 Customer Reviews
Doesn't work on 64bit Vista, 24 Nov 2008
I used to use this, and was very pleased with it under XP, but I upgraded my computer, which included 64bit Vista. This programme will not run, and manufacturers i) agreed & ii) had no plan to remedy the problem. I bought a different make of product in the end. (Either that or stop my research).
It's Family Tree Maker 2006, 01 Sep 2008
I have just installed this version which is Family Tree Maker 2006 (v13.0.285) and has loaded in our family tree from the 2005 version. As such, it represents excellent value for money, especially if you want to upgrade but not to the entirely new 2008 version. The carton says it will run under Vista with a download from the GSP site.
It comes with two discs, one with the program and the other with video clips and family trees of celebrities featured in the first three series.
Who do you think you are???, 10 Mar 2008
I have recently written a review on Who do you think you are deluxe. I previously had this product before the deluxe and definatly recommend this, and the deluxe to anyone interested in Family Trees.
I have even found some new family members. This product is so easy to use and get to grips with, I have brought my mum the Deluxe version (Its that easy to use.) I will continue to buy the upgrades when they get released.
Just a big advert!, 14 Jan 2008
I had high hopes to assist with the tracking of relations - however as good as the tree maker may be (excel can do the same) you need to spend more money if you want to register product and take advantages of the internet registry searches - and i dont have much faith in them to be honest.
If you are happy spending another ten pound here and there, then this is for you, but as a stocking filler for my wife - not the best - unless your surname is Snexergytimson, or you have time to search through the 4 million hits for the surname Smith....
Easy to use, 11 Jun 2007
Fantastic software that does what it say's on the box and is easy to use!
Well worth buying, thouroughly recommended.
Big disappointment, 08 Nov 2008
Having previously had family tree maker 2006 I was looking forward to recieving the 2008 version - :-( Big disappointment - Try as I might I cannot get it to connect to the internet
Waste of money!!!
This Item Is Useless, 10 Oct 2008
I bought Family Tree Maker delux edition thinking it would be an improvement on the FREE disc I received with The Sunday Times how wrong was I .It does not do as it says in nearly all areas. Wish to print The Whole of your tree -- forget it ,only one individuals.
Try registering no go .Oh and as far as your free 3months to Ancestry no go.
So all in all a useless piece of software. My freebie was superb IS superb,Save your money buy an earlier edition 2006 or earlier
Software supplied is incomplete. Take care, 23 Sep 2008
The product itself is a very good engine for collating family tree information as a standalone solution but has one significant problem for buyers..........
The CD software will not operate fully as supplied and requires the downloading of a software patch to enable it to connect properly to the internet. From reviewing internet message boards this seems to be a not uncommon problem. Very disappointing and a major problem for buyers who are not IT literate.
Crammed full of features, 11 May 2008
I bought my copy of FTM from the USA via ancestry.com website without it dawning on me that I could have ordered it from Amazon (cost a bit more, too. Doh!). Looking at the screenshots and reading other reviews, I am sure it's the same product, except mine came with a DVD tutorial and a CD full of old American postcard pictures; not particularly useful in my case, but interesting.
I had dozens of names in my existing tree saved in a GedCom file and these were quickly imported into the program; I only had to make a couple of changes to date formats. Also, and I don't expect the UK version to be any different, the locations that were imported tended to be American; ie 'Birmingham' brought up a map of Alabama. These ambiguities are easily resolved by FTM, however.
Searching the internet without having to exit the program is useful; it's on the same screen, so that you can enter details manually while looking at them. There is also a facility for pasting bits of web pages into your work.
I don't know why it happens that names such as 'Higgins' are sometimes read as 'Biggins' despite it being clearly spelled with an H in the actual record, but it does. In other words, FTM is not a program that you can press a button, make a cup of tea, and have your family tree prepared when you get back. You have to do some investigation of your own. This might sound obvious to experienced researchers, but I have read reviews where an inability to find relatives is blamed on the program rather than the search engine being used, the fact that records might not exist, or anything else.
FTM is full of features to allow you to collect and enter data, print and make presentations in a variety of ways, and in short do anything you would wish to do, without having a pile of paper to rummage through. It must be one of the best genealogy packages on the market...and at a price less than you would pay for a video game, with twice the fun!
The good, the bad and the ugly, 04 May 2008
I can understand the disparity between the reviews received to date.
The good is the data entry page, and charting pages which are a vast improvement over previous versions of FTM.
The bad is that the program still severely restricts how you enter data, particularly dates. With a lot of my research I only need to record the year and quarter, but you cannot enter Q1 1925 for example.
The downright ugly is the "manual" that is provided with the software. The square root of useless comes to mind. I had a problem printing a family tree as important data was not being printed on the right hand side, due to the predetermined print size. After some hours I finally managed to resolve the problem. Was there any help in the manual-not even a mention.
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