Family Tree Maker Essentials

by Nova Development US

Product Features

• Family-history software--quickly and easily start your family tree
• Enhance family tree with charts, reports, photos, audio, video, and more
• Sync desktop and online Ancestry.com trees together with TreeSync
• View timelines and interactive maps; create keepsakes, charts, and reports
• Free 1-month membership to Ancestry.com included

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.3 x 5.2 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B005N2CS00
• Item model number: 41389
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 15, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #3 in Software > Home & Hobbies > Genealogy

Product Description

Amazon.com

Family Tree Maker Essentials 2012 At a Glance... Discover your family history and preserve it for generations to come Includes one month of access* to Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource--locate ancestors in over 5 billion immigration, marriage, military, census records and more Sync desktop and online Ancestry.com trees together with TreeSync, then keep your tree up-to-date from wherever you are Enhance family tree with charts, reports, photos, audio, video, and more View family history timelines and interactive maps Quick Start Guide--learn to develop your family tree and personalize it quickly and easily

Family Tree Maker Essentials 2012

Discover Your Family Story

Family Tree Maker 2012 Essentials makes it easy to discover your family history. With a one-month membership to Ancestry.com included, you'll have FREE access to 5 billion U.S. historical records, photos, news stories and other family trees. Collaborate with the largest, most active family history community in the world.

What's New in Family Tree Maker 2012 Essentials?

• NEW: Get started quickly with an enhanced, easy-to-use interface
• NEW: Build your tree more easily with upgraded help topics and video tutorials
• NEW: Print more informative family trees by including generation labels & text boxes
• NEW: Easily sync your desktop tree with your Ancestry.com tree
• NEW: Update and share your tree from any Internet connection with TreeSync
• NEW: View combined families, including step families & adoptees, at a glance

We Make It Easy For You

• Start your family tree by entering what you know
• Hints may appear next to family members after Ancestry.com searches billions of historical records automatically
• Share with friends and family using TreeSync
• Create Smart Stories automatically with improved content generation and editing options
• Create and print many types of charts and reports

View larger.

Follow the Hints

Easily sync desktop and online Ancestry.com trees.

Just enter what you know into your family tree. Hints (green leaf icons) will soon appear, linking you to historical records and other family trees that might hold answers about your ancestors.

TreeSync

Sync desktop and online Ancestry.com trees Keep your tree up-to-date wherever you are

Build your tree using Family Tree Maker and upload it to Ancestry.com. Whether you're working online or on your desktop, you can always keep your trees in sync with just the click of a button. (Even update your tree using our FREE iPhone and iPad app!**) Share your tree with other family members and choose who can view and update it.

Relationship Calculator can display multiple relationships for an individual. View larger.

Relationship Calculator

The Relationship Calculator has the ability to display multiple relationships for an individual. The first relationship displayed is the closest relationship. You can also display a path that shows how individuals are related.

Easily create Smart Stories by dragging text and photos to the page--the story automatically updates. View larger.

Smart Stories

Write Smart Stories in two easy steps using improved page designs and templates. Just drag and drop facts from your tree to the Smart Stories page. Each time you edit your tree, stories update automatically.

Print keepsake family books, calendars and more. View larger.

Create and Share

With Family Tree Maker, you can preserve your family legacy and share your unique heritage.

Create charts and reports in a variety of new formats Make slideshows from the images in your tree Print keepsake family books, calendars and more from professionally designed templates Share family trees online with family and friends Collaborate with family members on your tree or on theirs

View and share charts and reports (improved).

Charts & Reports (Improved)

View and share your tree from different perspectives--by location, migration path, family name, birthdays and more.

Helpful Extras Included

This version of Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker includes helpful extras. If you need help, view the NEW video tutorials, reference the Quick Start Guide or call the live U.S.-based customer support.

One-Month of Free Access to Ancestry.com

Access over 5 billion U.S. records on the largest family history website.

