Author: Michael Booth

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!

On behalf of everyone here at RootsMagic, we hope that you’ve had a wonderful holiday and have had time to connect with family and friends. We’ve certainly had a very busy last few weeks since the release of RootsMagic 7.

To be honest, we’ve been doing this holiday offer for many years now and thought we had a good idea of how many CD’s we would need to order from our manufacturer to make it through the holiday season and the first part of 2015. Well, the demand for RootsMagic 7 on CD blew our expectations out of the water. We have sold and shipped every last CD that we had in stock. When it was apparent we were going to run out, we placed a rush order with our manufacturer for more. But with the holidays, we aren’t expected to have more CD’s in stock until the week of January 6, 2015.

With the delay in shipments, we’ve decided to extend our holiday offer. During this special holiday sale, you can order copies of RootsMagic 7 for just $19.95 (plus shipping). Even better, you can order our other products at that same $19.95 price.

Of course, in addition to being available on CD, RootsMagic 7 may also be downloaded so you can begin using the software right away while you wait for the CD to arrive. Or save yourself the cost of shipping and order the download by itself. Don’t worry, if you ever lose your registration key, you can always have it sent to you and download the software again.

There is no limit on the number of discounted gift copies you can buy during this limited time offer which will expire January 6, 2015. You will receive the full program for each copy you order.

To take advantage of this offer, just visit www.rootsmagic.com/holidayoffer.

The Christmas season is upon us and, for many of us, our thoughts turn to traditions, gifts, and family. It can be difficult to find a personal, meaningful gift that won’t end up stashed away in a box in the attic. With that in mind, here are 5 easy gifts that you can make with RootsMagic that will really bring families together.

1. Family History Book

There’s nothing quite like a solid, printed book. And RootsMagic’s Publisher feature does the heavy-lifting for you! With a few clicks, you can create a beautiful book complete with a table of contents, chapters, footnotes, endnotes, bibliography- even an index!

2. Shareable CD’s and DVD’s

If you’re looking for something a little more high-tech than a book, how about a computer disc? RootsMagic can create a Shareable CD that has all of your data and media on it as well as a special reader version of RootsMagic on it.

With a few clicks, you can personalize the disc and burn as many copies as you need to give to family members. They only need to pop the disc into their computer to view, explore, and even print their own family histories.

3. Family History Website

Are you looking for a free and easy only way to share your family history? The new RootsMagic 7 Online Publisher can create beautiful, dynamic websites with pedigree, family and individual views as well as supporting notes, sources, and media. And with our free MyRootsMagic hosting service, your genealogy has an online home with the click of a mouse. You can keep your website private for only your family or share your gift with the world.

4. Wallchart

A wallchart makes a visible yet decorative reminder of your family history that will beautify any home. You can use RootsMagic’s built-in wallcharts or use the Charting Companion software.

And once you are ready to have your chart printed, be sure to use our chart printing service.

5. RootsMagic

Of course, what could be better than giving your family or friends the gift of RootsMagic itself? In what has become an annual tradition, you can buy discounted copies of our brand-new RootsMagic 7 software for yourself or to give as gifts.

During this special holiday sale, you can order copies of RootsMagic 7 for just $19.95 (plus shipping). Even better, you can order our other products at that same $19.95 price.

There is no limit on the number of discounted gift copies you can buy during this limited time offer which will expire December 20, 2014. You will receive the full program for each copy you order.

To take advantage of this offer, just visit www.rootsmagic.com/holidayoffer or order by phone at 1-800-ROOTSMAGIC (1-800-766-8762).