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Best Free Genealogy or Family Tree Software

In a Hurry?
  Go straight to the Quick Selection Guide
Introduction

Genealogy software provides a method for recording the subjects of our research, e.g.  their names, relationships, and events of their lives.  Evidence (citations and sources) should be recorded to support the conclusions reached.  They also print the reports and charts to show off the results of our labor.  This article reviews stand alone programs which run on your PC.  If you are interested in web based applications please see my companion review at Best Free Online Genealogy / Family Tree Applications.

I reviewed several free genealogy programs which will do a reasonable job for the novice or advanced genealogist.  Unless otherwise noted:

  • They support unlimited entry of individuals, birth, marriage, death, burial, and other events together with their associated dates, locations, and source citations.
  • Alternative names can be entered with the exception of PAF.
  • Relationships are not limited, i.e. multiple spouses (sequential or polygamous).
  • Polygamous relationships are not completely displayed, e.g. only one pair can be viewed at a time.
  • Multiple parents are supported (adopted, foster, or other possibilities) with the exception of Legacy.
  • However, only one pair of parents can be displayed at a time.
  • Incestuous relationships are supported, e.g. a child can be both the sibling and the parent of another sibling.
  • Same sex marriages and parents are supported by half the recommended programs.  See notes associated with each program.
  • They support family group, pedigree, and descendant reports and charts together with the associated foot- or end-notes.
  • They support multimedia attachments but not all support photos in reports.
  • They support import and export of GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunication) format files.
Discussion

GrampsGramps is my top pick for the best free Genealogical software.  It should be able to run on any operating systems that supports Python, e.g. Windows, Linux, MAC OS (disclaimer--I only tested in Windows).  I liked that I could easily navigate or filter by people or name list, family, relationship, ancestry, events, places, sources, repositories, media, and notes.  An undo function allows easy correction of the most recent entries.

I felt the place entry especially outstanding.  Places have distinct fields for street, city, latitude, church parish, etc.  Alternate locations can be entered for each place, e.g. one could enter Virginia as an alternate for some West Virginia locations prior to the Civil War.  Sources, notes, multimedia, and internet links can be linked to each place.  Also all events linked to the place are displayed and can be navigated to.

I loved the date support.  Dates can be based on several different calendars, e.g. Gregorian, Islamic, etc.  The date can have a quality of regular, estimated, or calculated.  And finally the type can include before, after, range, span, etc.  Events support roles, e.g. bride for a marriage event.  Oddly there is no date calculator so, for example, a birth date calculated from the age at death would need to be manually .

Gramps can create narrative style web sites.  You can select a standard copyright or from any of the Creative Commons copyrights.  Not only can living people be excluded, entirely or name only but also a date range to restrict recently deceased people can be selected, e.g. people who died within the last five years could be treated as if they were still living.

Gramps can create large format reports which could be sent to a facility with the ability to print large sheets.  Alternatively, large sized reports can be printed on individual pages which can be put together like a jigsaw puzzle, with the pages numbered according to their location in the overall report.

Sources can be attached to people, families, events, and multimedia.  I love the ability to copy and paste citations.  I would have preferred source templates based on Mills' or Lackey's books.

Gramps directly supports patronymic and matronymic style names, e.g. ap Robert, verch Evan, etc.  It also supports multiple surnames, e.g. Ramón y Cajal.

Gramps supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  Same sex marriage is supported and each partner is labeled as "spouse."  Same sex parents are also suported but one parent will be labeled as father and the other as mother.  Marriage is not assumed for parents.  Gender need not be specified for parents or married couples, e.g. a marriage can be entered for J. Roe and A. Smith with both listed as unknown gender.  Genealogists worring about how to enter the parents of cloned individuals will be relieved to know that the same person can be entered as both father and mother (found this quite by accident).

The installation can be intimidating.  There are several required programs which must be installed in a specific order.  I highly recommend using the all in one installation or the portable version on the Portable Apps website for Windows installers.

The family group text report did not have foot or end notes.

