Do You Use Genealogy Software?

[Susan - s3js]

I do and I would be lost without it. I started out on Family Tree Maker but FTM was too expensive to maintain and didn't have features I wanted - like attacking photos and documents to my entries. After trying a few others, I settled on Legacy and have been well-satisfied since. I have been going with the idea of becoming a professional genealogist or at least a researcher or forensic genealogist after I retire and wonder if there would be a better alternative to Legacy. What do you use? What do you like and/or dislike about it?

 

[Hamer Lodge]

I didn't realise there was genealogy software, I have only used Ancestry to do my research. I too would have loved to get into being a researcher, its very addictive. Australia is such a young country, all our ancestors came from somewhere else within the last 250 years and their stories and bravery about coming to a new world on the other side of the globe is amazing.

 

[scrap-genie]

I am a confirmed user of what many of us still think is THE best genealogy program: The Master Genealogist (TMG). However, it's creator ended the business maybe in 2014, so it probably isn't for someone new to programs. I've led a user group for TMG for 21+ years, but at one point had to bring in more folks so added Legacy and RootsMagic. I was happy when the one Legacy user got converted to RM, so I only have to cover two programs now. I am not super knowledgeable about RootsMagic, but we can usually get the answers folks need. As far as I can tell, other credentialed genealogists still use TMG, but others use every other program too.

I too started with FTM, very long ago in a free version. It made me crazy but that was in the old days. Current FTM is totally different and apparently comparable to the others.

Using online trees for your genealogy records is quite prevalent, but there are things that won't do for you. Lisa Louise Cooke did a video on why to have your own program and data. I think it's not free on youtube any more though.

 

[Susan - s3js]

@Hamer Lodge er Debra, there are many of them now and some of them have free versions, it helps you stay organized. I use Clooz, a digital file cabinet along with the Legacy to help keep me straight. I still have close to a thousand documents to enter but it's one and done with couple of mouse clicks to post to several people at once who share an event. @scrap-genie Jean, would you tell us the main differences? Is TMG still available?

 

[janedee]

I haven't done much research over the past few years. I used to use Family Treemaker but didn't pay for updates for a while. I've been thinking of getting back into my research so I will have to look into Legacy. @Susan - s3js - just wondering how easy was it to switch over your database?

 

[tanteva]

I use a Swedish program callee Genney. It's great, but I think it's only available in Swedish.

@janedee most programs have easy export/import functions, I don't think there will be any problems. The data is usually saved in .ged format, and most programs use that.

 

[Susan - s3js]

I haven't done much research over the past few years. I used to use Family Treemaker but didn't pay for updates for a while. I've been thinking of getting back into my research so I will have to look into Legacy. @Susan - s3js - just wondering how easy was it to switch over your database?

It's pretty simple. It's been about 17 years since I switched so it may be different now. I just used te import function, it took me through some preferences and it was done..

 

[Hamer Lodge]

Thanks so much ladies...I will look into them.

 

[Robloz55]

I have been using Legacy (legacy family tree) since 2002 - there is a free standard version and a paid bells and whistles version.

Well, lets say I was using Legacy before I put my entire family up online, and now I seldom use my Legacy software at all.

And no I am not a Member of Ancestry.

I do have a tree up at My Heritage, as well as my DNA. I did use to have a paid subscription at My Heritage, which allowed me to build up my family tree. Sadly, I had to give that up, and now I only have a free account. But the tree is still available.

 

[agilchrest]

I am what you might call a semi-professional genealogist. I have written up case studies and been published in a number of state-level genealogy magazines. I use Family Tree Maker (FTM) but would not recommend it. The only reason I use it is I started out with it and used a lot of workarounds to get it to do what I wanted. Because of that when I tried to transfer it to The Master Genealogist it was a disaster. It has been years now and the database has been cleaned up and I can transfer it to other programs with no problem.

The biggest reason I would not recommend FTM is its reports. There is no way to edit them. The second is the text editor. I have played with Legacy and its reports are great. The program with the best text editor that I have tried is called Family Historian. It is a British company. My only nit pic with it is that it uses abbreviations for the months. I just have this thing about abbreviating the months.

Many will tout FTM's ability to sync with Ancestry. In my experience, this has been the source of a tremendous amount of frustration. When it fails and it will, you spend endless hours trying to fix the problems. Hours that could have been spent researching or working on your art.

