Angelique:
FTM 2008 thru 2010 are garbage. As I've mentioned a number of times, after I reorganized everything in FTM 2009, I was finding that Ancestry.com was falling short on many of their promises to fix and add necessary features. The reports were too basic and not customizable enough to include critical features which is the main reason I dumped it. However, I do agree that their sources and citations are handled much better than in Legacy. Being able to link one source and/or citation to a number of people is a real time saver as is the image linking process. That's about the only thing I'll miss. Legacy could still use some major improvements in that area. At least having one object linked to many, if you need to make changes it will be updated for all persons linked to it. In Legacy, you have copies of citations that would have to be updated individually. The media center in FTM is much better than Legacy, but still needs improvements itself. My suggestion if you are undecided between the two is to use both programs. I did this for years between FTM and The Master Genealogist. The only downside is that when you enter knew information in one you have to enter it in the other as well. FTM is only Ancestry.com's method of getting people to subscribe and seems to only be geared around that. The 2010 version is no better than the 2009 version. I ended up returning mine for a refund because they fixed nothing and added no new reports. Legacy has better reports and more flexibility within the program. Just try moving the folder where you store your images then having to relink thousands of images in FTM. It's a nightmare. FTM expects you to keep all of your images in one folder. This is not a good management practice in my opinion. I agree with you on the many windows thing in Legacy. Especially when you get too deep with many windows open and can't make a minor change without having to close all of them and go to that specific person to make the change. For instance, in Sources, Show List, then trying to modify an event. I'll never go back to FTM again especially since it's going to take months or a year to clean up the GEDCOM import into Legacy. I also beta tested FTM (versions 8-10) and when I reported problems they were ignored in the final releases. I also recommended back then some of the features that were finally put into place starting with FTM 2008. They just didn't get it right. Bill Boswell From: Marvin & Angelique Welch [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 6:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [LegacyUG] Newbie Introduction Hello All, My name is Angelique and I am just joining. I have used Legacy for a few years (my first v. was 6.0 Deluxe) so I am still fairly new to all the features. I just recently upgraded to 7.0 Deluxe. I recently purchased FTM 2010 and have been divided about what program I like better. Here are my pros and cons for each: Legacy Pros * I have preferred Legacy to most other programs in the past * Great features that FTM does not have * Ability to create CD/DVD's using Passage Express * Various tools such as the relationship calculator etc. Legacy Cons * Why does it have to take a separate window for EVERYTHING? I find myself spending hours doing one task due to all the clicking needed to get where I need to go. For example, just entering a source and attaching it to the various individuals takes much longer than in FTM, even using the source clipboard. (Another example, just changing the color scheme requires one click to the "options" tab, another to select the "colors" tab and then ANOTHER click on the huge button that says, "click here to change user interface colors". Now come on, is that last button really necessary? Then you can finally select your colors, but not without clicking some more for EACH component and change you want to make) * The new source templates are confusing (why is there no template for a book without an author?). When I import my Legacy file into anything else, the sources made with the new templates all have a "/i" in front of and behind the title in the main source list. I am guessing this is because the source made with the new templates have a *bullet* in front of them in the main source list and the export process is not getting rid of it and instead adding all sorts of other fun characters to my source names. * The user interface in Legacy could be a lot simpler. There is no need to have a separate tab for the pedigree view when the family view could be reduced to include it, along with a name index along the right or left side (similar to FTM view). I like the views in FTM much better because of this huge convenience. * I have a hard time working with my file when I cannot see the individual source citations from a main source. I see we can use the "show list" feature to show which individuals are using a "main" source, the source list does not detail each individual citation and the facts it is connected to. I usually have to find an individual that the source is attached to, open their source list and see what exactly what facts the source is attached to. In FTM, the source tab allows a view of each source title, each individual source citation, AND the individual facts it is attached to, very simply. FTM 2010 Pros * I love the ease of adding sources, records and images in FTM. It is definitely not this easy in Legacy and I am not sure why. * I love the views in FTM, allowing you to view the family page, pedigree, index and more in one window, much easier. * FTM's media center is the easiest way to attach images to a family tree. In Legacy, there is no one media gallery that can be accessed to see what images are attached to what or to modify the caption for an image and have it reflect wherever else the images is attached. I have used the "picture center" in Legacy, but it is still not as efficient as the "media center" in FTM. * I prefer FTM's layout for sources since I can view the source titles AND what they are attached to (specifically), text, citation detail, and more in ONE view instead of clicking around in various tabs for the text and list like Legacy. FTM Cons * I will never be able to open my Legacy file in FTM without losing data, even though FTM markets the new software as being able to import Legacy files, I know from my own experience that this is not true. I have tried importing using every format and have lost data every time. Vice Versa, if I create a file in FTM, I will never be able to get it into Legacy to create a CD. This is why I am stuck on what program to use. I want to use FTM for the EASE of working with all of this stuff (sources, images, etc.) and Legacy for it's features and ability to create cd's. * Technical support has not been as helpful as I would like regarding some functionality issues in FTM such as some buttons not working at all. I am slowly learning that I should not use the programs to write reports, but I do want a program that is going to be easy to work with when entering information and keeping it sorted. So far, my vote is for FTM 2010 in that arena, but I dread the idea of trying to get information back into Legacy to create CD's for my family members. Ugh... Anyone else in this boat? Angelique -- Books to the ceiling,/ Books to the sky,/ My pile of books is a mile high./ How I love them! How I need them!/ I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. - Arnold Lobel Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
