Author: Bruce Buzbee

Free RootsMagic Classes for April

Bruce Buzbee 7 Comments

And the free RootsMagic classes don’t stop.  Here are 4 new classes scheduled for the next month.  Each class will be limited to the first 1000 people to sign up, but if you miss out or can’t make it, don’t worry because we will record the class for you to download and watch later.

To sign up for the free classes, or to view past recorded classes, visit us at:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

Here are the upcoming classes for April:

  • Places and Mapping in RootsMagic
    Wherever you go, there you are!  Places and geography are an integral part of our lives and the lives of our ancestors.  Join us for a look at the many tools in RootsMagic which help you accurately record the places in your family history, clean and standardize names, and even view them on a map!
    Wednesday, April 13, 2011
    2pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Ask the RootsMagician!
    This is your chance to ask your questions and get the answers straight from the source!  Bruce Buzbee, the author of RootsMagic will be answering your questions about the software in this special, open-topic webinar.
    Tuesday, April 19, 2011
    5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Google Search Tips and Tricks
    Frustrated by thousands of irrelevant search results in your recent Google searches for your family history? Do you want to achieve better results in a shorter amount of time?  Learn the art of online search with Google expert and genealogy podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke, author of the new book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. In this webinar you will expand your Google search repertoire and learn techniques, tricks and tips to achieve better genealogical search results.
    Thursday, April 28, 2011
    6pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Creating and Printing Wallcharts with RootsMagic
    Ever wish your family tree wasn’t confined to a computer screen or a small sheet of paper?  Wallcharts let you see the “big picture” of your family history!  Join us for a look at RootsMagic’s wallcharts and how to customize them.  Also joining us will be Janet Hovorka of Generation Maps to show us how to easily and affordably print our charts and some special services which they provide.
    Tuesday, May 3, 2011
    5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes

Here are the recorded webinars already available for you to view or download:

  • Getting Started with RootsMagic
  • Publishing a Family History with RootsMagic
  • FamilySearch Made Easy with RootsMagic
  • RootsMagic To-Go: Running RootsMagic on a Flash Drive
  • Sources, Citations, and Documentation with RootsMagic
  • Working with Files and Folders in RootsMagic
  • Cleaning Your Family Tree in RootsMagic
  • Personal Historian: Bringing Life to Your Life Stories
  • Creating Custom Reports with RootsMagic
  • Map and Explore Your Family Tree with Family Atlas
  • Adding and Editing Information in RootsMagic
  • Lists and Reports in RootsMagic
  • Writing Your Personal History (and Living to Tell About it)

Free Online Classes for March

Bruce Buzbee 15 Comments

Thanks again for all the kind words about our free online classes.  And we’re just getting started.  Here are 5 new classes scheduled for March.  Each class will be limited to the first 1000 people to sign up, but if you miss out or can’t make it, don’t worry because we will record the class for you to download and watch later.

To sign up for the free classes, or to view past recorded classes, visit us at:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

Here are the upcoming classes for March:

  • Creating Custom Reports with RootsMagic
    RootsMagic has over 100 built-in charts and reports to help you visualize and share your family history.  But sometimes you may be looking for a very specific report or list customized to your taste and needs.  That’s where RootsMagic’s Custom Reports feature comes is.  Join us for a demonstration of how to use this feature to make new reports that are all your own.
    Wednesday, March 2, 2011
    5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Map and Explore Your Family Tree with Family Atlas
    Family Atlas is the fun and easy way to map your family history. Trace your ancestors migration around the world and pinpoint the sites of important family events. Import your family data directly from your genealogy software, then create and print personalized family maps.  Join us for a demonstration of this impressive software.
    Tuesday, March 8, 2011
    1pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Adding and Editing Information in RootsMagic
    RootsMagic makes it easy to add and edit people, relationships, facts, and events to your file.  Join us for an in-depth look at how to build and shape your family tree using RootsMagic.
    Wednesday, March 16, 2011
    11am MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Lists and Reports in RootsMagic
    There’s so much more than just pedigree charts!  RootsMagic offers a wide-variety of lists and reports to help you visualize and share your family history.  Join us for a look at each of them how they can show you surprising details about your family tree.
    Thursday, March 24, 2011
    5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Writing Your Personal History (and Living to Tell About it)
    So you’ve wanted to write a personal history but get overwhelmed with the size and complexity of the task.  Where do I start?  What do I write?  How do I make it interesting for others to read?  Join us for an entertaining look at methods to recall, organize, write, and publish personal histories about yourself and other individuals.
    Wednesday, March 30, 2011
    2pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.1.1.5)

