Coming to Arizona Next Week!

Michael Booth

With the holidays behind us, it’s time to get back to work.  And part of that is getting out there and meeting with our users face-to-face.  Since we’re surrounded by snow, ice, and fog, we might as well meet our users someplace warm, right?  So this coming week, we’ll be coming to sunny Arizona!

Thursday – Phoenix Family History Center

Our first stop is at the Phoenix Family History Center.  They have graciously offered to host Bruce Buzbee, author of RootsMagic, for a demonstration of RootsMagic 4, its features, and how it interfaces with new FamilySearch.  The demonstration is free to the public.

Friday – Saturday, Arizona Family History Expo

Mesa-2010-WebHeader

Come join us at the Arizona Family History Expo on January 22-23, 2010 at the Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center Street, Mesa, Arizona.   Visit our booth, attend our classes, or take away one of our over $1,000 worth of prizes!

Free Exhibit Hall!

Visit us at the RootsMagic booth in the Expo’s exhibit hall and experts will be on hand to answer questions about the RootsMagic software.  Don’t miss special conference discounts on various RootsMagic products. The Exhibit Hall also features family history vendors from across the world. The Exhibit Hall is free to the public and is open:

  • Friday, January 22: 9 am – 6 pm
  • Saturday, August 29: 9 am – 5:30 pm

Free RootsMagic Classes!

Come learn about the new features in RootsMagic 4 ( including our award-winning integration with New FamilySearch) in 2 free classes.  That’s right, these classes are FREE to anyone (but you do have to come pick up a ticket from our booth to attend).

  • What’s New in RootsMagic 4 – Friday 3:00 pm, Robson Room
  • New FamilySearch Made Easy with RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 9:30 am, Robson Room

We are also teaching a couple of other classes as well:

  • Mapping Your Family History with Family Atlas – Friday 4:30 pm, Robson Room
  • Personal Historian: Bringing Life to Your Life Stories – Saturday 2:30 pm, Robson Room

Free Exhibit Hall Mini-Classes!

We’re trying something different at this expo and teaching free RootsMagic mini-classes in the exhibit hall.  These mini-classes will be about 15 minutes long and will be held at our booth during the break between the regular classes.

  • Getting Started with RootsMagic 4 – Friday 9:10 am, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • New FamilySearch Overview – Friday 9:30 am, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Fun RootsMagic Tools – Friday 11:05 am, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Creating a Shareable CD – Friday 12:35 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Mapping and Geocoding in RootsMagic 4 – Friday 1:00 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Entering Evidence Explained Sources – Friday 2:35 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Reports, Reports, Reports – Friday 4:05 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Data Clean-Up in RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 9:10 am, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Creating Wall Charts in RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 10:35 am, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Running RootsMagic from a Flash Drive – Saturday 12:05 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Publishing a Book with RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 12:30 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Using RootsMagic’s Research Tools – Saturday 2:05 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth
  • Creating a Custom Report – Saturday 3:35 pm, RootsMagic Exhibitor Booth

Fun Prizes!

And to help show off some of the great features in RootsMagic 4, we’re going to give away these great prizes in each of our free RootsMagic classes.

  1. Two 4GB flash drives pre-installed with RootsMagic 4.  That’s right, RootsMagic 4 will run directly off a flash drive.  And with the included RootsMagic To-Go program you can easily transfer your data back and forth between your desktop computer and your flash drive as well.
  2. Two $25 gift certificates from Generation Maps.  Generation Maps makes it easy to print those large wall charts you’ve created in RootsMagic 4.
  3. Plus a bunch of stuff just for fun: RootsMagic tote bags, badge holders, genealogy ties, and more!

Other Classes!

Over 100 other classes will be presented by industry leaders and experts from the local and national genealogical community.  Products and services from genealogy companies will also be showcased in an exhibit hall where you can meet with specialists for free personal consultations on research questions or problems.

If you wish to attend the other classes, registration is just $75.00 for both days or $40.00 for a single day.  Individuals who want to attend only one or two classes and visit the Exhibit Hall can register for single classes at $12.00 each.

