Family Tree Maker User: 2010

Friday, December 3, 2010

Family Tree Maker: Improving Performance

Posted on the Family Tree Maker Blog:

Posted by Tana L. Pedersen on November 29, 2010 in Family Tree Maker

We all wish we had an unlimited amount of time to work on our family history. But since none of us do, it can be frustrating when the software you’re using seems to get in the way instead of helping. If Family Tree Maker starts running more slowly than you expect, here are six steps you can take to increase the software’s performance:

Verify that your computer meets the minimum system requirements

Make sure that your computer meets or exceeds the minimum requirements. You can find them listed in the packaging and documentation that came with your software. Also, keep in mind that the more information you enter, the greater the amount of free hard drive space and available RAM you will need.

Make sure you are using the latest version of the software

Periodically, Family Tree Maker releases updates that fix various software bugs and issues. Make sure that the Family Tree Maker software is up-to-date by going to the Help menu and choosing Check for Update. A message alerts you if you need to update the software.

Run the Compact File tool

The Compact File tool re-indexes your file, removes unnecessary data, and optimizes your tree’s performance. You can learn more on this blog post.

Check your tree for duplicate individuals

Duplicate individuals can increase the overall size of your tree and make running reports, creating charts, and navigating your tree inefficient. Periodically you’ll want to make sure you’ve merged or deleted any unnecessary people. You can find detailed instructions on merging individuals in the Family Tree Maker Knowledgebase.

Work offline

If you have a day where you’re simply entering information and not using the Web Search or virtual maps, consider temporarily disabling your Internet connection within Family Tree Maker. This can really speed up your system, especially if you’re working in a large tree.
To work offline, go to the File menu and select Go Offline. To reenable Internet access, go to the File menu and select Go Online.

Disable Fastfields

Fastfields speed up data entry by automatically filling in repetitive data as you type. For example, if you type “San Jose, California” into a location field, then go to another location field and begin to type “San,” Family Tree Maker will recognize the similarity and suggest “San Jose, California.” Disabling this feature can increase performance, especially in large databases.
To disable Fastfields, go to the Tools menu and select Options. Deselect the checkboxes in the “Use fastfields for section” and click OK.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Friday, November 12, 2010

Family Tree Maker 2011 - Program Updates

Service Pack 1 contains a number of user requested and reported updates and fixes.

The following fixes and updates are included in this service pack:

General performance improvements throughout the program
Performance improvements to Web merge
Re-enabled right-click functionality in Web Search
New option added to Options dialog to enable/disable enhancing merged images from Ancestry.com
Resolved issue of media not being merge properly during Ancestry.com Web merge
Resolved issue where user is unable to modify reference notes in Sources workspace
And much more...

Click Here for a more detailed view of the enhancements and bug fixes included in this service pack.

Auto-installation

Connect to the Internet.
Start Family Tree Maker 2011.
You should receive a notification that an update is available. Click the "Update" button.
Run the .exe file.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 users may need to complete the following additional steps to auto-install the update:

Close Family Tree Maker if it is open.
Right-click the shortcut for Family Tree Maker 2011 and select "Run as administrator."
You will be asked to confirm that FTM.exe should have rights to access the computer. Click "Allow."
The notification that an update is available should appear at this time. If not, please complete the remaining steps listed below.

Click the "Help" menu item at the top of the program.
Click "Check for Updates…"
The program will check for an update and notify you if one is available.

If no notification is displayed then please do a manual install as described below

To manually install the service pack:

Close Family Tree Maker
Download the patch here (.zip) or (.exe)
Unzip the file (if the .zip file is downloaded)
Run the .exe file

Please note: When installing the executable patch, you may be asked to locate the file to patch. You can select either the Family Tree Maker shortcut located on the desktop or the ftm.exe file which should be located in the C:\Program Files\Family Tree Maker 2011 folder.

To verify that the update worked do the following:

Open Family Tree Maker 2011
Click the "Help" menu item at the top of the program
Click "About Family Tree Maker…"
On the Product Information tab there is a version number. If the update was successful the version number will be 20.0.0.376
If no notification is displayed and your product version number is not 20.0.0.376 then please do a manual install as described above

Technical support is also available. See our contact page for support options.

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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

BUILD A BetterGEDCOM

PRESS RELEASE - I am posting this as it may be of interest to other Users of the Family Tree Maker program and Ancestry.com. Many of us, users of both Ancestry.com and the Family Tree Maker want to Share our research with family members, other family researchers, and relatives we may not even know.

