Customer Reviews

Family Tree Maker 2010 Essentials [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I have been conducting family research for some eight years, with the help of the Family Tree Maker program (and subscription [...].) I have purchased each new version at its release, always curious to see what had been added. While I have usually been pleased with the program features, I must admit that the last couple of versions have been disappointing to me. The interface had become more complicated and I missed being able to see a more complete screen of family detail.

The Family Tree Maker 2010 is, (IMHO) the finest version of the Family Tree Maker program to date. [...]
The installation is smooth and easy. No obstacles. I had the program up and running within minutes after receiving it.

The interface is the friendliest yet, and has even incorporated a special personal touch ... enhancing the individual name labels in family view with photos of the individuals. (I had not known that this was a new feature, so when I first opened my primary tree file, I was suddenly staring at familiar family faces instead of simply text ... What a warm feeling!) Of course, the photos must be available on your hard drive and associated to those files. Or, you can uncheck the "enhanced" feature if you wish (perhaps there are relatives you would rather not see).

The new interface is reminiscent of the more friendly versions of the past (somewhat like Version 16, I think) that we have missed (they listened to us!) and adds some amazing new features. The navigation is much simpler, more intuitive than recent versions. The program now denotes one's direct line of ascent/descent by a highlighted arrow designation that is most helpful when navigating through pages of generations. The toolbars are simple and clear with an emphasis on quick navigation to help in your workflow. Of course, the little green leaves are there again to prompt the user to check out the relevant information that is available at a mere click.

No more need to take notes or to check back and forth to look up a forgotten detail about an individual while searching for more information: There is now a layered box that contains all of the subject's entered data right there in view while you are engaged at the research/merge site.

Merging is a breeze! Recording sources is refreshingly simple. Click on "Places" on the toolbar, and you'll find all the lands and seas of the globe to help you in your research, interactive, (Bing Maps), and accompanied by user-friendly lists of your ancestry-related locations. (I, being geography-challenged, have especially enjoyed this feature.) No more Googling and printing of maps in the middle of researching. Love it!

I think that the best thing about the 2010 version of FTM is that it truly is a warm and friendly program ... making it a real pleasure to discover and record your family's history. The program is packed full of wonderful features. I believe that most genealogy enthusiasts will find that this is the best version ever of a tremendous program. With this program, they've put the fun back into family history research! Enjoy!

(BTW: This is the first review I've ever submitted - Because I really am genuinely impressed with this product ... enough to take the time to review it for other consumers. Furthermore, I am in no way affiliated with FTM or Ancestry.com or any of their employees.)

I couldn't find the three versions compared side-by-side, so if you're having trouble too, here it is:

Essentials costs $[...] and includes:
- One month of free access to [...]
- Integration with [...] census records, draft cards, passenger lists, & other historical resources.
- Ancestry Hints: automatic suggestions for records that might match people in your tree.
- Tutorial
- Getting Started Guide
- Little Book of Answers with short sections about how Family Tree Maker works

Deluxe costs $[...] and includes everything in Essentials plus the following for the extra $17:
- Two extra months of free access to [...] (3 months vs. 1 month with Essentials)
- The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
- The Red Book: American State, Country, and Town Sources
- The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book
- Ancestry's Concise Genealogy Dictionary
- They Became Americans: Finding Naturalization Records and Ethnic Origins
- Finding Answers in the U.S. Census
- U.S. Military Records
- Military Records at [...]
- Library of Congress: A Guide to Genealogical and Historical Research
- The Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches (Out of Print)

Platinum costs $[...] and includes everything in Deluxe, plus the following for the extra $43:
- The Official Guide to [...]
- The Official Guide to [...]
- Abbreviations and Acronyms: A Guide for Family Historians
- Hidden Sources: Family History in Unlikely Places
- Printed Sources: A Guide to Published Genealogical Records

