Ancestry.com- Shaking Your Family Tree, September 09, 1999

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Shaking Your Family Tree

September 09, 1999

Shaking Your Family Tree, by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

Family Origins: Software for Today's Genealogists

by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use, flexible, and inexpensive Windows genealogy program, check out Family Origins 8.0. It's just been released by the Parsons Technology unit of The Learning Company, a division of Mattel, Inc.

Among the new features of this popular software are:

-- Hourglass Tree (includes photos). This a great method of showing both the ancestors and descendants of a particular person.

-- Ability to open multiple views of same database

-- Drag/drop people between databases

-- Missing Information List, which can provide quickly a list of individuals and the type of information, such as birth date or marriage place, that is missing in your file.

-- Ability to print calendars (with birthdays and anniversaries)

-- Ability to create address mailing labels

New printed report styles include:

-- Henry descendant book (individuals are numbered as: 1211, 1212, 1213, etc.)

-- D'Aboville descendant book (individuals are numbered as: 1.2.1.1, 1.2.1.2, 1.2.1.3, etc.)

Family Origins 8.0 ``Website Generator'' makes creating genealogy pages for the Web a snap. It includes the option of keeping personal information about your living relatives private. It also includes an improved multimedia Family Scrapbook. Add photos, audio clips and videos to individuals or families in your database. Each person and family has its own scrapbook where you can add, edit, remove, and rearrange scrapbook items. Photographs, sound clips and video clips can be attached, and there's a new photo editor that allows for rotating, image manipulation, and printing of images.

Another nice feature is the option to add multiple events for any individual. For example, if you have two or three different dates or places of birth found in contradictory records, you can enter all of them. Moreover, sources are kept in a true sources database, not in simple text files, with room for the following on each source:

-- Name of the source (which will appear in the Master Source List)

-- Description (two or three sentences, usually including full title)

-- Author of the original source document

-- Publisher of the original source document

-- Source text (a large text field for verbatim transcriptions)

-- Repository name, address, telephone number and text notes

-- Call number of the original source document at the repository cited

-- Other comments about the source document

The Family Origins Explorer is the new heart of the software's search system. Once you've found some new facts to add to your file, you can easily search for individuals in your database based on the specified criteria, such as any marriage date prior to 1850. Then, directly from the Explorer screen, you can add and edit individual and family notes, sources, pictures, as well as addresses, photos, LDS (Mormon) ordinances, and to-do list items for all individuals in the database.

Use the Family Origins Explorer as a navigational tool to view any individual's vital information as well as to see instantly every immediate relative of the highlighted person. There is no printed manual, but it doesn't need one because the online help is excellent.

Family Origins version 8.0 sells for $29.95. Registered users of earlier versions of this software can purchase an upgrade for $19.95. Download the software from http://www.familyorigins.com/. Many sample screen shots and printouts are available at: http://www.familyorigins.com/samples.htm.

Family Origins 8.0 requires Windows 95 or Windows 98, a 486 or higher IBM PC or compatible, 8 megabytes of RAM, a minimum of 8 megabytes of hard disk space (a full installation requires 40 megabytes), a double-speed or faster CD-ROM drive or faster, and VGA video with at least 256 colors. It works with most popular printers (monochrome and color) supported by Windows. A modem and Internet Service Provider account are required if you wish to use the online features.

(c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate

Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter

Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page
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Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries.
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September 09, 1999
	Family Origins: Software for Today's Genealogists by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
If you are looking for an easy-to-use, flexible, and inexpensive Windows genealogy program, check out Family Origins 8.0. It's just been released by the Parsons Technology unit of The Learning Company, a division of Mattel, Inc. Among the new features of this popular software are: -- Hourglass Tree (includes photos). This a great method of showing both the ancestors and descendants of a particular person. -- Ability to open multiple views of same database -- Drag/drop people between databases -- Missing Information List, which can provide quickly a list of individuals and the type of information, such as birth date or marriage place, that is missing in your file. -- Ability to print calendars (with birthdays and anniversaries) -- Ability to create address mailing labels New printed report styles include: -- Henry descendant book (individuals are numbered as: 1211, 1212, 1213, etc.) -- D'Aboville descendant book (individuals are numbered as: 1.2.1.1, 1.2.1.2, 1.2.1.3, etc.) Family Origins 8.0 ``Website Generator'' makes creating genealogy pages for the Web a snap. It includes the option of keeping personal information about your living relatives private. It also includes an improved multimedia Family Scrapbook. Add photos, audio clips and videos to individuals or families in your database. Each person and family has its own scrapbook where you can add, edit, remove, and rearrange scrapbook items. Photographs, sound clips and video clips can be attached, and there's a new photo editor that allows for rotating, image manipulation, and printing of images. Another nice feature is the option to add multiple events for any individual. For example, if you have two or three different dates or places of birth found in contradictory records, you can enter all of them. Moreover, sources are kept in a true sources database, not in simple text files, with room for the following on each source: -- Name of the source (which will appear in the Master Source List) -- Description (two or three sentences, usually including full title) -- Author of the original source document -- Publisher of the original source document -- Source text (a large text field for verbatim transcriptions) -- Repository name, address, telephone number and text notes -- Call number of the original source document at the repository cited -- Other comments about the source document The Family Origins Explorer is the new heart of the software's search system. Once you've found some new facts to add to your file, you can easily search for individuals in your database based on the specified criteria, such as any marriage date prior to 1850. Then, directly from the Explorer screen, you can add and edit individual and family notes, sources, pictures, as well as addresses, photos, LDS (Mormon) ordinances, and to-do list items for all individuals in the database. Use the Family Origins Explorer as a navigational tool to view any individual's vital information as well as to see instantly every immediate relative of the highlighted person. There is no printed manual, but it doesn't need one because the online help is excellent. Family Origins version 8.0 sells for $29.95. Registered users of earlier versions of this software can purchase an upgrade for $19.95. Download the software from http://www.familyorigins.com/. Many sample screen shots and printouts are available at: http://www.familyorigins.com/samples.htm. Family Origins 8.0 requires Windows 95 or Windows 98, a 486 or higher IBM PC or compatible, 8 megabytes of RAM, a minimum of 8 megabytes of hard disk space (a full installation requires 40 megabytes), a double-speed or faster CD-ROM drive or faster, and VGA video with at least 256 colors. It works with most popular printers (monochrome and color) supported by Windows. A modem and Internet Service Provider account are required if you wish to use the online features. (c) 1999, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Terms and Conditions \| Privacy Statement