02 December 2024
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Scroll down this blog and download the handy table to help you assess which program is best for you
Discover which family history software is best for you and your family history.
What does a family history program do?
Which family history program should I use?
How do I find the right program for me?
What do I need to know when choosing a family history program?
What genealogy software is available?
Questions to ask before making your choice
Are there any free or cost-effective family history programs?
What does a family history program do?
Family history software exists for a reason – to help keep our research in an organised, shareable format. If you’re looking for something to help you:
- Grow your family tree, complete with ancestor pictures & stories
- Keep track of your documents and sources
- Get the tools you need to create reports, lists and more
... then it sounds as though you need a family history program! Read on to help you find out how to make the right choice.
Using a family history program will help you create orderly, flexible research – growing a digital archive of your family history that you are in charge of.
Having a decent family history program will also give you the chance to create detailed written reports and extensive customised family tree charts, to interrogate your research to dig deeper into your findings, and to share your family tree with kin near and far, sometimes generating a family website too.
Which family history program should I use?
If you're not sure which family history program to use, use this step plan to try them out and see which one is the one for you. You can work through the steps below, experimenting with a free or trial version of a program to see how you get on with it.
1. If you have one, import a GEDCOM file, and see how seamless (or not!) this is. If you don't, skip straight to step 2.
2. Start a new family tree from scratch – see how intuitive it is to add people and their facts, to search for details for them (e.g. via some of the major sites, such as Ancestry or FamilySearch).
3. See how easy it is to add notes and sources
4. See how useful and appealing you find the reports and charts
5. Other: if you have another aspect that it important to you (be it DNA, videos, syncing with another) give these a try too.
How do I find the right program for me?
There is no single answer as we each have different research needs and priorities. However, most of the programs provide free trials. These are worth experimenting with before making your choice.
Alison Spring, the Frugal Family Historian, advises that it is worth trying a free program with just a subset of your family history (ie just a small branch and a few photos etc) and seeing how you find it, before you commit to adding all your research!
What do I need to know when choosing a family history program?
Search functions
Many family history programs allow you to search key family history websites or the internet from within the program. Some programs work closely with a specific website or websites. Various levels of ‘automation’ are used by programs too; e.g. some make it very easy to add information from a website to your program; others make it more of a manual process, less automated. Automation is appealing for how rapidly you can work; but a more manual, independent process will encourage you to make more considered decisions when adding information to your program.
Multi-user licences
Multi-user licences and discounts to buy several copies of a program are useful if you wish to encourage family members to use the same software as yourself for more seamless collaborating. In addition, using the same software as your research buddy will enable you to more easily help one another with any user or technical things that come to mind.
Help
Before you decide which program is for you, then it’s well worth taking a look at what sort of help is available if you get stuck. The help can also provide tips and instructions, to give you a better idea of how to use the software. On the comparison chart we’ve included useful links to the help solutions for each program where available.
Bells, whistles & USPs
When you look at the comparison chart, you’ll see that each program has its strengths and unique selling points (USPs). This is why it really is time well spent to dedicate a bit of time to trying out a few family history programs, to see which one is best suited to you.
What genealogy software is available?
The various genealogy programmes available are all suitable for people new to family history but in addition, most are complex software capable of advanced research projects too.
Most programs allow you to create a digital family tree and reports as well as adding notes, digitised photos, documents and often, audio and video clips too. Most have the facility to set yourself reminders and create to-do lists. There are programs for PC, Mac, Linux, and for use from the cloud too.
Some of the programs will allow you to search the major databases (often via a subscription) for further information to add to your research. Some will allow you to sync your research so that you can have it on your computer and also added to the cloud or an associated app. This can be useful, enabling you to access your research on your smartphone whilst you’re out and about.
Questions to ask before making your choice
It’s very hard to decide what software is best for someone else, so it’s worthwhile exploring the various options, using the list below to help you narrow things down. If you find the software that works for you it could be an essential part of your research for years to come, so take the time to think about what you need.
Ask yourself:
- What sort of family tree chart displays and range of reports can the program create?
- Does it allow you to add notes, documents, photos, multimedia and sources?
- Does it have GEDcom import and export? This is important, as it means that you can share your research with fellow members and can more readily transfer your research to another program or website
- Does it allow you to search your preferred subscription website from the software?
Are there any free or cost-effective family history programs?
Certainly! A number of them offer cut-down versions; while they don’t offer access to all the tools in the program, they can be used on a permanent basis effectively.
Other programs offer a time-limited trial so it’s worth looking around and having a play around with the various options out there before deciding which one to buy.
For cut-down free versions, see Lecacy Family Tree Standard, RootsMagic Essentials and TreeView Lite.
In addition, many of the major data websites (Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast and MyHeritage) provide online family tree builders to which you can add your information. Plus, there are additional stand alone online family tree builders, such as Famberry and TribalPages.
Learn how free family history software can help you with your genealogy – without you needing to part with a penny
Family history software is really useful for helping you to store your research, and there are a number of options to choose from which offer completely free versions. You can use them as long as you wish and they can become your familiar ‘work horse’ tool for keeping track of your research.
While these free versions will have limitations (when compared to the paid-for ones) they can nevertheless be really handy aids to your family history record keeping, that you can use on an on-going basis (TreeView Lite is a 30-day trial; the others don't have a time limit).
Check out our handy table which includes useful categories and features that you may wish to see in your chosen family history software. The table aims to help you gather your thoughts and see which software program is best for you.
Click the link to download the table.
See the January 2025 issue of Family Tree magazine, out 13 December, for The Frugal Family Historian Alison Spring's article reflecting on the various very good family history tree building programs and options there are to choose from.