Bruce Buzbee 33 Comments

This minor update adds a couple of small requested features and fixes a number of issues.  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.  Note: I have updated the list below with the changes for version 4.1.0.0, 4.1.1.0, 4.1.1.1, 4.1.1.2, 4.1.1.3, 4.1.1.4 and 4.1.1.5.

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

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

  • Notes for alternate names now print for group sheet and individual summary
  • Record # button didn’t work on Select People screen until you highlighted someone in the list
  • Sentence templates for user defined roles are supported in GEDCOM now
  • Alternate names are handled in the various Fact Lists (Private facts, Facts w/o sources, etc)
  • Privacy works properly for alternate name facts in individual summary now
  • WebSearch works properly for names with accented characters now
  • [xUpline] was showing up in websites for privatized people with no events
  • Fixed SQLite error 21 when printing todo list for single repository sorted by repository
  • Added option to support New FamilySearch on Macs running CrossOver (Tools > File options > FamilySearch)
  • Adding a new fact on the edit screen and pressing Alt+V would sometimes show incorrect data in the list
  • Can search / select on FamilySearch ID in selection screen now
  • Custom reports support printing and sorting by FamilySearch ID
  • Unicode characters in names and places transfer properly from RM to NFS
  • Fixed a few list issues
  • Shared events are now retained during merge
  • Kinship list would sometimes display incorrect relationships (4.1.1.0)
  • Henry, D’Aboville, and Outline numbering in narrative reports handles children from multiple spouses correctly (4.1.1.0)
  • Fixed a problem with the place list sometimes crashing from the edit screen on a few systems (4.1.1.0)
  • Fixed a problem with the family list (Search > Family List) crashing on a few systems (4.1.1.0)
  • Fixed link to FAQs (Knowledge base) under the Internet menu (4.1.1.0)
  • Legacy import converts formatting codes in source detail text and comments now (4.1.1.0)
  • PAF import preserves source detail date now (4.1.1.0)
  • Added Internet > Learning center to take you online for tutorials / webinars (4.1.1.0)
  • Sort by birthday and anniversary in custom reports works correctly now (4.1.1.1)
  • Fixed some sentence template issues (4.1.1.1)
  • People View now supports FamilySearch ID as a column (4.1.1.1)
  • Removed debug window from NFS User Profile settings (4.1.1.1)
  • NFS Share Data screen sometimes showed incorrect matches between children (4.1.1.1)
  • Fixed some issues with the New FamilySearch import (4.1.1.1)
  • Fixed some issues with New FamilySearch Share Data screen (4.1.1.1)
  • Fixed freezing during NFS operations on some computers (4.1.1.2)
  • Information would sometimes not print in the Individual Summary (4.1.1.2)
  • GEDCOM would sometimes mix up address fields when only partial addresses existed (4.1.1.2)
  • Explorer now displays place details for events (4.1.1.2)
  • Source template values in GEDCOM can now span multiple lines (CONT/CONC) (4.1.1.2)
  • NFS filter sometimes showed incorrect group name (4.1.1.2)
  • Minor NFS tweak (4.1.1.3)
  • Minor NFS tweak (4.1.1.4)
  • Source report (and some others) would sometimes print a repository twice (4.1.1.5)
  • GEDCOM export could crash when encountering a corrupt date field in the database (4.1.1.5)
  • Handle the incorrect FTM 2008-2011 GEDCOM CONC tag handling (4.1.1.5)
  • Some ordinances for people w/o death facts wouldn’t print in LDS report (4.1.1.5)
  • Fixed address issues during GEDCOM import (4.1.1.5)
  • ToDo list would sometimes print an incorrect repository for items with no repository (4.1.1.5)

More Free Online Classes

Bruce Buzbee 21 Comments

First, we’d like to thank everyone for the overwhelming response to our online classes (webinars).  Every class has been full, and from what you have told us by email and at conferences, they are a big hit.

