12 Best Tips For Using Genealogy Software

Best Genealogy Software Tips

Family tree maker has made a good name in genealogy software. Now Family Tree Maker 2019 is the latest and the most popular genealogy software. Indeed, our very first issue—January 2000—included a piece of writing on using Family Tree Maker 6.0. But when Ancestry.com announced that it had discontinued the software in 2015, it was left for dead by some genealogists.

However, since Software MacKiev was bought the program has undergone a renaissance. Family Maker 2017 was the primary to permit for syncing between it and genealogy on Ancestry.com. And subsequent updates have incorporated even more functionality while maintaining equivalent features that attracted genealogists within the first place.

To help you create the foremost of the program, we’ve put together these 12 tips for using Genealogy software. The tips and screenshots during this article reflect Family Tree Maker 2019 (the most up-to-date version at the time of writing), but much of the recommendation also will apply to earlier iterations of the software.

Note: Despite the somewhat similar names, Family Tree Magazine isn’t affiliated with Genealogy Maker Software. The software program is made by a separate company.

How To Use Genealogy Software

1. Import Your Genealogy With Genealogy Software

Online Tree or Genealogy Software? Deciding Where to stay Your Data. If you’ve already built a digital family tree, you’ll save valuable research time by importing it into Pedigree Maker. You will upload a GEDCOM file (under Plan>New Tree) or you will download an Ancestry.com tree and FamilySearch. or you will download an Existing Tree tree. (Just confirm the info imports correctly!) Don’t worry if you’re new family tree-building or want to start out fresh—you also can create a replacement tree manually, adding one person at a time.

2. Change Your Date Preferences

With a family tree maker, you can consistently across your tree. You can easily change your date preferences for viewing your free tree. To vary how dates are formatted, select Tools from the dropdown menu, then choose Options. Choose names, dates, and places, and formats for both display and input formats from this window (for example, the “Day Month”). (Mac users – choose Preferences, then Dates/Names/Locations.)

3. Add Life Events

Build Your family pedigree with Genealogy software. You can select preformatted key life events (“facts”) to feature to an individual in your genealogy. While within the Tree window, select an individual and click on Customize View. You will add certain facts from there (baptism, birth, burial, etc.) as common facts, too (marriage license, divorce, etc.) You will also add a personalized fact and specify which fields you want for their entry (such as date or place).

4. Cash In On Descriptions

Each fact contains a description field, where you can add more information that does not fit well anywhere else. You can go to the Person view, and select a fact if you don’t see a contoured field. Choose Fact Properties under Options. The Fact Elements then confirm the description.

5. Sort Through Conflicting Data

If your ancestor has several fact-related details (for example, conflicting birth dates), choose which can be “preferred.” Preferred facts will generally be presented in reports and other versions of the tree that were exported, but the family tree maker will still keep that alternative information.

6. Pack Up Your Names And Places

You can change how your ancestors’ names are formatted in bulk under Tools>Convert Names, handy if they’ve been capitalized inconsistently. Likewise, Pedigree Maker can help standardize your home names. Under Tools>Resolve All Place Names, you’ll see all locations that Family Tree Maker doesn’t recognize. The tool provides a suggested standardized toponym, and you’ll either accept the suggested alternative or ignore it altogether. Click Other to look for an additional spelling of the toponym.

7. Document Censuses

Use the Census fact to point if your ancestor appeared in an enumeration. within the Date field, use the complete date—including the day and month the enumerator visited. Likewise, type the complete address within the Place field. you’ll also upload and fasten a picture of the census return (or any recorded image, for that matter).

8. Copy Facts From One Person To A Different

Adding events that affected multiple people—such as residence data from censuses—can be tedious. attend the People window, then the Person tab. confirm Facts is chosen within the menu, then right-click the target fact and choose Copy. Click away, then right-click the very fact again and choose Paste. Then click the checkmark next to the profile(s) you would like to feature the very fact too.

9. Record Addresses

Family Tree Maker has three different types of place: address (the modern place of someone who has been living or working, usually used in the post office), land (in connection with real estate), and home (where someone mentioned during a record lived). Select which fact best applies to the event you would like to record, and be consistent in how you employ that fact type. you’ll also consider indicating a number of the address within the Place field of other facts, then including the remainder within the Description or Note fields.

10. Don’t Confuse Will And Probate

Some genealogists think these two “events” are equivalent, but family tree maker has separate fact types for a reason. Wills are written documents prepared before the death of a person, whereas “proof” is a legal proceeding following the death of a person. Therefore the Date and Place fields of probate facts should ask when and where the court ruled on the deceased’s case, while those fields within the fact of the will should indicate when and where that document was prepared.

11. Create Reports

Export Your Tree From Family Tree Maker in 5 Steps. Family Tree Maker offers several options for reports that you simply can generate and export. Additionally, reports can assist you to check out your work with fresh eyes. Access reports under the Publish window.

12. Copy Your Data

In some ways, desktop software may be a safer repository for your genealogy than a web service like Ancestry.com. you’ll access your tree in genealogy Maker without the internet, and your tree isn’t tied to a web subscription that would theoretically disappear. Unlike the FamilySearch genealogy, nobody can edit your tree in genealogy Maker without your permission. Still, make certain to export your genealogy as a GEDCOM and store it on an external disk drive or in cloud-based storage. You never know when your disk drive could crash, wiping away years of diligence.

Conclusion

After this post, you can easily use your genealogy software. If you need any help or support then you can call FTM Help Center anytime. We have 24/7 customer support service, so call us at +1-800-697-1474 any time. By visiting our site you can do a live chat with our technicians.

FAQ Questions On Best Genealogy Tips