BUILD A BetterGEDCOM
A grass roots initiative to improve data exchange among genealogists

Tuesday Nov 9, 2010. Alexandria, VA. A group of genealogists and programmers have established a workspace called Build A BetterGEDCOM for developing better data exchange standards to facilitate sharing between researchers using a variety of technology platforms, genealogy products and services.

"Genealogy software users are painfully aware that sharing data with other researchers is difficult since the existing GEDCOM (GENealogy Data COMmunication) file transfer script hasn't been updated in 14 years. In the meantime genealogists have incorporated tools with expanded capabilities reflecting changing technology," says Russ Worthington, a genealogy software power user and popular genealogy lecturer.

In developing a wiki site for pulling together genealogy software programmers, website developers and end users, genealogy blogger DearMYRTLE explains "The focus is cooperation. We seek solutions that will enable regular researchers like me to share genealogy with cousins regardless of the genealogy program they've chosen to use. The current GEDCOM file exchange strips out much of my hard work, leaving only some of the data I've typed in and attached to each well-documented ancestor. We experience similar problems when uploading and downloading our genealogy data with popular genealogy websites. If all genealogy product developers agree to a BetterGEDCOM format, such problems will be overcome."

The BetterGEDCOM wiki site is open to all, and is located at http://bettergedcom.wikispaces.com.

"BetterGEDCOM will be independent. This means no single entity who has an interest in our work will be the single driving force. Likewise, no work that anyone has done will be the defined starting place or the de facto basis of our work." says Greg Lamberson, the technician who developed initial pages at the BetterGEDCOM wiki. "We also seek to account for language and cultural differences as we develop data standards for recording family history information in text and multi-media formats. Input from BetterGEDCOM participants the world over is a vital component of this initiative."

"BetterGEDCOM will seek ISO recognition or recognition by other international standards bodies," continues Greg. "This has never been done in the genealogical community. This means we will have to be a community effort with participation by a substantial part of the genealogical technology community. Also, unlike previous efforts, having standards actually codified will provide developers a framework to resolve ambiguities, conflicts or other problems that may develop in using the standard as well as a way to correct or amend the standard as needed."

"Indeed everyone seems to be ready for something new," says Greg. "Every person I have talked to agrees that now is the time for action. The BetterGEDCOM project invites all to participate so that we may achieve meaningful results."

-- end --

CONTACT:
Pat Richley-Erickson

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Thursday, November 4, 2010

ANCESTRY.COM UNVEILS NEW FAMILY TREE MAKER FOR MAC

#1-Selling Family History Software Now Available in Mac Version

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., November 4, 2010 – Ancestry.com today announced the launch of Family Tree Maker® for Mac, the new Mac version of the world’s No.-1 selling family history software. Family Tree Maker for Mac provides an easy way to save and organize your family tree conveniently on your Mac computer and has a variety of tools that can help you share your discoveries with family and friends.

“Family Tree Maker for Mac has been a long-requested feature from our customers. We are committed to delivering the same powerful experience on the Mac that millions of Family Tree Maker customers have been enjoying for the past 20 years,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product for Ancestry.com. “We couldn’t be happier to provide yet another way for our members to interact with Ancestry.com and discover, preserve and share their family history.”

Family Tree Maker for Mac combines intuitive tools with robust features and flexible options, making it ideal for family history novices and experts alike. A dynamic user interface and integration with Ancestry.com makes it simple to create family trees, record memories, and organize photos, videos and audio clips, plus share ancestors’ stories. It’s even possible to explore family migration paths by viewing timelines and interactive maps that highlight events and places in ancestors' lives.

The first step is to start a family tree by entering and organizing family history information. From there, a myriad of features help you bring your family history to life:

· Grow your family tree – Search Ancestry.com directly from Family Tree Maker and seamlessly merge historical records and important information you find into your tree. Family Tree Maker for Mac comes with either a free trial or subscription to Ancestry.com.

· Organize photos and documents in one location – Add photos, documents, audio, video and other media files to the people in your tree to help make their stories even more fascinating.

· Create family books, charts and reports – Publish beautiful keepsakes and books to share with friends and family.

· Craft slideshows – Create slideshows from photos in your tree.

· Cite the right information – Standard source templates make it easy.

· Explore family migration paths – View timelines and interactive maps, highlighting events and places in your ancestors' lives.

· Track information – Powerful sourcing tools let you document and rate each citation.

Family Tree Maker for Mac is now available for purchase online at http://www.familytreemaker.com starting at $69.99. The program is also available in select retail stores, including Apple Stores, Amazon, Office Depot, and Office Max.
System requirements for Family Tree Maker for Mac include:

· Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later

· Intel-based Mac

· Hard Disk Space: 500MB for installation

· Internet access is required for all Web integration

Family Tree Maker for Mac is built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010, the PC-version of the software, and is constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience.

