. A prefix is and at the same time is not part of the surname.

If the current GEDCOM standard cannot handle it correctly then it is time to change the standard. They need only to add a SPFX field for the prefix and it is done. That is how it is exported in TNG and Gramps. One of the problems with databases is that no one format or structure meets all needs. The surname issue is a case in point. Even if GEDCOM formats allowed surname prefixes, the proprietary genealogy software probably wouldn't recognize it and wouldn't download that data. I've spent hours loading GEDCOMS into a word processor and manually altering the data so a propietary genealogy program would download the GEDCOM without losing any of the data.

This is not a hard fix. It is a matter of adding one field. The genealogy programs produced in Europe handle this fine. The problem is the American companies (and government) have no clue what a surname prefix is. It is not a technical problem, it is an ignorance problem in American genealogy software development. Two seperate programs developed in Europe handle the issue with no problem.

That tells me it does work. I also am a programmer so I do know what is involved. And it really isn't that difficult. This is not a hard fix. It is a matter of adding one field. The genealogy programs produced in Europe handle this fine. The problem is the American companies (and government) have no clue what a surname prefix is.

It is not a technical problem, it is an ignorance problem in American genealogy software development. Two seperate programs developed in Europe handle the issue with no problem. That tells me it does work.

I also am a programmer so I do know what is involved. And it really isn't that difficult. True it's not a hard fix. Unfortunately, most of the genealogy programs currently available aren't flexible. In my opinion there's only one genealogy software program out there that is flexible enough for super-users and collectors of genealogy data. I'd have to check it to see if it could handle the prefix issue.

I've never had to input any prefixes before so I don't know if it could handle it correctly. I was hoping to produce a patriarch chart from a GEDCOM for my surname project, however I was disappointed with the inflexibility of custom reporting in FTM. Basically what I want is a descendant outline report that I can manipulate into a patriarch report. However, none of the software I have seen will allow you to include only male descendants of a selected surname.

I thought maybe it would let me create a full report, and then edit out the individuals I didn't want, but you can't do that either. I'm a programmer, so I could write SQL or VB code to do this, if I had access to the data, but I don't know how to convert a GEDCOM to another database format I could work with. Any advice from any tech-types out there would be appreciated.

I may just have to cut and paste into Word and manipulate it there, but that takes time when you're working with trees that have 2000+ individuals. Paul, I hope I?m not telling you what you already know. A GEDCOM is made so you can transfer a file between genealogy programs. The GEDCOM has to be imported into Your favorite program. I use FTM 2005. I?m NOT happy with the?new owners??but I have been using it since Their start. Now is when I get confused by your question.

I click on reports, select custom. With this you can select any people in your tree you Wish. Then in edit, click copy report. I use this to import to Word/Excel. Or am I in left field? Oh: make sure you do a backup. The file is *.ftw.

Copy this file to a floppy or stick drive. * means your file name (for the new folks) Mine is darroll.ftw. The file is usually located on 'C', then look for the FTW folder. Daroll, Thanks for attempting to answer my question. Yes, I can select anyone I want, but if I choose descendants of Martin Sheets, I get them all. There are over 2000 of them, and it lists them alphabetically, so as I'm going down the list to then exclude the other surnames that I don't want in the report, and the female offspring of a male Sheets that I don't want, I don't know if the name I'm excluding is a descendant of Martin or not. I can't include by surname alone either, because if I just select all of the Sheets, then I won't get the wives names, which I do want.

Also, the 'Sort' option for a custom report does not include 'in descendant order'. The alphabetical sort and other sorts will do me no good, as I need to retain the indented type sorting of the outline descendant chart. Otherwise, I'll just get a list and won't know who is the child of whom. Thirdly, with over 2000 individuals, there is no way to select by gender.

Sure, I can guess that 'Lake Sheets' is a guy, or 'Jessie Sheets' is a girl, but I could be wrong, and that would make my report innacurate. I realize what GEDCOM format is for, I was just wondering if there was a way to import a GEDCOM format into, say, an Access database or something I can write my own reports from. I have been useing PAF for almost 20 years. The best part I like is, you can make a BOOK with all your information, notes, and sources and your pictures of ALL your family members. In 2005 I made a BOOK for the Virginia State Library in Richmond, on my father's side of the family. It is about 850 pages.

