If you’re a registered owner of Family Tree Maker (FTM) 2019, by now you should have received an email from the developer, Software MacKiev, announcing a free update for both the Windows and Mac versions. The update is version 24.2.2, build 560, and it fixes problems to syncing that resulted from changes to Ancestry.com and caused the sync weather icon to go orange for about three months. According to an email from Software MacKiev president, Jack Minsky, they worked closely with Ancestry engineers and extensively beta-tested the update before releasing it. In fact, I received the initial email on Aug 12 stating the release was just a couple of days away, and then nothing. I finally received the actual release email on Sep 1 and promptly installed it. So far the update seems to be working smoothly, with syncing going back to green and happening very quickly. Today I pruned 7,000+ profiles from a tree and replaced them with new profiles from a different tree, syncing in two steps. The sync deleting the profiles went pretty fast, though uploading the new profiles took a little longer, but I don’t see any problems so far.
Software MacKiev says that, if syncing failed while the sync weather was orange, just try again after installing the update, and it should work. If you still have issues with syncing after the update is installed, click here for sync troubleshooting instructions, and if that doesn’t help, contact Live Chat at ftm.support/chat.
As always, make sure you have a full backup of your tree before you install the update. FTM will even ask you if you’ve made the backup first. You should first successfully compact your trees (click here for instructions) before backing them up. Software MacKiev suggests moving a copy of each backup to someplace outside your computer – ideally cloud storage or an external drive you can take to a secure location away from where your computer is located. I think this is overkill, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
If you believe you’re a registered owner of FTM 2019 but still haven’t received the release email yet, make sure the email address you registered with is still available and, of course, check your spam folder. According to Software MacKiev, they’ve sent out all the email notifications. You can go to the Update Center and follow the on-screen instructions all the way through to the end to get your free download links. If that doesn’t work, we can only suggest that you contact Software MacKiev at their Live Chat page.
For more information about the free update, go here.