Here are the next 2 classes we will be offering:

  • Working With Files and Folders in RootsMagic
    Is working with files in RootsMagic a mystery? Learn how to organize your RootsMagic files and folders, create and restore backups, import and export information from other programs and GEDCOM files, share data between computers, and much more!
    Tuesday, February 8, 2011
    5pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes
  • Cleaning Your Family Tree in RootsMagic
    Every family tree is subject to errors. Learn how to clean up your places and sources, discover possible errors and problems in your data, find and merge duplicate records, split and merge trees, and more!
    Friday, February 18, 2011
    3pm MST See In Your Time Zone
    90 minutes

To sign up for the free classes, or to view past recorded classes, visit us at:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/webinars

These classes were chosen based on the response to our survey.  If you still haven’t had a chance to let us know what you want us to teach click here to take the survey.

Each class will be limited to the first 1000 people to sign up, but if you miss out or can’t make it, don’t worry because we will record the class for you to download and watch later.

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.9.9)

Bruce Buzbee 10 Comments

This update adds several requested features and fixes a number of issues.  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.  Note: We updated the list below to include a few issues we fixed in the 4.0.9.9 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:

  • Fixed problem with crashing under Windows 2000
  • Place details display for birth/death in info view at top of main screens
  • The rearrange children list now displays/sorts by christen date if no birth date exists
  • Added Last edited date as optional column in customizing People View
  • Added the newly updated FamilySearch (as of 14 Dec 2010) website to WebSearch
  • Searching by age at marriage/family events works correctly now
  • Fixed several problems with Family Origins importing
  • Added some minor enhancements to duplicate search
  • Fixed problem with footnotes sometimes printing wrong on Research Notes report
  • Private notes in PAF import are now privatized up to the next blank line
  • Fixed FTM import of citations with no master source and no footnote text
  • Fixed FTM import when multiple birth facts exist
  • Source (and detail) text and comment editors honor the font size selected for note editing
  • Minor fixes in website creation
  • Can now filter the NFS list based on named groups or ancestors of a person
  • NFS can remember users login and password, and can automatically login to NFS
  • Added numerous minor enhancements to NFS functions
  • Fixed a bug which crept into 4.0.9.8 which kept RM from saving an event in the edit screen unless you clicked the “Save” button.  Version 4.0.9.9 once again saves event data as soon as you move on like it used to.  (4.0.9.9)
  • Fixed bugs in several of the lists (4.0.9.9)
  • Fixed an incremental search issue (4.0.9.9)
  • Fixed an occasional bug when printing Family Ordinance Requests (FOR) (4.0.9.9)

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.9.7)

Bruce Buzbee 14 Comments

We have just released an update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.9.7).

This minor update fixes a number of issues.  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:

  • Edit screen now displays place details in fact list
  • Name and place indexes now print in Individual List report
  • FTM import now brings in citations which had no master source in FTM
  • Added option to paste into notes using plain text (option is at Tools > Program options)
  • Hover style fixed for some links in generated websites
  • Alternate names are now included in narrative websites
  • Parents of spouses in descendant narrative websites are now included (ex: Jane Doe, daughter of John Doe and Mary Smith, …)
  • Fixed a few source issues in websites
  • Children of cousin marriages in narrative descendant reports are numbered properly now
  • Fixed a wordwrap issue with “About” text for shareable CDs
  • Fixed a problem with some new temples getting duplicated multiple times in the temple list
  • Photo description doesn’t get lost in GEDCOM import / drag and drop when the image has a date entered
  • Nickname delimiter (quotes vs parens) are honored in report titles
  • Fixed crashing when running the “Fix broken media links” from the little camera icon in the info panel at the top of screen
  • Wallcharts honor the selected date format now
  • NFS AutoMatch could crash if a large number of people were already matched with NFS
  • Fixed problem with horizontal scroll bar sometimes not appearing on child list in family view
  • Separated “Reserved” from “Need more info” on NFS statuses
  • Removed disputing from New FamilySearch
  • Added Descendant List report option to just show birth and death year
  • Additional checking for duplicates when reserving ordinances in NFS
  • Fixed a number of issues when copying relatives back and forth between RM and NFS

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.9.6)

Bruce Buzbee 13 Comments

We have just released an update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.9.6).