I do use genealogy software but it is primarily for its charts. I don't store my images in the software. They are filed by location and record type on my E drive. For me, this makes the most sense. When I am working on a project either a case study or digital scrapbooking my genealogy I look for things based on what type of record I am looking for.

The other programs I use are Zotero, Tropy, Scrivener, and Word.

Both Zotero and Tropy are free programs. They were developed by Universities specifically for research. At this point, I use Zotero more than Tropy. In Zotero I can add a document or a book. If the book has been published it is one click and all the information is right there to create a citation. I can add any analysis in notes that are then attached to a book or document. I can have all my translations attached right to the document. These days when I am researching Zotero is open and all my research is added at the time. The search function in Zotero is one of the best I have used. Zotero also syncs online which I can access from anywhere. Zotero's add-on connector is a godsend. If website has added metadata all the data is added automatically to Zotero. Zotero will also read PDFs and index them if they have been OCRed. Plus you can view the PDF while in the program.

Tropy is a program specifically designed for research images of documents. However, because of some of its features, it works great for family photographs. You can take a group photo and identify every person in the photograph. You can add an unlimited amount of notes for each photograph and or person that you have identified. The downside to Tropy is that it does not sync online.

Scrivener is a writing program. I use it to write up my blog posts and other genealogy reports.

Most of my writing for my digital scrapbooking is done in Word documents. I find it works well and I can copy and paste the journalling directly to my pages.

 

[LSlycord]

I am what you might call a semi-professional genealogist. I have written up case studies and been published in a number of state-level genealogy magazines. I use Family Tree Maker (FTM) but would not recommend it. The only reason I use it is I started out with it and used a lot of workarounds to get it to do what I wanted. Because of that when I tried to transfer it to The Master Genealogist it was a disaster. It has been years now and the database has been cleaned up and I can transfer it to other programs with no problem.

The biggest reason I would not recommend FTM is its reports. There is no way to edit them. The second is the text editor. I have played with Legacy and its reports are great. The program with the best text editor that I have tried is called Family Historian. It is a British company. My only nit pic with it is that it uses abbreviations for the months. I just have this thing about abbreviating the months.

Many will tout FTM's ability to sync with Ancestry. In my experience, this has been the source of a tremendous amount of frustration. When it fails and it will, you spend endless hours trying to fix the problems. Hours that could have been spent researching or working on your art.

I do use genealogy software but it is primarily for its charts. I don't store my images in the software. They are filed by location and record type on my E drive. For me, this makes the most sense. When I am working on a project either a case study or digital scrapbooking my genealogy I look for things based on what type of record I am looking for.

The other programs I use are Zotero, Tropy, Scrivener, and Word.

Both Zotero and Tropy are free programs. They were developed by Universities specifically for research. At this point, I use Zotero more than Tropy. In Zotero I can add a document or a book. If the book has been published it is one click and all the information is right there to create a citation. I can add any analysis in notes that are then attached to a book or document. I can have all my translations attached right to the document. These days when I am researching Zotero is open and all my research is added at the time. The search function in Zotero is one of the best I have used. Zotero also syncs online which I can access from anywhere. Zotero's add-on connector is a godsend. If website has added metadata all the data is added automatically to Zotero. Zotero will also read PDFs and index them if they have been OCRed. Plus you can view the PDF while in the program.

Tropy is a program specifically designed for research images of documents. However, because of some of its features, it works great for family photographs. You can take a group photo and identify every person in the photograph. You can add an unlimited amount of notes for each photograph and or person that you have identified. The downside to Tropy is that it does not sync online.

Scrivener is a writing program. I use it to write up my blog posts and other genealogy reports.

Most of my writing for my digital scrapbooking is done in Word documents. I find it works well and I can copy and paste the journalling directly to my pages.

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Susan - s3js]

I am what you might call a semi-professional genealogist. I have written up case studies and been published in a number of state-level genealogy magazines. I use Family Tree Maker (FTM) but would not recommend it. The only reason I use it is I started out with it and used a lot of workarounds to get it to do what I wanted. Because of that when I tried to transfer it to The Master Genealogist it was a disaster. It has been years now and the database has been cleaned up and I can transfer it to other programs with no problem.

