Janet, A database is similar to a recipe box, or a filing cabinet. It is simply a convenient, efficient means of storing information on the computer. Office 2000 for the PC has a database, but... When people talk of their "Database" they are generally talking about their genealogy program, which is database, surrounded by a program designed to efficiently connect and manage the pieces of information, saving you HOURS of work and much confusion. It's sort of like getting the secretary with the above-mentioned filing cabinet. You don't have to remember who Great Aunt Maude's seventh husband's second child was. You just click a couple of buttons and it takes you to the whole family, with all it's information and (if you've documented like a good little girl) all of the sources for all of that information. At the press of a button, a genealogy program will draw your family charts for you. It will print for you the entire 56 pages of information on Uncle Ted's 4 wives and 23 children (provided that you have enough paper in the printer). It will automatically make an index of EVERY single person in the database. Most people probably start out with a written or printed sheet of paper of their family tree, as told to them by a relative. Then, they start accumulating information until the paper is a hassle, then they graduate to a set of index cards, or a simple database. However, you can just imagine the difficulties arising when the database contains 500 or more people (a very small family tree). That database definitely needs a secretary. Carol Bogue At 12:30 AM -0500 11/6/02, JEE143@aol.com wrote: > Everyone talks about their databases. How do you set up a database. > I I use Office 2000. Can this be used? > >Janet (Dimond) Eldridge

Hi Janet Bogue, I know that my sister is working on a genealogy that involves the Bogue family. I think she found them first in Vermont and then they came to Michigan. (Perhaps there were some stops along the way). Anyway, have you done research on that family? I wondered - because of the name? Thanks, Nancy --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive medley & videos from Greatest Hits CD