This update adds a few requested features, and fixes a number of pesky bugs.  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.  Note: We updated the list below to include a few issues we fixed in the 4.0.9.6 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

  • New Research Notes report (prints the source detail text and comments for a person or family)
  • Timeline lists now support source citations
  • Added wordwrap command to note editor
  • Added “Mark by parents” and “Unmark by parents” to the “Select Families” list to allow criteria for selecting families
  • Added “Unused Places List” to show places in your database that aren’t used by any events
  • Added sex, birth and death dates to the edit family screen in Tools > Problem list
  • Wordwrap in notes works on selected text now (4.0.9.6)
  • Added wordwrap button to note editor toolbar (4.0.9.6)
  • Wordwrapping can be reversed by undo now (4.0.9.6)

CHANGED AND FIXED

  • Pasting into RM notes now preserves bold, italics, and underlining
  • Sped up duplicate search, SmartMerge, and ShareMerge
  • Sped up scrolling through the list of potential duplicate records
  • Sped up incremental search in the place list (for databases with large number of places)
  • Fixed crashing when doing some “Fix broken media links” commands
  • Print preview now defaults to 100% zoom (actual size)
  • Info on right side of correspondence list (Lists > Correspondence) now shows type and sent/received properly
  • Direct PAF import brings Military and Mission into existing RM fact types
  • New FamilySearch import now imports sealing to spouse properly
  • Sentence display on Edit Person screen displays alternate names properly now
  • Parent name prefixes and suffixes are now displayed in Edit Person screen
  • Some names in group sheets weren’t including the prefix or suffix
  • Some names in individual summaries weren’t including the prefix or suffix
  • Searching for dates containing terms like “the” or “/” works properly now
  • Fixed problem where some identical sources wouldn’t automerge
  • Fixed several reports / screens where accented characters didn’t uppercase properly
  • Importing UTF-8 GEDCOM files w/o a Byte Order Marker (BOM) works properly now
  • PAF import now converts private notes
  • GEDCOM import converts private notes from PAF and Legacy GEDCOMs
  • GEDCOM import reads ALIA tags in Generations GEDCOM files as alternate names
  • Group timeline list now has place as a separate column
  • Explorer now shows spouse for marriage events that don’t have a place
  • Place details print for family events on the individual summary now
  • Uppercasing month in narrative report dates doesn’t uppercase modifier text anymore
  • Side list index and People view update after the automatic merges (ShareMerge/SmartMerge)
  • View is refreshed after merges are performed
  • Notes for shared events now print on Group Sheet and Individual Summary
  • Issue with merging sometimes losing media attached to events
  • Changed Cebu Philippines temple code from CEBU to CEBUP
  • Added 6 new temples: Manaus Brazil, San Salvador, Quetzaltenango, Kansas City, Calgary, Brigham City
  • Better handling of pasted text from certain websites and screens (4.0.9.6)
  • Fixed font issues in PDF (smearing and mangled characters) (4.0.9.6)
  • Fixed some issues with the recently opened database list (4.0.9.6)
  • Start person is selected in side list when program starts (4.0.9.6)
  • Opening RM in family view highlights the start person properly (4.0.9.6)
  • Fixed some focus issues in the family view (which could lead to double click editing the wrong person) (4.0.9.6)
  • Fixed SQLite error when trying to edit a place from the unused place list (4.0.9.6)
  • Clicking blank root person slot on pedigree view will add the person as a child if there are parents (4.0.9.6)
  • Fixed occasional blank narrative reports (4.0.9.6)

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 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.