Early this year, Ancestry.com expanded to another Apple^® platform: the iPhone^®. With the launch of its Tree To Go iPhone application in January 2010, Ancestry.com now gives users access to generations of family history at every turn. From their iPhone, users can easily upload photos, update sources and edit trees. The Tree To Go iPhone application is available for iPhone and iPod touch^® for free through the iPhone App Store or iTunes^®.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with nearly 1.4 million paying subscribers. More than 6 billion records have been added to the site in the past 14 years. Ancestry users have created more than 20 million family trees containing over 2 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries that help people discover, preserve and share their family history, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

###

Friday, September 10, 2010

Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com Member Family Tree Synchronization

There have been many long messages on the Ancestry.com message board for Family Tree Maker about the synchronization between a Web Based Tree and a PC Based Family Tree Maker (program) file.

In the Family Tree Maker Blog, announcing Version 2011, there is an posting by Tana L. Pedersen, author of the Official Guide to the Family Tree Maker program.

http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2010/08/31/family-tree-maker-2011-is-here/#comments

Here is the text of Tana L. Pedersens message around reply # 99:

Thanks to everyone of you who has asked questions and left comments. I apologize for not being able to answer every question and appreciate those of you who jump in to help.

I realize that synchronization is a much desired enhancement for Family Tree Maker users, so I asked if there was more I could post that would clarify the company’s position on the issue. Here’s the official statement. “Our customers frequently ask for more ability to synchronize and transfer data between Family Tree Maker and Ancestry Member Trees, and we want to assure you that we are listening. This is a complex issue and while we cannot say for certain when it will be resolved, it is an important priority that we are actively working on.”

End of Quote:

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

FTM2011 - New Feature - Internet Connection Optimization

This is a new feature in Family Tree Maker Version 2011. The option is how to Optimize your Internet connection.

Clicking on the Tools item, on the Menu Bar (Just below the Workplace Buttons, selecting Options, you will see Internet Speed. That will provide a series of connection speeds. Select the speed that best matches your Connection Speed.

For more details, Please go to the Knowledge Base website at

http://ancestry.custhelp.com/

and enter 1837 in the Search Support box on that page.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Family Tree Maker Version 2011 - Smart Story - Biography

One of the new features in Family Tree Maker Version 2011 is the Smart Story (Text Item) that can be created from information already in your file.

For this example, Jacob Lurvey (1761 - 1853) and was involved with the Revolutionary War. All of the FACTs on him have been entered in the People Workspace, Person Tab, Fact Button.

To create a Smart Story for him, click on the Publish Workspace and in the Collection column select Other. That will present a Calendar thumbnail and the new Smart Story (Text Item). This can be a stand alone report or it can be included into the Book feature.

To open the Smart Story, you can double click on the Smart Story or click on the Create Report (not shown above) to the Right of the Thumbnail. The will start the creation of a new report.

There are several option that are available for what information will be brought into the report based on the information you have on this Individual: Personal Biography, Notes, Facts, and Fact Sources. You get these options by clicking on the Down Arrow to the right of Personal Biography.

For this example, the Personal Biography will be selected. Below that pull down menu, is the basic information that has been taken from the Facts screen for that individual.

Notice that some text has been included above. Such as "He was buried in".

There is an option to include Source-Citation information for each of the Facts that are included in the above screen. That is selected by clicking on the Down Arrow to the right of Insert.

Up until this point, the Left portion of this screen has been blank, as with other text items, with word processing features. At this point, Dragging the information from the Right Hand Panel to the Center or Left side of the screen will take all of the facts and put them into the word processing section of this Report.

There are two pieces of information in the above screen, the Facts and some added text. The added text can be edited from this screen. Any EDITING of the Facts, must be done on the Person's Facts screen.

As you move your cursor over the information that is provided, you will see, with the gray background, the Fact information. Any Text that was added will not have that gray background. For example: "was born on" is text that was added. "Military Service, Jan 01, 1776; Joined Washington's Army is from the Military Service Fact. The Date is in the Military Fact Date field, there is no information in the Place field for the Military Fact, and Joined Washington's Army is in the Description field for that fact.

At this point, you can edit and format the text of this report. "Jacob joined the" was added between Massachusetts. and Military Service.

There are some normal word processing features available above where the text is. For this example, the Name has been marked in Bold when Jacob Lurvey is selected and the "B" is clicked.

Further editing can be done through out this screen. Adding text, deleting text, or removing any unwanted Facts that may have been brought into this story.

There are some Military Facts in the file that had no dates. Up until this point, the Facts are in a time order, as indicated on the Fact page. If there are no dates, they are included after the dated fact.

