If any of you are using Family Tree Maker, or are in need of a database to keep you records, here is some information that may help. Happy New Year and good hunting!! From: bob@wexonline.net [mailto:bob@wexonline.net] Sent: Friday, January 1, 2016 8:07 AM To: Me <Me@WexOnline.net> Subject: [FWD: Gen. software review] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Gen. software review From: "Mary Ellen Wexler" < <mailto:me@wexonline.net> me@wexonline.net> Date: Thu, December 31, 2015 7:08 am To: "Mary Ellen Wexler" < <mailto:me@wexonline.net> me@wexonline.net> Genealogy Software Review by John D. Beatty, CG *************************************** Ancestry announced in December that it plans to discontinue sale of its desktop genealogy software, Family Tree Maker, though the company will continue to offer tech support through 2016. Family Tree Maker has enjoyed years of popularity for its ease of use and as a tool for syncing in a private format the information that one posts on a Public Member Tree. Many genealogists consider it their software of choice. We are often asked in the Genealogy Center about the best software programs for family history research. Fortunately, even with the discontinuance of Family Tree Maker, many other options exist. You can read reviews of the top ten genealogy programs on the website, “2016 Best Genealogy Software Review: Reviews and Comparisons” <http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/> http://genealogy-software-review.toptenreviews.com/. If you plan to shop for a new desktop genealogy software program in 2016, you should visit this site. The “Best Genealogy Software Review” analyzes ten software programs: Legacy Family Tree, Family Historian, Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Ancestral Quest, Heredis, Family Tree Heritage, Brother’s Keeper, GenBox Family History, and WinFamily. Each of them are evaluated by six different criteria: web capabilities, creating connections, charting capabilities, citations & organization, help & support, and supported configurations. Within each of these topics are a series of specific sub-categories that allow you to see at a glance the capabilities of a particular program. The website also provides direct links to each of the software sites, where you can learn more about each product. By a large margin, the reviewers like Legacy Family Tree best, but RootsMagic and Family Historian are also popular. Undoubtedly, more news will appear in 2016 regarding the demise of Family Tree Maker and the best alternatives for replacing it. Ancestry has already announced that it is exploring possible relationships with other software publishers about providing full integration to its website. Stay tuned for more developments. If you use Family Tree Maker, it may be wise to wait awhile for new software announcements before choosing to purchase an alternative.