I've got "Family Tree Maker 11" but have quickly discovered that it sucks.
Some of my problems:
+) To add a nickname you need to dig down three screens - and then than
nickname isn't displayed anyplace useful.
+) Images and other media assets are stored in the family tree file itself
(not linked) so you can only work with them inside the program once you add
them.
+) Media assets can only be linked to people or marriages and then only to
ONE thing. If I have a picture of a father and a son I can only link it to
one of them unless I include it twice. You've only one view of media assets
(a large sheet of thumbnails) and no way to display more description or
title text. There's also no distinguishing between media (image, sounds,
etc) and documentation (birth certificates, burial notices, etc).
+) Navigation is a beast - especially among multiple spouses. It really
sucks.
+) In general the program looks awful. Not a huge thing, but with
everything it's just another nail in the coffin.
+) The labeling in the software is very restrictive. You get "Husband" and
"Wife" only - no way to directly indicate homosexual or non-married
relationships, no way to clearly indicate illegitimate children or unknown
parentage. Maybe I just have a screwed up family, but I need some of those
things!
The software is version 11... you'd think that they would have addressed
some of this in 11 tries.
I've done some looking and am considering RootsMagic 2.0
(http://www.rootsmagic.com/) - it seems to address most of my concerns and
looks a damn-sight better. Has anybody used it?
I tried the demos of "the Master Genealogist" (insanely complex with very
poor media options and a definite DOS feel) and "Personal Ancestor File"
(free but very, very limited) and didn't much care for either.
I want to be able to manage large amounts of media (image, documents, etc)
preferably linking them to multiple people, events and places without
duplication. I'd really like the ability to represent non-traditional
family units and relationships and need the ability to gracefully handle
multiple spouses. I'd also really appreciate a program that isn't ugly as a
bug.
Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Jim Davis
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