Expo details and the class schedule are available online at: www.FHExpos.com.

RootsMagic sponsors “The Generations Project” TV series, premiering tonight

Michael Booth 12 Comments

We at RootsMagic are pleased to sponsor The Generations Project, a new television series that explores the extraordinary family histories of ordinary people.  Have you ever wondered why you’re such a great musician? Where you get your love of politics? Why you’re so independent? The answer just might be found in the lives of your ancestors.

The Generations Project is a new reality series that helps those who have questions about their family history investigate their own identities by walking in the shoes of their ancestors. As they undertake these journeys, they often uncover the hidden identities in family pasts, and come to see that in many cases the best way to know who you are is to know who you came from.

The series will premiere on Monday, January 4, 2010 at 6:00pm MST on BYU Television with repeats shown throughout the week.  New episodes will air every Monday.  BYU Television is available on Dish Network channel 9403, DirecTV channel 374, many local cable systems, or online.

New Year’s Resolutions for 2010

Bruce Buzbee 7 Comments

RM-2010-Resolutions

Welcome to 2010!  Now that 2009 is in the past, and in the spirit of the new year, we’d like to present our resolutions for 2010.  While losing 20 pounds would be great for us personally, as a company our goals are a little different.

RootsMagic Updates

RootsMagic 4 Insider

When we spent over three years in rewriting RootsMagic 4, we did so with an eye on the future and emerging technologies.  Just as we broke new ground with our Shareable CD’s in version 3 and RootsMagic To-Go in version 4, we’re working on new and unique features to make researching and sharing your family history even easier.  In 2010, watch for regular updates to your software with improvements, fixes, and new features.

One much-requested feature that we’ve already been working on is making RootsMagic available in other languages.  Since RootsMagic 4 is a unicode application (computer jargon for supporting all international character sets), it is able to be translated into any language including Russian, Japanese, and Chinese in addition to western-alphabet languages such as Spanish, German, and Portuguese.  If you’re interested in seeing RootsMagic translated into your native tongue or would like to help with the actual translations, please contact us.

Personal Historian 2

Personal Historian

It’s been a long-time coming but we’re excited to be finishing up the next version of Personal Historian, our software which helps you write and organize personal histories and biographies.  Much of the development work that went into RootsMagic 4 is being transplanted into Personal Historian, giving it improved writing and publishing capabilities, better media management, and an even easier-to-use interface.  Look for previews and announcements in this blog in the coming months.

More Website Improvements

Just as the rewrite of RootsMagic set the stage for many new and exciting features in our software, the redesign of our website in 2009 has set the stage for new methods of interacting with our users via the internet.  Watch for more tutorials and support options coming to our website later this year.

More Awards

Just when we thought we had wrapped up our 2009 Year in Review and the awards we’ve received, one more sneaks in at the last minute.  This one came from the GenSoftReviews website, where people can rate and review their favorite genealogy software products.  We are honored to receive the “Best Liked Genealogy Software 2009” award.  RootsMagic finished 2009 with the highest rating of all genealogy software programs with an average of 4.95 out of 5 stars!

award2009_rootsmagic

Thank You!

Of course, these resolutions are not a comprehensive list of our plans and goals for 2010.  There are many other projects which are in development in our secret underground laboratories which we’ll talk about when the time is right.  In the meantime, thank you again for your support.  We try very hard to listen to your problems, questions, and suggestions.  If there is something that you’d like to see us do, please contact us and let us know.  Happy New Year and may you have lots of success in 2010 (both genealogically and otherwise)!

Year in Review

Bruce Buzbee 12 Comments

RM-2009-Year-In-Review

Well, 2009 has been a busy year for us.  It’s gone by very quickly and we thought it would be fun to review all that has happened in the last 12 months.  If you’re not one to dwell on the past, check back tomorrow as we present our 2010 New Years’ Resolutions with a peek at our plans for the coming year.  But until then, “Sherman, set the Wayback Machine to 2009!”

