Software Review of:
Family Tree Maker 8.0
Deluxe 35 CD Set 

• the Deluxe 24 CD set for $59.99
• the Deluxe 35-CD set, $79.99, reviewed here
• the Collector’s Edition 42 CD set for $99.99

As I have never done any genealogical research, I’ve asked my wife Janet to help me in writing this review as she does have some interest, and has actually done a little research, including using the Mormon resources in Salt Lake City.  She consented and so you see here a joint effort.

When you first start the Family Tree Maker, a wizard steps you through the initial data entry required to prepare a minimal family tree.  The wizard prompts you to enter information about yourself, your parents and grandparents, including names and birth dates and locations.  As soon as you have finished this first step, the program launches into a search of the included 35 CDs and the extensive genealogical information available on the Internet.  A cursory look at the results of this initial search quickly leads to the realization that one could spend the waking hours of the rest of his life researching his genealogy.

This is a very extensive and capable program.  It can do far more than can be discussed in this short review.  Here are some highlights that we found interesting.

Installation
The program requires a minimal PC: Pentium 90, 16MB RAM, 100 MB disk space, CD-ROM, minimal color display, 32-bit MS Windows OS, and to get the benefit of the Internet research capabilities, a connection to the Internet.

Installation was smooth and uneventful launching successfully upon insertion of the program CD.  The program requires only 30 MB of disk space, and optional clip art and maps add another 25 MB.  No reboot is required after installation.  A well-done video clip is launched after installation letting you know what a lot of fun you are going to have finding out about your ancestors.

User interface
Data entry is done using tabbed forms.  While it has a somewhat “retro” Windows 3.1 feel to it, we found it to be just right for the job.  Navigation from one generation to the next was quite easy.

The “more” and “scrapbook” buttons provide a way to link additional information to the individual, including scanned images of documents and photos.  This information is then readily available when you are ready to publish your Family Tree.

Once you have entered a few generations, you can look at your Family Tree in several ways including the “hourglass” view.

One complication for our family is that both of our fathers were adopted, and so we had to decide whether to enter their natural or adoptive parents.  We learned that once you decide, it is not too easy to change your mind.  The program does provide the ability to include both sets of parents, but only one becomes part of the “tree”.  You can start a new tree with the other set of parents.  I could not figure out how to replace my adoptive grandfather, Elam Lilius, with my natural grandfather, without losing all the data entered on Elam’s parentage. 

Research helps
FTM saves all of its information in an FTW (Family TreeMaker for Windows) file, but it can also import .GED and .PAF files, and export to .GED format for sharing data with folks who use other programs.  Janet’s sister Marge has done a lot of research on their side of the family and has used Family Origins 8.0 to manage her results.  She sent us her “gedcom” file, (.ged), and FTM was able to import all the information without a hitch, so we quickly had the benefit of her research going all the way back to Elkhanah McKay who is known to have come to America from Scotland in the mid 1700’s, probably escaping from the bloody persecution of the Highland Scots by the English following the disaster at Culloden. 

The set of CDs that come with the program provide an incredible amount of information.  FTM has indexed all of this information, and so a simple search on a name will provide a link to all of the CDs that have that name.  These CDs include Social Security data, census data, marriage records from all 50 states, immigration data, military records, and Revolutionary and Civil War records, and much more.

TLC also provides a 4-month subscription to FTM’s “GenealogyLibrary.com” – a $40 value.  All of the information on the 100’s of the CD’s available from FTM is found on this Web site, and more information is being added all the time.  FTM can search all of this site as well as many others just by clicking the “search the internet” button on the toolbar. (Figure 5) Many of the searches we did resulted in a screen letting us know how much it would cost to purchase the CD that contains the info we wanted.  It could become expensive to pursue this hobby very seriously.  Since the included CDs may not be useful to your particular family searches, the $50 cost of this edition over the basic FTM price (19.99) might be better spent on a one-year subscription to GenealogyLibrary.com. 

Publishing
Once a person does all this work, the fun part is sharing it with the rest of the family, particularly those sepia photos of Great-Grandma and her clan, which you scanned in and made part of your scrapbook  FTM really excels in this area, providing a highly tailored publishing capability.  It also provides “Saved Views” to make sure that the time and effort you spend customizing the reports does not go to waste.  "Saved Views" preserve all of your formatting choices — individuals included, number of generations, fonts, and colors.

One of the most popular features of FTM is publishing your family tree on a Web site provided at Genealogy.com for registered users.  The Publishing Center steps you through the process, resulting in a very nice Web page which you can then share with the rest of your family, and also make it available to all the other folks out there doing their genealogy research.

Summary
We found Family Tree Maker easy to use from the points-of-view of both a neophyte genealogist (Bryan) and an iMac user (Janet).  It is a solid program with all the capabilities we might want to assist us in creating and publishing our family histories.  We would definitely recommend it to anyone intent on assembling all the bits and pieces of his family information into a comprehensive archive.