Family Tree Legends Version 5

Family Tree Legends is a powerful Windows genealogy program produced by Pearl Street Software. While the program is noted for its power, it also features ease of use. In addition, it contains an excellent online matching system that compares the genealogy data you enter into your own database with millions of records stored on Pearl Street Software's servers. Finally, it has the best automated backup system I have ever seen in a genealogy program. Backups are made constantly without user intervention.

Pearl Street Software has just announced the release of a major update to Family Tree Legends (FTL). Version 5 is available now and adds a number of new features. I have reviewed previous versions of this program in the past and have been very impressed with its power and ease of use. This week I used the newest version and am now even more impressed. Pearl Street Software has made a first-class program even better.

Family Tree Legends is now available in three versions:

"    Standard Edition - $29.95 (regularly $49.95)

"    Deluxe Edition - $49.95 (regularly $69.95) includes everything in the Standard Edition plus:

o    Adds the capability to copy your genealogy to a handheld computer. Family Tree Legends version 5 Deluxe Edition includes versions of both GedStar for Palm handheld devices and Pocket Genealogist for the Pocket PC devices.
o    6-month subscription to Family Tree Magazine.
o    1-year subscription to the FTL Records Collection - More than 400 million records, including the most powerful Social Security Death Index, over 1000 books, and exclusive vital records databases.

"    Premium Edition - $79.95 (regularly $99.95) includes everything in the Standard Edition plus:

o    Free upgrades to Family Tree Legends for a full year.
o    Priority Support - Support questions answered the same business day.
o    Priority Updates - Receive new features before they are released to other users. As they are developed, you will receive several features from the next version of FTL entirely for free.
o    Priority File Handling - SmartMatches are re-calculated every day to make sure that the individuals you've just added get SmartMatches as soon as possible.
o    1-year subscription to Family Tree Magazine (a $22 value!).
o    1-year subscription to the FTL Records Collection - More than 400 million records, including the most powerful Social Security Death Index, over 1000 books, and exclusive vital records databases.
o    Adds the capability to copy your genealogy to a handheld computer. Family Tree Legends version 5 Premium Edition includes versions of both GedStar for Palm handheld devices and Pocket Genealogist for the Pocket PC devices.

Owners of Family Tree Legends version 4 may upgrade to version 5 Standard Edition for $19.95. All prices are in U.S. dollars.

When buying the version of choice directly from the program's web site via a safe and secure shopping cart system, purchasers have the option of either downloading the program online immediately or having it shipped on a CD-ROM disk via standard mail. Shipment on CD costs an extra $5.00 to cover the added production and shipping costs.

This week I used the Standard Edition of Family Tree Legends version 5.

Upon first launching the program, I didn't notice any changes from the previous version. The main screen looked the same as before with the intuitive user interface. Anyone who has used earlier versions of Family Tree Legends will immediately feel "at home" with version 5. However, as I started looking at the various menus, I noticed a number of new additions.

Family Tree Legends is aimed at all levels of genealogists. It can handle the needs of demanding, experienced genealogists; yet, its user interface and liberal use of icons results in one of the easiest to use genealogy programs I have seen. Even inexperienced computer users can get up to speed with this program rather easily. Family Tree Legends, also commonly called "FTL," seems to be always intuitive.

Anyone who is familiar with a number of different genealogy programs will soon realize that Family Tree Legends is designed to be a direct competitor to Family Tree Maker, another popular genealogy program. Family Tree Legends has screens that look somewhat like those that have been used in past versions of Family Tree Maker. However, Family Tree Maker 2005 and the later 2006 version changed those screens, much to the chagrin of many experienced users of the program. As a result, several people have pointed out that Family Tree Legends' user interface looks more like the traditional Family Tree Maker interface than do the later versions of Family Tree Maker! However, Family Tree Legends' source citations database, automated backups, and automated online database matching system are all superior to its competitor.

