What family tree software do you prefer and why?

Question

What software do you use for organizing your family tree? We use Family Tree Maker but I was thinking about looking around for a free one to put on my laptop.

Answer 1

I prefer using word processing.  All of those cute programs eat up several MB of HD each; by the time you enter a family tree, it would be several GB each (if you have any where close to what I have; many have far more than I).

In a word processing document (several of them; after it reaches 300 pages, I begin a new one) it is only about 8 MB of data.

Unless you have a main frame, if you tried to print it out it would likely crash your computer.

Of course, if you won't be able to find many ancestors, or give up, a program might work.

But there are other problems, such as the programs want each generation to have the same surnames; most of the ancestors I have found had not surnames at all; in one case, the Dad had one surname, each of the two sons that became my ancestors had a different surname.

Those programs don't like that at all.  Nor do they like that one person is a double or triple or more (that is, they had common ancestors 1 or 2 generations back).

Word documents are more searchable than the programs also.

Answer 2

PAF (Personal ancestral file) is the free program from the LDS church, and is completely compatible with standards.  If you pick up one of the "off brands", they don't always work well.

PAF has been out there for over 20 yrs, and isn't "bare bones".

Answer 3

I have used Family Tree maker for the past 16 years and was always happy with it until the last update (FTM2008). I tried it , thought it was garbage, sent it back and went back to FTM 2006. I have over 8000 names in my data base and do not have any problems with different surnames or common ancestors. Most programs I have seen have ways to do this. I also have 500-600 photos in my program of people , tombstones, etc. I use the same FTM version on both my desktop and laptop.

Answer 4

Try Legacy Family Tree.  They have a FREE edition that is quite good.  If you like it, you can always upgrade to the paid edition down the road.

Answer 5

I have tried several but always return to PAF 5 obtainable at

http://www.familysearch.com

It is just so easy to use. I have 7000 individuals with notes etc., in my main file, totalling 4.01 MB You can also have multiple files if you wish. I have 8 totalling 8.70 MB Printing out complete lists of several different types is never a problem, limited only by ink and paper requirements.

And of course importing and exporting Gedcom files is a doddle.