Choosing family tree software

As your research develops, you'll probably start thinking of investing in a family tree software package in which to record your discoveries. There are many available and all aim to make it easy to add details of individuals, organise your family relationships, record your sources, add photographs, and print family tree charts. Some also help you to create websites so that you can share your Irish genealogy research with others.

Trouble is, there are so many different packages and each seems to have its own loyal band of followers. They also all seem to have their own features and limitations. How do you know which one is the most suited to your needs?

Before you rush out and part with your your hard-earned cash on the first family history computer package you come across, it's a good idea to be clear on what you want and expect from the package. Here are some issues to consider:

Storage and charts

How will you use the information you input to your database?
Do you want to produce sophisticated family tree charts, complete with photos?
Do you want to store photos, soundbites and video clips?
Do you want only to record names, dates and basic information plus print out very simple charts?
Do you want your program to allow you to cite your sources and/or make notes to record family tales connected with individuals?

Sharing your data

Do you want to share your database with other researchers? (If so, you'll want a program with GEDCOM compatibility.)
Do you want to be able to 'marry' other researchers databases with yours? (ditto)
Do you want to create web pages that relatives and researchers can view?
Do you want to produce a book of your family's history?
Will you want to email pdfs of your tree to relatives and other researchers?

Analysis

What kind of reports would you like to be able to produce?
The best genealogy software allows you to analyse your data by generating different types of reports such as pedigree and descendant charts. Some allow you to carry out searches according to your own choice of criteria. For example, you might want to know how many of your ancestors were born in Co. Galway before 1850. Or how many of your ancestors were sailors or grocers.

You

How technical/geeky are you?
Are you easily frustrated by programs that are not genuinely intuitive?
How long does it usually take you to become comfortable with a new program?
Do you relish the challenge of working through each page of the instruction manual to discover all the features of new programs?

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Test run a few options

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When trying to find the right genealogy software for you, look for a company that's been trading for a while, offers great support and fixes bugs.

Most of the best manufacturers offer a 30-day free trial period in which you can try out their program. This is an excellent way of finding out if a program suits you and will help you pinpoint the features that you want or need and those you can do without. I would certainly recommend doing this to anyone who has not used any family tree software before. Just be sure you don't spend loads of time inputting all your genealogy findings before deciding!

You could also ask around for recommendations. If, for example, you choose a program that a member of your family history group recommends, you might find that person is happy to offer some guidance if you get stuck.

Be cautious with free family tree software

Print magazines often have cds attached to their covers and these nearly always contain some kind of free genealogy software. This is usually a perfectly legitimate way of letting genealogists try out certain features of programs in the hope that they will subsequently upgrade to the full or latest version of the package.

But exercise some caution. There's no such thing as a free lunch and some of these genealogy freeware programs may run spyware ie they record your activities on your computer, or damage your computer (and you'll have no claim against the supplier).

Another thing to watch out for with free or 'demo' programs is that they are often time limited. Be certain this isn't the case before you spend loads of time inputting all your genealogy findings.

Whether you choose family tree software or paper -- you need to be organised when tracing family trees.

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