Treasure Maps Feed
Without a doubt, the genealogy program that ALL genealogy researchers should be using is…
What!? Do you think I am out of my mind and will name a genealogy software program that is the "end all, be all" program? Angry mobs of people would hunt me down and beat me!
As a writer and publisher of genealogy and family history materials, I learned long ago that talking about genealogy software is like talking about politics, and things are going to get heated, fast.
Recently, a Treasure Maps Genealogy Newsletter reader wrote:
"I tried some of the reports in Family Tree Maker and I was getting confused after a few generations. I want to eventually include pictures, other siblings and stories about each person…"
You can see a solution I offered to this problem in this lesson: "An Easy Way to Create Genealogy "Family Books" that You Can Share with Your Family," where I showed how to get the data from the reader's Family Tree Maker program to the free PAF genealogy software program.
I mention PAF (Personal Ancestral File) because it is free (and I mean free, with no strings at all attached), works great, and gave a solution to the problem. And, by the way, yes. I do know that Family Tree Maker can also print out family books (lots of options, and in PDF format), but I was showing how to make it less complicated in this specific solution (smile).
In the lesson I also mention: "Use any genealogy software program that you want. Just remember that YOU ONLY HAVE TO TYPE IN THE DATA ONCE! You can do so much with that data after it is entered into your genealogy software." That's one of the main points I was trying to drive home.
My "official opinion" is that I don't care what genealogy software that you use, just use something.
Things get "interesting" whenever I bring up the genealogy software topic, so it's time to get the flames out of my email box and put the heat under the appropriate topic.
So, please share YOUR opinion. What is the best genealogy software? What is your favorite, and why? Do you use more than one program?
Legacy Family Tree 7.0 if the best that I have found. I’ve tried many programs over the last 15 years and Legacy is my favorite.
I used PAF for 20 years or so and really loved it but now I have moved on to Legacy because of all the bells and whistles. Legacy is a very good program, if you buy the tutorial CD-Roms they teach you all about using it but they are a little expensive.
It took me quite awhile to get good at using the program but after 6 months I am fairly proficient with it. When I had problems with transferring my PAF database into Legacy I emailed them about the problems and got an almost immediate response with a good fix. I would definitely recommend Legacy to others.
For sharing information, GENBOX does one thing that no other software can do, as far as I know. That is, create a family pedigree chart or other types of charts WITH SOURCE NOTES. This is an outstanding when you want to share just a few generations in graphical format and also share the source references.
I have only used Family Tree Maker, so I can’t offer an opinion, but I CAN’T WAIT to see what others have to say!
I use PAF because it:
1. is free
2. is easy to use
3. has excellent help built in, including free lessons
4. has a humongous note capacity (It has become my electronic filing cabinet for bios, obits, censuses, vital records, stories, etc.) I can find anyone and all of their information instantly!
5. (since I learned to use the Advanced Focus Filter) I can quickly find anything buried in any of the notes.
6. can create Web sites (I have used it for several sites over the years)
7. can create electronic books and charts (with any of the free PDF writers such as PrimoPDF it can output PDF files as well as the built-in RTF output)
8. has excellent GEDCOM import and export
9. can be run from a flash drive if I am away from home using someone else’s computer where I cannot install the PAF software. If I have the multimedia set up correctly, I can use it in PAF from the flash drive too.
10. I have used other genealogy software with more features, but I keep coming back to PAF. If I ever decide to switch, my PAF files can be imported directly into Ancestral Quest, Legacy, and Roots Magic without any need to export GEDCOM files.
I started with PAF which was good, but then moved to FTM as it had more features, but the Legacy came along. Legacy had far more features, (standard version is even dowloadable free), yet was very easy to use, is frequently updated, has great phone and online support, great instructions on the website under “Tips”, How-to videos on site, and regional support groups.
I belong to one of these groups which meets in Bellevue, WA, and is led by one of Legacy’s online support people.
