Customer Reviews

Family Tree Maker Version 16 Essentials [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

(updated 09/20/2008)

I am an experienced family researcher and currently have just under 25,000 names in my database. I have been a Family Tree Maker (FTM) user since 1998 and have purchased every upgrade since that time. I administer two surname DNA projects and routinely help others with their family research.

* FTM v16 is currently, without question, my genealogy software of choice

Like many others in the faithful legions of FTM users, I routinely ordered FTM 2008 before it even came out on blind fath that each new version had been even better than before. Like so many other FTM 2008 users, I was truly shocked to find they had dropped approximately 39 core functions from the previous version, FTM v16, and found that I could no longer do many of the very basic reports that experienced researchers do so often. I quickly returned my copy of FTM 2008 in total disgust and went back to FTM v16 which now continues to fully meet my many needs. Not learning my lesson, I recently installed the new FTM 2009 on blind faith that surely, given a "do-over", they would restore the full functionality of FTM v16, and it's predecessor FTM 2006. They didn't.

* I heartily recommend FTM v16 as your "go back" version for anyone who ordered FTM 2008 or FTM 2009, returned either version in total disgust, and are now looking for a fully-featured version of Family Tree Maker. (Some users had "upgraded" directly from FTM 2005 to FTM 2008, for example, and had missed the fully-featured FTM v16 version in the process)

* I also believe that FTM v16 compares very favorably with RootsMagic, Legacy, and other comparable genealogy softwares.

* If you are a Vista user, all you need to do is download a patch from FTM to make FTM v16 fully "Vista compatible."

* I also strongly recommend FTM v16 to novice researchers who are purchasing genealogy software for the very first time. It is very intuitive, starts you out very gently in a guided fashion, but then also has the more sophisticated functions you will find very useful as your experience grows.

There are more sophisticated softwares out there, but in some cases, their learning curves are just not worth the trouble. I want a software that works for me, rather than me having the feeling I am instead working for the software.

* Bottom line, I was loyal to FTM v16 before "upgrading" to FTM 2008 and then trying again with FTM 2009, and now that I have returned back to FTM v16, I truly appreciate it's simple, clean, reliable, straightforward performance even more than ever before.

* Without hesitation, I fully recommend FTM v16 to family researchers of all experience levels.

CHT in Virginia

After many years of the same look and marginal upgrades, Family Tree Maker finally made a serious change to the look and feel of the product. There are still some awkward navigation issues, but overall, I think this is worth a look if you are a long term user and haven't upgraded in a while or are just starting out.

Having used the available online services that this company offers, I was pleased to find a new feature that integrates some of the online search functionality. Although the integration is a bit superficial, it is useful and made some of my online searches of their databases more productive. I think this is a big step in the right direction and hope they continue to add to the power of this feature as it makes the treasure trove of data they have more accessible.

Too bad they do not make a Mac version, as I prefer this to the Mac products available and so I have to use it with Parallels, which is not so convenient.

I fell in love with another genealogy software years ago and was not happy with any newer ones when support and updates stopped for my original version. When Ancestry updated this year I decided I had to try a new software package again that was compatible with the cool things you can now do on Ancestry so purchased this version. I was very pleasantly surprised and happy. I am still learning the best way to do things and occsionally get frustrated correcting info I have entered incorrectly but I would certainly recommend it. The online checking it does and ability to attach the records found online is pretty awesome.

I bought Family Tree Maker 16 after we lost a hard drive and could not recover any data. With new PCs, the operating system is Microsoft Vista, which has compatibility problems with a lot of software not specifically designed to work with it, including Family Tree Maker 16. Unfortunately, FTM 16 itself was no help in bridging the gap. I finally found a genealogy chat site, on which others discussed the problem and showed how to solve it, by downloading the FTMVistaUpdater.msi file. FTM should do better at helping with such problems, by making this updater easier to find. In addition, when one has given previous permission through FTM for one's genealogy data to be shared on the web,there should be some mechanism whereby all the data one has previously entered in FTM can be accessed by the one who provided it in the first place. If this is possible, I have not found how to do it.

The software is better than the previous Family Tree Deluxe version I bought. It allows you to better classify potential matches and decide whether to look at them later or tag them if not interested. The merging process of two databases is easier and allows you to pick what info to merge or whether to keep some info as secondary.

Family Tree Maker V. 16 is still a major software purchase for the family tree enthuiist. Simple to use, many printable reports and family tree outlines. You are able to record and save all your data and it is uploadable to online-family tree site in the GEDCOM format. I have used it for many years and will continue to do so. A must buy!

I can never understand why others would want to use anything else, I have tried four others and this one has been the best of all. I now have been using this product starting about 1989, I upgrade about every 3 to four years

I've been researching my family tree for twelve years and I bought this program when it first came out. I've tried other programs in the past but FAILY TREE MAKER is the one I fell in love with. The pedigree chart is customizable so I got it to look the way I want it to. My only problem with this program is the book feature. I can't create it the way I want to but that's a minor thing because I have the creativity to create my own book by other means. FAMILY TREE MAKER is great for organizing your family. For ten years I was so stressed and overwhelmed by all the names I had collected that I couldn't find a way to keep them organized the way I wanted to. FAMILY TREE MAKER took that weight off my shoulders. I'm thinking about the upgraded version but according to the reviews I've read it doesn't have many of the features "16" has. This is the one I recommend and will stay with until I'm shown a version and can out match the one I'm currently using.

This is the first genealogy program I have purchased. I tried Roots Magic because they had a free trial version but purchased FTM 16 from Amazon because of the good deal I was able to get. It is easy to use and I have imported files from an old version of Family Origins that a relative had. My computer is 6 years old and has XP and since a review for FTM 2008 claimed it to be a memory hog I decided Version 16 would work for me. My brother has version 2008 and doesn't like it. I do wish it would show when a divorce is associated with a marriage when you view that persons page. I am very happy with FTM 16. Get it while it is still available.

I have really enjoyed using this program. It's easy to enter information and figure out relationships. It is also easy to navigate the program. I especially love the feature where it will search Ancestry.com from the program.