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Choosing a genealogy software
By now, many genealogical softwares, sharewares and freewares with more and more features are
available. These programs often have a trial version that can be downloaded from a web site or
found on a free CD provided by the editor. Before choosing the program that you need, a comparison
of several softwares from their trial version would be very useful.
But when you make a final decision, you have to keep in mind that you are the best judge to choose the software
that is suited for your needs.
This information displayed on this page tries to help people who look for some advice
about the way to choose a genealogy program, and people who look for information about the GEDCOM
format or about the features of different softwares.
In this page you will find information about softwares that work with Windows
compatible PCs, Macintosh or Unix computers. The address of the web site of their supplier
is provided when there is one in order to allow you to download a trial version.
French softwares
Ancestrologie (for Windows 2000 & XP)
version 3.0 (November 2003)
This program was created by Philippe Cazaux-Moutou
A comprehensive genealogy program.
You can get at some information about this program when you visit the Ancestrologie web site
Ascendance (for Windows or Mac)
version 4.0 (October 2003)
You can download
a trial version of the program with its documentation. A junior and a senior version of this program
are available.
Généatique (for Windows)
by CDIP, 16 rue de la République,
95570 Bouffémont, France
This program is one of the most widespread genenalogy software among French amateur genealogists.
A trial version is available on the CDIP web site.
GeneWeb (freeware under GPL license for Unix, Windows or Macintosh)
version 4.09 (December 2002)
by Daniel de Rauglaudre
A program that has an original web interface. It can work locally on your desktop as well as
on an Internet server. With Windows, the implementation of this software might rebuff some
dummies but this program is worth the discovery.
You can download
this program.
Gentree (shareware for Windows 3.1/9x)
16/32 bits version (last update: January 1999(16 bits) - March 2002(32 bits))
by Michel
Potier, 4 Square du Harnais, 49100 Angers, France
You can download
this program.
Hérédis (for Windows or Macintosh)
version 8 Classic or Pro (April 2004)
by BSD Parc-Club du Millénaire,
34036 Montpellier, Cedex 1, France
One of the most renowned genealogy software in France. Two versions are available: Classic ou Pro.
A free trial version is also available.
Parentèle (for Windows)
version 5 Classique or Prestige edition (March 2003)
by Alsyd, 48, Chemin du
Vieux Chêne, 38240 Meylan, France
A free trial version can be downloaded.
Visual Généalogie (for Windows)
current version April 2003
by Jérôme Saynes
To download the program
Win-Family (for Windows)
version 6.02 (January 2001)
by Antoine Brinquin
12, rue Gustave Courbet, 75116 Paris, France
A free trial version can be downloaded.
Antoine Brinquin is the supplier of this software for France.
English/American softwares
Ancestral Quest (for Windows)
version 11 (November 2002)
by Incline Software
Free trial version available.
Brother's Keeper (for Windows)
version 6.1.19 (October 2003)
by John
Steed, 6907 Childsdale Ave,.Rockford, MI 49341, USA
This program can be downloaded from the web site. It was one of the first genealogy sharewares.
Cumberland Family Tree (for Windows)
version 3.14 (January 2004)
by Cumberland Family Software,
385 Idaho Springs Road, Clarksville, TN 37043, USA
An almost comprehensive genealogy program that is very simple to use. A trial version is available.
Family Matters (for Windows)
version 4.21d (July 2004)
by Matterware, P.O. Box,
2221, Valrico, FL 33595, USA
A trial version is available.
Family Origins (for Windows)
by FormalSoft Inc. (Genealogy.com), PO Box 22295, Denver,
CO 80222, USA
Family Origins has now been replaced by RootsMagic
version 2 (May 2004)
A trial version is available.
Family Tree Maker (for Windows and Macintosh)
version 11 (2003)
by Genealogy.com,
PO Box 22295, Denver, CO 80222, USA
Two versions are available: Basic or Deluxe. One of the most frequently used genealogy programs
in the US. A very simple use program.
A trial version is available.
Genius (for Windows)
version 1.62 (July 2002)
by Genius Solutions, 66
Robertson St, Torbanlea Qld 4662, Australia
A shareware. A trial version is available.
Gramps (for Linux)
version 1.0.4 (June 2004)
an open source free program available at SourceForge.
This software can be downloaded from SourceForge.
Kith and Kin (for Windows)
version 2.02 (November 2002)
by Span Soft
A shareware.
Legacy (for Windows)
version 5.0 (June 2004)
by Millennia Corp,
P.O. Box 1800, Duwall, WA 98019, USA
The developers of this program drew their inspiration from the main existing genealogy softwares
and they created a comprehensive and powerful program.
A free standard version and a commercial Deluxe version are available.
Lifelines (for Unix, Mac, Windows)
version 3.0.37 (November 2003)
by Tom Wetmore
This software was first developed by Tom Wetmore for Unix systems. It is now distributed in open sources
and versions for Macintosh and Windows environments are now available.
Sources of the program can be downloaded from
http://lifelines.sourceforge.net
Personal Ancestral File (for Windows)
version 5.2.18 (October 2002)
by the Family History Department
A freely downloadable software used by the Family History Library. The current version
is multilingual.
Relatively Yours (for Windows)
version 3 (September 2003)
by Computability Pty
Ltd
A shareware.
Reunion (for Macintosh)
version 8 (September 2002)
by Leister Productions,
P.O. Box 289, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, USA
A very appreciated genealogy program for american genealogists.