Legacy StandardLegacy Standard is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has plenty of capabilities.  The free version supports family, pedigree, and index views.  You can easily navigate to younger or older generations simply by clicking on the individuals. Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.

You can attach photos or any other type of document.  I love the well structured source templates.  The location field is unstructured but the Master Location List can help keep the locations consistent.  I love the merge feature for people, places, sources, repositories, etc.  You can select specific individuals, families and entire family lines for export or reports by placing them in a Focus Group. 

Strong report generator supports many general report types including citation and to do lists. Legacy can print narrative book style reports using generic sentence templates.  Creates stunning graphical charts, ancestor, descendant, fan, hourglass, bow tie, and DNA charts.  Cannot save some reports to RTF (Rich Text Format); however, text format (ASCII) is supported.

The program provides Research Guidance with tips, Internet Search links, and a To Do List. 

Legacy creates the best looking web pages and has the most features for web site creation of these programs. Supports photos and CSS.

Legacy does not support multiple parent child relationships.  It assumes that parents are married.  Same sex couples are not supported either as parents or marriage.  Polygamous and sequential multiple marriages are supported. 

Many menu items when selected display a nagging message that the feature is available only in the Deluxe Edition.  Greying out and disabling the unavailable options would have been less obtrusive.

Legacy places data files in the C:\Legacy\Data directory instead of the normal %UserProfile% directory unless the default directory is changed in the options.  If the user has backup software they should take care that the backups include the nonstandard location.

Family Tree Legends Family Tree Legends is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has many capabilities.  Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.  You can add alternate names, birth, marriage, death, and burial events along with the many other events of the individuals life.  You can attach photos or any other type of document. 

Strong report generator supports ancestor, pedigree, descendant, descendant summary, time line, family group sheet, kinship, and other reports. Creates ancestor and descendant charts in fan, standard, and vertical formats as well as hourglass and bow tie charts.  Legends can print collections of reports with table of contents, an index, and other pages.  Oddly the reports don't include the photos.

Imports Family Tree Maker and GEDCOM files.  The program supports a To Do List and a correspondence list.  I like having the ability to merge duplicate sources, repositories, places, and people.

Supports multiple marriages (sequential or conscutive) with children from each.  Real time internet backup. Publish to GenCircles.

No location list to help with consistency in place entry but you do have a replace function to help clean up variations on a place name.

Assumes all couples with children are married.  Same gender marriage or parents not supported. Flagging one father as a step father sets all fathers as step fathers. Marriage between individuals of unknown gender automatically assigns one as male and the other as female.  Assigning parents assumes one is father and the other is mother.

Myheritage Family Tree Builder I love MyHeritage Family Tree Builder's hour glass view that can adjust from just one generation above and below the focus person to three generations.  This eliminates the need for separate person, pedigree, and descendant views.  There is a handy list for navigation just to the left which can be expanded or retracted out of the way. 

MyHeritage automatically checks for possible duplicates when entering people.  This feature mitigates the absence of a merge duplicate people tool.  Good tree consistency checker.

A button appears next to the place entry field when clicked will offer suggestions from similar places already appearing in your database.  A pop-up calendar is available when entering dates. 

Reports can be saved to HTML format.  Supports a direct upload to the MyHeritage web site but no other independent web site creation.  Imports Family Tree Legends as well as GEDCOM format files.

MyHeritage supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  Same sex marriage is supported and both partner's are labeled as "husband" or "wife" depending on sex.  Same sex parents are also suported.  Marriage is assumed for parents but can be changed to another type of status such as Friends, Engaged, or Other.  Gender need not be specified for parents or married couples, e.g. a marriage can be entered for J. Roe and A. Smith with both listed as unknown gender and "husband."

No place or individual person reports. 

There is no context sensitive help available but the PDF format manual is very helpful.

RootsMagic EssentialsRootsMagic Essentials has a variety of source templates based on Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence.  I was able to open multiple databases or the same database multiple times and display them side by side.

Supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  However, all parent relationships assume that the parents are married.  Happily I was able to enter a gender neutral relationship for the parents of a child.  However, one of the women was denoted the father and the other as the mother.  I'd prefer to be able to list both as parent, both as mother, or the actual mother as mother and the other as parent.  Supports multiple aliases.

Create a web site is disabled in the free version. 

The reports and charts produced by RootsMagic are generally better in appearance than the other programs listed here.  Place, citation, to-do list, and narrative reports are supported.  Bibliographies are available for some reports.  Saving reports to other file formats is disabled in the free version--viewing and printing is allowed.  There is no option to hide living people or events for living folks and no option to exclude private notes in reports.

I like the copy and paste citation functionality.  There is no optional surety assesment for citations.  There is no relationship calculator.

RootsMagic displays a nagging splash screen at every start up requiring the user to chose between the free and the Full version.  This is immediately followed with a RootsMagic News screen.  Many menu choices are not functional in the free version but I do appreciate that they are highlighted in a reddish color.

ScionPCIf you're interested in a portable application then ScionPC should be at the top of your list. 

I love the lack of gender constraints, e.g. I can add both of my grandchild's same sex parents without resorting to tricks such as changing the gender of one of the parents.  Both members of marriages are referred to as partner's.  (There is a warning that the couple is the same sex.)  I wish other genealogy programs would adopt this standard.  Supports multiple aliases.

ScionPC has exceptional date format support, e.g. Circa, Before, After, Estimated, and Date Range modifiers as well as Georgian, Julian, Hebrew, French Revolutionary, Islamic, Persian, Indian National, Coptic, User Defined and Unknown calendars.  I like the pop up calendar for use when entering dates.

The program creates a complete web site for upload.  Supports CSS. 

Only one source format.  Only one source citation is permitted per event.  No book print function.

Brother's KeeperI like that Brother's Keeper checks for duplicates when you enter new people.  Multiple names are supported and can be searched.  Supports multiple parents and marriages.  Same sex marriage is supported.  Same sex parents are supported but are labeled as Father & Mother.

Dates are unformatted text fields consequently events may not be sorted in date order.  One can manually change the sort order.  No bookmarks.  No people list view.  Reports cannot be saved to other formats, e.g PDF or JPG.  No photos in reports.

Personal Ancestral File Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is the software supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's a good basic genealogy program and easy to use.

The reports are in Born, Married, Died, Buried order but the other events are not sorted by date.  No box style charts.  Reports can only be saved as RTF format--not HTML.  However, there is a separate Create Web Page function for creating web sites.

Only one source format.  No optional surety assessment.

Does not support same gender marriages and parents.  Assumes parents are married.  No support for aliases.

No bookmarks.  No back button for previously viewed people.

Related Products and Links
GEDViewGEDView is a portable viewer for GEDCOM files.  Save your GEDCOM to a USB drive with this utility and you'll never be without access to your research.  Provides name listing, individual screen, and pop up pedigree, descendant, Mitochondrial DNA, and Y Chromosome views.
Ged2WebGed2Web converts GEDCOM files to HTML files for uploading to a website.  More features than PAF but either Legacy, Gramps, or ScionPC produce better formatted web sites.  If you don't want to install Legacy, Gramps, or ScionPC then you might try this utility.
GeneaQuilts"GeneaQuilts is a new visualization technique for representing large genealogies of up to several thousand individuals. The visualization takes the form of a diagonally-filled matrix, where rows are individuals and columns are nuclear families. The system includes an overview, a timeline, search and filtering components, and a new interaction technique called Bring & Slide that allows fluid navigation in very large genealogies."  I suggest watching the demonstration video if you're interested in trying this program.

AncestryThe Ancestry Android and Ipad Apps offer a mobile method for accessing your Ancestry.com family trees.

Horizontal pedigree chart with individual and family displays that can shown at the right side. Displays, adds, and edits individuals and events. Easy to search by name. Can add photos to the tree. With internet connection, edits are posted to Ancestry.com, locations are prompted, and Ancestry.com can be searched. Location aware devices can also supply current city for event location.

