What's the best family tree software for a relative beginner?

[James18]

Hi all,

I started doing genealogy properly a few months back and have been using free trials on Ancestry and findmypast, both of which have since expired. I'd like to find the best deal possible, and so have come here for some advice.

Family Tree Maker 2014 (is there a 2015 yet?) seems to be a good deal; the Platinum edition is £38.99 on Amazon UK and includes a six-month Premium Membership subscription to Ancestry. Premium Membership is £13.99 a month or £119.99 a year, and so clearly that is a very good saving, and the software itself seems to have good reviews.

Are there any offers like this with other family tree software packages, or indeed simply other subscription offers in general? I'd really like to access records for Scotland, but sadly I think the only way to do that is to purchase credits on ScotlandsPeople.

Thanks for your time.

[DavidNewton]

Normally I would say that you cannot go wrong with Family Tree Maker, Roots Magic, Family Historian or Legacy, however, there is an extra factor and that is Windows 10. Apparently FTM 2014 is broken (if it has been fixed perhaps a user could jump in).
The good thing about the FTM deals is that effectively the software is free if you intend to use Ancestry. I am a Family Historian user but I have copies of both FTM2012 and FTM 2014 because of those deals.
A major factor in your decision might be what you plan to do with your family tree. If it is intended to go online to ancestry then FTM may be the best bet (when it is working again)
In the end the best family tree software is the one that you are comfortable using. I have tried all the above (full versions) over the years and they all have good and bad features. But the one thing I have found out from bitter experience is do not enter lots of data into one of these programs expecting to be able to transfer it without problem (via GEDCOM) to one of the others.
David

[AntonyM]

I also normally recommend FTM to beginners just because of the subscription deals to Ancestry it gives - all the other programmes are perfectly OK though. FTM 2014 had a patch and now works fine in Windows 10 I believe.

I would also suggest keeping copies of all your important research on paper (in some form or other), sounds old fashioned but no computer system comes close in terms of reliability and longevity.

For Scottish records , particularly BMDs, you will need ScotlandsPeople credits (unless you can do the searches in person) , but they do work out considerably cheaper than BMD certificates in England/Wales, which you will also need to purchase if any of your key ancestors come from south of the border. ScotlandsPeople do occasionally offer small amounts of free credits through promotions.

[Elaine ..Spain]

The price of Family Tree Maker does fluctuate so have a good look round before buying. A few weeks ago Amazon were selling it for £28 but appears they have sold out at that price now.
Cheapest place I think is purchasing via Tesco ClubCard points (if you have any) - £19

http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/product.aspx?R=1656

[James18]

Thanks for your advice, chaps. Much appreciated. I'll go with the FTM Premium package, which gives me the six-month Ancestry subscription. I can't imagine there is a better value initiation.

For those of you who have used ScotlandsPeople, what advice would you give? Does every search/item cost 1 credit, or do some cost more? Could you give me a rough idea of how much information I could generally get with 30 credits (£7), assuming I am fairly savvy with regards to narrowing down my search criteria? Are previous searches/items saved (as on Ancestry, I believe) or do you have to pay every time you view something?

I sent off for an England & Wales birth certificate from the GRO last week, which cost me £9.25, so I'm curious to know how that side of things works with SP's credits system.

Thanks again for your time.

[James18]

@Elaine

Sorry, I didn't mean to call you a chap! I had not seen your reply when I started mine.

[AntonyM]

I sent off for an England & Wales birth certificate from the GRO last week, which cost me £9.25, so I'm curious to know how that side of things works with SP's credits system.

Images of BMD entries on ScotlandsPeople are 5 credits, so in theory your £7 could get you 6 BMD entries ...... much cheaper than GRO in England/wales. In practice you won't get 6 because a few of your credits are used up by viewing search results.

Full details ... http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Co...aspx?r=554&409

Also don't just think of GRO for E/W certificates- the original records are held at local registration offices and although they charge £10 for a certificate , they do tend to arrive much more quickly and they can also provide photocopies of signatures for comparison, and sometimes do some checking of facts for you which can be important if you are not 100% sure of the entry you need..

[James18]

Thanks, Antony. Much appreciated.

I decided to order the FTM Platinum Edition from S&N Genealogical Supplies; it works out at £3 more than on Amazon with delivery, but it includes a free book and S&N membership, which in itself allows you choose a number of free genealogy CDs from their website. On balance, that seems like a good deal.

Hopefully everything works out!

[Elaine ..Spain]

There are plenty of FTM users on the forum, so if you have a problem someone should be able to help.

[GallowayLass]

Images of BMD entries on ScotlandsPeople are 5 credits, so in theory your £7 could get you 6 BMD entries

You only get 5 BMDs for your £7 assuming you search well and limit your results to 1 page per search. £7 buys you 30 credits. Results pages cost 1 credit each and certificates cost 5 credits each.
RCEs (Register of Corrected Entries) images cost 2 credits each. The RCE option to view - should there be one - appears above the link to the full certificate.
BEWARE. The RCE may or may not apply to the certificate you are interested in. Each image contains 3 certificates on the page. Look carefully at the left column and the left margin. This is where you will see any notes indicating that your entry has an RCE or not. If your entry has no notes, don't waste 2 credits clicking on the RCE button.
Census images also cost 5 credits each.
Throughout the site, whenever you are about to perform an action that costs credits, you are told how many it will costs and are given an option to agree or not.

[GallowayLass]

RootsMagic has a good reputation for GEDCOM transfers. It works/looks like Family Historian but is easier to learn.
It can also directly import files from FTM up to the 2006 version.

[GallowayLass]

Here's the payment information from Scotland's People website.

How much does it cost to access the records?

The surname search on the Homepage is free and covers all records, allowing you to check how many records of a particular surname appear in the various datasets, before you commit to payment.

Access to the wills and testaments index and the coats of arms index is free of charge. Viewing full-colour, digital images of an original will, testament or inventory costs 10 credits (2.33GBP) per document, regardless of length. Viewing a full-colour, digital images of a coat of arms costs 10GBP per document, regardless of length.

Access to statutory, OPR, Catholic parish register and census indexes costs 7GBP. For this fee, you will receive 30 "page credits" which are valid for 1 full year. Viewing a page of index results costs 1 credit and each page will contain up to 25 search results. Viewing an image costs 5 credits (equivalent to 1.17GBP). Your session begins when payment has been authorised and additional credits may be purchased in 7GBP increments. The session will restart with each new credit purchase.