In this story, all of the Military Facts were to be together. Selecting those Military Facts, and using the normal Windows Cut (CTRL+X) / Paste (CTRL+V) functions those Military Facts, without dates, can be moved higher in the report.

Using the normal Save, Print ICONs at the top of the text, that report can be printed, or Saved As a Saved Report for future use.

This is only one of the ways a Smart Story (Text Item) can be used.

As mentioned earlier, this Smart Story can be included in a Book.

For more information, please go to the Knowledge Base website at

http://ancestry.custhelp.com/

and enter 1815 in the Search Support box on that page.

In Family Tree Maker 2011, what are Smart Stories and how do I use them?

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Friday, August 27, 2010

Family Tree Maker Webinar on September 15th

Family Tree Maker Webinar on September 15th
Posted: 27 Aug 2010 08:00 AM PDT

Family Tree Maker 2011 is almost here. Join us for a free webinar on September 15th at 8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time and discover why it’s the best version yet.
You’ll learn how to:

Use Smart Stories—a new narrative tool to help you create and share family stories.

Create new fan charts.

Dress up your charts using photographs and embellishments.

Add your own historical events to timelines.

And much more.

To attend the Family Tree Maker 2011 webinar, click here to register.
And if you have questions you’d like answered, please enter them in the Comments section below. We’ll try to respond to them during the webinar or on the blog. (Please limit your questions to functionality available in Family Tree Maker 2011.) We appreciate your questions and look forward to talking to you soon. Thanks!
Have you missed past webinars? You can view them any time at FamilyTreeMaker.com.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Saturday, August 21, 2010

FTM 2010 - Plan Workspace - New Tree

This is the Family Tree Maker Plan Workspace

New Tree Tab

There are options as to how to start a new tree in the left part of this screen.

In the Right Hand Panel, at the top, is a list of files that has been opened in the past.

Below that is the Web Dashboard which will reflect any Ancestry.com Online Subscription information and status. Below that is a list of any Member Family Trees that you may have, and below that is any Postings or status from Ancestry.com. For example, if there was a planned outage, that would be posted in the lower right panel.

One way to start a New Tree, is to Enter the information that you may have.

Enter What You Know

In the example below, only the Name is entered, as Source-Citation will be added for each FACT entered, including the name, but that will be in a different workspace.

The Project Name field would become the Filename, so enter the name of this Family File. The File Location is near the bottom of this screen. Where on your hard drive is this file located.

Other ways to start a new Tree or File will follow.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Web Search Workspace

If you have an Internet connection and Ancestry.com account, you can search the vast store of databases at Ancestry.com to find more information about the people in your tree. With an Internet connection you can also search other sites that are part of Ancestry.com or other independent genealogy sites.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Publish Workspace

Lets you print or share charts and reports from a variety of templates. You can customize a chart or report according to your needs, including background images, colors, and fonts.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Sources Workspace

Helps you manage the sources associated with facts. You can quickly locate sources, view what they are connected to, remove connections, and edit citations, sources, and repositories quickly.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Media Workspace

Helps you manage images, audio recordings, movies, documents, and more. You can easily view media by category, person, source, and other groupings. You can see what a media file is linked to and link it to other people or sources, or unlink it.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Plan Workspace

Helps you organize, create, and import projects into Family Tree Maker. Once you have a project to work on, Plan shows you the status of your projects, the tasks are left uncompleted, and the last person you were working on. It is the initial workspace each time you start up Family Tree Maker.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - Places Workspace

Helps you locate the places associated with a person. Seeing the locations and viewing who spent their lives there can help lead you to breakthroughs.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

FTM2010 - Workspaces

Family Tree Maker has seven Workspaces that were introduced with Family Tree Maker version 2008. New articles will be posted providing additional information for each of these Workspaces.

Workspaces

Plan
People
Places
Media
Sources
Publish
Web Search

Family Tree Maker Verison 2010 - People Workspace

Helps you enter and manage all of the names and facts of the people and families in your family tree. This is the place where you will probably spend most of your time. It displays the Family view and Pedigree view and conveniently combines them with the Index, Notes, Sources, Edit Individual and a few more functions.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What new features are available in Family Tree Maker 2011?

From the Family Tree Maker Knowledge Base Website:

Please go to the Knowledge Base website at

http://ancestry.custhelp.com/

and enter 5238 in the Search Support box on that page.

QUESTION

What new features are available in Family Tree Maker 2011?

ANSWER

Family Tree Maker 2011 includes more than 100 enhancements for discovering, preserving, and sharing your family story! Many of the new features are listed below, and a PDF of the new features can be found by clicking here.