Does not support sources. No descendant, people, or place list view. No bookmarks or history list of viewed people.

Requires (free or paid) Ancestry.com registration.

Find Grave (beta)Find Grave (beta) Android App offers a mobile method for searching FindaGrave.com for cemeteries and memorials.  Add a memorial if you are registered at FindaGrave.com.

Requires internet connection.

Quick Selection Guide

Gramps
10
 
Gizmo's Freeware award as the best product in its class!

Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Undo function. Date range support. Place list. Creates web sites. Copy & paste citations. Supports large sized reports. Supports multiple names. Supports multiple marriages with children from each. Same sex marriage is supported but one person is labeled father and the other mother. Children may have multiple sets of parents.
Only one source format. No foot or end notes on family group report. No date calculator.
http://gramps-project.org
3.3.1-2
41.9 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Open source freeware
A portable version of this product is available but not from the developer
Gramps currently runs on Linux, MAC OS X, and Windows. Guides for installation on BSD and Solaris are available.

I recommend the all-in-one version for Windows installation or the portable version available at http://portableapps.com/apps/education/gramps_portable

Requires Python 2.6.x or later (GRAMPS has not yet been ported to Python 3.x), GTK runtime, GTK python bindings ( PyGTK, PyGObject, PyCario)

Legacy Standard
9
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Source templates, research guidance, place list, to-do list, Focus groups. Creates web sites. Merge feature for people, places, sources, repositories, etc. Many report and chart types including narrative, citation list, to do, and DNA. Internet searches. Supports multiple marriages. Supports multiple names but can't search them.
Does not support multiple parent child relationships, unmarried parents, same sex parents, or same sex marriages. Nags when unavailable menu items are selected.
http://www.legacyfamilytree.com
7.5.0.112
46.6 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
"Legacy runs on newer Macs with Windows installed under Bootcamp, Parallel or Fusion . Legacy runs on Linux machines with a Windows emulator like VMWare or Sun's Virtual Box."

Win 98 and Win Me need all available Microsoft Service Packs installed.

Family Tree Legends
9
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
To do and correspondence lists. Merge function for duplicate sources, repositories, places, and people. Supports multiple marriages with children from each. Multiple names supported but additional names can't be searched. Real time internet backup. Publish to GenCircles.
No pictures in reports. Assumes marriage of all couples with children. Same sex marriage not supported. Flagging one father as a step father sets all fathers as step fathers. Marriage between individuals of unknown gender automatically assigns one as male and the other as female.
http://www.familytreelegends.com
5.15
16.9 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Unrestricted freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP operating system (Sorry, Macintosh support not available at this time)
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Hour glass view adjustable from one to three generations. Checks for duplicate people. Pop-up calendar. Supports multiple marriages and parents. Supports unmarried parents. Supports same sex marriages and parents. Supports multiple names but can't search alternate names.
Occasional nags when encountering feature limits. Opens MyHeritage web site on program startup. Only one source format. No merge tools. No individual report. No context sensitive help. No date or relationship calculators.
6.0.0.5634
27.7 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Windows
ScionPC
7
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Portable. No gender constraints. Date range support. Can create a web site. Individual view. Pop-up calendar. Multiple marriages, parents, and alternate names.
Only one source format. Only one citation per event. No book print function. No private notes.
8.0
7 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Unrestricted freeware
This product is portable.
ScionPC has been confirmed to run on Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7. It should run on any other "32-bit" Windows such as 95, 98, NT3 (or later), but this has not currently been confirmed.
RootsMagic Essentials
7
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Source templates. Place, citation, and to-do list reports. Supports multiple marriages, multiple parents, and unmarried parents. Supports same sex parents but labels say Father & Mother. Copy & paste citations. Can print bibliography. Open multiple databases simultaneously. Nice looking reports. Supports multiple names.
Nags with a splash screen. Reports cannot be saved to other file formats. No optional surety assessment. No book print function. No private notes. No relationship calculator.
http://www.rootsmagic.com
5.0.1.0
24.0 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Runs under Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000
Brother's Keeper
7
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Automatically checks for duplicate people. Supports multiple names, marriages, and parents. Supports same sex marriage. Supports same sex parents but labels are Father/Mother.
No date formatting. No people list. No pictures in reports. Reports cannot be saved to other formats. No bookmarks.
http://www.bkwin.org
6.5.5
12 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Brother's Keeper 6.5 will also run with Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Personal Ancestral File
6
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Easy to use. Can create web pages. Supports multiple marriages and parents.
Only one source format. Only one name per individual. No place, repository, or master tag type lists. Unsorted report events. No bookmarks. No back button for previously viewed people. No optional surety assessment. No saving of reports to HTML. Does not support same sex marriage or parents. Assumes marriage of parents.
5.2.18
9.7 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Windows
Ancestral Quest Basics
6
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Automatically searches RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project and Ancestry.com in the background and displays number of matches. Performs individual Internet searches of Ancestry.com, Rootsweb.com, and Familysearch.com (some types of search available only with paid version).
Nags with each startup and whenever a feature available only in paid version is selected. Does not support incestual or same gender relationships. No ancestor or descendant box charts. Only search by name is supported. Bookmarks and history of people viewed is not supported,
12.1
35 MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Feature limited freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP

