We’re just one short week away from the largest genealogy event in the world: RootsTech! It’s being held Thursday, February 4 through Saturday, February 6, 2016 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve been a part of it since the beginning and this year is no exception.

Expo Hall

Don’t miss the free expo hall with the largest gathering of genealogy products and services in the country. Be sure to visit the RootsMagic booth (#635, next to the Cyber Cafe) to meet the RootsMagic staff, ask questions, and get special discounts on RootsMagic products.

Expo Hall hours (subject to change) are:

• Thursday, February 4, 2016, 10 am – 6 pm
• Friday, February 5, 2016, 10 am – 7 pm
• Saturday, February 6, 2016, 10 am – 5 pm

And while you’re there, stop off at the Cyber Cafe conveniently located right next to us and help yourself to wireless Internet access, recharging stations for electronic devices, and refreshing beverages!

RootsMagic Buttons and Prize Patrol

We always like to have a little fun at RootsTech and this year, we are excited to introduce our new RootsMagic Buttons and the return of the RootsMagic Prize Patrol.

Here’s how it works:

1. Stop by the RootsMagic booth (#635) in the Expo Hall and pick up your free RootsMagic button.
2. Wear the button someplace visible on your person.
3. Throughout the RootsTech conference, the RootsMagic Prize Patrol will be hanging out in a random spot. The first person they see wearing a RootsMagic button wins a prize!

Prizes include RootsMagic software, bags, books, flash drives, Amazon gift cards, and more! So make your first stop at RootsTech the RootsMagic booth (#635), pick up your button, and wear it with pride. You could win some pretty cool stuff!

Welcome to 2016! With the new year, we in the RootsMagic underground labs like to take a little break and reflect on all that has happened this past year. It’s been an eventful year for us full of loss and growth. Join us for this look back at what has happened in the RootsMagic world during 2015.

Loss in the RootsMagic Family

2015 started out on a sad note. Gordon Dixon Booth passed away on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. Gordon is the father of Michael Booth, our vice-president, and a valued member of the RootsMagic family. He was passionate about family history, loved talking to people about our software, and was one of our best salespersons! He also became a popular presenter at conferences teaching classes on British research, photography, and personal histories. You can learn more about Gordon and his contributions in this tribute article.

Conferences and Classes

In 2015, we attended many genealogical events. The first and the biggest was RootsTech. At RootsTech, we introduced badge ribbons and gave away prizes through our Prize Patrol.

We also attended conferences across the country where we taught classes, answered questions, and met face-to-face with fellow users.

User Groups and Magic Guides

We know that one of the reasons our loyal users love RootsMagic so much is that no other genealogy software provides the level of support and training that we do.  Over the past four years, we have pioneered the use of “webinars“, tutorial videos, and weekly tip articles.

Different people learn in different ways. We’ve had many requests for written tutorials in addition to our videos. In 2015, we’ve added free “Magic Guides” to our many sources of support. Magic Guides are free, downloadable and printable handouts that cover a variety of topics.

In 2015, we also created an online RootsMagic User Group and a Personal Historian User Group on Facebook. These groups are where you can connect with other RootsMagic users to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss how to use the software.

Since their creation, over 7000 people have joined these groups, and they have taken on lives of their own where users support each other.

Windows 10

One of the biggest stories in the technology world was Microsoft’s release of Windows 10. Since it was a free update to most users of Windows 7 or higher, many people took the leap and upgraded. With some planning and testing on our part, all our products were prepared for Windows 10 on its day of release. In spite of a last-minute change on Microsoft’s part that caused a few headaches, the upgrade went smoothly for most of our customers. No small feat considering the size and scope of the changes in Windows 10.

RootsMagic and Personal Historian for Mac

In 2014, we announced “MacBridge”, an add-on purchase that allowed you to run RootsMagic on your Mac without Windows. In 2015, we did away with the separate purchase and consolidated it into “RootsMagic 7 for Mac“. So now, one purchase of RootsMagic lets you run it on either Windows or Mac, no additional purchases or licenses required. Even our free “RootsMagic Essentials” is now available for Mac.

But we didn’t stop there. We also released “Personal Historian 2 for Mac“. Just like RootsMagic, one purchase of Personal Historian covers both Windows and Mac operating systems, as well as the free “Personal Historian Essentials”.

Personal Historian Book

On November 24, we released the long-awaited companion book to our Personal Historian software. For years, we have been asked if there was a printed book to go along with our personal history writing software. We were excited to be finally able to say, “yes.” We’re especially pleased to see how well you all have received the book and how it is helping our you get the most out of the software.

