Family Tree on Android Tablet - any users?

[Bertie]

I have recently purchased an android tablet and am keen to put my family tree(s) on it [note: I don't / won't use the A**y app as I do not have a tree uploaded].

From a casual search there appear to be several android solutions incl. ezGED viewer, GedStar Pro, FamilyBee, GEDCOM Viewer, etc. Indeed, there are various reviews of these apps too which I need to read. However, I would be keen to know if any FTF members are using any and whether they might proffer some advice.

I have several individual trees, some 20k docs. (photos, census records, BDM scans, parish record scans etc) all using about 18GB on my laptop none of which is a problem for my device but I would really like to have all the same information on my laptop in a more portable way on my android device.

While a different app will result in a different screen (not a problem) I would like to use something that will sync with my current software (Family Tree Maker 2012) or can easily incorporate new information from my master trees there. [I appreciate this might easily be done with an online Ancestry tree, but I am not going down that route]. Failing that, something that will let me do this easily manually (say after adding a few more records).

Appreciative of any comments / ideas

[Elaine ..Spain]

While a different app will result in a different screen (not a problem) I would like to use something that will sync with my current software (Family Tree Maker 2012) or can easily incorporate new information from my master trees there. [I appreciate this might easily be done with an online Ancestry tree, but I am not going down that route]. Failing that, something that will let me do this easily manually (say after adding a few more records).

If you want something which will sync with your current software of Family Tree Maker, then I don't think you have any alternative other than using the Ancestry App for your android device, which links to an online Ancestry tree.
Why are you averse to going down that route?

I cannot think of any other app which will sync with FTM.

[Darksecretz]

I can't say that I have used anything other than Ancestry Bertie,.. I do use FTM and also have several different Ancestry Trees, I know that you have said that you won't go down the Ancestry route but if you did decide to, could you not upload a Gedcom to Ancestry then view it on your tablet?

I did have a look at a couple of apps for android, but I wasn't very impressed with them, they seemed so basic compared to FTM.

sorry I can't be of more help :(

I will have a shuftie on Google Play and see what I can find.

[Darksecretz]

the only other way I can think of re syncing would be to constantly create Gedcoms and apply those to whichever tree you are working on at that time.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Another alternative is to create a tree on Tribal Pages - but you would need to upload via GEDCOMs, so not exactly syncing with FTM.
I believe there is a Tribal Pages app for Android.

[Darksecretz]

have to walk the dog, and whilst I am doing that my Nexus is charging.. be back in a bit.

[Bertie]

Thanks for your suggestions (I just have an aversion to my data being held by an organisation even if the tree is private so I know I am excluding myself from an easy fix!). Having done some more searching / reading, but not having done a full evaluation, Family Bee seems to be well regarded.

- updates to the data on the device can be emailed to be picked up on my laptop (where the master tree is, and always will be, kept) so using the device outside the home and updating records seem to be a way to keep everything in order
- info. is stored on a SD card so can be mounted / unmounted as required and keeps the data away from the onboard storage
- BUT does not handle images (however other apps criticised for unreadable BMDs Census records - fine for photos only) but this is not critical and is space hungry anyway.

I'll look into this one a bit further I think

[Elaine ..Spain]

Family Bee seems to be well regarded.

- updates to the data on the device can be emailed to be picked up on my laptop (where the master tree is, and always will be, kept) so using the device outside the home and updating records seem to be a way to keep everything in order

How does it update your master tree which from what you say has been created by FTM. The only way I can think of updating FTM by using another program, is by importing a new GEDCOM file each time unless you are going to update FTM manually? If you import a new GEDCOM file each time then you are going to lose any images currently stored within FTM.

The only fully compatible way to sync automatically with FTM (as far as I know) is via Ancestry!

[Bertie]

Elaine - you are completely right on the sync point of course. So any solution not using Ancestry is not a sync solution.

I should have made it clear that Family Bee seems to have the facility to send updates via email so MANUAL changes to the master tree can be made. That is fine by me - belt and braces works! (I have a pretty mature tree anyway, and most new updates e.g. 1921 Canada census will be done via my PC). Not sure whether I would need to re-export the GEDCOM to my tablet if I have updated the tree on the tablet and incorporated the same info. on my master tree. This is a point of detail - otherwise, I could just export an updated GEDCOM. The prime use on the tablet is to show my tree to others, to consult it while travelling and the like.