- Genealogy Software Reviews

Keeping you genealogical records organized doesn’t need to be a daunting task anymore.
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Learn more about the most popular Family Tree Software and find the solution that works best for you.

Review for Legacy Family Tree 7.0

*****

Legacy Family Tree 7.0 by Millenium comes in two versions. The downloadable version which is available shortly after ordering or the download/physical set that you can download while you are waiting for the software to arrive in the mail. I like this because you can get started with the program right away, but you always have the CD in case you ever need to reinstall the software.

The program has several unique features that I have not found in other software:

*Legacy “Sourcewriter” creates your sources for your research including bibliography, footnotes and citations to genealogical standards by walking you through a templated form. No more wondering where the proof from your research originated.

*The Interview Center generates interview questions for printing to take to the family reunion or to mail to that distant relative to gather information for you. Its fast and easy to create custom interviews and can be generated in various languages.

*Multiple language reports are available too. Not only does the software come in various languages but for those relatives that live in non English speaking countries you can send reports in 19 different languages.

*Charting-Most all family tree software offers charting functions the neat thing in this program is how flexible the editing is within the preview screen. Not only can you use the built in backgrounds and borders like other programs but you can “drag” families or individual people around on the chart to make it look the way you want for printing. Printing is easy but if you want a professionally printed chart you can order that right within the program with the cost calculated right on screen.

* The ability to view the online video tutorial “before you buy” so that you can tell what the program does and how it works.

Overall I would give this program 5/5 stars because of the enhanced features not offered in other software. The look and feel of the program is user friendly but very powerful. The free video tutorial is easy to understand for the newbie and advanced training is offered for people who have been doing research for a while.
The program interfaces well with the internet and outside services offered including the LDS collaberation and integration.

In all fairness I would say it may take a bit of time to learn some of the advanced features of the program if you are new to genealogical software, but have found the website and customer support to be fantastic as well as the PDF help file within the program.

Review for Ancestral Quest

****

Ancestral Quest’s Family Tree software by Incline Software is a well rounded program that offers all the standard options of most genealogical programs. Some of the enhanced features that I like with this program are:

* Offsite private backup on one of their servers so that you never have to worry about your computer crashing and loosing all of your data.

* Integration with Ancestry.com’s free and paid area of their database allowing you to import family trees directly into your database. You do have to have a subscription to Ancestry.com to view any of the paid databases on Ancestry.

* LDS collaboration and integration which is a free website to further your research.

* The ability to view the online video tutorial “before you buy” so that you can tell what the program does and how it works.

* Unique Jewish research module that has been integrated into the program. As far as I know this is the only family tree software that does this allowing people researching their Jewish heritage and holocaust data to be recorded into the program.

In the final analysis of the program I would say it has all the features you need for storing and researching your family tree and would give it a 4/5 stars rating. There is a website for help and customer support and some add on programs that integrate into their system. While it is not as “pretty” as some other programs it is user friendly with a good help file.

Review Family Tree Maker 2008

****

Family Tree Maker has been the long time “Top Dog” in genealogical software in terms of sales. The interface is very user friendly and has some unique features of its own. Since it is the software program of Ancestry.com which is in my opinion the best database for genealogical research its integration with their database is flawless. The only “potential” drawback is that it does require a subscription for access to some of the Ancestry.com databases, but I feel they are at a reasonable fee and even without a subscription it does not affect the usability of the program in any way. The program does stand on its own without having to have a subscription to the service of Ancestry.com.

* The one unique feature of the program is its “Merge from Web” function that allows data to be imported from “general” webpages not just genealogical databases. This is great if you find a fact that is useful and you can “clip” it and bring it into your personal database.

* The ability to upload your gedcom file to Ancestry.com for public viewing. You can also make your file private so that only specified people can see your file.

* Book publishing is another area that Family Tree Maker has really been working on. Most software does offer this feature and FTM compares well with other programs.

* Ancestry Hints—a contextual search feature that automatically suggests records pertaining to people in your tree gives you great ideas on area’s to search that you may have not thought of previously.

Overall I would rate Family Tree Maker 2008 with 4/5 stars only because the newest version has been a bit buggy if you are upgrading from older versions. If you are just starting out I have found it to be great and allows for importing of GEDCOM and PAF files from other programs. It has a user friendly interface and you have the software shipped to you so you have CD’s in hand in case of emergency or re installation. The help file within the program is very complete, and there is a video tutorial available upon purchase of the program.