It turned out GREAT! I am planning to do an up date in 2010. It is already over 1500 pages now and growing every day. It will have over 300 pictures in 2010. I don't know if other programs can do that. If any of you get to the Richmond Library, please check out my BOOK, The Via Family Tree by Elaine Marie Via Bouscher. If you would like to see your efforts included in Family Tree Maker, below is the response they sent me.

I'm not advertising for them, just relaying their response to me. In my view, I believe the folks at Family Tree DNA and Family Tree Maker / Ancestry.com should partner. ------------------------------------------------------------------- That feature does not currently exist in the Family Tree Maker program. However, you can make your detailed needs known to the developers by going to this website: Under Customer Support, Feedback, you want to select Suggest a Product or Service Enhancement. There Enhancement Requests are review by the company and may be included in a future release of the program. For people like me who do not have much of a family tree (more like a twig) how about a genetic family tree based off the tests conducted by FTDNA?

As time goes by and more people test, then maybe all the gaps could be filled in just by working one haplogroup at a time. This in essence would be the world's largest family tree based on genetics testing. It would be pretty awesome. Arch As I understand it, that is essentially what the SMGF database (is all about. Can we go anywhere on this web site without getting all of these advertisements for their competitors?

I logged on that website and all of their results are hidden (our family). Just one big secret after another. Why don?t you learn some manners, partner? D Calm down, Darroll. SMGF is not a competitor to FTDNA. It's a research foundation that gets DNA samples plus a four generation family tree from genealogists. You don't pay anything to submit your sample for testing, but they also don't give you any results directly.

To repeat, they are a research foundation and don't care at all about getting people's money or giving them DNA test results. They just want to get DNA samples, along with family trees, for their research into mutation rates, autosomal DNA, etc.

The results they do get from your DNA sample take over a year to show up on their website. Since you don't get your results directly from them, you have to go through a tortuous trial and error process to find out the results for each marker. (You yourself wrote, 'all of their results are hidden.' ) For each marker, you make a guess, based on your haplogroup or whatever, at what STR count they got for you. If your guess was right, it will be a match, including your family tree. If your guess was wrong, guess another STR count for that marker, until you get it right. Imagine how long this takes to get 43 markers, which is what SMGF tests, right!

If you don't already have marker results from FTDNA, it could take you 2 or 3 hours to get all your marker results by this trial and error process. So, do you still think that SMGF is a 'competitor' of FTDNA?

I can't see how it is. But it is a good database to do lookups for similar haplotypes to your own, to see geographical areas where your deep ancestry may be. This is because they have much better coverage of areas outside the British Isles. One problem with the FTDNA database is that it's heavily skewed toward British Isles ancestry. This may not mean much to you, but for someone whose ancestry is not in the British Isles, it is an important point. Can we go anywhere on this web site without getting all of these advertisements for their competitors?

I logged on that website and all of their results are hidden (our family). Just one big secret after another.

Why don?t you learn some manners, partner? D Whoa, there. I'm not advertising for anybody.

The previous poster suggested that it might be useful to collect DNA information, match it with genealogical paper trail information, and create one big family tree database. I just pointed out that that's what the Sorenson database aims to do, according to the mission statement on their website. Seems to me you're the one who needs some manners.

I'm not advertising for anybody. The previous poster suggested that it might be useful to collect DNA information, match it with genealogical paper trail information, and create one big family tree database. I just pointed out that that's what the Sorenson database aims to do, according to the mission statement on their website.

Seems to me you're the one who needs some manners. ******************************************** Oh: Please, thank you.

Now I have manners. This is FTDNA?s web site. For years people have been advertising the other DNA testing facilities, here. This is like (since I do not think you get it) getting on a Ford web site and advertising Chevy. I ONLY use this site because. I have quit doing genealogy because of the rude people that hang out on the Big genealogy sites and you know who they are. I had the families DNA tested and posted it on Y-Search.