RootsMagic 4

RootsMagic 4 Insider

The biggest event by far this year was the release of RootsMagic 4.  Over three years in the making, RootsMagic 4 was a complete rewrite from it’s predecessor, introduced many new and exciting features, and paved the way for incredible new features in the future.   After working insanely long hours for months on end, it was apparent that we weren’t going to make our original goal of releasing version 4 in late 2008.  After a community preview in January with 2,000 of our own users testing it, we did something we had never done before and invited the public to preview RootsMagic 4 before it was released.  With the terrific feedback and suggestions we received, we were able to officially release RootsMagic 4 on March 25, 2009.  Our users were thrilled with the new features, we were thrilled to get some sleep again, and our families were thrilled to have us back.

Growth

We feel very fortunate that in these days of economic uncertainty, not only have we been able to stay in business, but we’ve been able to grow as a company.  To keep up with this growth, we’ve hired additional sales and support staff.  We recognize that this growth is only possible because of your support and eagerness to tell your friends and family members about us.  Thank you!

We Get Around

In 2009, we traveled more miles, taught more classes, and attended more conferences than we ever have before.  In fact, there was one weekend where we were present at four different events in four different states at the same time!  Thank you to all the societies, user groups, family history centers, and companies that organized these events.  And thank you to all of you who came to see us!  By far, the most rewarding aspect of these events is the chance to meet our users face-to-face, answer your questions, and receive your suggestions.

Website Facelift

RMWebsite

After almost 7 years with the same basic design and layout, our website was starting to show its age.  We’ve been meaning to update it for several years now, but something has always gotten in the way (cough.. Version 4…cough).  We finally bit the bullet and did it and on November 18, our new website was launched.  It’s not perfect but it’s much better organized and, from what you’ve told us, easier to find what you’re looking for.

RootsMagic Essentials

RootsMagic Essentials

2009 brought another first for us.  Many of you have told us about friends or family members that would like to dip their toes in the world of genealogy but weren’t ready for software as comprehensive as RootsMagic.  In answer to these requests, on November 18, we released our first completely free genealogy software, “RootsMagic Essentials“.  RootsMagic Essentials contains many core features found in its namesake but at a much friendlier price- free.  Since then, thousands of people have downloaded RootsMagic Essentials and have started tracing their family tree.

Awards

We’ve been honored with several awards this year including:

RMFSAward

2009 FamilySearch Software Awards
Best Dashboard and Easiest to Sync

ThinkGenealogy Innovator Award

ThinkGenealogy Innovator Award
July 2009

GeneAward 2009

GeneAwards 2009
Best Genealogy Product of 2009
Most Improved Product of 2009

Thank You!

We know this sounds clichéd, but none of this would have been possible without you and your support.  2009 has been a big year for us and, rest assured, we’re working hard to make 2010 even better!

RootsMagic Releases Free Genealogy and Family Tree Software

Michael Booth 30 Comments

RootsMagic Essentials

“RootsMagic Essentials” Brings Free Tools for Family History

SPRINGVILLE, Utah. — November 18, 2009 — RootsMagic, Inc. announced the immediate availability of RootsMagic Essentials, free desktop genealogy software based on their award-winning RootsMagic 4 system.  RootsMagic Essentials contains many core features found in its namesake that allow the public to easily start tracing their family trees.

Essential Features for Everyone

“Many of our users have told us that they have friends and family members who are interested in getting started in family history but aren’t ready to invest in a more comprehensive package like RootsMagic,” said Bruce Buzbee, president.  “RootsMagic Essentials gives them the features they need to start researching and recording their family tree at a price that can’t be beat—free!”

RootsMagic Essentials Screen

RootsMagic Essentials shares many of the same features with the full RootsMagic software including clean and friendly screens, the ability to add an unlimited number of people and events, pictures and media management, the SourceWizard to write your source citations for you, powerful merging and clean-up tools, dozens of reports and charts, support for international character sets, FamilySearch integration, and the ability to share data with other people and software programs.  The full version of RootsMagic is available for purchase and includes features not available in RootsMagic Essentials.

