Family Tree Maker 2009

Family Tree Maker One of many Genealogy programs available Allows you to record your family history information electronically Makes it much easier to keep track of everyone once you get more than a handful of people in your file Makes it simple to share your information with others

Why Family Tree Maker? Has been around a long time Has gone through many upgrades Has had good reviews Is widely used Latest revision in 2009 was a radical re-vamping of the user interface

Price & Availability Available from Best Buy and Staples Available on-line at prices ranging from $70 to $48.48

Main Screen

Main Components

The Index list

Whenever you add someone to your file, they get sorted into the Index automatically. This helps identify possible duplicates immediately.

The Index list

The Pedigree pane

The Family pane

The Personal Info pane

The Really Personal Info pane

The Places window

The Media window

The Sources window

The Publish window

The Web Search window

The Plan window

Conclusion The 2009/2010 version of FTM is way better than the previous interface, although for those familiar with the older version it is not an easy transition. My advice: persevere. It will be worth the effort.