Someone had a perfect 11 point match and they posted theirs on smgf (this also gave me a religious message). They made sure it was hidden and changed DNA testing results to a one way street. You give, I take kind of thinking/behavior. Two can play that game and now we are playing hide and seek with our advanced DNA test results also What goes around, comes around.

I also know that there is a group out there that wants? All genealogy/DNA to be controlled by one company. If/when this happens, I will take up stacking bb?s. This large company has ruined genealogy and now they are trying to ruin DNA.

Then they wonder why their members DNA does not match and came up with 500 excuses why, they don?t mention?bad paper trail? Our Y-DNA is a 100% match. GRAMPS 3.0.0 is pretty good and it is free. I have also been using geni.com with over 1,000 other family members. I see it as more of a social networking site for families than genealogy software, but you could use it for that I guess.

We have people on there from all over the world and some of them don't even speak English. They have been diligently adding to the tree though and many of them use it as their primary form of contact with the rest of the family now - even over email. Those email SPAM forwards have pretty much gone away ever since. I guess they don't feel the need to send that junk anymore when they can have legitimate contact with the rest of the family. Now I just have to get them on the DNA genealogy bandwagon.

Their main hold-up is the expense, but costs are coming down and soon that excuse will be eliminated. I just came across this program when looking around for a new sowftare package. I have downloaded the free trial and particularly like the way you can mask off areas of a photo for linking to individuals (eg. There is a school photo, you can mask off just your relative and then view either the person or the whole photo with a click).

However, I am still struggling to decide whether it is overall that good. The majority seem to use Family Tree Maker (and I note that the 2008 edition has not been getting very good reviews). So my questions are does anyone use Family Historian?

If so, what do you like about it? Have you used anything else and why is it better? If you are using these other programs then why do you think they are the best to use? Please add Family Historian to the list. I have been using it for several years now and wouldn't be without it. The program is very flexible, with lots of customisable features (eg, columns, wording in narrative reports). The program has a useful query function so that you can, for instance, run queries on specific lines (eg, to get a list of all the direct male descendants of a specific person to identify suitable candidates for Y-DNA testing).

Further information can be found on the company website: There is also a very active users' group website: http://www.fhug.org.uk. Family Tree DNA is starting this thread to have you vote for the Family Tree Software of your choice. If you use one that is not listed in this poll, please let me know and I'll be happy to add. As a complete newbie to all this, I picked one at random - Geni, and it seems to be very good.

I have gotten a lot of my family to join, and we are compiling quite a list. What I like is that Geni is Mac- and PC-friendly - no problems using both platforms. Does anyone else use Geni here? Doug R-M269 mtHaplogroup U5 HVR1 differences from CRS 16256T 16270T 16399G HVR2 differences from CRS 73G 263G 309.1C 315.1C 573.1C 573.2C. The GEDitCOM tool reflects precisely (no more, no less) the information contained in a gedcom file, as defined in the GEDCOM 5.5 Standard. Insofar as the Ahnentafel concept is not (as far as I know) an explicit part of this standard, this approach to ordering personal records doesn't seem to be included as a display option in the GEDitCOM software.

I hasten to add, though, that I'm by no means a GEDitCOM wizard, merely an amateur user. So, it would be preferable to investigate questions of this kind with the tool's designer, John Nairn.

Well I am new to this stuff. And have no clue what other things do exists. I use a free onlineservice wich gives the possibilities of handing accounts to all the fmiliy members with different degrees of editing rights. It also has an interesting function to show you a map, where a surname is how common. German site: Or if your just interested in maps for surnames: Austrian maps: Swiss maps: US Version: Maps: Spanish version: www.miparentela.es maps: Polish: www.moikrewni.pl (www.moikrewni.pl/mapa.

My fav is Kith and Kin and especially the 3.1 version which allows you to cut and paste from the record to the software and backwards. Which allows emailing results with much less time involved i couldnt vote but i should of been able to I used to use Kith and Kin when it was a free down load and just getting started and I loved it. Then my computer crashed and I couldn't find it again for a long time. Thanks for finding it for me. It is the easiest ever and does so much. I started off with some simple genealogy program in the early 90’s then was introduced to Family Tree Maker. I still have it on my computer and I keep it up to date with each new version.