Don’t forget, for a very limited time, the book is still available at the discounted price of only $7.95 (plus shipping). That’s nearly half-off its regular price of $14.95. Simply visit our website and add it to your cart to receive the discount.

A New Home for Family Tree Maker® Users

On December 8, Ancestry.com announced that they would be retiring their “Family Tree Maker®” (FTM) genealogy software. RootsMagic immediately welcomed Family Tree Maker users with a special upgrade offer as well as videos and written tutorials on how to make the transition. We’ve even released updates to RootsMagic to better support FTM’s unique GEDCOM files to make the transition ever smoother.

Since then, thousands of Family Tree Maker users have made the switch to RootsMagic. And the feedback has been tremendous.

“Every day I am finding new features in this software that makes me grateful Ancestry made their announcement that drove us all to seek alternatives to FTM. Have you even SEEN what DataClean can do? And here I was thinking I would have to manually fix all these things record by record…..and I didn’t even know about the website feature….feels like Christmas around here!” – Anni

“So far, in 1 weeks time, I have to say, Better service. Being with FTM since the 90’s, I NEVER remember users indicating an issue, and then an update to fix those issues being put out there in a matter of about 5 days.class than actually after gathering the issues. THATS service! I also don’t remember putting any kind of post, forums included, and having the top guys in the company reply usually in less than a couple hours That’s even Better service!” – Danielle

If you’re a Family Tree Maker refugee and still haven’t made the switch, be sure to take advantage of our special upgrade offer for FTM users.

 Awards

With the end of each year come awards. We’re pleased to have won the GeneAward for “Best Genealogy Product of 2015” for the 7th year in a row. As the reviewer put it,

“I hate to say that RootsMagic is still the overall best genealogy application. I hate to say that, because I’d like to see some other vendors close the gap and give them some serious competition.”

UPDATE: We’ve also received the “Top Rated Genealogy Software” award from GenSoftReviews Users’ Choice Awards. This award is also one that we’ve received for the 7th year in a row. This award is based on reviews submitted by actual users of genealogy software. The glowing reviews on the page speak for themselves.

Thank You!

I know we say this every year, but we mean it when we say that none of this would have been possible without you and your support.  We are grateful for the wonderful feedback, enthusiasm, and encouragement that we receive from our community.  We hope that our work is deserving of your trust and support. 2015 has been an amazing year for us thanks to you, and we’re working hard to make 2016 even better!

In a blog posting today, Ancestry.com announced the retirement of its Family Tree Maker® (FTM) genealogy software.

“True to this focus, we’ve taken a hard look at the declining desktop software market and the impact this has on being able to continue to provide product enhancements and support that our users need. With that, we’ve made the decision to stop selling Family Tree Maker as of December 31, 2015.”

Family Tree Maker support and online features will continue through the coming year. During this “sunset period”, many Family Tree Maker users will want to transfer their data into another desktop application that is actively being developed and updated such as RootsMagic.

We understand that change isn’t easy, so we’ve worked hard at putting together some new tools and supports to make the transition to RootsMagic as painless as possible for Family Tree Maker users.

A New Home

Over the past few years, thousands of Family Tree Maker users have made the switch to RootsMagic.  They’ve enjoyed its amazing new features such as color coding, Problem Alerts, Shareable CD’s, running straight off of a flash drive, FamilySearch integration, DataClean, multi-provider WebHints, Mac and Windows versions with a single license, and more!

But don’t take our word for it.  Here’s what some of our satisfied-switches have had to say:

“Had [Family Tree Maker] for years, did a couple of upgrades, but switched to RM, imported my FTM database and never looked back. I’m a happy camper!” — Paul

“I think you will find that RootsMagic has a much easier and more complete data entry than FTM. I have tried FTM several years ago and RM was so much more logical in data entry and report generations.” — Keith

“I used [Family Tree Maker] on and off for years. Every time I would try to get serious about citing my sources I would get so frustrated with the software I would just give up. I finally got smart and started to look around for a more user-friendly program and found RootsMagic. I love it! I am now methodically transferring all my data from FTM to RM and citing everything as I go with more confidence and less frustration!” — Kathy

“I’m all Mac and switched [from Family Tree Maker] back in Feb 2015. So glad I did.”— Sondra

Update Discount for Family Tree Maker Users

To make the transition as painless as possible, we’ve set-up a special website at www.FTMUpgrade.com that includes training videos, testimonials, and more.  And for a limited time, we are offering Family Tree Maker users the full-version of RootsMagic for the amazing low price of only $20. If you choose the download option, we will also include the PDF book, “Getting the Most out of RootsMagic” absolutely free (a $14.95 value).  You must visit www.FTMUpgrade.com to receive the discount.