Internet connection and browser required for internet search functions.

Quick Selection Guide-Mobile

Ancestry
7
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Horizontal pedigree chart with individual and family displays that can shown at the right side. Display, add, and edit individuals and events. Easy to search by name. Add photos to the tree. With internet connection, edits are posted to Ancestry.com, locations are prompted, and Ancestry.com can be searched. Location aware devices can also supply current city for event location.
Does not support sources. No descendant, people, or place list view. No bookmarks or history list of viewed people.
http://ancestry.com
Android 1.1.116 / Ipad 3.1.2
3.6M
Unrestricted freeware
This product is portable.
Android 2.1 and up or iOS 4.0 or later.

Requires (free or paid) Ancestry.com registration.

Editor
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor okrick. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by clicking here.
Tags

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Comments

by Phylis Sophical on 9. May 2013 - 18:24  (107606)

Have just migrated from a paid program to Gramps v.3.4.3-1. I am impressed beyond believe. Took a few days to find my way around the wiki help files but well worth the time.
Almost every screen has a Help button that takes you to the appropriate page in the online wiki (Prepare to Bookmark!)
Lots of pop up tips as well to help you through the mire.

Someone mentioned that you can't change the date format. In my version, it can be easily changed via Edit > preferences > Display tab > 'Date Format'.

by PeterRezende on 8. February 2013 - 18:11  (105210)

The features in Legacy are about average for what you'd expect of a family tree program but there're many more user friendly programs on the market. I use Legacg, FTM, FTB, PAF and CGR depending on what I want to do and which reports I want to run.

But would you trust your family tree data, data that has been collected after years of painstaking research, to a program that does not correctly export to a Gedcom?

Legacy is more concerned with developing new features rather than fixing the bugs in their current version. Below is correspondence with their "support" department when I discovered a bug in the system..a bug they claim to have known about and fixed in Oct 2012 but the fix has not been released as at 6 Feb 2013..

[edited out]

by Anupam on 10. February 2013 - 13:08  (105266)

Have edited out the long conversation posted, which was quite long for the comments section. Please post it in the freeware forum, with a link to the thread here in the comments section.

Also, please make sure not to post the emails, as this is a public forum, and it's not safe posting emails publicly.

by vandamme on 27. December 2012 - 3:07  (104008)

Gramps in the LinuxMint repository is an old version and had a bug in displaying the ancestry chart. I downloaded the new version (3.4.2.1) from the Gramps website and it installs easy and works just fine.

by dlwatib on 21. December 2012 - 12:52  (103835)

I have tried Gramps after using PAF. The Gramps user interface is very hard to use. It seems to constantly need to remind you that you're "really" editing a flat database with lots of records for every detail. Such a low-level view may be appropriate for certain clean-up operations, at which Gramps excels, but for overall use I'd prefer a program that thinks in terms of families and relationships.