I have tried several and keep on coming back to Roots Magic. It is so easy to use and now they have came out with a new version and I am trying to learn it all but I still love it.
I personally love Legacy 7.
It’s free. They have really helpful staff. You have the options of buying the tutorial CDs, but you really don’t need them since their staff is super nice and there are enough people on the net that write about Legacy.
It has just enough bells and whistles for the average genealogist, but it also has further features if you want to dig a little deeper. This is great so you don’t get overwhelmed at first.
They have great export/imports of gedcoms and I love how they handle multimedia.
Plus, you can upgrade to deluxe version and get ever more features.
The only downside for me is that I find their charts to not be so easy to deal with.
Well, because I’m a diehard Mac user . . . Reunion is the software for me. I also have Mac Family Tree, but find the interfaces in Reunion easier to use. As well, I prefer Reunion’s simplicity for data entry. Some of the bells and whistles in Mac Family Tree are just that. Would really like to try Family Tree Maker, but alas the programmers don’t love Macs as I do.
Recently changed from FTM to PAF5 and I love the way the reports look when I print them! No wasted pages! Am having difficulty with Source pages because I don’t understand where the variety of information should go. The instructions furnished by “Help” are not very easy to understand. Would like to have a book or booklet with illustrations if that is available. Thank you for being there!
Lynds,
Donald R. Snow, from the Utah Valley PAF Users Group, has some great tips on this. Take a look at:
http://uvpafug.org/classes/dons/dons-pafii-02-notes.html
I like RootsMagic for it’s citation writing capabilities, and Legacy for it’s charts.
I have used PAF for years and like the way everything works. I am currently using PAF 5.2
Since there are new things coming out that I want to do I have elected to go to Ancestral Quest 12.1. AQ is actually the grandfather of PAF for windows. All of the screens look the same as PAF and most of the functions work the same with many new enhancements. AQ also has links directly to Ancestry.com and the “New Family Search” so you can go directly to these areas and back to AQ.
I have used a myriad of programs, but the one I liked best is no longer out–Generations. It was easy to use and had enough features to satisfy most anyone. It was especially easy to use the source feature. I use Legacy now, but I do not like the way it does source citations.
I’ve been using Roots Magic and before that Family Origins. I like the programs because they produce the pedigree and family group sheets that are the same quality that you would buy. It looks more professional.
I’ve tried Family Tree Maker and Legacy. I used Legacy to upload my information to the program Clooz which is a document program to link family together and to tell you what you have. Clooz is okay, but for the beginner into genealogy.
After 20 plus years of information gathering it would have been nice to have these programs in the beginning.
I started out with PAF which was easy to use and you can’t beat free, then moved onto Ancestral Quest which I thought was a good program then stumbled across Legacy 6 years ago and have stayed with Legacy ever since and love it.
I would like to recommend The Master Genealogist (TMG). I have used it for years & really like it. The flexibility of data input & output & the superior customer service make it a natural choice in my view. Not only do they answer phone calls and emails swiftly but the users provide great support for each other on both the company website and through the TMG mailing list.
There are also amazing additional resources like Second Site, a program which automatically takes your TMG data and creates beautiful websites and the book Getting the Most out of TMG (mine has been read cover to cover & thoroughly highlighted!)It also has a direct link to Gensmarts which is very convenient. Some people are a little intimidated by all the choices, but you don’t have to use any feature you don’t want to and it works great straight out of the box without adding all the goodies.
Root Magic 4 or RM4, as we know it by, is the most awesome program on the market right now that is newbie friendly / and can be used for LDS work as well as just doing family History. it direct connects with new family search/ ancestry and several other programs . give it a try there is a free down load available
I’m a die-hard The Master Genealogist user. When there were some issues with saving reports to a file, I switched to Legacy and nearly lost my mind! But the issue with reports was fixed and I’m happily back to TMG. By the way, when I emailed my problem to Wholly Genes, tech support called me to discuss the problem. Another time I posted an issue to one of the forums and the president of the company called me one Sunday afternoon. Can’t beat support like that!