Genealogy software tips and tricks!

All of a sudden you discover that you can't find your desk because of a huge pile of handwritten family tree charts and forms. If you have a computer (and who doesn't these days), genealogy software can help you tame this paper tiger.

Like the ancestors on your family tree, genealogy software comes in all shapes and sizes.

When trying to find the right genealogy software look for a company that has been in business for a while, offers great support and regular updates to fix bugs, etc. An active on-line forum suggests that the software will be around for awhile. (See my important warning below about never locking your valuable information into any program.)

Basic genealogy software can help you:compile data, analyze findings and share research.

Let's look at these in more detail.

Compile your data

All genealogy software allows you spots to plug in Aunt Gertie's name, birth, marriage and death information.

Really great software allows you the flexibility of adding additional tags to her record such as occupation, education, immigration, divorce, adoption and so on.

Below is a snapshot of my favourite software "The Master Genealogist". It'll give you an idea what a screen should look like.

Genealogy software should also allow you to properly handle conflicting data. For example, three records may record great Uncle Harry's given name as Walter. Three more may list it as Harold. You're darn sure they're the same guy. The software should provide separate fields that allow you to record all name variations.

Software must also allow you to properly cite your sources. Remember, if there isn't a place to record the documents you used to prove a fact, you are compiling a genealogy that is basically useless to yourself and other researchers.

Anaylze your data

Great genealogy software allows you to analyze the data you enter by generating a variety of reports like pedigree and descendant charts.

Also consider software that offers what I call industrial strength searching capabilities. For example, maybe you want to conduct a search for all of your ancestors who were born before 1898 in the province of Ontario. Or maybe you want to produce a list of family members whose occupation was that of agricultural laborer. Flexible search routines will allow you to achieve this.

Sharing your data

Share your hard found work by printing off a variety of charts to mail to friends and family.

You can take this a step further and save a lot of paper and postage by using e-mail to distribute your findings. Print your reports to "pdf" and you'll ensure that others can open your files even if they don't use the same software.

High-end genealogy software can also take your data and turn it into a webpage that other researchers can visit. More on this advanced topic latter.

If you want to share your database with a fellow researcher make sure both of you have a built-in utility called GEDCOM This term stands for "Genealogical Data Communications" and allows the person at the other end to import your data. A word of warning! GEDCOM is not foolproof. Sometimes it places data in the wrong fields, truncates data or doesn't even import it at all.

The Right Software For You

Latter I will be offering you some tips on choosing specific brands of commercial and free genealogy software.

Warning: Paper is still your best friend!

Genealogy software is an amazing tool for any family tree maker. But good old paper is still your best friend. Experience has taught me that software, like all computer technology, is constantly changing. Data I had once stored on those big floppy disks died right alongside the software I used in 1995.

Get into the habit of regularily printing out the information stored on a computer. Don't lock all your hard earned research into any specific piece of software.

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