Of course, we also offer a free version of RootsMagic named RootsMagic Essentials that offers basic capabilities for those who are just beginning their genealogy journey.

Free Videos and Magic Guides

We’ve also put together special videos and printable “Magic Guides” to help you with the transition.  We encourage our users to download these guides and freely share them with any Family Tree Maker users who may benefit from them.

• Importing Family Tree Maker (2008 – 2014) Files into RootsMagic (Video)  (Printable Guide)
• Importing Family Tree Maker (2006 and Older) into RootsMagic (Video)  (Printable Guide)

We’re Here to Help

If you’re a Family Tree Maker user, we understand that change isn’t easy. But with a little of your time and a little help from us, you’ll be just as comfortable with RootsMagic as you were with Family Tree Maker.

UPDATE: Good news! Ancestry and RootsMagic have entered into a partnership to bring the Ancestry integration features to RootsMagic. See here for more details.

Today is the day that Microsoft has released the latest version of its flagship operating system- Windows 10. David Pogue, tech writer for Yahoo, wrote:

“I’ll review the various improvements and new features, but if you’re in a hurry, the main thing is this: Windows 10 is coherent. It makes sense. Its design no longer leaves you pounding your forehead on your desk, ruing the day that Microsoft lit up whatever it was smoking.”

If you run Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you may have already reserved your free upgrade. Microsoft expects over 1.5 billion people to be using Windows 10 in the near future.

So the question that we’ve been asked by many users is:

“Will RootsMagic/Personal Historian/Family Atlas run on Windows 10?”

The short answer:

“Yes”.

Microsoft made early versions of Windows 10 available to developers and to the public to make sure the final release was as stable and as compatible as possible. We, and many RootsMagic users, have tested and confirmed that the software works as designed in the new operating system.

So whether you’re an early-adopter and are already downloading Windows 10, or a cautious user taking a wait-and-see approach, we’ve got you covered.

Important Update: Apparently Microsoft snuck in a last-minute change that didn’t exist in earlier test versions.  There is a Windows registry entry needed in Windows 10 to allow programs to display data using the internal browser component (again, it was working in Windows 10 preview builds).  This prevents the internal WebSearch from working, certain text appearing on some screens, and backing up to Dropbox and Google Drive.

Fortunately, the problem is easy to fix:

If you are using RootsMagic 7 under Windows 10:

1. Select Help > Check for Updates from the Main Menu. You will see an update is available (version 7.0.7 or higher).
2. Follow the instructions to automatically download and install the update.

If you are using RootsMagic 4, 5, or 6 under Windows 10:

1. Download the .REG file from files.rootsmagic.com/RootsMagic-Win10-Browser-Fix.reg

2. Run the .REG file to add the necessary entries to your Windows registry. It will display several scary warnings. Just keep telling it that “yes”, you do want to make the change.

Today is a holiday in the United States- Presidents’ Day. But it’s special for me in a different way. Today would have been my dad’s 79th birthday. My father, Gordon Dixon Booth, passed away last month on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:31 a.m. He died at home, comfortable, and surrounded by his loved ones. And on this, his first birthday since he left us, I wanted to share some things about him that have shaped me and have left their mark on RootsMagic in ways that many wouldn’t know, until now.

Gordon’s accomplishments were many. He was extremely intelligent and earned many degrees including a Ph.D. in Statistics. He held many positions of responsibility in the communities where he lived. He had a long, distinguished career where he conducted countless experiments and authored just as many papers. But for me, his greatest work was at home and the personal and permanent impressions he left on his family.

Being Together

My dad loved Disney. He grew up collecting Donald Duck comics and reels of Disney cartoons. So naturally, my early years were filled with Disney books and toys. But none of that could compare to the day that he and my mom loaded up the station wagon with six kids and drove halfway across the country to Disneyland. From that time on, we enjoyed dozens of pilgrimages to the Happiest Place on Earth.

For us, it wasn’t the rides, parades, or fireworks that were most important. It was always about being together, building memories, and having fun together. My dad didn’t have a lot of outside hobbies or recreation that he did on his own. His joy came from being with his family and doing things together.

Technology

My dad was the original “early adopter”. Whether it was building a radio transmitter as a young boy; buying one of the first personal computers in Ames, Iowa (a Commodore Pet); or taking “selfies” of himself near the end of his life, he always loved the latest gadgets and technology.

To the dismay of my patient wife, I inherited this trait as my house is just as cluttered with new gadgets and technologies today as the house I grew up in. It’s served me well, however, as we’ve worked to make our software work with emerging technologies such as mobile platforms, online databases, and cloud services.