It is a very good and useful program. It seems to be the most popular and my relatives seem to all use it.

For that reason I always have it installed. In about 2004 or so I was introduced to Roots Magic and after testing it for some time I have moved fully to that program. Someone said that a new version is not necessarily better than the old one and they are very correct. But on the whole Roots Magic has been very very responsive to our suggestion for changes and corrections to each version as they become available. The last thing I have to say is it beats the heck out of pen and paper!! I am relatively new to this but came with a rather extensive computer background. I wanted something on line so I did not have to deal with platforms, storage, etc.

It had to be robust in accepting stories, photos, etc. As well as classic ancestry date. The family records were kept in AncestryQuest. My experice, with now over 4,500 individuals in the Family tree is that the real power of ancestry.com is its capacity to search in other family trees, wiki style, combined with the extensive data bases such as census.

One mans opinion. The software package, 'The Master Genealogist' has provisions for DNA. Unfortunately, they have not released a Mac version. I would love to see this for both Mac and Linux. -Shawn I already voted in here, but since voting I have been using a new program.

I use Reunion 9 for Mac. I quite like this program, its easy to use and if you make a mistake in connecting one or more lines, to the clipboard they go to be fixed. I'm hoping that one day they make genealogy programs where one can add the DNA results into a specifically designed area. But then again, the notes section is perfectly fine too. I have used Legacy since ever since I started doing genealogy.

They have a wonderful user group which is really one of the best things because you can get a lot of help there. They also provide free updates when small changes are made to the program. You still have to buy a new program when there is a major revision to the program. It is not so heavy as Family Tree Maker because it does not load the media files like pictures into the main program. If you use windows you should try Legacy it has a lot of former Family Tree Maker users. I personally tried Family Tree Maker once but I was very disappointed with it.

The cost of using Family Tree Maker is quite considerable compared to Legacy. I have however switched to Linux as my main operating system and for over a year I have not been very active in genealogy. Once I get back into it I hope to begin using GRAMPS as a supplement to Legacy and eventually I may switch to it. I tried it several years ago and although it didn't have some of the features of Legacy at that time it looked very good to me. In the mid 1980s there was little choice in genealogy software. My original switch from hand-written paper sheets was to a memory typewriter; it was painful and very limiting.

A brief attempt at using PAF demonstrated the applications limitations in documenting research data. A colleague at work was using Roots and provided me with a demo copy for a test drive. From that, began the long journey of following Roots (versions I through V) to The Master Genealogist (TMG), Gold edition (v7). For the average user TMG is probably overkill. It takes time to learn and understand program features.

TMG may be compared to Microsoft Word or a full-blown word processing program. If one uses Word for nothing more than writing email text, it is overkill and not worth the expense of purchase and the devotion of time to learn about the features. However, if one is going to publish a dissertation (citations, footnotes, a bibliography, index, charts, and figures) a simple text editor will not suffice.

TMG is a very powerful genealogy program. The developers have done an excellent job of designing the program to meet the needs of the professional or advanced amateur genealogist. To meet the need of the individual, the user can tailor program features. Data set “Lists” are maintained for the various elements of research that are referenced - Source, Repository, Place, Event, Tag Type, and Style. As these elements are used, the Lists grow. After the first use, the research element is then re-used for recording subsequent individuals entered into the program. When the initial transfer from Roots V to TMG was initiated, I found that I had recorded my “Place” locations in many different ways.

Each spelling error for a location created a new location. States were sometimes recorded with the full spelling, while some locations used the two letter code for the state. My “Place” list was a mess.

Likewise, I had recorded various sources in different ways. Making corrections to my data set took time. But, I had the tools to make the corrections and the corrections were globally applied to every individual record where it was used. Genealogy programs have become more sophisticated over the past twenty-five years.

Does every genealogy programs now have this capability, probably. Is TMG the perfect genealogy program?

Like any software program, the user community will continue to identify new features and capabilities. My experience has been that Wholly Genes Software listens and responds to the user community. I started with Brother's Keeper approx.

Around '94 - the DOS version, too. And have updated through the decades. I remember in the 90s having a problem and calling the phone number for help - and a 'voice' answered (John Steed's) who helped with a 'computer problem' rather than the software. Now that's service! I would imagine most are pleased with their genealogy software - doubt if many use all the apps provided. I did not see Brother's Keeper in your list.