In particular, I want the family view to be easily accessible from every other view. Instead, Gramps gives you the bare individual record. Even better is an hourglass view, which Gramps seems to know about only as a report generated by a gramplet. And I basically want every display field to be editable. I don't want the interface to be constantly bringing up new windows every time I want to correct a typo in a name or date. Finally, I want a genealogy program that will support my preferred date format: dd Mon yyyy where the month is abbreviated to three letters with only the first letter capitalized, and no leading 0 on the dd.

by okrick on 25. December 2012 - 19:33  (103983)

You have a point. I'll give more weight to ease of use in my next review.

Meanwhile try Legacy or Legends.

Rick

by vikramtrivedi on 12. December 2012 - 8:21  (103535)

good

by hi there (not verified) on 17. October 2012 - 14:37  (100908)

Gramps is really hard to learn imo, but its worth the investement over using Family Tree Builder. This is just my personal opinion. Family Tree Builder has a more polished feel to it, but you can't print out charts for free, can't show whole families on the screen. I got a honkin huge monitor and there is no way for me to keep 2 people from hogging up 90% of it. Gramps would crash on me, I would have trouble finding where my files were going even after setting default folder, ghost old families you deleted showing up. I couldnt figure out how to have a parent have children from two different people (I'm sure its possible though) I'm still going back to gramps if I can just figure out how to export, then do a fresh install. The uninstaller is horrid. Even after all that, ya gramps wins.

by Stacey (not verified) on 16. September 2012 - 13:03  (99325)

I would like to create a family tree for my grandmother that will include all the children and grandchildren of her brothers and sisters. I'd like to then get it professionally printed out; I was thinking that A3 size would be nice. My problem is that she has thirteen siblings. I therefore need a program which doesn't insist on aligning all members of the same generation. It needs to be able to lengthen or shorten lines of descent to fit the branches most efficiently on the page, and probably the ability to bend lines around certain branches as well. Ideally I would be able to control how this was done. Is there a program which can do this or will I (shudder) have to do it by hand?

Thank you.

by Paul Henley (not verified) on 15. November 2012 - 23:12  (102385)

I am from a family of 13 as well, first time Ive heard of another 13.

by Peter Crowtman (not verified) on 25. May 2012 - 13:38  (93942)

What version OS will this support?

by okrick on 25. May 2012 - 16:52  (93949)

The version is indicated near the bottom of each rating in the Quick Selection area.

Rick

by Hels (not verified) on 10. May 2012 - 15:52  (93314)

I got going with GRAMPS - spurred on by it being accoladed as top tip - thanks for the review/recommendations of the free softwares. I find the GRAMPS interface and design for data entry and media great (albeit somewhat complex to start with). I am only somewhat disappointed with the reports - finding it difficult to get good looking charts, in particular a graphical traditional family tree of the whole database (only 100 odd people just now). Whilst I have found which report does this (the Relationship Graph) it does it via a GraphViz file which I am finding incredibly difficult to decipher and get working. I think there is such a mismatch between the wonderful data input/navigation screens and the less wonderful way of trying to view charts. As such, I gave up, downloaded another package but found the interface awful compared to GRAMPS and still couldn't find the full family tree graphical output. I'm now back to GRAMPS

I would be really grateful for a mini "dummies guide" to how to display the GRAMPS Relationship Graph .gv file using Graphviz (checked online quite extensively and what I've found is WAY too techy and complicated for me). Or is there a better plugin out there that I've missed?

by josip (not verified) on 22. May 2012 - 23:59  (93865)

If you have Graphviz and GhostScript installed Gramps can save graphs also as: pdf, svg, jpg, png etc.
Windows AIO version have both of them included.

mini guide:
dot -O -Tjpg graphname.gv
will produce graphname.jpg for example.

by DennisD (not verified) on 29. April 2012 - 22:53  (92782)

I am downloading Gramps because I don't want the world to be able to access my information through an online program. However, how do I share the information with my relatives so they can add or confirm my information is correct?

by okrick on 29. April 2012 - 23:20  (92784)

If your concern is that you don't want others to steal your research then probably the most secure is to print a chart or report of the information you want them to confirm and mail it to them.

