Genealogy Software Reviews - Family Tree Maker
Monday April 17, 2006
Family Tree Maker is one of the oldest and most widely-used genealogy software programs on the market. Currently owned by MyFamily.com, the most recent version is Family Tree Maker 2006. If you have used this or other recent version of Family Tree Maker we'd love to hear about what you think! Click on "comments" below to tell us what you like best about FTM, and what you don't like as well. Your comments will help other genealogists in their quest to find the best genealogy software for their needs.
Comments
Family Tree maker is the most easy to use. I have used others but keep coming back to family tree maker. It is easy to understand and you have an index that is very user friendly.
Family Tree is the best one that I’ve used. Easy to use but with enough features to keep track of complicated items. The more I use it, the more I find out what I can do to keep track of over 1,000 people and 13 generations from over 5 countries. Now, if it could only help me figure out my grandfather’s middle name…
I have used FTM programs since 1989 and have purchased every upgrade over the 17 years. It’s a great program, easy to use, super printouts and nice for image storage. I am disappointed in FTM 2006 over FTM 2005, however, because source entering is not as easy as the earlier version. I prefer the the cut and paste option over the now mandatory pull-down list.
Family Tree Maker 2006 is defintely easy to use. Sometimes however I wish that the comments and notes features, as well as the to-do lists, were a bit more sophisticated. The Web Search Resources function is fantastic, a real time-saver!
I started with FTM in 1987and ceased using it several years ago as I was sick and tired of purchasing the yearly updates as I thought each update changed very little and cost to much. Now use Legacy and am happy as a clam at high tide.
Charles
I use FTM5.0 for Windows. I have never upgraded it, nor have I had a desire to.
However, in entering marriages, it assumes a man marries a woman, and a woman marries a man. Whether legally recognized or not, modern men and women do “marry” members of the same gender.
I have and use both FTM and Legacy 4 and prefer Legacy.
I would like to know why Family Tree Maker does not do a better job in filtering the family data that is inputed. For example, I give specific birthdate, birth location data for my grandparents search, yet FTM yields thousands of data with various birthdates and birth place. Is the another way?
I have used this program sine version 9 came out, and I keep upgrading it. I like it because it is easy for the beginner to use, and the features keep geting better. i have learned how to add photos t my trees, and how to add other if=nfo, I eespecailly likre the web link provided.
I use ftm 4.4 I have never upgraded it but would like to see diffrent colors for differnt generations on charts
I have used several programs over the years and FTM is easy, but, not the best for enhanced features. My biggest problem with it is the way it stores data, especially the name. The entire name is stored in one field, rather then one for the given name and one for the surname. It goes through some internal gyrations to decide for itself what portion is the given name and what is the surname, suffix, etc. This is not very accurate and can cause problems. I also don’t care for the way it lumps notes, sources and citations. RootsMagic is much, much, better if you want more control over your data.
For me there is really very little to like about FTM. I’ve used several versions. Tree printing is not good. Display of individuals and family info, not good, interface, nothing to write home about. Source documenting I’ve still not fully got the hang of. But where it is really truly awful is GedCom import/Export. There is only one function that makes me use it (temporarily) and that is the automatic searches you can do if you have an Ancestry.Com subscription. That function is easy to use and productive. What really ticks me off is that several years ago there was a product called “Generations Family Tree” It was quite good for the day. Display and source info was good. It had a few bugs, but nothing terrible. It was a classic predatory case. The FamTreeMaker people purchased their competitor (Generations Family Tree) which was a much better product. Then, instead of integrating with them , they just immediately shut it down to gain the market share. All their resources continue to be put into marketing not product improvement.
Family Tree Maker 2006 is much harder to use then the earlier versions. I am tempted to delete this version and go back to one of the earlier ones. I don’t see an advantage to this at all.