MacFamilyTree 9 for PC and Mac

Software Reviews and Criticism

• By Jeanne Theriault

  Who knew geneaology could be so easy and so much fun?!

  I am new to researching and creating a family tree and my relatives have had a hard time using a different app, so I thought I would try MacFamily Tree. The visuals are great and I like the chart features. I had no idea it would be this easy to start and that I could add DNA testing information too. I am going to get my family to use this platform, because it is so easy to use and so comprehensive in scope. And it is quite convenient that I can share my data with multiple family members, which will help us build our family tree(s) more efficiently. I like the CloudTree sync feature as well as the report system. I am pleased that there are so many ways to display my data. I am hooked now and want to add as much information as I can about my family and I look forward to my family helping me complete our information and including images too. I particularly like the opportunity to create family books once I have more data and images and documents uploaded. I like things to be visual, and MacFamilyTree helps me see my family and our relatives in ways that help me connect faces to names. I am enjoying adding photos to names and it will be fun to collect photos from my family members to add to our tree. I am hooked on geneaology now that I know how easy it is to start. I look forward to adding the mobile options too.

  
  
• By David Polly

  from Gramps to MacFamilyTree

  I had been using the opensource genealogy package Gramps for many years, which I loved. But I wanted to be able to access my genealogy data on my phone and wanted better support for photos, so I tried MacFamilyTree 9. I've been very happy with the switch. Transferring data via a GEDcom went smoothly. At first I thought it had not imported my sources, but they turned out to be stored correctly in a slighly unexpected place. Everything else imported as expected and works as well or better than in Gramps. The only thing I would change is that Gramps used a heirarchical geography (with places enclosed within other places) whereas MacFamilyTree does not store place heirarchies in the same way.

  
  
• By Wanttolearndutch

  The Greatest

  I have been using MacFamilyTree for a few years now. Before I used other programs that were made for Windows with some program to make it work on a Windows. They promised to make one for the Windows, but never fallowed through. Most importantly was that media had to be kept in a separate file and never moved. This program keeps media within the data base and can be seen easily. I have hundreds of digital documents in another location and move them as I wish with no problem. I can not recommend this program enough.

  
  
• By Member of “the rest of us"

  I won't be deleting Version 8 because of the fan chart.

  My first purchase of this software was Version 8. I really love it, but am happy at least to see the promise that V.9 is faster, as it needed speed improvement. Speed was the reason I kept photos and documentation in a separate location on my computer, and have considered using a different program altogether, Bookends, for source documentation. One of my favorite features of V.8 was the fan chart. It presently shows my family history going back 11-12 generations, and I found it was the easiest way to mentally comprehend the who's who of my family. All I needed to do was use the expansion bar to view any individual member. In addition, I have tracked the genealogy of Mexican wolves in a separate project, and the limitless fan chart made that easy as well. It is to my great disappointment the fan chart in V.9 only covers 4 generations of my ancestors, which I already know from memory. Since it omits all the information I can't recite from memory, the fan chart in V.0 is 100% useless, worthless bloatware.

  
  

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