Free and Available Now

RootsMagic Essentials is available now for free at http://www.rootsmagic.com.  Users of other genealogy software products will find it easy to experiment with RootsMagic Essentials using their own data.  RootsMagic Essentials can directly import data from PAF, Family Tree Maker (through 2006), Family Origins, and Legacy Family Tree.  It can also read and write data using the popular GEDCOM format.

“We’re excited to make RootsMagic Essentials available to the community,” said Michael Booth, vice-president.  “Our mission is to provide ‘software to unite families’ and our hope is that RootsMagic Essentials will encourage more people to record their family trees and connect with their family histories”.

About RootsMagic, Inc.

For over 20 years, RootsMagic, Inc. has been creating computer software with a special purpose—to unite families.  One of our earliest products- the popular “Family Origins” software, introduced thousands of people to the joy and excitement of family history.

That tradition continues today with “RootsMagic”, our award-winning genealogy software which makes researching, organizing, and sharing your family history fun and easy.  “Personal Historian” will help you easily write and preserve your life stories.  “Family Reunion Organizer” takes the headaches out of planning those important get-togethers.  And “Family Atlas” creates beautiful and educational geographic maps of your family history.

For more information, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com.

Source: RootsMagic, Inc.

RootsMagic Has a New Website!

Bruce Buzbee 13 Comments

RMWebsite

We’ve been wanting (needing?) to update our RootsMagic.com website for over 4 years, but have never been able to turn the corner on it.

Well, we finally did it.  Mike Booth (VP of Technology for RootsMagic) has put in some serious hours completely redesigning our website to make it easier to find information about RootsMagic, Personal Historian, Family Atlas and our other products.

We will be adding additional content and functionality to the website in the future, so have a visit and let us know what you think.

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.7.0)

Bruce Buzbee 8 Comments

We have just released a minor update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.7.0).

If you have the RootsMagic News screen come up when you start RootsMagic, it may have already notified you of this update.  If not, you can do “Help > Check for Updates” from the RootsMagic menu to download and install this update.

You can also download the update from http://www.rootsmagic.com/updates/rootsmagic

Here are the new, fixed, and updated items in this update:

NEW

– Added “Use standardized place” button when editing a place from the master place list
– Streamlined NFS features

FIXED

– Source list now prints all occurrences of multiple citations of the same source for the same fact
– Fixed a problem with longitude sometimes having the wrong E, W designator
– Fixed problem with non-admin, non-power users getting a “Can’t save application settings” when exiting from RM
– Importing a GEDCOM with more than 2 addresses for a person doesn’t hang anymore
– Merging doesn’t put — MERGED NOTE — when one record has a note but the other doesn’t
– Record number doesn’t print for the spouse of children in narratives anymore
– Nickname delimiter (parens vs quotes) honored in website narratives

Addendum: Version 4.0.7.1 is the current version and includes just a couple of minor tweaks / fixes.

RootsMagic Compatible with Windows 7

Michael Booth 15 Comments

With the exciting launch of Windows 7 today, we’ve had several inquiries wondering how our software works with the new operating system.  We’ve been using and testing our software with the beta version of Windows 7 for several months now and the release version of Windows 7 for the last few weeks.

We’re pleased to report that RootsMagic 4, Personal Historian, and Family Atlas all work great on both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

RootsMagic 4 on Windows 7

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.6.0)

Bruce Buzbee 29 Comments

We have just released a new update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.6.0).  This update adds several new features, plus returns several reports (such as the blank forms) which didn’t make it from v3.

If you have the RootsMagic News screen come up when you start RootsMagic, it may have already notified you of this update.  If not, you can do “Help > Check for Updates” from the RootsMagic menu to download and install this update.

You can also download the update from http://www.rootsmagic.com/download.

