Nevertheless, they all work in a similar manner: choose your design, pick a starting person and generate immediate results. MacFamilyTree splits its publishing tools into four distinct sections: Charts, Reports, Lists and Publish (for books). Unsurprisingly, given how perfect MFT’s media tools already are, Version 10 does little more than add support for ‘scanning’ photos and documents from your iPhone or iPad camera directly into your tree via the Mac’s Continuity Camera feature
MFT’s media tools were already best-in-class, from its beautifully constructed Media index for selecting photos by person, family or place, to smart tagging tools and built-in photo-enhancement features that include one-click colourisation for old black and white photos.
The Edit, Interactive Tree and Source sections gain the most love with this new release – you can now access all editing tools via the Interactive Tree view, while Source management adopts a new template-driven view, helping you collate and organise your sources in a consistent way.Įlsewhere, the navigation sidebar has been redesigned to consolidate its contents into a single vertical column, with the program’s main sections – Edit, Charts, Views and so on – now represented by a series of clickable buttons at the top of the sidebar. That’s impressive, given the high bar set by the previous release. MacFamilyTree 10’s user-friendly interface gets another overhaul in this latest release, and a direct comparison with the previous version reveals all changes manage to combine practical improvements with being more pleasing to the eye.
Verdict: Family Tree Maker remains one of the best family history software programs thanks to its clever balance of combining powerful features with a user-friendly interface.
This costs an extra £20 per year, but you can road-test it for free for 12 months to see if you find it useful. Its integrated tools make it easy to find and merge records from both databases, while its Web Clipper tool means you can add records from just about any other site as well. You can keep your tree in sync with both sites, which gives you access to your tree on the go using either FamilySearch or Ancestry’s mobile apps (both free). MacKiev has also launched TreeVault, a collection of cloud services for backup and integration with other apps. Once you’ve managed this, you can then set up individual street addresses, and use the map to place markers and generate exact geocoordinates for your relatives’ specific locations.įTM led the way with linking to records held on family history websites, and since it was acquired by MacKiev it has added support for FamilySearch too. The tools encourage you to standardise your places using search tools to help track down the correct naming convention. One highlight is Smart Stories, which encourages you to write your own reports while making it easy to insert elements of a person’s life from your research into the text, which you’re then free to edit or rewrite.Īlthough they’re no longer setting the benchmark for other family history software developers to follow, FTM’s mapping tools remain effective in addition to easy to use. They’re easy to use, but also extremely customisable, and you’re able to make changes and see their effects in real time instead of having to regenerate the chart or report. You can now also select a primary photo for a person, then choose a headshot from it to use as a thumbnail, improving the overall look of your tree.įTM’s Publish tool contains a wide range of charting and reporting options, along with tools for writing and publishing your own books. This is traditionally a weak point in Family Tree Maker, but recent improvements have included a Photo Darkroom tool that’s designed to improve pictures that have faded with age. As a result, it’s easy to see where you are and navigate around the family history software. Each manages to lay out its key elements over just one or two tabs without overcomplicating the screen. See our separate review of Family Tree Maker 2019įamily Tree Maker’s (FTM’s) user interface splits itself into seven clearly labelled sections, including Plan, People, Places and Publish.