I have an offer through to upgrade my FTM 2010 to 2011 for £19.99. Should I do it? I get one month free basic Ancestry with it (having had to cancel mine because I couldn't afford it), so I am tempted.
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Hi Christine, Had the same offer, was it from TW computing.? I got the 2010 upgrade from them last year, great value. I think it is good value and have ordered mine yesterday.
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Hello Foggy
Its from Avanquest software. Have just noticed it includes VAT and postage which helps! Maybe I will then ................
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Must admit I am in two minds about it.
I am quite happy with 2010 after upgrading from 2006...A big jump and steep learning curve :-)
It seems to be offering some functions that I would like but others I cannot see I would ever use.
Maybe I will wait until 2012 and see what it has added then :-)
Chris
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Apparently the 2011 version contains some 100 amendments and new features, which include:-
New Narrative Tool Ready to start an ancestor's story? The Smart Story Editor makes it easy by letting you drag-and-drop text and photos from your tree into a Smart Stories page. Stories update automatically when you change facts in your tree.
Charts Fan Charts Choose between five different shapes when creating a fan chart.
Photos & Embellishments Enhance charts with the backgrounds, borders and embellishments that come with Family Tree Maker, and use photos wherever you like. Font size, type and color can be changed based on fact types.
Bow Tie Chart Siblings can be included in the Bow Tie Chart.
Last Generation Shown Vertically In descendant and hourglass charts, the last generation in the chart can be displayed vertically.
Pedigree Chart The book layout for the pedigree chart has been adjusted to make better use of space.
Reports Surname Report The new Surname Report lists the surnames in your tree, including the total number of individuals with that surname, the number of males and females with that surname, etc.
New Descendant Report Family Tree Maker now gives you four descendant report options: Register, NGSQ, Henry, and d'Aboville.
Custom Report The custom report now has user-selected primary and secondary sorts. In addition, new options allow you to include age at death, number of children, age at first marriage, and more.
Kinship Report You can now sort the Kinship Report by relationship (for example, first cousins can be grouped together).
Bibliography You can create a simple bibliography of source titles or an annotated bibliography that includes summary information, such as repository and reference notes.
Report Headers & Footers You can define the headers and footers for a report.
Save Report Settings You can save the current report settings and use them as the preferred settings for that report.
Photo Albums You can now create an album for a person, relationship, or both.
Calendar You can now choose to display death dates in the calendar.
Ancestry Integration Expanded Web Dashboard The expanded Web Dashboard now includes Member Connect activity, links to message boards, and notification of new Ancestry messages.
Enhanced Performance You can choose the type of Internet connection you're using, which allows Family Tree Maker to tailor how it downloads information from the Web. Uploading and downloading speeds have been improved, and there is increased ability to upload large files to Ancestry.com.
General Enhanced Index of Individuals The Index now displays people based on name and then birth date.
Historical Timelines Now you can edit, delete, and add to the historical events that come with Family Tree Maker. In addition, Family Tree Maker looks at facts entered for an individual and displays the most location-appropriate historical events.
Place Enhancements You can now choose a home country, and Family Tree Maker will not display this country in fields, charts and reports. Support for townships, parishes, and counties has also been enhanced.
LDS Information Family Tree Maker can now display information on initiatories and confirmations. These facts can also be included in charts.
Data Entry Automatic Reference Numbers Family Tree Maker can now assign reference numbers automatically to individuals, relationships, or both.
Duplicate Person Alert When you enter new individuals, Family Tree Maker alerts you if it believes you may already have the individual in your tree.
Media Locate Missing Files If you've moved your media items and Family Tree Maker has marked them as missing, the Find Missing Media tool can locate them all at once.
Categories You can now assign categories to multiple items at one time.
Media Metadata Stored in Family Tree Maker If your images contain metadata, the information will be stored -- and a caption, date, or description, will be automatically entered.
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Now where did I put my credit card?
Thanks for all your help and advice - a goldmine as usual!
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Had a message from Ancestry today, You can get the FTM2011 now at £19.99 from them before the official release date.
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Just be careful when comparing prices. Ancestry might add postage and possibly duty to their base price.
Historically TWR Computing have always been cheaper overall, but do check it all out first.
If you are prepared to wait for 6 months, then there will be cheaper options.
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I am also thinking of upgrading my FTM - as a "Silver Surfer" may I ask some basic questions? My FTM is old (version 3.02 June 1996 Pub. Broderbund Software) - do you think the upgrade would work with this? Also it looks like the 2011 upgrade is the basic version , TWR computing also sell the Delux version - do you think this is worth the (little) extra, But this appears to be a complete program rather than an update do you think this would be easy to install without any danger of loss of my existing data, would I have to delete my existing FTM program? Any other thoughts much appreciated! Many thanks Maurice
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It should be possible to upgrade automatically but I think you have to go to FTM2006 first then to FTM 2011. There is a free program available to enable you to do this. do this. Check with TWR, they will be able to advise. However you will be in for a bit of a learning curve as the latest version is an eon away from the one that you have, but once you get used, no looking back.....!
Don't be caught out by basic / deluxe. The FTM program you get is EXACTLY the same. The difference is in the bundled extras such as discounted Ancestry subscription, which may or may not be of use to you.
I don't know whether it is still the case but previously the deluxe versions also gave you various cd's of parish and other records, which for most people were a complete waste of money.
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I have been offered FTM 2011 for £31.00 from Amazon !
They are busy trying to sell it !!
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Thanks for replies and for info IGP. I did not appreciate the difference between basic and deluxe. I have been in touch with TWR Computing - they say there is no problem in updating my old program - so will see if I can find the courage to go for it! Again many thanks Maurice
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