Thanks so much for the responses to my rather long message last evening. I have learned a few things since then. One is that there are three programs that I need to check out. I have a PC so the Mac issue is of no concern to me, but it might be decisive for others like Shirley Jordan. Does anyone have an opinion on this issue? The programs: 1st is Bygones, which has pretty good reviews and some happy users. I have received some great personal testimonies. I have played with it a little and the Manual looks good though still evolving. It is freeware as of right now. It was designed by someone who apparently knows a great deal about genealogical research or at least has help from such experts. Strong praise from happy users. The 2nd is Clooz. It has great reviews and was designed by a world class Genealogist, but I have had no personal testimonies. Apparently the User Manual was completely redone by a user. It runs on Access 2000 which I like. I have looked at the Manual but have not seen the actual software. Will have to buy to test drive it I think. Does anyone use this program regularly. http://www.ancestordetective.com/clooz.htm The 3rd is Family Matters. It is built on Access also, but does not yet run on Access 2000. It does run on Access 97 and earlier versions however. It is shareware and can be test driven without buying but pay later if you like. It seems to combine the features of a standard lineage-based or full-featured genealogical program like FTM and the "note-taking" and research organization features of Bygones and Clooz. I know little about it, but the author is very responsive and is continueing to improve his product. http://www.matterware.com/index.html I will be testing these three products over the next week or so and then I will select one to stick with. The last thing I need now is another "full-featured" genealogy program so I am a little leary of Family Matters, though it would be great if the feartures of Master Genealogist or FTM could be combined with the features of Bygones and Clues. Perhaps the Impossible Possibility at this point in time, but I will look at Family Matters. If there are any happy users out there, I would love to hear from you. I already have FTM and Master Genealogist. What I need is the organization, retrieval, and analysis features of Bygones and Clooz and perhaps of Family Matters. Any comments or help will be appreciated