Genealogy Chat

Hi, In a previous post of mine, someone had said;

"I get the impression that you are building your tree on this site. If so, may I recommend that you build it on your own computer on one of the many Family Tree programmes and upload it onto Genes by Gedcom. That way, if anything goes wrong with Genes, you won't lose all your hard work."

Is there a good offline family tree programs someone can recommend?

Thanks,
Bryan.

Quite a few around so you will probably get loads of different answers. It really depends on how much info you want to put in and what sort of reports etc you want to produce.

Also do you want to pay for a programme or use a free one

Family Tree Maker is popular.

Familysearch website has a free downloadable PAF package. Not tried.

Although the link below is to a US site (USD prices) it gives a side-by-side comparison of the most popular purchased FT programmes.

A large number of people on here use Famiy Tree Maker which includes a subscription to Ancestry.

Mine is Family Historian which can be downloaded as a 30 day free try-out from http://www.family-historian.co.uk/
I like it as there is a support group called FHUG, the more techy of whom write add-on programmes to use (for free) alongside it.

There are also a number of free tree programmes available -

http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ (it says there is a free download)
http://www.xy-family-tree.com/
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/paf/

Thanks for the recommendations.
I already tried a few which I had googled last evening but many had problems or the user interface was poor.

I am basically looking for something free, or cheap'n'cheerful anyway.

No worries with the US Site/USD Prices, I emmigrated to the US a few years ago.

Thanks,

Bryan. :-)

Most of the "free" offline programs are for nobbled / restricted versions of software which is charged for at full price. These restrictions especially apply to printouts.

GRAMPS otoh is free and has no restrictions at all.
Gramps for windows can be found here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/gramps4win/

REMEMBER that when downloading a GED file from GRU or any other FH web site notes, graphics etc are not retained. It also comes as a shock to many that links to census etc also disappear. When uploading to GRU all existing data at GRU will be lost. There are various versions of GED and there is no consistent way in which FH software imports/exports the format.

Many people keep their main tree off line and a reference copy on GRU, Ancestry etc. In the case of Ay they have a dedicated offline program which synchs with the online tree. The offline version works fine with any Ay sub. and can be found in Maplin and sometimes Tesco for around £ 12.

stet FTM works fine WITHOUT having an Ay sub and can also be bought cheaply in the US at various outlets.

My heritage is a brilliant site with free family tree builder download. You're not restricted to one persons tree either, I presently have four different trees and you can print off beautiful trees.

Sorry - left off the comparison site address

http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

I am using Cumberland, which I began using in 1997. I had to pay for it then.

I am now using Version 3 which is available for free download at

https://sites.google.com/site/cftwin/

I find it an excellent way to store my information but it's not the most graphical, being an older package. I do love the way it operates entirely offline so I'm not dependant on an internet connection. I have a huge database in this, and anything sensitive or personal will definitely not find its way online by mistake.

Only drawback I've found is I don't like the format of the printed reports.

I like Gramps too. In fact, I think Gramps would suit me better, but it's a steep learning curve. I used it briefly but practically every entry sent me to the user manual and the forums. So back to Cumberland.

I also have Myheritage's Family Tree Builder, but I don't like the way it connects when I'm not looking. It's a very enjoyable program to use, though, if you ensure you have properly set the privacy settings and don't accidentally upload all your data. (Because once out there, it stays out there)


Irene

Many thanks to everyone who replied.

Now I have lots of programs to try and see what suits me best.

I am new to this Family Tree thing, but with helpful people like you guys around I am sure that I will get on great.

Cheers,
Bryan.

I used Family Tree from GSP but it doesn't work on my newlapton running Windows7 and they haven't produced a 64-bit version so I am looking for a new program too.
What I liked about the program was the way you could change the screen view of the tree from an ancestry view to a descendcy view, thus seeing all the siblings.
Had a look at Gramps and it doesn't seem to have this facility.
Can anyone recomend a program that does?
Thanks

g**gle for genealogy software

Most of them have free trials which hold about 100 names

So you can have a play with them, see which one suits you best

I use RootsMagic and like it.

If you have your own software you can keep it private!