One can expect that any genealogy program will record data, retrieve it, and produce reports. Family Tree Legends is no exception; it does all that very nicely. However, the program also has numerous features that are not found in most other genealogy programs. For one thing, FTL has a tightly integrated online capability that constantly makes backups. To be sure, other programs will make backups, either manually or automatically. A couple of genealogy programs will even make backups online. However, I have never seen another genealogy program that creates backups as painlessly as does Family Tree Legends. The program has the capability to produce and constantly update a backup copy of your database, automatically storing it on Pearl Street Software's servers. If connected to the Internet via an always-on broadband connection, the automated backups are made constantly as you add new data. If connecting via dial-up, the updated data is "batched;" that is, data is written to a file on the local hard drive and stored there until an Internet connection is made at a later time. Once connected, the data is then sent to Pearl Street Software's servers, all without user intervention. (You can disable the automatic backups, if you wish.)

If you ever lose all or part of your database due to hardware problems or human error, you can easily retrieve a full backup copy at any time. This same process will also work if you purchase a new computer: install the latest version of Family Tree Legends, and then begin an Internet connection. Your entire genealogy database will be retrieved from Pearl Street Software's servers and made available to you on the new computer within minutes. You do not need to copy data from your old computer to the new one. Pearl Street Software will handle that for you. All of this is done at no extra cost to the user; automated backups and rental of the required file space is included in Family Tree Legends' basic price.

All backup copies are encrypted with a 128-bit encryption key before being sent across the Internet and saved on Pearl Street Software's servers. Backups are visible to you alone unless you specify otherwise.

The automated storage of your genealogy data on centralized servers opens other possibilities as well. If you so choose, Pearl Street Software will display your data as Web pages. In other words, you can automatically publish your data on the Web as your personal home page. You don't even need to upload a separate copy since the data was already transferred as a backup copy during the data entry process. Pearl Street Software's servers can use your backup data to create Web pages for you and will even automatically update the pages if you add more data in the future. If you make a minor change to your database, such as adding one person or correcting a single date, your changes are reflected on your personal Web page for everyone to see shortly thereafter.
Again, the publishing of data on the Web is optional. The user can specify to never publish the data. Should he or she decide to publish, the user also can specify several different levels of privatization: show data about living individuals or not, show names but not places or dates, and so forth.

Family Tree Legends also has the capability to backup data to a floppy disk. Version 5 adds the capability to backup data to writeable or re-writeable CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disks.

I also noticed another new option: Create a Shareable CD-ROM disk. This new feature allows you to create a fully-working version of Family Tree Legends on a CD or DVD disk. Scrapbook items may be included or not, at the user's discretion. The process is simple as Family Tree Legends handles the process with minimal manual intervention.

The shareable CD-ROM contains all your data in read-only mode. Even copying the CD to a regular hard disk leaves the data in read-only mode. The software contained on the shareable CD is incapable of writing. The recipient can read all the data, display it on-screen in several formats, and even print reports.

You can legally give this shareable disk to others. The software license from Pearl Street Software allows the program owner to give the shareable CD-ROM disks away, free of charge. The recipient simply inserts the CD or DVD disk into a Windows computer and runs it. No software installation is required.

While writing this article in one window, I had Family Tree Legends running in a second window. I switched to the second window, told Family Tree Legends to make a shareable CD-ROM, and then I switched back to the first window to continue writing about other features. A few minutes later, the CD was finished. I removed it and inserted it into my Windows XP laptop computer that does not have Family Tree Legends installed. The new CD automatically started up and displayed its first menu. I was then able to move around the complete database as I wished. I could look at scrapbook items, listen to the scrapbook's audio files, and print all the reports. In short, this is a great way to share your data with others who use Windows.

I think the shareable CD-ROM feature is going to be VERY popular. I suspect that some people will purchase Family Tree Legends just for this one feature. Regardless of what genealogy program you use as your primary program, you can import your existing genealogy database into Family Tree Legends via a GEDCOM file or directly from a Family Tree Maker database, then create a shareable CD to give to others.