I have used it for a decade and watched it grow with me from DOS to Windows. I voted for Family Tree Maker. And, while I realise a software company needs to keep selling copies of their software to stay in business, I really don't see the need to keep upgrading to the latest bleeding-edge issue - I still use the same version I bought 13 years ago. I also put my family tree on line using PHP software called 'The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding', written by Darrin Lythgoe. I customised the front page from one of his free templates, and the rest of the site is password-protected. I admit family members (and qualified researchers on a need-to-know basis), and I listed all of the surnames in a textbox on the front page so others could find me and apply for a match process. My database has gone from about 2,300 to over 20,000 in the last 18 months.

Quite an achievement! I have only recently gotten the genealogy bug, but it's been a pretty intense few weeks. I decided to wait before purchasing any family tree software - so as to have better information on which to make my decision - but in the meantime I've put a ton of information into ancestry.com's online family tree. Do I risk having much of this information not transfer when the time comes to migrate to a new family tree software program?

Having all of this information already in ancestry.com, should that influence my decision of which software to go with later? (Do some articulate better with ancestry.com than others?) Many thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions! Dwight 'The only known N line of Holmes'. I voted for Family Tree Maker. And, while I realise a software company needs to keep selling copies of their software to stay in business, I really don't see the need to keep upgrading to the latest bleeding-edge issue - I still use the same version I bought 13 years ago. I also put my family tree on line using PHP software called 'The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding', written by Darrin Lythgoe.

My database has gone from about 2,300 to over 20,000 in the last 18 months. Quite an achievement! Hi Bimjim, IF you subscribe to Ancestry.com you might want to consider upgrading to the latest version of Family Tree Maker. I was like you, using an older version of FTM which I found very sufficient, but while at WDYTYA this Feb.

I upgraded to FTM 2010. It has a feature which integrates it with the Ancestry.com databases. If there are any potential source documents on Ancestry that might apply to a member in your tree it flags the member with a “leaf” and when you click on the “leaf” it brings up all of these possible matches. You can then review any of these possible sources and merge the information into your tree. You select exactly what information you want to merge.

You can also select a member in your tree and request an Ancestry search. All of the pertinent information about the member is automatically transferred into the Ancestry search form saving you from having to manually input the information. If you find anything in Ancestry.com that pertains to the member in your tree you can merge as mentioned above.

I find this to be an extremely useful tool since I already subscribe to Ancestry.com. Weeks ago I had pretty much decided to purchase Legacy Deluxe (I've been using only ancestry.com online). Today a sudden need arose to shift to standalone software, hoping to produce some charts for tomorrow. So I went to Legacy's site, paid up, purchased the download version - then, in the receipt, I see that it says to complete the download I need to get their follow up email, and it will arrive 'by the end of the next business day.' It's Saturday. I want this now.

The next business day is Monday. I thought the whole purpose of being wired 24/7 with mammoth bandwidth was to blow away the very concept of a 'business day.' You've got my money - give me the download! I'm sure this will all pass in good time. Just blown away by this unexpected 'brick wall'! I have voted and I use Legacy, I started out using PAF for DOS back in 1984 the only Genealogy program I could find at the time. Beat the daylights out of paper and pen.

I've used since them Family Orgins, FTM, one that is no longer in business and a couple of others I do not recall. All of them has been very good and served a purpose but I found Legacy and use it now because it serves all my needs. I think that will be the case with any program, if it serves your needs, you will be happy with it. A recomendation if you are just starting, use one of the free programs PAF, Legacy, or Gramps. After you learn the information that is required names, dates, places, and where you got the information any of these free programs will keep your information and do a satisfactory job. After you get confortable with using a genealogy program look at samples of all the programs then select the one you want to use and get it.

The programs that put out a new version every few months let the new version be used for a while before you update. Short times between versions makes good money for the company but bugs can hide for a while. Any way all the programs are good just make sure you like the one you settle on before you start spending money.