Next most secure is to save the chart or report as a PDF or other text format and email it to the relative. Keep in mind that your relative can easily forward it to others.

If your concern is for the living people then probably the best solution might be to post it to Rootsweb World Connect. See my review at https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-online-genealogy-fami....

Rick

by Chuck Graham (not verified) on 11. April 2012 - 12:12  (91906)

Good morning.

I've used a really old program, Sierra's Generations Easy Tree v5.2 I've really loved it over the years. I was forced to change to a 64bit system and it doesn't work well with the change. Is there a program out now, that is so very simple like Easy Tree, and has the same general look? It was so easy to use.
Thanks in advance.

[edit] email address removed for safety reasons

by Anonymous20120429 (not verified) on 30. April 2012 - 3:04  (92790)

The solution may be to go to the executable (the main program), Properties, choose a run mode.
images.google.com/images?q=properties+~choose+32+|+64+run+exe+xp+virtual+win7+|+windows7
finds

filext.com/faq/run_old_program_xp.php

If that doesn't help, ask a forum how to run 32bit software in x64 windows.
If you aren't registered at a favorite windows help forum (maybe this site?), try finding one on this topic.
"forum" | showthread x64 | 64bit 32 ~mode| virtual xp win7 | windows7

If that doesn't help, you could also search whether the software has a log, or can be started up with a 'verbose' or 'logging' option (aka switch). Log lines might give clues about why your software can't find the best way it wants to run.

_________
useful review, btw. genealogy software seems so obscure, yet here's an article. TY to contributor.

[Moderator's note : Link with bad WOT rating removed]

by okrick on 29. April 2012 - 23:22  (92785)

Sorry, I'm not familiar with this program. I suggest you download and try several of the programs in this article to see which has the look and feel you prefer.

RIck

by gizmo.richards on 18. March 2012 - 0:19  (90771)

Posted on behalf of karen saucier who couldn't get past our spam filter:(

"I would prefer web-based genealogy software so my remote siblings can easily view the process. My biggest concern for web-based software is security. Generally, if the URL doesn't say https (s means security), it is not a safe site from hackers. I'm not sure how safe information is if they just blind it? Maiden names are used by banks to authenticate accounts."

by okrick on 18. March 2012 - 6:21  (90782)

My recommendations for web-based software is at http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-online-genealogy-famil...

If the security issue is with who is authorized access to the tree then even the USA Department of Defense isn't safe from hackers. None of the free sites offer https security. If this is your worry then don't put your information on the web.

by gizmo.richards on 18. March 2012 - 23:23  (90813)

Posted on behalf of Karen

By security, I meant that these sites ask for full name/address of the living plus your mother's maiden name. Anyone who wants to do identify theft can easily use this info to call a brokerage or bank and get your account number. You'd be cleaned out before you knew it. WeRelate is attached to Facebook. Red flag to me. Facebook is the last place you want secure info and a favorite target of hackers (can you tell I live in Silicon Valley?). When Facebook goes public this Spring and has pressure to keep shareholders happy, who knows how they will modify their privacy settings as more and more advertisers are falling over themselves for access to consumer segment/demographic user info they have collected. Some genealogy sites say they can suppress the names of the living but I don't know if that is really secure as I don't know how they do this or if it also includes suppressing addresses or just names (not secure enough).

Exporting capability is very important if you spent huge amounts of time building your tree then decide you want to take it off line-you don't want to lose years of data research. Or the company is going out of business or being acquired.

Web-based is great from a family collaborative tree building standpoint (who has time to do this on your own?). It is much less clunky software than your standard data entry into a database many of which seem hopelessly outdated in their navigation/ease of use enough to turn people off from pursuing genealogy. I'm new to genealogy, just started using RootMagic5, and am already frustrated with it. Web is so much more fluid. Will have to look at Gramps. Some of the information (like sources and images) will be lost when uploading GEDCOM file to websites like MyHeritage. Web-based also doesn't bog down your home PC hard drive.