Version 5 of Family Tree Legends contains another feature that I suspect will be very popular: a handheld computer interface. Palm and PocketPC computers are exploding in popularity. I see these things everywhere. Now it is no longer necessary to print out reams of paper before visiting a genealogy library or other repository of records. You can carry all that information in a tiny pocket computer that weighs only a few ounces. While laptop PCs have been popular amongst genealogists for some time because of their portability, you can now transfer your data to even smaller and more convenient devices.

Family Tree Legends version 5 includes slightly limited versions of GedStar Pro for Palm handhelds and of Pocket Genealogist for PocketPC handhelds. Both of the handheld computer applications included with Family Tree Legends are slightly limited "trial versions" of the programs, but with nag-free screens. You can copy your data directly from Family Tree Legends to a Palm or PocketPC handheld computer, slip that handheld into a pocket or purse, and then have all your genealogy data with you at all times.

The best part of Family Tree Legends, however, may be its SmartMatching technology. This isn't new as SmartMatching has always been an integral part of Family Tree Legends. The program compares data in its local database with millions of records stored on GenCircles' web servers and displays listings for those individuals who exist both in your database and on GenCircles' servers. If you click on an individual in your local database, Family Tree Legends queries the GenCircles web site and returns all the details of potential matches from the SmartMatches to the Selected Individual field. The SmartMatches by Individual window allows you to view potential matches from other genealogical sources posted on the GenCircles web site.

To decide whether or not to merge an individual into your file, you can do either of the following:
"    Double click on the individual, or
"    Select the individual and click the Merge Individuals button.

Both of these methods will bring up the Compare Individuals window. At this point, the user has several options. One is to do nothing. Another is to automatically accept all data about this individual from GenCircles and add the information to your local database. I wouldn't recommend that until you have verified the accuracy of the new information. A more prudent option, you can also choose what GenCircles information you want to add to your database.

The merge process also contains several options for merging source citations. I would suggest that you select the option to copy all source citations from the GenCircles.com database along with the words, "via GenCircles," to each of those citations. This makes it easy to identify and verify those citations later. (I never believe anyone else's citations; I always want to verify them for myself.)

Family Tree Legends seems to do a better job of finding people than most of the other online databases. It really shines when searching for common surnames. Other online databases search for names, and most of them will also try to identify the years. However, it is common to search online for John Smith in Arkansas in 1840 and then find men of the same name 40 or 50 years later in Oregon, Alaska, or Massachusetts. Sure, they might be the same person, but how do you pick out the right one from the hundreds of records displayed on the screen?

FTL's SmartMatching does not display hundreds of hits for one person. Instead, it shows one occurrence of the name and then has links to sources of the information. These links are sorted in a manner defined by supporting evidence in other records. Family Tree Legends "votes" on matching records. First, it finds matching bits of information in other records. For instance, it may find a name and birth date in your database and then look for matching records. Some of those records may have the same name and birth date, as well as a death date that you do not know. It is assumed that these new records match. Then these newly-found records are compared against the entire database. Now, perhaps a person with the same name and the same death date is found in still more records that also show the names of parents. Again, this data is a match, even though it contains still more data not found in your database. This is a form of intelligent linking. The search algorithms also handle conflicting data by two methods: (1.) by voting to see if there are additional records that corroborate the data, and (2.) by showing both of the conflicting items to the user for his or her decision. In the case of conflicting data, the user may choose to ignore the new data, replace the old data with the new data, or else add the new data as a secondary record that is subservient to the older data. That last option is a good method of recording "possibilities" that need further investigation.
Users of previous versions of Family Tree Legends will note that version 5 also adds:

"    Ancestor and Descendant Fan charts with 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 pie styles.

"    Improved Scrapbook Printing - More options, easier to use, and better than ever.

"    Correspondence Tracker - Track all your correspondence with other researchers in one convenient manager. Manage all of your contacts as well with easy links to emailing and more.

"    Named Custom Reports - You can add as many custom reports to the actual Reports menu as you'd like. There's never been more control over what reports matter most to you.

"    Full Record ID Support - Now you can choose to see Record ID's throughout the program. This is the greatest way to tell the difference between those two John Smiths.

"    Improved Scrapbook Printing - More options, easier to use, and better than ever.

