The Bottom Line
The ease of use, stability, and outstanding publishing features of Family Tree Maker 11 make it ideal for novice researchers who want an easy way to enter family information without dealing with the nuts and bolts of genealogy research. It is also arguably the best genealogy software program for individuals looking to quickly and easily create nice looking family charts, trees and family history books. Skip the deluxe version with the extra, useless data CDs, and you'll get your money's worth.
Pros
- Outstanding publishing features
- Wide variety of trees, charts, and other printouts
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- No pedigree view for easy navigation
- GEDCOM import may drop data from unrecognized tags
- Doesn't output to HTML - Can only publish pages on FTM's Web site
Description
- Store all family information in one place - names, dates, photos and even audio and video files.
- Open and work with two family files simultaneously
- Back up family files to CD with just a few clicks
- Scan in original documents and attach the images to sources for the ultimate in organization.
- Create vivid, easy-to-read trees, maps, timelines, and reports in a variety of exciting formats.
- Customize printouts with drag-and-drop editing, borders, fonts, and colors.
- Powerful search engine helps search the Internet for your ancestors.
- Print beautiful Family History books with a choice of customized charts, reports, and photos.
- Publishing Center allows you to easily create and share Family Books and reports online.
- Create a free home page to publish and share family data. Can only create on FamilyTreeMaker.com.
Guide Review - Family Tree Maker 11
While not a complete overhaul of Version 10, Family Tree Maker 11 does add some nice new features. Of special note, are the ability to open multiple databases (family files) at once, easily backup family files to CD and export family books to PDF. The getting started tutorial and manual are adequate, though I'd prefer more guidance for beginners since this genealogy software is best suited for novice and amateur genealogists. The family view is simple and uncluttered, but Family Tree Maker is also the only major genealogy software program in which you cannot view an individual's parents on the same screen with his/her children. This, and the lack of pedigree view, make it time-consuming and unnecessarily difficult to navigate around larger family trees. GEDCOM import, while fairly painless, actually deleted data I had entered in a few custom tags and no direct import is available from other genealogy software programs. It also had trouble converting dates entered as a range of years (e.g. from 1769 to 1793). Manual data entry, however, is simple and intuitive, and the program makes it easy to integrate photos, scrapbooks and other multimedia with your family information. Overall, Family Tree Maker is a good choice for amateur genealogists and arguably the best choice for genealogists looking to easily share their family information in print.