Smart Stories

New Narrative Tool

Ready to start an ancestor’s story? The Smart Story Editor makes it easy by letting you drag-and-drop text and photos from your tree into a Smart Stories page. Stories update automatically when you change facts in your tree.

Charts

Fan Charts

Choose between five different shapes when creating a fan chart.

Photos & Embellishments

Enhance charts with the backgrounds, borders and embellishments that come with Family Tree Maker, and use photos wherever you like. Font size, type and color can be changed based on fact types.

Bow Tie Chart

Siblings can be included in the Bow Tie Chart.

Last Generation Shown Vertically

In descendant and hourglass charts, the last generation in the chart can be displayed vertically.

Pedigree Chart

The book layout for the pedigree chart has been adjusted to make better use of space.

Reports

Surname Report

The new Surname Report lists the surnames in your tree, including the total number of individuals with that surname, the number of males and females with that surname, etc.

New Descendant Report

Family Tree Maker now gives you four descendant report options: Register, NGSQ, Henry, and d’Aboville.

Custom Report

The custom report now has user-selected primary and secondary sorts. In addition, new options allow you to include age at death, number of children, age at first marriage, and more.

Kinship Report

You can now sort the Kinship Report by relationship (for example, first cousins can be grouped together).

Bibliography

You can create a simple bibliography of source titles or an annotated bibliography that includes summary information, such as repository and reference notes.

Report Headers & Footers

You can define the headers and footers for a report.

Save Report Settings

You can save the current report settings and use them as the preferred settings for that report.

Photo Albums

You can now create an album for a person, relationship, or both.

Calendar

You can now choose to display death dates in the calendar.

Ancestry.com Integration

Expanded Web Dashboard

The expanded Web Dashboard now includes Member Connect activity, links to message boards, and notification of new
Ancestry messages.

Enhanced Performance

You can choose the type of Internet connection you’re using, which allows Family Tree Maker to tailor how it downloads information from the Web. Uploading and downloading speeds have been improved, and there is increased ability to upload large files to Ancestry.com.

General

Enhanced Index of Individuals

The Index now displays people based on name and then birth date.

Historical Timelines

Now you can edit, delete, and add to the historical events that come with Family Tree Maker. In addition, Family Tree Maker looks at facts entered for an individual and displays the most location-appropriate historical events.

Place Enhancements

You can now choose a “home” country, and Family Tree Maker will not display this country in fields, charts and reports. Support for townships, parishes, and counties has also been enhanced.

LDS Information

Family Tree Maker can now display information on initiatories and confirmations. These facts can also be included in charts.

Data Entry

Automatic Reference Numbers

Family Tree Maker can now assign reference numbers automatically to individuals, relationships, or both.

Duplicate Person Alert

When you enter new individuals, Family Tree Maker alerts you if it believes you may already have the individual in your tree.

Media

Locate Missing Files

If you’ve moved your media items and Family Tree Maker has marked them as “missing,” the Find Missing Media tool can locate them all at once.

Categories

You can now assign categories to multiple items at one time.

Media Metadata Stored in Family Tree Maker

If your images contain metadata, the information will be stored -- and a caption, date, or description, will be automatically entered.

Copyright © 2010 by H R Worthington

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Family Tree Maker 2011 is coming

From the Ancestry.com Shop:

Family Tree Maker 2011 - Pre-Sale Free Shipping

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting on your family tree, Family Tree Maker 2011 can help you create a family tree faster, easier, and better than ever before. The end result is a family history that you and your family will treasure for years to come.

What’s New?

Family Tree Maker 2011 introduces more than 100 enhancements including:

Smart Stories™— Just drag and drop facts from your tree to the new Smart Stories page. Each time you edit your tree, stories update automatically.

New and improved charts—Enhance your charts with new backgrounds, borders, and embellishments. Create four new designs, including a 360 degree fan chart.

Refined reports—Save and reuse report settings and use 5 new report styles.

Media management tools—Locate missing media items with the click of the mouse.

More Ancestry integration—Find out which Ancestry members are searching for your ancestors in the expanded Web Dashboard.

Better performance—Upload and download trees from the Internet with increased speed.

Numbering—Automatically number every person in your tree for quick reference.

Timelines—View more events that occurred during your ancestors’ lives. Even edit, delete or add your own historical events.

And don’t forget the features you’ve come to rely on:

Dynamic user interface that lets you quickly switch between important features.
The ability to import data from other genealogy programs, including Personal Ancestral File, The Master Genealogist, and Legacy Family Tree.
Powerful sourcing tools that let you document AND rate each of your citations.
Interactive maps and lists that give you a bird’s-eye view of where members of your family come from.
Photo AND file management features so you can easily incorporate all types of media files into your charts and reports.
Timelines that highlight personal, family, and world events.
Easy-to-use tools for merging duplicate individuals, calculating dates, creating to-do lists, and more.

