Hi Eric I have no commercial interest in any of these programs, but I have tried them all and comment as I have found. Of course, the program you select very much depends on what you want it to do for you. The Master Genealogist - my program of choice. It has superb reporting facilities, but I use it because it automatically calculates relationships (once you've set it up to do so), you can automatically colour code relationships from different branches, and assign "Accents" to individuals (i.e. highlight someone who has a particular quality, such as a job or title). You can carry out web searches too directly from an individual. Roots Magic - I use this program when researching for others. It has a facility to record all important data and media, and allows the creation of a shareable CD which contains the program and data in Read Only format so your "client" or family member can see on their screen precisely what you see on yours without the danger of their deleting or changing anything. RM also has search links directly to Family Search, Ancestry and other popular databases. You can download a free trial version but it doesn't have many of the full program facilities. FTM - my most unfavourite program. I find it incredibly complex to navigate, and to have a lot of superfluous pages. Hope this helps..... a bit. Ruth in Hampshire > -----Original Message----- > From: cheshire-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:cheshire-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Eric Millward > Sent: 24 February 2014 13:42 > To: Cheshire List > Subject: [CHS] Family history programs >

Thank you Ruth. I have just downloaded Roots Magic essentials and (I might have guessed it) Web Search is on the full version so I cannot test it!. Eric ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4335 / Virus Database: 3705/7120 - Release Date: 02/24/14