Programming

As a statistician, my dad pioneered the use of computers to perform complex analyses and computations using programs which he wrote on punch cards. And when my family bought that first Commodore Pet computer, it exposed me to this amazing new world. At the tender age of four, my dad helped me write my very first computer program.

As the years went by, he would buy the latest computers and would learn to write software on them. Like a master and apprentice, I would sit in a chair next to him and watch him write code. Over time, I would get to the point where I could spot bugs and mistakes. The first paid job I ever had was writing code for him to use in his software.

Genealogy

My love of genealogy came from my parents. When I was 11 years old, they took my sister and me down to Salt Lake City to the newly-opened Family History Library. My dad took me over to racks of microfiche that contained the International Genealogical Index, or IGI. He showed me how to look up a name, write down a batch number, find the microfilm, and use the microfilm reader to look up a photographed record. It was like a big treasure hunt and I was hooked.

Entrepreneurship

My dad was an entrepreneur. Even though he worked for many years for the U.S.D.A., he always had a side-business that he would work on to get off the ground. I watched as he wrote and marketed his own statistical analysis software, “Visible Regression” and “The Time Machine”.

When the IGI became available on CD-ROM at the Family History Library, he came up with an idea for a program which would convert the GEDCOM files exported by it into something more easily used and searched. He encouraged me to write it and “GIPSI” was born. Even though I was only in high school, my parents helped me market, sell, and ship the software, leaving all the profits to me. The proceeds from GIPSI helped me pay my way through college and my LDS mission.

After graduating from BYU with a master’s degree (in statistics, of course), I went to work side-by-side with my dad in “Booth Associates”, the statistical consulting company that he founded. My dad so engrained the entrepreneurial spirit in me that I can only count on one hand the number of times that I have worked for somebody else.

Personal Historian

In 2003, I was talking with my parents about personal histories and how they wanted to write their own and the histories of my grandparents. We looked for software out there to help us with the task and, not finding any, decided to make our own. After several months of development, experimenting, and testing, Personal Historian was born.
My parents worked hard to help me get the new product off the ground. We travelled to many conferences and spent many days, nights, and meals together. When I joined up with Bruce and RootsMagic, my parents came along for the ride.

Conferences

My dad was passionate about family history and loved talking to people about our software. He was one of our best salespersons! He also became a popular presenter at conferences teaching classes on British research, photography, and personal histories. In fact, many of his old presentations are still available at his website, AncestorLink.com.

The Last Challenge

Gordon’s last great challenge was with memory-loss and dementia. For someone who loved to learn, think, and teach, this was akin to a world-class athlete becoming paralyzed. As difficult as it can be caring for a loved one with memory-loss, I can’t imagine what must have been like for him to experience personally.

But he kept trying. He would optimistically buy books that he wouldn’t be able to learn from. He would ask me questions about his gadgets whose answers he knew he wouldn’t remember. He even attended his final genealogy conference in Ogden last September and worked in the RootsMagic booth. As he talked with attendees and answered questions, my mom and I marveled at how re-energized he was and how he almost seemed to be “back” for those brief few hours.

Conclusion

I love and miss Gordon. He’s my father, my mentor, my business partner, and my friend. He taught me how to be a programmer, a genealogist, and an entrepreneur. He showed me how to be a man, a husband to my wife, and a father to my own children. There is not a single aspect of my life that I can’t trace back to him and his influence. I cannot express my gratitude for all that he has done for me.

If I had to summarize all that he was, all that he did, and all that he means to me, it would be this:

He’s my dad.

This week is the famous RootsTech conference, which has grown into the largest genealogy event in the world. It’s being held Thursday, February 12 through Saturday, February 14, 2015 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve been a part of it since the beginning and this year we’ll be more involved than ever.

Expo Hall

Don’t miss the free expo hall with the largest gathering of genealogy products and services in the country. Be sure to visit the RootsMagic booth (#719) to meet the RootsMagic staff, ask questions, and get special discounts on RootsMagic products.

Expo Hall hours (subject to change) are:

• Thursday, February 12, 2015, 10 am – 6 pm
• Friday, February 13, 2015, 10 am – 7 pm
• Saturday, February 14, 2015, 10 am – 4 pm

RootsMagic Class

For registered RootsTech attendees, we are offering a special class (RT1778), “RootsMagic: Sharing and Publishing Your Family Tree” on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 11 am in Ballroom G. You’ll learn how to add pictures, create beautiful charts, publish books, make shareable CDs, design stunning websites, and share your research with others.

RootsMagic Ribbons and Prize Patrol

We always like to have a little fun at RootsTech and this year, we are excited to introduce our new RootsMagic Badge Ribbons and the RootsMagic Prize Patrol.