Use Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker together to get the most out of both.

Search the extensive record collections at Ancestry.com without ever leaving your family tree! And, when you find new records, you can quickly merge them into your tree.
Take advantage of Ancestry Hints—Family Tree Maker automatically suggests records that may match people in your tree.
Import your Ancestry.com family tree, along with attached photos.
Upload your tree to Ancestry.com and connect with millions of other family historians across the world.

Retail:

USD 39.95

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Minimum system requirements:
Operating system: Windows 7 / Windows XP / Vista
Processor: 500 MHz Intel Pentium II (or equivalent)
Hard disk space: 500 MB for installation
Memory: 512 MB of RAM
2X CD-ROM (required for installation)
Display: 800 x 600 resolution for monitor

Recommended system requirements:
Operating system: Windows 7 / Windows XP SP2/Vista
Processor: 1GHz Intel Pentium III (or equivalent)
Hard disk space: 500 MB for installation
Memory: 1 GB of RAM
Display: 1024 x 768 resolution for monitor
32X CD/CD-R (required for installation)
All online features require Internet access

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Family Tree Maker Version 2010 - Patch for Windows Vista or Windows 7

There is a Patch for Family Tree Maker Version 2010 for computers using Windows Vista or Windows 7. Clicking on this link will take you to the Knowledge Base website with instructions and the patch. I till bring the Product Version to 19.0.0.207.

Family Tree Maker 2010 .207 update patch for Windows Vista or 7

From the Knowledge Base website:

Question:

How do I resolve issues creating, importing, or downloading a tree into Family Tree Maker 2010 on Windows Vista or 7?

Answer:

After releasing Family Tree Maker 2010, we’ve had some members using Windows Vista or Windows 7 experience issues creating, importing, or downloading trees. Many of these issues can be resolved by installing the update patch from the links below.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Family Tree Maker Webinar, Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:00pm Eastern

Ancestry.com | Family Tree Maker 2010

Your family tree has come so far.
Now let us help you extend it.
Family Tree Maker Advanced Topics
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:00pm Eastern

Register today for this FREE WEBINAR

Join the Family Tree Maker 2010 team as we take you on a tour of the software and demonstrate some of the advanced features available in Family Tree Maker 2010—Ancestry’s premium family tree software.

In the webinar we will share tips on features like these:

* Publishing charts and reports
* Working with Web Search
* Merging
* Exporting different branches of your tree
* Using keyboard shortcuts
* Attaching and detaching people
* Choosing relationship types (for souses and children)
* Resolving unrecognized place names

Additionally, we will have some of our developers—the folks behind the scenes—answer some of your questions. Please submit your questions in advance by visiting the Family Tree Maker blog.

We hope you will join us and the Family Tree Maker community to learn more about some advanced tools that will help you create a more complete and accurate tree.

Family Tree Maker Advanced Topics
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 8:00pm Eastern

Register today for this FREE WEBINAR

Register now

SPEAKER — Duff Wilson, Sr.

User Interface Designer — Family Tree Maker

Duff has 20 years of software design and development experience creating user-friendly interface designs which have earned national awards. He holds a master’s degree from Utah State University in instructional technology with an emphasis in computer-based instruction. He is an avid genealogist. In the process of designing Family Tree Maker, Duff has worked closely with countless genealogists, ranging from novice to expert.

Moderator — Michelle Pfister

Senior Product Manager — Family Tree Maker

Michelle has 20 years industry experience with companies such as Microsoft, WordPerfect, and NTT/Verio. Products she has worked on include Microsoft SharePoint, WordPerfect Suite, Corel WordPerfect Legal Edition, and several Verio eCommerce offerings. One of her passions is making software simple to use, yet powerful for the pros.
© 2010 Ancestry.com

PRIVACY STATEMENT
Ancestry.com does not sell, rent or otherwise distribute the personal information you provide us to third party advertisers.

Questions? Comments? Please don’t reply to this email as we cannot respond to messages sent to this address. Instead, visit our online help center to get answers to common questions or send us a message. You can also contact us at:

Ancestry.com Operations Inc.
Attn: Customer Service
360 West 4800 North
Provo, UT 84604
USA

© 2010, copyright H R Worthington

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

How To Enter an individual who Never Married

The Family Tree Maker Blog has a great article on how to enter an individual who Never Married. Please stop by and see the article at:

http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2010/05/17/family-tree-maker-unmarried-or-childless-relatives/#comment-45983

I actually ran into this situation in my own file. In the source I was reading, it actually stated that this person Never Married with the "UNM" abbreviation. Here is what the source said:

Mary Virginia, b. Nov. 25, 1878, East Bradford; d. Aug. 5, 1946, West Chester; unm

Here is what I did:

In the People Workspace, Person Tab, clicked on the "+" on the Individual & Shared Facts bar, on the right, and selected New.

