FTM compared with Legacy 8

[IanB]

I've been using Legacy 7.5 for many years now but I'm thinking it's time for a change. Some reasons for this are that I'm disappointed with the new version 8 which has few features that I'm interested in, I've always been disappointed with it being so USA orientated and I find many of it's screen layouts boring and old-fashioned and somewhat non-intuitive (especially sources which I find very confusing to enter). I'm thinking of switching to FTM 2014, I've looked at many screenshots and really like the layouts but I have a few concerns....


I have read numerous online reviews that refer to an inability to 'correctly' import some gedcom files (one example given was a name like 'John Smith, jr' but not restricted to that). I can find nothing that says it can export to Gedcom, can it?


Other reviews are critical of it only updating Ancestry and not being able to update other websites or create valid HTML files;


There are numerous other reviewers problems but a common theme with them is the lack of technical support or perhaps indifferent tech support giving responses such as 'we can't create that problem so it's must be you doing something wrong';


Does anyone have any comments on these problems or maybe other problems or shortcomings I should be aware of?


I'm also very interested in how FTM 2014 compares to Legacy 8 in terms of features and useability and how well it will import a Legacy 7.5 database.


I wish FTM made available a time-limited free trial version!


Many thanks
Ian

[Anne in Carlisle]

Have you thought about Family Historian? It is UK made and uses Gedcom as its file system. It does have a fully functioning free trial and an excellent, knowledgeable and helpful user group forum.
Anne

[Elizabeth Herts]

I second Anne. I converted to Family Historian a couple of years ago and just love it. I just wish I had enough time to learn how to use all the features, but I'm very satisfied with it. There are special deals about which give you the book as well.

[Caroline]

I third Anne.

Try the 30 day trial mentioned above and you can see for yourself: http://www.family-historian.co.uk/do...5-30-day-trial

[Elaine ..Spain]

I'm a long term FTM user, so in answer to your questions:

• Importing GEDCOM files - I've never found an issue in importing GEDCOMs either in my own research or when helping others.
• Exporting to GEDCOM - yes it will
• HTML files - have checked the program and see it will export REPORTS to HTML format. Never used is so cannot comment further.
• Technical support - I have found the online support to be excellent. There are also a couple of dedicated FTM forums where "expert" help is available.
• Comparison to Legacy - not a Legacy user so cannot comment.

Re Family Historian recommended above - I've download the trial version in the past and was impressed with it. Will probably buy the full version at some point.

[DavidNewton]

I have used FTM 2014, Legacy 8 and Family Historian.
1. FTM 2014 - excellent handling of sources and media. I like the layout but the major thing that stopped me settling on FTM 2014 is an issue with my eyesight: I cannot read some of the onscreen fonts and in particular have found it hard to distinguish full stops and commas. I cannot comment on the synchronizing with ancestry as I do not publish my trees online.
2. Legacy 8 - prefer Legacy 7.5, which was my main family tree software until about a year ago. I think that the Legacy 8 release was too early for the state of the software. Early adopters, such as myself, were basically paying to be beta-testers, the software is slowly improving. That being said I like the layout in Legacy and have got through the learning curve of mouse clicking the interface to navigate the file. My main beef with both versions of Legacy is the very confusing media centre.
3. Family Historian - my current choice (after dissatisfaction with FTM and Legacy). Initially I found the interface a bit confusing but it very quickly becomes second nature. The fact that the native format is GEDCOM is a major plus - it also means that exporting to GEDCOM is unnecessary. The other big plus for me in Family Historian is the fact that it can be extended by plugins which you can download for free or make yourself (after a learning curve). I'm sure if you choose Family Historian over either of the others you will get an excellent program which requires some effort to get the best out of it but generally it is possible to overcome any shortcomings. The only thing I really miss is the inability to apply formatting in text notes, but that may be on the horizon.

Regarding transfer of data between these programs - it is not always plain sailing. I made the assumption that transferring by GEDCOM was simple and straightforward and discovered that it isn't.

The major problem is insertion and deletion of spaces in long text - particularly source transcriptions - due to the different ways that software use to break long lines to fit in the GEDCOM format. Corruption of data is rapid and difficult to get around. Always keep a backup of any data that you are transferring.

David

[PeteW1959]

Another vote for Family Historian. I have been using it since I started my family tree in 1998. I tested all of the programs available at the time, and FH won hands down.

The real beauty of FH is that it can be as simple or complicated as you want; it has many very advanced features, but you don't have to use them all.

It is one of the very few programs I regularly use that works first time without loads of maintenance patches, and you don't even need to buy the major version releases unless you really need some of the new features. I usually go for alternate upgrades.

Of course being gedcom native is the biggest advantage; no need to export anything, just upload the gedcom to your online repository of choice.

Another plus is Nick Walker's excellent Ancestral Sources (freeware, but please make a donation if you use it), which works alongside FH and makes the entry of census data a breeze. It also does baptisms and marriages, with birth, death, burial and probate coming soon.

Give the free trial a go, and if you get stuck sign up to the Family Historian User Group (http://www.fhug.org.uk/) where there some very skilled people more than willing to help.

[IanB]

Thank you all for your excellent replies, they are all most helpful. I think I will be trying the FH free trial, I would have tried the FTM one also if they had one, so they are loosing out there. I