Genealogy Chat

Hello all. I think my hubby is going to buy me a genealogy program for the PC for christmas but I don't know which and he probably doesn't either. I would really appreciate your reviews on which ones are good and which ones to avoid then I can sort of shove him in the right direction!!! (being subtle of course eg. oi get this one!!!!)

There are so many available either as free downloads or from the covers of mags that there is now no nead to by a program. try each one and see which you like. The one I use is now no longer available so any review would be worthless. Bob

Whatever you do make sure that it is GEDCOM compatible and then you can use it to upload information onto GC and share with other tree programs. I use Family Historian 2.1 which is fantasic and you can find out more about it at www(.)family-historian(.)co(.)uk It costs around £45.00 and i find it invaluable. You can create trees, add and store photo's, ask queries and store masses of information. The only downside is that if you want to print off pretty trees as opposed to collecting data then the printed tree is rather diagramatical (if that's a word!) Alison

I use Legacy 4.0 which although I bought, I believe it can be downloaded for a few pounds( perhaps someone could confirm this). It is easy to use and has areas for adding pictures and sound. Picture adding is really easy to use too. I can print off ancester and descendant book from the perspective of any individual I choose from the data entered. I can print various charts e.g marriage surname, ages but have not found it suitable for the traditional tree with lines and 'branches'. Hope this helps Penny

I use PAF5 which is a free download from the LDS site.

What I'm really wanting is one that can handle the tree, the background information and photos (which are all over the place!!) and is easy and simple to use

I agree - try a few free downloaded ones first. I'm currently using Brothers Keeper , which can cope with photos , notes and gedcom format. I would like better printing facilities - can currently print descendant charts, ancestor charts , family group sheets etc. But I would like to print a combined tree - i.e that shows all the people I am related to.

i use family tree maker 10.its great,stores photos as well susie

Hi there, I use Brothers Keeper 5.2 which I have used for the last 12 years updating it every few years. I find it great and I don't think I would use anything else. I did try their update 6.0 but I found this much more complicated and harder to move around so I am sticking to 5.2 You can download this from the internet Mary

I use Generations, which I find fairly simple to use. It allows me to store loads of background information and I can customise the data fields. It's fully GEDCOM compatible. I can store sounds and photos too. On the down side, I've never managed to get their graphics to work properly (maybe I could if I read the comprehensive instructions manual a bit more closely, but I don't really want them anyway). You can produce a variety of different charts and reports, although none of them are very colourful. I got the program as a gift and I'm really grateful. Only thing is....if I were buying it for myself I wouldn't have forked out for all the extra CDs. Apart from the main installation disc, it comes with 16 other CDs.....all US orientated, including 'old fashioned' recipes, lists of Civil War soldiers, maps of New England etc......none of which have been any use to me. And that was supposed to be the UK version!! If you just want a program to make storing your data easier, I've looked at a few and I don't actually think there's much to choose between them. Hope that helps! (Probabbly just confused you more!) Sue

Hi I purchased LEGACY 4 DELUXE and Im really impressed with this program.A definate thumbs up.Cost me 20 US dollars. Tried PAF and GENEPRO- these are quite good and free. Lee