Have a good day everyone. Family Tree DNA is starting this thread to have you vote for the Family Tree Software of your choice. If you use one that is not listed in this poll, please let me know and I'll be happy to add.[SIZE='4'][COLOR='Blue']I use Wintree and was surprised to find it missing from your list of software titles.

Wintree is very similar to PAF and (like PAF) is easy to use. But unlike PAF, Wintree uses color to facilitate navigation through the various screens. Both programs are GEDCOM compatible but PAF is free for personal home use. Wintree is free to try (for 30 days) but requires a $15.00 registration fee for unlimited use. For additional information, FTDNA Forum members may go to the Wintree home page at: wintree.plus.com.

Because I currently use Ancestry.com for research and fact checking, I considered buying the latest 2011 FTM software to be able to create, edit, import and export GEDCOM files in the future before my annual subscription runs out. The site implies that it can create reports, but does not state it can create the GEDCOM type of files. Thus, I emailed Ancestry through their site asking if the FTM software can perform these actions, but they have not responded to date.

Since FTM is clearly the choice of most users here based on the ongoing poll, could any of you please clarify what FTM 2011 can do or cannot do when it comes to GEDCOM files. I personally think that if one subscribes to Ancestry for research and tree development on a long term basis the latest FTM software should be included as part of the package. Thank you for any and all. Hello I do not have the latest version of FTM, but I do know that Ancestry.com allows you to save your tree to the FTM on your computer. This all sounds nice, but there is a problem that I have found that makes me mad. If you try and save your file from the website to your computer it does not copy documents or photos that you may have added on the website. So anything such as census records or family photos that I had saved to Ancestry.com are there without a way to download them along with your tree to your computer version of FTM.

I am using FTM 2009 still and I don't know if this issue has been fixed in newer versions. While using Ancestry.com it is quite easy to search and add media to your tree on their site, but be aware that you cannot save your gedcom along with its corresponding media to your own program. It is something their website says they are working on at the last time I checked. I have used their website for years researching, but I had never realized my media was not downloadable or included in my gedcom file.

I am now going through my tree on my computer version and adding media into it person by person which is extremely frustrating and time consuming. So if you do use FTM in any version make sure you do your research by using your computer version of FTM and search Ancestry.com through the link in the computer program and not their website alone. That way when you are saving things to your tree on your computers FTM program and not onto the Ancestry.com website tree. Most importantly media (documents, photos). I hope the newer version has addressed this issue. Good Luck My version FTM2009 uses Gedcom 5.5, family tree maker, Gedcom for FTM 16 as export options for trees, charts and reports. Connie: Thank you for sharing your experiences with FTM 2009 with us.

What a huge waste of time if you can't manipulate the info easily between the FTM and Ancestry tree, especially all those sources you mentioned which are very important when it come to deciphering strange events, repeated names and obscure dates! As I said earlier, Ancestry should automatically give us some manner to create GEDCOM files we can edit and export, sans any software like FTM. Since they have not answered my direct question as to whether FTM 2011 can perform these actions as a stand-alone product, I am assuming it's 'No' by omission or it's simply not GEDCOM friendly to date. Thanks again for sharing; I'll be referring back to your frustrating experience when considering a good tree program in the future.

I am very sorry to learn that you had to 'reinvent the wheel', so to speak, just to make a good tree with sources. I hope you have devised a better way to collect and organize your hard-won ancestry info since that time. Sincerely, DW. I just submitted a sample (for Y-DNA 37) this week and got registered for the forums last night.

My primary genealogy software is ancestry.com (USA only). I've been a subscriber since 2006. In my opinion, it's getting better as time passes.

A friend gave me Family Tree Maker 2010 about a year ago, but I've only looked at it a couple of times. A cousin may give me a free copy of FTM 2012 in the near future, and it is supposed to work very well with ancestry.com. Farther back in time I used PAF and still have it installed and actually used it to create the simple paternal line gedcom file I just uploaded to FTDNA a couple of days ago. I think that I will try some of the other suggested programs. I tried free Legacy several years ago, but my PC then didn't have enough power to run it satisfactorily. I've been using Reunion for Mac, but I have it so messed up I don't know what to do. It seems there is a certain way to make corrections, and I didn't know that.