All in all, I am delighted with Family Tree Legends version 5. The program maintains its power, ease of use, and excellent SmartMatching technology. The latest version adds the capability to create shareable CD-ROM disks and also adds tight integration with handheld computers. Several other, smaller improvements have also been added. Family Tree Legends is firmly established in the mainstream of top-notch genealogy programs.

Family Tree Legends version 5 requires:
"    Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, or XP operating system
"    166 MHz processor or faster
"    30 megabytes or more of disk space
"    32 megabytes or more of RAM memory

Most Windows computers sold in the past 5 years meet these requirements.

To read more about Family Tree Legends 5 or to order the program via a safe and secure online shopping cart system, go to http://www.familytreelegends.com. I would especially recommend that you take the "Guided Tour" that is available on that page.

Comments

[Kathy Wilson]

Dick, The only genealogy program I have used is Family Tree Maker. It was the only one I know about at the time of my purchase. I like hearing about the new feature of FTL... the shareable CD-Rom feature. That's better than printing up a book to share with family members. Now for the FTL Records Collection. I signed up for that when it was $19.95. That was over a year ago. They have not added anything new to the Bith, Marriage, Death, & other database since the begining. I called them a few months ago about something else and mentioned that. Their response was that it was taking longer than what they thought it would. They offered to refund my money but I declined their offer since my year soon would be up. I won't renew. A lot of the databases in the above categories are free online.

[Trish]

I use FTL and love it. You have reviewed it thoughtfully and presented it well. I'm excited about the shareable CD/DVD idea. I'll definitely check into upgrading!

[andee]

It is frustrating to me that FTL does not offer a telephone support service. If you have a problem, you cannot talk to anyone personally. I am unable to get email responses from their support service (somehow they are not coming through my spam control).
Also, no printed manual is a problem. The online manual is inaccurate in many places.

[P.H.Thomas]

Interesting article on FTL5. Could you do a similar review of the latest The Master Genealogist? If you have done one already, I must have missed it.
Thank you.

[Chris]

I find it interesting that you give such a glowing review to Family Tree Legends 5.0, and the very next day inform us that "This week's newsletter is sponsored by Pearl Street Software", the makers of that very software program.

Shouldn't you have recused yourself from that review due to an obvious conflict of interest?

[Dick Eastman]

Thanks for the comment. Indeed, perhaps I should clarify that so I will do so now:

I review all sorts of genealogy software, including products from sponsors of this newsletter and from non-sponsors. I say good things or bad things about products without regard to their being a sponsor or not. I have already lost one past sponsor because of a less than glowing review that I wrote about the company's product. I am willing to lose another.

In this case, I like the product. If the company was not a sponsor, I would write exactly the same report.

Thanks.
- Dick Eastman

[Dick Eastman]

A review of The Master Genealogist is in the works.

[Dino (All Dino, All the Time)]

Dick,

We don't always see eye to eye on everything, but I've found that your software reviews are pretty much in line with my experiences. Anyone with advertisers always runs the risk of being perceived as having conflicts of interest. As long as you report the bad along with the good, I don't have a problem with your reviews. I'd actually like to see more of them, but I know how hard and time-consuming it is to give a piece of software a thorough test drive.

[Cliff Shaw]

I am the President of Pearl Street Software, maker of Family Tree Legends. I wanted to comment on Chris's post. I have always known Dick to have the highest ethical standards when it comes to his reviews. He's always knocked us where we were weak in previous reviews (and we've been an advertiser with him for a LONG time). Realize that this advertising / editorial situation goes on EVERYWHERE, in and out of genealogy. Only the most ethical survive and are trusted by their readers. Dick's been writing his newsletter for so long that he doesn't need advertisers to be a success: He already is one. He doesn't fear losing our advertising. The second I told him we were doing that, another advertiser would immediately fill its space. In fact, I know of at least one advertiser that didn't get a favorable review by him.

Chris, it's honestly not "interesting" that Dick wrote us a "glowing review". He did that because I have dedicated my life for the past 3 years to win Family Tree Legends his and everyone else's respect. I go back to him constantly and ask how I can improve our product. I ask him what he thinks genealogists need and where Family Tree Legends needs to be better. And most of all: I listen.

