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Genealogy
Original poster

Can anyone recommend a computer package for family trees etc?

15 replies

Seeline · 28/08/2008 10:11

Up until now I've kept my records on Genes Reunited but as I'm progressing I'm beginning to realise that this is probably not the best solution. So what do you use and would you recommend it? What can I expect to pay for one of these packages? Are the free ones any good? Help!!

OP posts:
eidsvold · 28/08/2008 10:16

I have this one and love it.

here

It was expensive - not sure how much it is in pounds. (I am in Australia) I actually managed to win mine in a competition.

I found the family tree maker program brilliant. You can access ancestry.co.uk and send information to the program or put it online at that website. I find it great cause you can also print out a variety of information and tree styles. For example I wanted to explain a relationship to my mother so I just plugged in the two relatives I wanted to explain and it printed it all out for me. You can then design your tree print out with as much or as little information as possible. You can design the information boxes as you wish as well.

Had I not won my one - I had it down as a christmas present.

It also comes with some databases on CD rom as well. I found those helpful too.

eidsvold · 28/08/2008 10:18

this is the latest in a UK version

here

my previous link is the aus and nz version.

It also gives you free membership to ancestry for a period of time too. Looks like 6 months on this one. I got three months free with mine which was worth $60 in itself.

Original poster
Seeline · 28/08/2008 10:19

Thanks eidsvold it sounds good. I've got membership to a couple of web sites that give me access to qite a few databases so don't know whether that would be worth the money Any body else....?

OP posts:
eidsvold · 28/08/2008 10:39

the other thing I love is it is so easy to input the information - you put the name place and date of birth, date of death and place and marriage date on front area then you can add media - pics etc to that person as well as research notes or information too.

It really is so easy to use.

eidsvold · 28/08/2008 10:40

I was already a member of ancestry.com.au and it was great to just add those free months on the end.

JLo2 · 28/08/2008 13:09

I use Rootsmagic
www.rootsmagic.co.uk/
I've only got version 2 (rather than the more up to date version 3, but I find it very easy to use. Depending what you want, you can just have the basic edition for £17 (which is what I did) or the one with all the extra CD's (which personally I have found in the past not to be that useful) I have used several programs over the past 10 years and found Rootsmagic to be the most user friendly.

Shoshe · 28/08/2008 13:27

I use this one and find it brilliant

babydriver · 17/01/2009 22:27

Hi, just wondering if anyone had any new thoughts on software packages? I'm just starting out on family history (had a FAB day at soc of genealogists yesterday) and have a birthday coming up so could do with some ideas. Thanks!

Original poster
Seeline · 19/01/2009 09:29

I ended up with family tree maker for Christmas. As the kids haven't been back at school very long I haven't had a chance to do too much with it yet. It does seem quite easy to pick up though and it is great as you can scan in copies of old photos and certificates, or link to digital files like census records etc. As I say though very early days!!

OP posts:
PortAndLemon · 19/01/2009 09:39

I have The Master Genealogist. It's VERY powerful, if you think you might get seriously obsessed by this genealogy lark. But it has to be said that it's not as immediately user-friendly as some other packages.

catweazle · 19/01/2009 19:46

Has anyone come across an easy package for Macs?

babydriver · 19/01/2009 22:39

OK so this may be a dumb question, but how easy would it be to move data from one package to another - eg if I get an easy starting one to begin with but then get obsessed...?

NotRubberAndNotADuck · 21/01/2009 11:47

I use MacFamilyTree for mac - it's not the most popular out there for Mac, but it works visually in a way I understand and like using so I don't really care if it doesn't have all the bells and whistles.

babydriver: you can export in a GEDCOM file format which you can then import into another program (and across platform which I did when switching to Mac). You do need to do some tidying afterwards, ime, and make sure you take any media (photos, scans of certificates etc) with you but at least you don't have to type the lot in again!

TrixieBelden · 28/01/2009 17:16

Hi all - jumping in as I just discovered there are family history threads on MN (had no idea!)...

For Macs, I can't recommend Reunion highly enough. It's made in the US, more info at www.leisterpro.com. Their tech support is fantastic, the interface is really clear and intuitive, it handles images well, it produces nice reports - I just love it.

I'm a freelance professional genealogist and have used quite a few software packages - this one is good for both small files and big ones (I have a master db that has 12,000+ individuals in it, the indexing is fab).

NizzyNoodles · 30/01/2009 23:27

I use Family Historian. which seems to do most things reasonably well.

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