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Family Tree Maker 2012 Updated

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Ancestry released an update to Family Tree Maker 2012 today. Here’s a rundown of what’s in it for you.

Of highest importance if you’re having problems synching your FTM file with your Ancestry member tree (AMT), is TreeSync stability improvements. Those come with performance improvements too according to the release notes.

The update include bug fixes and improvements in several areas:

  • Added support for media, notes, and sources during file merges
  • Improved handling of media during Web merges
  • Bug fixes for tasks, media items, and window resizing issues (on computers running Windows 7)

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Trouble-Free FTM TreeSync Secrets Revealed

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Have you been on the Family Tree Maker software message board on Ancestry recently? If so, you’ve see all the posts about sync problems like I have. You’ll also have seen long-time FTM user, FTM guru Russ Worthington on there helping people with great advice and clear answers. Well, I’ve been wanting to help out on this matter too so I asked Russ if I could record an interview with him about TreeSync and share it with you, and he enthusiastically agreed. So we talked in preparation and he told me something the blew my mind!
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Video Guide to Using PC Genealogy Software on Mac

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You can run PC genealogy applications (like Family Tree Maker 2012 and RootsMagic) on your Mac, even if it’s just as a supplement to your primary Mac genealogy software.

There are features in the best Windows genealogy software that aren’t in Mac offerings. Family Tree Maker 2012’s ability to synchronize with Ancestry.com and RootsMagic’s full-featured narrative reports spring to mind.

There are essentially three approaches to running PC software:

  • Run Windows on your Mac in a “virtual PC”
  • Make your Mac boot into either OS X or Windows using BootCamp
  • Use a piece of software to do for your genealogy software what Windows would (Windows emulation)

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Splitting a Family Tree with Family Tree Maker, Part 2

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Ben recently wrote about his frustrations with splitting a tree in Family Tree Maker for Mac 2 (FTMM2). I needed to do this for my own tree, so I set about finding the best way to do it. I recently prepared a family tree for my stepmother-in-law and, silly me, included it in my primary file. After reading Ben’s post, I became concerned that splitting that branch from my file would be impossible. As Ben said, many steps are involved, but it’s not impossible.  [Read more…] about Splitting a Family Tree with Family Tree Maker, Part 2

What Genealogy Software Do We Recommend?

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When I tell people I don’t recommend Family Tree Maker for Mac 2, they often ask what I do recommend, which is understandable. But I really can’t recommend a genealogy program for other people without knowing what their requirements are. You must first decide what your priorities are. Then you can check on the web to see which programs meet your requirements. You can use Ben’s Feature Comparison Table or FindtheBest.com to find the features you need (but take the Smart Ratings on the latter with a grain of salt). GenSoftReviews.com lists lots of genealogy programs, although not all of them have reviews. But see Tamura Jones’ article, The Most Important Genealogy Software Feature. [Read more…] about What Genealogy Software Do We Recommend?