The biggest reason I would not recommend FTM is its reports. There is no way to edit them. The second is the text editor. I have played with Legacy and its reports are great. The program with the best text editor that I have tried is called Family Historian. It is a British company. My only nit pic with it is that it uses abbreviations for the months. I just have this thing about abbreviating the months.

Many will tout FTM's ability to sync with Ancestry. In my experience, this has been the source of a tremendous amount of frustration. When it fails and it will, you spend endless hours trying to fix the problems. Hours that could have been spent researching or working on your art.

I do use genealogy software but it is primarily for its charts. I don't store my images in the software. They are filed by location and record type on my E drive. For me, this makes the most sense. When I am working on a project either a case study or digital scrapbooking my genealogy I look for things based on what type of record I am looking for.

The other programs I use are Zotero, Tropy, Scrivener, and Word.

Both Zotero and Tropy are free programs. They were developed by Universities specifically for research. At this point, I use Zotero more than Tropy. In Zotero I can add a document or a book. If the book has been published it is one click and all the information is right there to create a citation. I can add any analysis in notes that are then attached to a book or document. I can have all my translations attached right to the document. These days when I am researching Zotero is open and all my research is added at the time. The search function in Zotero is one of the best I have used. Zotero also syncs online which I can access from anywhere. Zotero's add-on connector is a godsend. If website has added metadata all the data is added automatically to Zotero. Zotero will also read PDFs and index them if they have been OCRed. Plus you can view the PDF while in the program.

Tropy is a program specifically designed for research images of documents. However, because of some of its features, it works great for family photographs. You can take a group photo and identify every person in the photograph. You can add an unlimited amount of notes for each photograph and or person that you have identified. The downside to Tropy is that it does not sync online.

Scrivener is a writing program. I use it to write up my blog posts and other genealogy reports.

Most of my writing for my digital scrapbooking is done in Word documents. I find it works well and I can copy and paste the journalling directly to my pages.

I've had Zotero downloaded and installed for awhile but just haven't used it. Methinks I need to look into it more. Thanks for the info on it. I also store my documents separate from my Legacy files. I have so many I haven't added them into Legacy but know I can if I want to. I store them by type inside my family folders. Everything in one place for my 4 main lines.

 

[agilchrest]

I've had Zotero downloaded and installed for awhile but just haven't used it. Methinks I need to look into it more.

Susan, it took me a while to figure out how I wanted to use Zotero. Now I can't do anything without it. LOL. I am currently making photobooks about my Dad's military career and photobooks of the letters my Mom sent to her family while we were in the military. All the documents have been scanned and added to Zotero. I put them into collections. The letters are in a collection called Series 3 Correspondence. Dad's military papers, of which there are close to 1000 pieces of paper are in a collection called Series 4 Military Service Gilchrest, John D. These are titled by Year.Month.Day. As I work my way through doing the photobooks all the paper files are right there. I can right-click on the entry and go to where the image is stored on my computer and drag it right into photoshop. Here is a screenshot of Dad's military files in Zotero. The second image is of my United States Church Records. Hope this gives you some ideas.

 

[Susan - s3js]

Susan, it took me a while to figure out how I wanted to use Zotero. Now I can't do anything without it. LOL. I am currently making photobooks about my Dad's military career and photobooks of the letters my Mom sent to her family while we were in the military. All the documents have been scanned and added to Zotero. I put them into collections. The letters are in a collection called Series 3 Correspondence. Dad's military papers, of which there are close to 1000 pieces of paper are in a collection called Series 4 Military Service Gilchrest, John D. These are titled by Year.Month.Day. As I work my way through doing the photobooks all the paper files are right there. I can right-click on the entry and go to where the image is stored on my computer and drag it right into photoshop. Here is a screenshot of Dad's military files in Zotero. The second image is of my United States Church Records. Hope this gives you some ideas.

This is GREAT information. Thanks so much! I've got to give this a spin.

 

[Susan - s3js]

I have to say, too, that I use KLOOZ which is an electronic filing cabinet just for genealogy. It can be used as a stand alone program but it also works with Legacy with import and export functions. It's an amazing little piece of software. But Zotero sounds like a right handy tool, too! Hmmm... there's s thunderstorm about to roll through. Time to unplug and go to bed. I sleep like a baby when it storms like this! Good night, Y'all!

 

[LSlycord]

Bringing this subject to the top.