I would agree that different software programs are better for different people and purposes. For myself, I prefer RootsMagic. I've just upgraded to version 6 and I love it. It's especially good for when you want to enter a source citation once and then link it to many events/people. You just click "memorize", move to where you want the next citation and click "paste". I also love the fact that RootsMagic supplies a d'aboville descendants report. It's the format that Public Trustees like (I do a lot of heir searching for Canadian provincial trustees), so it's nice to have an automated process to create it. I also love the "witness" function. I realize that some other programs have these functions, but for me, they're much more difficult to learn and I have very little time to spend learning new programs. RootsMagic seems to be very intuitive and quick to learn. Finally, the new version has a beautiful website generator and they supply free hosting for your site. Just my 2 cents. Janice ============================================ Janice Nickerson Upper Canada Genealogy Suite 2807, 33 Isabella Street Toronto, Ontario   M4Y 2P7 www.uppercanadagenealogy.com

I use RootsMagic and the main reason is what Janice says "intuitive and quick to learn." I just purchased version 6 as well and so far have absolutely no complaints, but then I didn't expect any thing to complain about with this program.   Ann L. Wells >________________________________ > From: Janice Nickerson <janice@uppercanadagenealogy.com> >To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com >Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2013 11:37 AM >Subject: [TGF] Advice on software for non-mac > >I would agree that different software programs are better for different >people and purposes. For myself, I prefer RootsMagic. I've just upgraded to >version 6 and I love it. It's especially good for when you want to enter a >source citation once and then link it to many events/people. You just click >"memorize", move to where you want the next citation and click "paste". > >I also love the fact that RootsMagic supplies a d'aboville descendants >report. It's the format that Public Trustees like (I do a lot of heir >searching for Canadian provincial trustees), so it's nice to have an >automated process to create it. > >I also love the "witness" function. > >I realize that some other programs have these functions, but for me, they're >much more difficult to learn and I have very little time to spend learning >new programs. RootsMagic seems to be very intuitive and quick to learn. > >Finally, the new version has a beautiful website generator and they supply >free hosting for your site. > >Just my 2 cents. > >Janice > >============================================ >Janice Nickerson >Upper Canada Genealogy >Suite 2807, 33 Isabella Street >Toronto, Ontario   M4Y 2P7 >www.uppercanadagenealogy.com > > > >The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

If you want to complicate your decision even more, check out the GenSoftReviews <www.gensoftreviews.com> web site (gensoftreviews.com, for those who don't get the link). There are 1513 reviews covering 703 products (as of the moment I'm typing this). Obviously, an average of just over 2 reviews per program isn't necessarily indicative, but I find the comments are more important than the numerical ratings. I do think some programs are treated unfairly because of the way they're entered; specifically, Family Tree Maker has two entries: version 16 and earlier, and later than version 16. The latter covers 5 or 6 different versions, and most of the time you can't tell which one the person is talking about. Heredis for iOS, on the other hand, has versions 2012 and 2013 split out. Dave Liesse Skingco Services, LLC