Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It's Saturday Night again
-
time for some more Genealogy
Fun!!
Our assignment tonight from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to answer these questions: Which genealogy software have you used over your genealogy career to document your genealogy and family history research? What did you start with (Then) and what do you presently use (Now)? Please share your experiences.
Here's mine:
I began documenting my genealogy on paper sheets: family
group sheets and pedigree charts. Once I got a personal computer, I discovered Personal Ancestral File (PAF) and used that for many years, first as a DOS program and
later as a Windows program. This was a program provided by the Genealogy
Society of Utah (Mormons). The Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group (https://www.svcgg.org/) came up with
standards or procedures for using PAF to its fullest and I followed the methods
for documenting my work in the notes area using their procedures. Occasionally
I will find a person in my tree whose notes still have this way of documenting.
Later, PAF for Windows had a way to record citations using templates. However,
when I uploaded a Gedcom to the next program, the templates did not convert
well. I kept PAF for many years so I could go back and pick up any data that
hadn’t transferred from my source templates.
I’m not sure when I started using Legacy Family Tree software, but a group of friends and I took a trip to Modesto to hear Geoff Rasmussen give some lectures. It was an all-day seminar and was free. We had never heard of Legacy but really liked the lectures he gave and the screenshots of how he used the program. He had a special: 3 programs for $50. Since there were three of us, we went for it. I believe my two friends are still using Legacy, though I don’t know if they have kept up with the upgrades.
I followed an online email listserv that catered to professional genealogists. One day, Elizabeth Shown Mills wrote about how she used RootsMagic to help produce research reports. I had another friend who swore up and down that RootsMagic was the best (well for PCs anyway. Mac people swore by Reunion). So, I bought RootsMagic. It was so different from PAF and Legacy Family Tree software, that once I had “mastered” it (I only use 50% of the program), I decided I was done trying out software. I would stick to this one. It’s been fine until this last round of updates. RootsMagic 8 and 9 are complete reworks and it was like starting with a new program all over. I’m getting comfortable with it now.
I use my software to keep track of data. I do not attach documents. I write my own citations and do not use the templates. I also do not tree share with Ancestry or FamilySearch Family Tree. When I find a source, I download it, rename it, and then enter the data into RootsMagic. I file my documents in surname-couple folders. I rarely print anything, so I don’t use fancy reports or charts. I have uploaded Gedcoms to online trees and DNA sites in order to have a skeleton tree. For me, RootsMagic is a database and that’s how I use it.
Like me, you began with PAF and have tried a couple of programs. I'm still not sure about RM9 or making the change to Family Historian 7.
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