I use FTM and have 4 different files, paternal and maternal for myself and my husband, but what has really helped me stay organized is Clooz. This is an electronic filing cabinet where you can enter census information, death records, photos, etc. and can actually connect it to a digital file. I number each, say CEN1 for census record no. 1 and then store the hard copy in a large binder. I can then run a report on the individual person, the record in question, a family name etc. and see exactly what I do and don't have for the person. I also cross reference this information in my FTM program so I know exactly where the information came from. It has been a life saver for me. There is a web page that explains it much better than I can, just search for clooz. Cindy From: "Elizabeth DuBois Russo" <elizabethrusso@attbi.com> To: MOHOWARD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [MOHOWARD-L] How do you store and sort your data? Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2002 15:03:35 -0400 As there seem to be some serious data-collectors on this list, I'd like to pick your brains. What programs do you use, and why? I'm finding out Family TreeMaker's limitations for such ancestors as my Colden Williams. I've collected a lot of data which I'm now just storing in word processing documents because the amount of information goes well beyond FTM's "More about facts" and "Notes" sections. To access related facts quickly and make reports, I'm stuck with whatever I can put together with FTM. And my FTM database has gotten so large that it is really starting to bog down whenever I want to do some of the reports it is supposed to be able to generate. I've had to break down my database into sections so that I don't have much more than 10,000 individuals per file. Now I'm thinking I should break them down further into files with no more than 5,000 individuals. All together, I probably have more than 25,000 individuals among my various files. Some individuals have the bare facts; others have deeds, wills, estate records, census records, biographies, pictures, and more. I'm wondering if I should be using some other kind of database program. I want to be able to start seeing the migration patterns, timelines, religions, etc., more easily. I've heard of some standard database programs, and some specialized ones like Clooz. I've been told also I should switch to something like Master Genealogist. I've been with Family TreeMaker for the five years I've been doing this, and I haven't worked with a basic database program before. Recommendations?? Elizabeth _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com