I have been using Family Tree Maker for many years, almost since the first release. The last version I was using was FMT 2005. I knew I was getting a new computer with Windows 7 (not an upgrade), 32 bit, so I checked out the reviews here, as well as the FTM support website. The steps I followed were: 1. Install FTM 2010, do not open program when done. 2. Go to shortcut on desktop, rt. click, and check Run as Administrator. You will get a message that updates are available; download and install. (This a Service Pack to the original 2010 program on the disc). 3. Go to the Family Tree Maker website, support tab, and look for answer 4363. This tells how to import FTM files from an earlier version. I did this, opened the tree, and everything looks, and, more importantly, works wonderfully.
This is such a welcome improvement over what I was using, and everything I had before is much easier to view and work with. My file has about 3500 individuals, and few pictures, so is not very big compared to others. And since I already have a subscription to [...], doing searches from within the program is heavenly! I heartily recommend this program if you are thinking about upgrading from older versions. Since I am a long-time user, it was easy to find everything, and figure out how it works.

I am a long time user of the Family Tree Maker program. For me, Version 2010 is the best yet and I have not used all of the new features that have been added to Version 2010. Many of the features from Version 2009 have been improved.

The navigation around the program has improved in 2010, a few less mouse clicks to get from one person to the other.

In Version 2009, the book feature was returned to us (was in Version 16 and earlier) but now Slide Shows are available. The change that from Scrapbook (Version 16) to Media was more then a change in terms, but a change in what is available to us to present to others.

For users with Member Trees on [...], the upload feature, with Images, has been enhanced in 2010 with the download from [...], on your tree, that may be on [...]. Much closer coordination between a PC based file and the information that can be shared on [...].

It is clear, to this user, that the Development organization at Family Tree Maker are listening to their Users.

Thank you.

Well, I was quite satisfied with Family Tree Maker 2005, but upgraded to 2010 with the idea that it would be more versatile. It is, but not where I want it to be. For instance, it leads you to believe that you can export your family tree without Notes, and it does not. When I inquired to FTM,they say that "private notes" are different than regular notes, whatever that means. To me, there's only one kind of notes. Perhaps they mean research notes, which never exported anyway.

The formatting is quite different and takes some getting used to; would I have upgraded if I had been able to try it out first? Absolutely not.

I bought 2010 version because I have used 2006 version for a while and like many things about it. I had hopes that 2010 would add some feature that would enhance the program and provide even more benefit. I bought 2010 and installed it but soon realize that many of the ancestry reports and charts which I liked in 2006 were not available in 2010, but they did add create a book which is useless until your through. So I un-installed 2010 and re-installed 2006 for those features.

I have been using an old version of Family Tree Maker for several years and thought it was time to upgrade to the latest version. Unfortunately this version is a terrible disappointment.
Whereas the older versions had a clear simple interface, this one is messy and not at all simple to use. It crashes frequently and is very slow. But worst of all, the Relationship Calculator, which is such an important part of the programme, does not work properly. It identifies obscure connections by marriage but fails to spot a distant blood relationships. I tried taking this up with Ancestry but they were no help at all.
Unfortunately I have to continue using my older but much better version of the programme.

Family Tree Maker 2010 may have the same name as the old one, but it is a completely reworked product. This was frustrating when I first started it, expecting the old familiar look and feel. But after an hour or so playing with it, I can see the dramatic improvement, especially in the reporting capability. The family tree printout can be totally customized in terms of what information is printed, how many pages it occupies, what font, etc. etc. The organization of the supporting information is logical. It smoothly uploaded my family tree from an earlier version. All the old capabilities are still there - you just have to hunt around a bit to find them.

So, bottom line, lots of improvements, but you have to go through a learning curve to take advantage of them. This is not your father's Family Tree Maker.

This software is a vast improvement over FTM of 5 years ago. It is very easy to use and will help me record family data very quickly and efficiently. I also love it that I can easily scan documents and photos into the records I create.

After trying all the FTM versions since 4 or 5, I was very happy with 16, and less happy with the two successors, 2008 and 2009, but I used them to see what they would, and wouldn't, do. Now that I've had some time to play with 2010, I am fully commited to it--I can't see going back to any earlier version for any reason. The recent patch (11/09) fixed some minor annoyances, adding to its value. The nifty integration of people, places, sources, and publish is great, and the tight connection to [...] and any other website for more research is fantastic. Gotta try it!