Entered "No Descendants" into the Fact Label, and selected Description Only.

To have the No Descendants appear in Charts and Reports, the words No Descendants is typed into the Description field.

To indicate that this person Never Married, the Marriage Fact is selected from the "+" menu, and typed Never Married into the Description field in the Marriage Fact.

The appropriate Source-Citations are added to both entries.

Changes may need to be made in how the Marriage Fact is displayed in Charts and Reports. In this example, will use the Family Group Sheet.

Go to the Publish Workspace, selecting Relationship Reports from the Collection, and Family Group Sheet from the Detail selection. When the initial report is generated, click on the "Items to Include" in the Right Hand Panel under the Family Group Sheets Options. Then select Marriage, then Select Marriage Options.

This will bring up the Marriage Options, where the Description field will be clicked to add the bullet into that field.

To Add the No Descendants to the Family Group Sheet, the Green Plus sign, at the top of the Items to Include screen and selecting No Descendants from the pull down menu will result in this:

The Family Group Sheet now included the the Never Marriage (Marriage Fact) Description and the No Descendants Fact.

Although the Spouse and the parents of the Spouse and list of children are reported, the reason that them being blank is shown in the in the Marriage Fact Description and the No Descendants Fact.

Note: other information has been grayed out on purpose for this example.

© 2010, copyright H R Worthington

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Use of Source Citation Template - LDS Film - Same Film, New Person

In Use of Source Citation Template - LDS Film the steps were described to locate the appropriate Template for an LDS Film that had a Baptismal Record for Michael Hricz-Gyurik, some one in the Family File. Looking further, in that same Film, another record was found. This time it was for his sister, Joannes. However, this information was found on Page 133, Entry 27, in June 1862.

Because this information is on a Different Page, that would mean that a New Source-Citation would be created from the Same Source.

To add the Child, go to the People Workspace, Family Tab where you see Michael, Select Add Child:

A pop up window will open where the child's name is added, and the sex selected.

Going to Joannes Person Tab, Selecting the Name Fact, (center panel), the Source in the Right Panel, the Add New Source Citation is added. The reason that the Existing Source Citation is NOT used, is because this information is on a Different Page in the Source.

Selecting the Source, is the same as the previous most. Clicking on the Down Arrow on the Right of the Source title: will bring up the list of Sources. In this case, the Greek Catholic Church entry is selected.

With the Source selected, the Citation Details and Citation Text is entered.

Notice the new (different) information for this Source Citation.

Returning to the Source Workspace, selecting the Greek Catholic Church Source, the New Source-Citation is listed, with the new Citation Details and Text.

Returning to the Publish Workspace, Relationship Collection, Family Group Sheet, we will see:

The new Source Citation is now listed for Joannes.

As before, a Link was added to Hiram (the father's name, as his name was listed) Name Fact, using the Link To Existing Source Citation, and selecting the new Source Citation.

Looking a little closer to the Family Group Sheet, you will see the subscript numbers pointing to the two Sources. #1 and #2 are to the right of Hiram's Name, while #1 is by Michael's, and #2 is by Joannes Name.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Use of Source Citation Template - LDS Film

This blog post will show how to use the Family Tree Maker Template, for an LDS Film that was located at a local Family History Library. The film was found at the North Caldwell, New Jersey, Family History Library. This was a Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths file rom 1831-1864 for the Greek Catholic Church located in Cemerne, Saris, Slovakia.

One way to start the documentation for this record is to go to the Sources Workspace, then clicking on the Add ICON in the upper right of the list of Sources. This will bring up the following window, where the New button will be selected.

The first thing to be recorded, starting from the Source Workspace, is a New Document or Book, or in this case a Microfilm from the LDS Family History Library.

The new Source will allow us to enter a "Keyword". Since we know this is a LDS film, typing the letters L, D, then S, will bring up the suggested Template for an LDS Film.

Selecting the suggtion will bring up an Add Source Screen, since this is the first new Source using the Microfilm template. The screen below will show the fields that will be filled in during this process.

For this case, the Source Repository is in my genealogy filing cabinet. Using the Down Arrow to the right of the Source repository, my name was selected.