So when I put in my father I gave him his American first name. Then I decided it was more correct to have his original name, so I changed it.

Then I found out he had a middle name, so I put that in. So the result is that I have three husbands for my mother, my father with each of the corrections. This has happened multiple times with several lines, and I have tried and tried to fix it. So I haven't used it for a while, and am thinking of starting over with an easier to correct program.

Luckily I have only about 300 in my tree. I have a great memory. Yes, I know, you can't pass your memory on when you go.;) My info is in the narrative family history in Word form that I've been working on, and in my Gmail account where I collect info from distant cousins and record things I find for myself, for easy access, and all the saved images of censuses, etc., on my hard drive. I don't focus on any one line, e.g. Surname line, the way I know some do.

All of mine, including both maternal and paternal for all ancestors, are treated equally (more or less; some are just more interesting than others), so it's pretty much a never-ending job. Fortunately, I haven't found it all that interesting to trace siblings' descendants, for instance (let alone ancestors of siblings' spouses, which is how I find my family, and occasionally even myself, in the trees of completely unrelated people, something I find very annoying) -- whoever comes after me can take that one on. I actually had no idea there were so many options. Frankly, if and when I pick one, I'm pretty sure it will be the simplest and most user-friendly I can find, and 'features' won't be a big criterion. I wonder whether FTDNA is considering the suggestion that has been made here, incorporating testing results into a tree, and is doing some preliminary investigation into which family tree software users prefer?;). Since a few people here have asked for more details on TMG, here are a few answers (far more could be said about all the excellent features, though).

First, I've used TMG for something like 20 years now. It has always been considered one of the top programs for serious genealogists. By serious, that means anyone who cares about getting things right--not just professionals. When I was a beginner, I wanted a program that I wouldn't grow out of. Many people start with Family Tree Maker but get fed up with its limitations--it is the most widely used but that doesn't mean it's the best.

TMG incorporates input of DNA data (I look forward to having some to put in). TMG has very robust options for recording sources. TMG has fields for surname parts such as 'van' and can be used in languages other than English. There are many European users. Like pretty much any Windows program, TMG will run on a Mac if you have emulation software such as Parallels.

TMG will produce both charts and narratives. You can use it to create an entire book full of family stories, or a handsome chart. TMG user John Cardinal has developed several inexpensive and well-received companion programs, particularly Second Site, which produces Web output and is highly customizable. Wholly Genes, the company that makes TMG, is relatively small but highly responsive to customers.

There is a vibrant and helpful email list (via Rootsweb) for users as well as a support forum on the company website. Again, much more could be said but I think this will answer some of the basic questions for those who are interested in finding a first or a better program. My trees, my worksheets are all on Brothers Keeper. I find when I export a gedcom that it is easiest to put it on Family Tree maker, because that's what most people use, so that is what I buy it for. Other than that, I never use it. Frankly, I started with family tree but think its a dog for my use.

I like the format 12 Aug 2009 because it never causes a question where can and often does. They upgrade every two or three years or so and I must upgrade also. Their source management is pathetic. With BK everything is multi simple and straight forward, but John works constantly to answer users request.

There is excellent backup for problems. But mostly its just simple, direct, user friendly but you have all that you need and in a really good format. If I want to use a format for names, which I do, I can create my own and nobody gripes or refuses to accept it.

I use, this style John Clay(1831VA) Smith. Now I know when this guy started life in anything that I use. He is quickly identified in any list.

If I want to go further- John Clay(1831VA)kit#72831 Smith and now I have his starting date and his yDNA record per ancestor trail. John is great and the price is wonderful and any help needed is right there.

Generations by Sierra On-Line, Inc. Generations was a popular program that developed. Sylenth1 Download Crack Fl Studio there. They purchased Reunion for Windows from Leister Productions around 1997 when Leister wanted to only continue their Mac version. Sierra developed the program until 2002 when they sold it to A&E, the parent company of Genealogy.com.

