The Best Family Tree Maker Software
"I found this...
but, where should I put it?" The question of how to organize your information is a very important one.
Know this: all genealogy programs are not created equal! Some of them are definitely better than others.
This topic should get a fair bit of your time when choosing a program, because which one you go with will be either plaguing your life or blessing it, in the months and years to follow.
You will be uncovering a large quantity of information.
On of the most important things you should do is find a way to keep it organized so that you will be able to access the information you want quickly and easily.
For the hard copies I recommend a three ring binder with pockets.
This will help you keep track of the actual documents, photos etc.
in your possession.
The old way of doing genealogy consisted of writing or typing, on paper your family tree, those days are gone never to return.
What you want to do is, to enter your info into software program that will allow you to update, and share the valuable information that you have been collecting.
There are many programs available that will help you with this, one of the best that I have found is called Legacy Family Tree Genealogy Standard Edition 7.
4, and it's free! Just go to legacyfamilytree.
com and download it.
Legacy Family Tree Standard Edition 7.
4 has a wide a variety of features that make genealogy research and record keeping much easier and even more fun.
The mapping feature is great for getting the big picture in understanding where you ancestors migrated from.
Another great feature is advanced charting you can make many different designs and styles of charts and including a print your own option, where you specify all the details they print it out and deliver it to your door.
Legacy 7.
4 has a "source writing tool" that adheres to industry standards, it is simple to use just enter the information it asks for and follow the steps provided, this allows you to fully document your findings and allows others to see that documentation if/ when you decide to share your work.
The interview report tool included with this free software is a wonderful resource when interviewing someone about their personal or family history.
It has over a twelve hundred questions that are presorted and relevant to the topic for which you are interviewing.
You can select the questions you want to ask and then print out page to record the interview results on.
Or select the questions and write them directly on you computer.
The questions they provide can be very helpful memory triggers to get those stories flowing.
Legacy 7.
4 supports GEDCOM and PAF making it easy to transfer information to these programs.
Another great feature of Legacy 7.
4 is their search function; this allows you to do very specific searches among your files.
For example: say you want to locate all the individuals that you don't have birth date information for, you can select that specific search and have all that information neatly together in one list.
This can be very helpful when trying to fill in all the holes, and eliminates the need to look at each file to check for completeness.
What a timesaver! These are just a few of the fantastic features and functions that are included with the standard edition.
I just wanted to give you a taste of what is available with these powerful free tools! I hope this was helpful for you in making the decision of which software to choose.
Of course there are many other programs available, some for free and others you can buy.
Most importantly, choose the one that suits you best and then get to work!
but, where should I put it?" The question of how to organize your information is a very important one.
Know this: all genealogy programs are not created equal! Some of them are definitely better than others.
This topic should get a fair bit of your time when choosing a program, because which one you go with will be either plaguing your life or blessing it, in the months and years to follow.
You will be uncovering a large quantity of information.
On of the most important things you should do is find a way to keep it organized so that you will be able to access the information you want quickly and easily.
For the hard copies I recommend a three ring binder with pockets.
This will help you keep track of the actual documents, photos etc.
in your possession.
The old way of doing genealogy consisted of writing or typing, on paper your family tree, those days are gone never to return.
What you want to do is, to enter your info into software program that will allow you to update, and share the valuable information that you have been collecting.
There are many programs available that will help you with this, one of the best that I have found is called Legacy Family Tree Genealogy Standard Edition 7.
4, and it's free! Just go to legacyfamilytree.
com and download it.
Legacy Family Tree Standard Edition 7.
4 has a wide a variety of features that make genealogy research and record keeping much easier and even more fun.
The mapping feature is great for getting the big picture in understanding where you ancestors migrated from.
Another great feature is advanced charting you can make many different designs and styles of charts and including a print your own option, where you specify all the details they print it out and deliver it to your door.
Legacy 7.
4 has a "source writing tool" that adheres to industry standards, it is simple to use just enter the information it asks for and follow the steps provided, this allows you to fully document your findings and allows others to see that documentation if/ when you decide to share your work.
The interview report tool included with this free software is a wonderful resource when interviewing someone about their personal or family history.
It has over a twelve hundred questions that are presorted and relevant to the topic for which you are interviewing.
You can select the questions you want to ask and then print out page to record the interview results on.
Or select the questions and write them directly on you computer.
The questions they provide can be very helpful memory triggers to get those stories flowing.
Legacy 7.
4 supports GEDCOM and PAF making it easy to transfer information to these programs.
Another great feature of Legacy 7.
4 is their search function; this allows you to do very specific searches among your files.
For example: say you want to locate all the individuals that you don't have birth date information for, you can select that specific search and have all that information neatly together in one list.
This can be very helpful when trying to fill in all the holes, and eliminates the need to look at each file to check for completeness.
What a timesaver! These are just a few of the fantastic features and functions that are included with the standard edition.
I just wanted to give you a taste of what is available with these powerful free tools! I hope this was helpful for you in making the decision of which software to choose.
Of course there are many other programs available, some for free and others you can buy.
Most importantly, choose the one that suits you best and then get to work!