Cliff Shaw
President & CEO
Pearl Street Software

[David Crowley]

Dear Dick,
I purchased Family Tree Legends based on your recommendation. I am not happy with it. It seems to take forever to create pedigree/descendant trees. My big gripe is that I told the program that I did not want my data to be posted to the internet, but it did this anyway when I asked to look for info on the internet.
Best regards, Dave

[Sheri Burk]

I have been using Family Tree Legends for over two years now and the few times I've had to wirte in for help I received an answer via email personally by Cliff Shaw. I am very pleased with the program.

[Dick Eastman]

Dave: Two things:

1. The capability to post your data on the Internet is OPTIONAL: it is always under your control. You can turn that on or off as you prefer. When I tested the software and wrote my review, I specified to NOT publish my data to be visible to others. I later checked: my data is not visible.

2. Did you contact the company's technical support department? They have a good reputation for helping their customers.

[Sad n'Angry]

Looks like Gencircles and Family Tree legends has died.

For several days last the web site was offline. Could not see my file and no access was available to the forum for any help.

I guess the sale of the company is not going well!!!!

[Sad n'Angry]

GenCircles and FTL problems have gotten worse!
I thought that last months performance was bad but it has gotten worse. The normal web functions are failing even though they sent an email saying they installed a new server. There is absolutely no response from support.
They will never sell the company with this approach.

[The Moravian]

I too am having a problem with Family Tree Legends and their support is non-existant. They don't have a telephone number to call. When I reported a smartmatching problem to their customer support address, the response that I got was "it took my own site several days to smartmatch". The product I purchased promised priority smartmatching. Some priority! I don't know what priority would mean.

It appears that this company is just a money collecting machine as they have no customer support, no way to reach them via phone, and their mailing address appears to just be a drop box.

The Moravian

[Joan Smith]

Where in their information both on the box and at the web-site does it state: 'Family Tree Legends version 5 includes 'SLIGHTLY LIMITED VERSIONS' of GedStar Pro for Palm handhelds and of Pocket Genealogist for PocketPC handhelds. Both of the handheld computer applications included with Family Tree Legends are slightly limited "TRIAL VERSIONS" of the programs, but with nag-free screens'. I have recently purchased Family Tree Legends 5.0 Deluxe for the sole purpose of transferring the data to a pocket or palm device - which I have not purchased yet.

[Sad n'Angry]

Anybody heard anything about the sale yet? I can't wait for some one to buy it and get everything working again.....

[Beverly Gilmore]

I think/hope not already asked this on this site last night, but was late. My granddaughter and I share a FTL and I tried to make a backup disk to send to her, and after a few times of going back into the FTL, it would no longer let me in, came up with an error 126 message. Tried to find a place on line to download or fix problem, O-zilch. Any help, grandaughter in N. B.C. has the disk. Will re-installation of disk fix problem. She is not having problem, but am afraid to send her the CD now. ANY HELP would be appreciated. I think from reading the above, that my purchase of the Deluxe or Premium Edition upgrade would be good for us, as I travel and am on the road ALL the time.

[Norma]

I'm having the same problem as Beverly - error 126, and locked out of the program. To say that I'm ticked off is putting it mildly. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling, but keep receiving the same error. By the way, I'm running version 5, the new upgrade, and have been using the program for several years.

[Paul]

In most cases, this type of application behavior is demonstrated when Family Tree Legends has been damaged. In order to remedy this problem, you will need to completely uninstall the software (using the specific directions provided below), and then reinstall the latest version of Family Tree Legends directly from our web site.

You can uninstall the program by navigating to START > SETTINGS / CONTROL PANEL. In the Control Panel, double-click on the ADD / REMOVEPROGRAMS icon. This interface will show a list of the applications installed on the system (Family Tree Legends should be included). To remove a program, highlight it (click it once), then click the ADD/REMOVE button.

