Family Tree Maker 2010 Essentials
Family Tree Maker makes it easy to discover your story, preserve your legacy and share your unique heritage as you explore your family tree on your personal computer. Family Tree Maker 2010 introduces even more rich storytelling and…
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Tags: 2010, Essentials, Family, Maker, Tree
March 13th, 2010 by admin | Posted in Software | Comments (2)
March 13th, 2010 at 1:38 am
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.)
March 13th, 2010 at 1:38 am
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