Family Tree Make Quick Start Guide

Learn Family Tree Maker's most popular features with quick lessons that make research fast and fun.

* U.S. membership term begins upon Family Tree Maker registration and activation of Ancestry.com subscription. A valid credit card is required to begin your Ancestry.com membership though you won't be billed unless you let your subscription automatically renew when the free one month has ended.
**Requires software download from iTunes.

Product Description

Whether you’re a seasoned pro, or just starting your search, Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker gives you more exciting ways to discover your family history than any other Genealogy software. Rich storytelling tools enable you to add photos, documents and videos right to your tree.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 117 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine if this is your first version of the software December 4, 2011

By barry TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

FAMILY TREE MAKER has been a very reliable resource for people interested in charting and developing a detailed, informative history of their family genealogy. It makes sense that people who have been using this software and been pleased would jump at the chance for the upgrade and all it says it does. For those starting out fresh and having this version be their first installed software for this purpose it really is quite a find. Registration and instllation is very simple and their are tons of helpful videos and tutorials. Easy help is there for setup and establishment of charts and reports The integration of Ancestry.com is also smooth. For newbies all their dedicated family research will find a happy home here.

But this is the very important part of the review. For those with earlier versions of this software it is not simply that the new version adds little but that the upgrading installation process is extremely slow and tedious, often faltering altogether. There is no seamless transition to the new features this software says it has. I've found there is no solution to work around this. If you have an older version, this one will lead to frustration as you try to upgrade. I've found over the years that will all different types of software programs a particular version might not be good as an upgrade. I don't in any way mean to totally dismiss this product. It is an excellent and detailed software for those new to FAMILY TREE MAKER. It will provide the groundwork and basis to finally find a true home for all the family research you've done and look to enhance on. This will become a neverending project that will bring you much joy. But as an upgrade to their earlier versions it is just a bust.

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars FTW 2012 review November 18, 2011

By James E. Wright

Family Tree Maker 2012 is too slow. It's slow starting up, sometimes taking 2 minutes while it makes its connection to ancestry.com. Also it's slow every time I make a change to a name because the index on the left side has to reload. I even get "failing to respond" messages while the index is rebuilt (or whatever it's tring to do). The interface has been around since the 2008 version. It's informative by showing 4-5 generations in the middle, the index on the left and the person's information on the right as well as how the person is related to the home person.
Another thing I don't like about this and other versions since 2008 is the reports. It seemed like sharing information with my Aunt was much better with FTW 2005.

92 of 102 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Required Update will not install November 27, 2011

By W. Sanders VINE™ VOICE

Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I was looking forward to using Family Tree Maker and Ancestor.com, but alas, I was unable to install the software. Using Windows 7 Professional with a 64-bit OS, with 2 gigs of RAM on an Intel Core Duo CPU I popped in the CD and let it whirl. When it was finished the Family Tree Maker 2012 icon showed up on my desktop. I double-clicked the icon, and an Update Available box appears telling me that the update is required. No problem. I have the required Internet connection, lots of free HD space, and I've updated software hundreds of time. It can be annoying, but it's nice to have the updates and it just takes a few minutes. So I start the update process, and I got an error. It seems that it won't work if I have my firewall protection working--or virus protection.

Now, I know what happens to computers that have their firewalls down and without virus protection. Bots are circling like vultures, and as soon as you drop your protection, they pounce. It's like dropping your pants at a Pervert Convention. However, I really wanted to use this software; so I disabled all of the protection that Norton Security provides and proceeded. With a screen screaming protection warnings, I went ahead, and it still would not update. I proceeded to attempt the update several times without protection, and I finally gave up.

I fully understand the need to protect against software piracy--I write software. However, I also know that using software should be as hassle-free as possible. Whomever did the programming for this, needs to have their skills updated. There's no reason to have a firewall and virus protection removed during an update, and I don't care how good your program is--if people cannot use it; then it's worthless.