The Church name and location was entered, "Greek Catholic Church" in the Church/author field, Cemerne, Saris, Slovakia, in the Church Location field. The Record Series "Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, 1831-1864" was entered. This information was found with the LDS Film. The Film ID was also recorded as found in the film documentation. There was no Call Number for this film. Wanting to remember that a Copy of the film was in my possession, a Comment was made for this Source.

At this point, we have created a New Source.

The person whose record was found was Michael Hricz-Gyunik. Going to the People Workspace, Person Tab, and selecting the Name (Fact), in the Right Hand Panel, under the name, the New, Down Arrow showed this menu, and Add New Source Citation was selected, as this is the first Source Citation to be entered for this Source.

Since the Source has already been created, clicking on the Pull Down Menu (1) has the list of Sources already in the file. Selecting the Greek Catholic Church item will open a Source Citation window for this specific Source Citation.

The two fields to be completed are the Citation Detail and the Citation Text. In these two fields, what should be entered into them is shows in light gray. "Enter the record book, volume, page, and description of the item (including date)", for the Citation Detail, and "Enter pertinent text from the source and/or an explanation of the relevance of the data to your research", for the Citation Text.

From the film, the LDS Film Number, the Item, Page, and Entry numbers are recorded in the Citation Detail. The Citation Text included the Individuals Name, the Parents Names, the Birth Date, the Baptism Date, and God Parents names, as they appeared in the Film.

The following step will be done for each Fact that is entered into Family Tree Maker. For example, the Father's Name, as shown below. The Father's name, Hiram Hricz-Gyunik was selected, but this time the "Use an Existing Source Citation" menu item would be selected, as the Source-Citation for this document has already been filled about.

The list of Source-Citations is brought up and by letting the Mouse rest over the Source-Citation, the details are shown in order to select the correct Source-Citation.

Selecting Greek Catholic Church, the clicking on Link to Citation will put this Source-Citation onto Hiram's Name Fact.

To see what the Source-Citation will look like, go to theSources Workspace, selecting the Greek Catholic Church entry, in the Left Panel, then selecting the Print ICON on the right, will bring up a Source-Citation Usage Report.

Below is that report, showing the Source Title, Repository, since a copy is in my files, the Citation Details, and Citation Text, as reflected above, is presented in the report, along with the Name and Facts that are using this Source-Citation. For this example, its the two name facts.

Going to the Publish, Relationship Collection and Family Group Sheet, for the Father, Hiram, the Sources are listed. Note: these are the only Source-Citations for this family. Additional Source-Citations would be listed as entered.

This process would be used to document the names and facts obtained from this specific part of the Film. If other information was obtained from a different part of this same file, another Source-Citation would be created, starting at the New Source-Citation, under New Source above. The New Source would allow for new / different Citation Details and Text. Do Not Use the "Use Existing" further down this blog item, as it will bring up the existing Citation Details and Source Text.

© 2010, copyright H R Worthington

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ancestry.com Previews MAC Version of Family Tree Maker

This was posted on the Ancestry.com Blog:

ANCESTRY.COM PREVIEWS MAC VERSION OF FAMILY TREE MAKER SOFTWARE

No. 1 Selling Family Tree Software Planned for Mac Users By The End of the Year

PROVO, Utah, April 28, 2010 – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family resource, today revealed a Mac^® version of Family Tree Maker^® at the 2010 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new version of the world’s No. 1 selling family history software is planned for release later this year.

“Every innovation or update we make is driven by what customers tell us they need to further their family history research,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product. “The Mac version of Family Tree Maker was the obvious next step forward to add to our family of Ancestry.com products and is a much anticipated product for our Mac-based customers.”

Family Tree Maker has helped users organize their family history research for more than 20 years. The software provides users the tools they need to build a family tree, record memories and organize photos, stories, videos and audio clips in a way that will help easily capture and share the story of their ancestors.

Family Tree Maker accesses the robust collection of family history records and powerful search features from Ancestry.com - without leaving the software. When connected to the Internet, Family Tree Maker automatically searches Ancestry.com for historical documents about the individuals in the user's family tree. Ancestry.com subscribers can easily view and import these historical records into their family tree with just a few mouse clicks.

Family Tree Maker 2010 is the current PC version of the software. The Mac version of Family Tree Maker will be built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010 and constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience.

Ancestry.com also announced today the launch of its new Ancestry.com Wiki. This wiki will feature a living version of the company’s two largest reference books, The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy and Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources. These books, which are exhaustive guides to American genealogy, will now be made available for the family history community to update, expand on and even add to, making it a go-to resource for guidance and information. The beta version of the Ancestry.com Wiki is available to the public for free at www.ancestry.com/wiki.