Ancestry.com has an ineffective search engine when I tried their free trial. Geni.com seems even less secure. I believe MyHeritage can exceed 250 individuals if you pay so free is limited.

-Karen

by okrick on 19. March 2012 - 6:27  (90821)

Apparently you didn't bother looking at my reviews at Best Free Online Genealogy and Family Tree Applications https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-online-genealogy-fami... since you continue to mention Geni and MyHeritage neither of which were recommended.

None of the online sites I reviewed in the previously mentioned article ask for address or mother's maiden name in order to register.

WeRelate is not connected to FaceBook. Like hundreds of other sites WeRelate does have the link which one can click to get to their FaceBook like page. WeRelate does not offer a FaceBook sign in or sharing capability. Ancestry does allow a FaceBook sign in capability so if this bothers you don't use their site.

As I mention in my review WeRelate does not allow data of living people to be published in the first place. For Ancestry, I recommended that either one keep the data private or suppress the living data themselves as Ancestry does not do this. Family Pursuit apparently removed data about living people from my upload, e.g. I was not able to see it but can't be certain whether it was actually cleaned from the file or was just hidden.

Both WeRelate and Ancestry offer the ability to download complete GEDCOMs. You're correct--one should make frequent backups in as many locations as possible.

WeRelate will load and display the complete GEDCOM file except for images and living people. For Ancestry, I had to restrict the GEDCOM export to only Primary Names and Events.

WeRelate has the hands down best search engine for finding people as far as finding alternate spellings. Ancestry does a pretty fair job of finding alternate spellings. Can you point out a specific instance of where Ancestry fails to find an individual that is in their databases?

by Anonymousousousous (not verified) on 14. March 2012 - 11:14  (90563)

Okrik, which of these apps supports LOTE? I have a lot of ancestors in Eastern European countries, and I want to input their names properly, not transcribed into Latin text

by okrick on 14. March 2012 - 17:18  (90606)

I believe they all support the default character set chosen for your computer.

They definitely support any character entered from the Windows Character Map. So if you have the fonts for LOTE and can access it through the Windows Character Map you should have no problem with any of these.

by Eda (not verified) on 1. March 2012 - 18:20  (89769)

I would like to print family trees for a reunion. Could you please recommend a stand-alone program I can buy that provides ease and flexibility for printing tree charts. I would like to be able to print separate trees for each sibling (sons/daughters of beginning couple) in the tree.

Thanks.

by okrick on 1. March 2012 - 23:00  (89779)

Any of the free programs recommended here should be able to create the tree charts you want.

Rick

by Jim M. (not verified) on 9. February 2012 - 17:02  (88593)

I don’t know if things have changed, but the software from MyHeritage, Family Tree Builder, used to also install some malware whether you wanted it or not! The installer offered two methods: Standard or Custom. Standard automatically installed a browser home page and search engine hijacker along with a toolbar. If you selected Custom Installation it had selections where you could deselect those hijacks - but then it still installed them anyway. The WOT page for MyHeritage.com shows all green lights but if you look at the comments posted almost all for the last year list it as containing malware. Here's a link to the WOT page: http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/myheritage.com#page-1

Thanks!

Jim

by okrick on 15. February 2012 - 1:58  (88880)

Thanks for your concern. This no longer seems to be the case. The software does install a startup update checker similar to Google Chrome which is easily disabled.

Thanks,

Rick

by cieastin (not verified) on 7. February 2012 - 22:31  (88462)

I have used PAF 5 for years and have no complaints at all. I'd like to correct one misstatement in your summary -- that you can only put one citation in for a date, place, etc. All you have to do to add a second, third, or more citation is be on the first citation page and click the "New" button. You will get a "select source" screen. Select a source or enter the new source, fill in the citation detail, click "OK", and voila. (If you've entered a new source, you have to "select" it before entering the citation details.)