Produced and distributed the software for Genealogy.com, but a couple of years later, Genealogy.com dropped Generations, Family Origins and Ultimate Family Tree in favour of their number 1 product, Family Tree Maker. A is still maintained by Mike Hobart. Unsupported • Windows • Full Featured • Builds Website. Generations Review by Connie Everitt, Nov 17, 2016 Rating My husband and I looked around for a long time for a program that was user-friendly and that would do what we wanted. Generations Deluxe was the program we bought and loved to use. Unfortunately, we had to get new computers and much to our dismay our beloved Generations would not work on the newer computers. So we are again looking for another program.

Biggest Pro: Unlimited notes. Easy to input information, relationships at a glance, nice reports and tree’s to be printed.

Biggest Con: Would not work on newer computers we bought. Generations Review by Nessa, Aug 28, 2016 Rating I used Reunion initially, & upgraded to Generations Grande Suite.

Initially I had problems with Windows 7, but downloaded the patch which fixed the problem, which was that as I added information, the programme deleted a piece of information already stored. I upgraded the computer to Windows 8 with no problems. I did panic when my laptop upgraded itself to Windows 10, but again, I haven’t encountered any problems with Generations. It works as well as it always has done. Biggest Pro: Works well for me. Generations Review by Judy, Aug 8, 2016 Rating I have most of my family tree on it from Grand Suite Version 8.0.

Have not worked on it for a few years. Now we are having a family reunion, and I wanted to up date the dates and add people who joined or deceased. When I tried to put this information in I lost other information, Can anyone tell me what I need to do. I am working on a windows 7 machine. Thank you Biggest Pro: It was very good when I had my windows XP Biggest Con: on windows 7 I am loosing information when I try to change or add info. Generations Review by Peter Maxfield, Jun 17, 2016 Rating I’ve just loaded it up today off a Windows XP magazine Edition 37 dvd and it seems to be Generations Family Tree Version 8.5A June 6, 2002. Well it’s running under Windows 7.

When I went to the help/about drop-down once it was installed it said to click on a microsoft update to get the help functioning. It is easy to use, so I might sit back and enjoy it, and see how it goes. I read on one of these posts that someone lost data, so I’ll make sure it’s backed up somewhere. So if you’ve got Windows 7 - look for a later version and it will install ok. It did give some message when it was installing, but I just went ahead, and it’s all working. The first thing I did was change the colour scheme.

Biggest Pro: Easy to use and gives you the ages Biggest Con: None - it’s going fine - not sure if it would work on windows 10. Generations Review by Peter Frank, Jul 29, 2015 Rating While I thought this was very useful and easy to use software, there is a fatal flaw. Any company that develops and distributes software, that by its very nature needs to be enduring, is cheating its customers by allowing the software to go out of date and not be used on other operating stems or platforms.

After spending countless hours researching and inputting data on my family tree, I now have a uds file that is inaccessible! This is a question that is always a concern when purchasing software that is intended to be used for many years in the future.

While the company be in existence? Will they continue to support the data files? Will they charge new license fees every few years to maintain an updated program, even if all you want to do is access as opposed to modifying? I wasted my money on this software and will be very wary about these types of systems in the future. Biggest Pro: Easy to use Biggest Con: You lose everything you created!!!

Generations Review by Jolynn Winland, Aug 19, 2014 Rating This software’s ease of use has me hesitant to even consider another genealogy software program. It may not be a best seller, but it’s super-easy to enter data into and navigate. I do not print charts very much, and I’m not one to upload (or download) GEDCOMS all over the place, so those functions aren’t that important to me.

I had initially bought Generations thinking that once I ‘knew the ropes’, so to speak, that I could get more sophisticated software at a later date. After 14 years of using Generations, I’ll never use another program. I do hope another company will pick it up–but not change too much.

It’s not broken, so it does not need to be fixed. Biggest Pro: ease of use Biggest Con: no support.

Generations Review by Dennis, Feb 17, 2011 Rating Loved the program. However the chart printing problem caused me to stop the genealogy hobby for quite a few years. If you have your time invested in Generations, try exporting the data via GEDCOM. Generations created an excellent GEDCOM file which to my great surprise imported into Legacy in an almost flawless fashion.

All those hours were saved. I rated Generations a 3 only because of the chart printing problem. Biggest Pro: Creates an excellent GEDCOM file Biggest Con: Chart printing problem.