*** IMPORTANT!
Next, you will need to use Windows Explorer (Not Internet Explorer) to navigate to the directory where you saved Family Tree Legends (by default this is C:/Program Files/Family Tree Legends, unless you designated otherwise during installation). Find the folder titled "Family Tree Legends", and delete it (make sure your family files are not stored in this folder). If you do not delete this folder, reinstallation may fail. Lastly, you must restart computer before re-installing the program.

You can download the full retail version of your purchased program from the Family Tree Legends web site by providing your serial number:

http://www.familytreelegends.com/downloads/pickup/

fter you have reinstalled Family Tree Legends, you can open the program and restore any files that you have chosen to backup by choosing FILE > ONLINE RESTORE FAMILY FILE

[Laura]

Paul:
Thank you for attempting to help. Unfortunately your advice does not work. The URL you supplied leads nowhere. When I place a .html after that URL, I go to the download page for the free version. I tried installing that version, as well as my original install file, but continue to receive the error message. I would hazard a guess and say that there's a damaged registry entry from the original installation that does not uninstall with the rest of the program.

[jorge krzysik]

I have old version of Family legends (2).My old computer crashed and I amtrying to reinstall the CD, on the new one but program asks for serial #. I have no idea where it may be or even the exact date I purchased it.

[Penny]

I received the Family Tree Legends Deluxe 5 software with my computer and have tried to install it several times, with no success. Is there an update I should have? Thank you for your help.

[Kaido]

Using Windows Vista SP1
got to this error
if error 126 or error 127
uninstall Family Tree Legends
remove all entris of Family tree legends from registry using regedit
install Family Tree Legends
run

MyHeritage can import your .ftl for converting to GEDCOM if needed.

Works for me.

[Pieta]

I have been using Family Tree Legends for a number of years and love it, and I have used a numbe of versions. Because I have minor problems from time to time I have tried other programs but to my mind none gives me as much as FTL. Even the Master Genealogist doesn't seem to allow you to define the number of generations to include in each report( I could be wrong) and that program is much more complicated to use.

I am not however a happy chappy. There is no real support for the program and I really don't know what to do next. Originally I was using the program through Linux but the programm automatically closed every time I pressed the space bar when I was entering information that differed from the auto text suggestion.

I have therefore gone to the trouble of completely changing my operating systems to windows just so that I can use Family Tree Legends without problem. My problem is not solved however, or rather I just now have new problems.

Now I can't export charts to a single page (apart from in .pdf format). Even if the charts will fit on one page on my screen, when exported they don't show all of the chart which was on my original screen.

I have the FTL software still on my old computer with linux and the chart export function works fine there. There must be a problem with my setup but I don't know what.

My other problem is smart matching. It used to work for me but now doesn't and of course it is not a problem with the operating system. I have reloaded ged files, updated my preferences etc all to no avail.

As far as I am concerned I love FTL but just wish I could get it working better. The upgrades which I think would improve it even more relate to publishing eg better ability to change page layout etc in charts ie reduce margin size etc; and the book making facility is really just not well done. There hould also be an ability to say what you want in a report eg the first time someone is listed, just list their children's names, ie so reports aren't so repetitive.

While I originally purchased FTL, it is now free to download (version 5) but I note you can buy FTL v6 delux for about $9.95. Does anyone know the difference and do you think this will help. Is it that Pearl Software no longer exists and another sofware company has taken over. I really don't understand why version 6 delux is not listed on teh official website.

By the way I have only just installed FTL but have also removed, reinstalled repaired etc to no avail. I am using Windows Vista.

I really hope someone can help me. I am now at a point where I want to publish all of the work I have done but can't.

Oh, and another gremlin I have is that when I want to add a new spouse for one particular man, I can't because it makes the new spouse a man and makes my man into a woman (but keeps him as a man with his existing spouse). I have tried numerous ways to fix this over several days to no avail. I would love it if I could have access to the 'back end' of my database so that I can see any gremlins that might be there, or if I could pay someone to fix it for me.

Alternatively, if somone knows a better genealogy program that has good publishing features, maybe I will need to convert.

Cheers. Pieta