A trial version
can be downloaded
The Master Genealogist, (for MS-Dos or Windows)
version 5.0 (August 2003)
by Wholly Genes Inc,
6868 Ducketts Lane, Elk Ridge, MD 21227, USA
A silver and a gold version are available. TMG is a very powerful and comprehensive program
that may appear too complex to beginners. However this flexible and powerful software
is appreciated by experienced genealogists. A trial version can be downloaded.
Some places where you can get at further information...
The most important things to know when you choose a genealogy program
During the last years genealogy programs have much evolved. Now these programs usually cover most of the
needs of a genealogical research project. However in some occasions you might need to use a more
general purpose software to get at some functions that are still missing in genealogy programs.
Today, genealogy programs are able to process three kinds of tasks:
- Management of a genealogical database
- The program lets you insert, organize, update, delete, display or report
information about the individuals of your genealogy : dates and locations of events,
links between individuals, sources, etc. Every genealogy program can handle a database.
- Management of your research project
- At any time the program lets you know the status of your research
in progress and allows you to assign priorities to specific tasks. You can also
schedule your tasks and have a view on what has already been done and what remains to be done.
Today only a few genealogy programs can manage research projects at this level.
When such functions are missing in your genealogy program you can use a project management
software or a notebook software.
- Management of genealogical documents
- The program manages all the documents you gather
during your research (with indexing and sorting). Many genealogy programs
cannot manage your documentation. To help you with the management of your genealogical
documents you can use a file manager or spreadsheet manager.
Everyone does not need a program that has tons of features. It is up to you
to define what are the main functions you expect from your genealogy program. When you have
a clear idea of your priorities for the tasks your program should be able to do for you, then
choosing a program will be facilitated from these guidelines.
In my opinion, George Archer, from the
National Genealogical Society,
clearly defined what should first be expected from a genealogy program:
- Guarantee of data integrity and possibility to restore the genealogical information in case of a problem,
- Convenient and fast data input,
- Convenient and fast data searching with a quick retrieval of the requested information.
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"Boring as it may sound, the
basic research program should perform its functions in this order of
priority: data protection/recovery, rapid/easy input, fast retrieval
and display of data. Everything else, including pretty interfaces and
charts is secondary. Data entered but lost or corrupted by software
is a useless waste. Data that takes forever to retrieve and use is a
mind-numbing exercise in frustration. Data is substance; appearance
on screen and paper are but shadows on the wall of the cave and we
never turn around to see where the real images are. I write my
genealogy with data, not pretty, unintuitive icons and bit-mapped
graphics. Genealogy is still fundamentally text-driven, embellished
by graphics and audio, when available."
[George Archer, 3 Nov 1995, soc.genealogy.computing]
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Not everybody has either the same needs or the same requirements
and no true all-purpose genealogy program does exist. No answer should be given to
the "What is the best genealogy program?" question. And answering the
"Which program would be the best for me?" question is very difficult to
answer when the background and the expectations of the future user are unknown.
Compare several programs and make your choice
Before choosing the software that suits you at best, testing and comparing several programs
will permit you to evaluate their qualities and shortcomings :
- Features
You should identify the program that has all (or almost all) the
features you need. If you made a list of these features previously
your evaluation will be easy.
- Performance
Data input is a very boring task that takes much time. The data input time
should not be lengthened by lack of convenience or poor performance of
your program. Performance is also important when you have to retrieve
information from your files.
- GEDCOM compatibility
A good level of GEDCOM compatibility of your program is very important,
most particularly for the EXPORT function. Your program should be able
to generate GEDCOM files that contain all the information
that you have put in its files.
Your genealogical files have a life expectancy that is usually above the
one that one can imagine for any genealogy program.
It may happen some day that you have to change your program for another.
This is the reason why you should check now that the program you choose can
export in a GEDCOM file all the information that you have previously inserted
in its files.
If one day you have to change for a new program you would have to re-input
from the keyboard all the information that your old program would be
unable to store in a file that could be imported in the new program.
What is the cost of a genealogy program compared to the value of the genealogical
data that took you so many hours to research ?
- Documentation
You will not discover all the tips and leads about your program as soon
as you will begin to use it. A good and clear documentation will
increase your efficiency when you will operate your program.
The quality of the documentation is sometimes linked to the
quality of the program.
Comparing programs
Bill Mumford evaluates genealogy softwares for the
National Genealogical Society.
On the http://www.mumford.ca/reportcard/
site you can find the results of the detailed evaluations that he made.
You will find on this site charts that show how the most common
genealogy programs rank: Family Tree Maker 10, Ultimate Family Tree 3, Family
Origins 9, Family Tree Dectective 1, Legacy 4,
Ancestral Quest 2002, The Master Genealogist 5, Generations Grand Suite
8, Personal Ancestral File 5.1, Family Ties 6, Brother's Keeper
6.0, Heredis 6.12, RootsMagic 1, WinFamily 6 ...
Comparisons are made on more than forty basic functions and more than 300 characteristics.
The most important things to know
Think first about the safety of your genealogical data. You should
avoid to create your genealogy files with a program that might jeopardize your data.
Test and compare several programs using their trial versions.
This is the best way to have a right judgement about a software. You can try
to get some help from a more experienced person if you lack the necessary skill (data processing
or genealogy).
Eventually when you have to decide, do not forget that
you are the best person that can choose the program that suits your
needs.
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