Here are the new, fixed, and updated items in this update:

NEW

– Added blank reports (pedigree chart, group sheet, cemetery record log, correspondence log, research log)
– Added Print button to the Count Trees screen
– Added Print button to the Relationship Calculator screen
– Added option to display birth year in side list index
– Added option to display record number in side list index
– Marriage list report can now print marriage rec# with any sort order (as an option)
– Any events which don’t fit on a printed calendar print on an overflow page at the end of the calendar
– Double clicking a fact in RM Explorer now opens the edit screen to that fact in edit mode
– Added “Edit Family” button to problem list
– Added RootsMagic Launcher to manually start RM on flash drive since Vista now disables autorun on removable drives
– Installer will warn if you try to install on a removable drive (use RM to go instead)
– Added Oquirrh Mountain temple to LDS temple list

FIXED

– Direct line children in ancestor narrative now show spouse / marriage information
– Doing “Add multiple people” when sharing a fact now assigns a default role (which can be changed for each person)
– When deleting a shared fact, RM will warn you that it will delete the fact for everyone sharing it
– Named groups side list is now updated when you change color coding for a person
– Alternate names in family group sheets now reference the correct sources
– Family sources are now printed on group sheets
– Sources now print in group sheets for LDS facts
– Replacing a “submitted” ordinance with the actual ordinance in the NFS sync screen now clears “submitted” in the RM fact
– Unlinked non-image media items now show broken link in media gallery and media albums
– Fixed the format that latitude and longitude are exported to GEDCOM
– Lat/Long and Media for place details are transferred via GEDCOM
– Mapping screen (Tools > Mapping) remembers size and position
– Fact types turned off for individual summaries aren’t printed in the summaries anymore
– The title of a text page in publisher appears in the table of contents (instead of “Text page”)
– [Husband] and [Wife] fields now work properly in narrative report sentence templates
– :Age and :Role modifiers now work for [ThisPerson] in witness sentence templates
– Helper status bar now shows on File > FamilySearch > FamilySearch Import when in helper mode
– Living flag is cleared during FO import if person has a death-like fact or over 105 years old
– Publisher can print blank pages that appear at the very front of a publisher book
– Todo report doesn’t print false repository when todo item doesn’t have a repository
– RootsMagic on flash drive (To-Go) can find place database on computers w/o RM installed
– Deleting places and place details removes media links to those items

Come See Us in California, Arizona, Idaho and Indiana

Bruce Buzbee 5 Comments

This month finds us traveling around the country for conferences and presentations.  If you live in one of these areas, please stop by and say “hi”.

OCTOBER 16-17 – REDDING CALIFORNIA (CALIFORNIA FAMILY HISTORY EXPO)

We will be in Redding, California October 16-17, 2009 as major sponsors of the California Family History Expo.  Visit our booth, attend our classes, or take away one of our over $500 worth of prizes!  The exhibit hall and our RootsMagic classes are free, but there are other great classes you can register for as well.  For more information about the California Family History Expo, visit:

http://www.fhexpos.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=52

OCTOBER 16-17 – MESA ARIZONA (MESA REGIONAL FAMILY HISTORY CENTER)

Michael Booth, VP of development for RootsMagic will be presenting two RootsMagic classes open to the public at the newly remodeled Training Center of the Mesa Regional FHC located at 464 E. 2nd Ave, in Mesa, AZ.  The first class will be Friday evening at 7:00 PM, and the second class will be at 10:00 AM Saturday morning.  Classes are free but you are asked to register by calling 480-964-1200.  For more information visit:

http://www.mesarfhc.org/new_books_publications_1.htm

OCTOBER 17 – REXBURG IDAHO (BYU IDAHO FAMILY HISTORY CONFERENCE)

This Family History Conference is sponsored by Brigham Young University – Idaho. The conference provides instruction on how to find information about your ancestors and other related topics.  Jason Mendenhall will present a class “Introduction to RootsMagic 4” which will cover the new features in version 4, including the New FamilySearch support.  More information is available at:

http://www.byui.edu/ce/familyhistory

OCTOBER 30-31 – FT. WAYNE INDIANA (INTL. BLACK GENEALOGY SUMMIT)

Then on October 30-31, 2009 we will be exhibiting at the International Black Genealogy Summit in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  For more information visit:

http://www.blackgenealogysummit.com