Here’s how it works:

1. Stop by the RootsMagic booth (#719) in the Expo Hall and pick up your free RootsMagic Badge Ribbon.
2. Stick the ribbon to your name badge or someplace visible on your person.
3. Throughout the RootsTech conference, the RootsMagic Prize Patrol will be hanging out in a random spot. The first person they see wearing a RootsMagic ribbon wins a prize!

Prizes include RootsMagic software, bags, books, flash drives, Amazon gift cards, and more! So make your first stop at RootsTech the RootsMagic booth (#719), pick up your ribbon, and wear it with pride. You could win some pretty cool stuff!

Can you believe that it is New Years Eve already? As is tradition, we in the RootsMagic underground labs like to reflect on all that has happened this past year.  And don’t forget to check back on Thursday as we present our resolutions for 2015.  But until then- let’s flip the calendar all the back to the beginning of 2014.

RootsMagic for Android

On February 7, we officially released our free RootsMagic for Android app. It was the latest step in our efforts to make RootsMagic available on whatever device you use, wherever you go. Android was the latest platform to join RootsMagic for Windows, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) and even the Mac (with help).

 Support and Tips

We know that one of the reasons our loyal users love RootsMagic so much is that no other genealogy software provides the level of support and training that we do.  Over the past four years, we have pioneered the use of “webinars“, or free online classes, to help you learn anything you wanted to know about our software.  Our webinars have been viewed and downloaded over a million times from users in nearly every country on the globe.  And best of all, all of our webinars are archived and still available, free of charge.

We’ve also answered the demand for smaller, briefer tutorial videos that focused on very specific tasks. With this in mind, we introduced our YouTube channel, RootsMagic TV.  These videos are usually only a few minutes long and quickly show you how to do particular task without the details and explanations that you’ll find in our regular webinars.  Best of all, because they are hosted on YouTube, they are easy to share with others via e-mail or social networks.

In 2014, we’ve added regular tips and articles via this blog. These have been warmly received and we’ve loved hearing your feedback on them. They include:

• Planning Cemetery Trips with RootsMagic
• Get Research Help with RootsMagic and GenSmarts
• Never Get Lost in Your Tree with Color Coding
• Easily Follow the Fathers (and Sons)
• Know Your Relationships
• Find Exactly What you Want with a Few Keystrokes
• Saving Your Spot in RootsMagic Using Bookmarks
• Make a Map of Your Family’s Migrations
• Find a Person by Nickname or Maiden Name
• Finding Anything Anywhere in RootsMagic
• Keep Private Notes Private
• Keep Your File in Shape with Database Tools
• Finding Errors in Your Data with Problem Alerts
• Customize the Add Person Screen to Save Time
• Recovering Lost Registration Keys
• How to See When You Last Edited a Person in RootsMagic

A New Home for The Master Genealogist Users

On July 29, Wholly Genes Software announced that they would be discontinuing “The Master Genealogist” (TMG). On September 24, we released an update to RootsMagic that added a direct TMG import.

This direct import not only imports basic genealogical information from TMG like names, events, notes, and media, but also imports witnesses (with roles), source templates, and sentence templates. In fact, RootsMagic has the most complete TMG import available anywhere. Of course, due to different data models and template languages, no import can be 100% perfect but we prepared a guide to make the transition as smooth as possible.

MacBridge – Run RootsMagic on Your Mac Without Windows

On September 5, we released MacBridge for RootsMagic.  MacBridge for RootsMagic allows you easily install and run RootsMagic on your Mac in mere minutes with almost no additional setup or configuration.

MacBridge for RootsMagic is different than other solutions you may be familiar with. For starters, it does not install Windows on your Mac. It also does not create a slow and bulky virtual computer. It runs right on your Mac, using your Mac file system. You can even put the RootsMagic icon on your dock for easy one-click access! So while we are busily working on an actual native Mac version of RootsMagic, MacBridge for RootsMagic gives you the ability to work on a Mac today.

RootsMagic 7

On November 25, we released our brand-new RootsMagic 7. RootsMagic 7 adds DataClean, File Compare, even better online publishing, and the industry’s only multi-platform record hints, providing automatic hinting from both FamilySearch and MyHeritage. This upgrade has been our biggest and most successful to date and we’re thrilled with how well it has been received. Owners of previous versions of RootsMagic can upgrade for only $19.95

Thank You!

It sounds cliched, but we mean it when we say that none of this would have been possible without you and your support.  We are grateful for the wonderful feedback, enthusiasm, and encouragement that we receive from our community.  We hope that our work is deserving of your trust and support. 2014 has been an amazing year for us thanks to you!