Month: June 2013

PAF users have a new home at RootsMagic; Upgrade offer and Free Quick Start guide

Michael Booth 8 Comments

PAF users have a new home

In a blog posting today, FamilySearch announced the retirement of it’s Personal Ancestral File (PAF) genealogy software.

“Beginning July 15, 2013, PAF will be retired and will no longer be available for download or support. For full details and for information on alternative products, please visit http://familysearch.org/PAF.”

The linked page recommends that PAF users upgrade to family history software from one of the FamilySearch parters.  Of the three options listed, RootsMagic is the only software certified to utilize the full capabilities of FamilySearch Family Tree, including sharing data, ordinances, discussions, sources, and change history.

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

A New Home

Over the past few years, tens-of-thousands of PAF users have made the switch to RootsMagic.  They’ve enjoyed its amazing new features such as book publishing, color coding, wallcharts, Shareable CD’s, running straight off of a flash drive, interactive problem lists, online publishing, a mobile app, and more!

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

“I have used PAF for all my years in Family History research. I now enjoy working with RootsMagic, it is by far the best program. Thank you.” — Joyce

“I want to thank everyone at RootsMagic for all their hard work! I purchased RootsMagic 4 after attending a genealogy seminar this past September. I was still using PAF at that time. When Bruce explained how easy it was to convert my data I was extatic, so I purchased the software. When I received it, it loaded quickly converted all my old PAF data (just as Bruce said it would) and I was up and running. . . Love is a very strong word, and I Love RootsMagic!! Thanks everyone, great job!!” — Kathy

“I have been working on the family history for many years using PAF, and converted to RootsMagic, which is a great program, very user friendly. I have recommended the program to beginners that are interested in finding and recording their own family genealogy.” — Shirley

“A great improvement from PAF. This will help with the work. Thanks!” — Garth

Update Discount for PAF Users

To make the transition as painless as possible, we’ve set-up a special website at www.PAFUpgrade.com that includes training videos, testimonials, and more.  And for a limited time, we are offering PAF users the full-version of RootsMagic at the upgrade price of only $19.95.  You must visit www.PAFUpgrade.com to receive the discount.

Of course, we also offer a free version of RootsMagic named RootsMagic Essentials that offers the basic abilities of PAF plus the certified FamilySearch Family Tree features.

Free Quick Start Guide

RootsMagic for PAF Users: A Quick-Start Guide

We’ve also put together a special guide titled, “RootsMagic for PAF Users: A Quick Start Guide”.  This 16-page, full-color booklet guides you step-by-step in making the switch and answers the biggest and most common questions.  This guide is available in printed format and as a free PDF that can be viewed on your computer or mobile device and even printed at home.  We encourage our users to download this guide and freely share it with any PAF users who may benefit from it.

As a bonus, any PAF user who upgrades to RootsMagic at www.PAFUpgrade.com will receive a copy of this Quick Start guide.

We’re Here to Help

If you’re a PAF 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 PAF.

RootsMagic becomes Only Software Certified to Collaborate and Share with FamilySearch Family Tree

Michael Booth 9 Comments

The ONLY software certified to share and collaborate with FamilySearch Family Tree

The great news is here!  We are pleased to announce that an update to RootsMagic 6 is now available which has been “Share+ Certified” (note the “plus”) by FamilySearch for use with their new “Family Tree” system.  This means that RootsMagic is the only software certified to collaborate and share data with FamilySearch Family Tree!

Last March, RootsMagic became the first software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree.  Today’s update brings in many collaborative features for FamilySearch that can only be found in RootsMagic.  These include enhanced discussions, viewing and copying sources between RootsMagic and Family Tree, as well as viewing a change history for a person and reversing incorrect changes.  There are also many enhancements and improvements to existing FamilySearch features.

What is FamilySearch Family Tree?

FamilySearch Family Tree is a new way to organize and record your genealogy online. It is free, is available to everyone, and provides an easy way to discover your place in history with free tools to help you preserve and share your family’s story for generations to come.

In Family Tree you can:

  • See what the system already contains about your ancestors.
  • Work with others to fill in missing information and correct errors.
  • Add sources and explanations to show that information is accurate.
  • Find and merge records that are about the same person.

How is FamilySearch Family Tree different than new.FamilySearch.org?

RootsMagic, the genealogy software named “Easiest to Sync” with new.FamilySearch.org, now brings the same power and features that you love to FamilySearch Family Tree- with more to come!

Family Tree has most of the features that are available on new.FamilySearch.org. It has some new features including the ability to edit and delete most any information about a person, a detailed history of changes made to people, and the ability to add sources to back up your conclusions. While new.FamilySearch.org has primarily been available to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Family Tree is available to everyone.

Goodbye, new.FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch has announced that they will be shutting-off the ability to make changes to their (old) new.FamilySearch.org website on Sunday, June 30, 2013.  This means that previous releases of RootsMagic (4, 5, and pre-6.1) will no longer be able to write data to new.FamilySearch.org after this date.  Users of these older versions of RootsMagic should upgrade or update their software to take advantage of the latest FamilySearch support and features.

How do I get started?

To get started:

  1. Download the latest version of RootsMagic 6 or the free RootsMagic 6 Essentials.
  2. Watch our brief video tutorials to help you get up-and-running quickly.
  3. Check out our list of Frequently-Asked Questions for tips and explanations about the update.

More to Come!

In the coming days, we’ll be blogging more about RootsMagic and how you can use it to share and collaborate others through FamilySearch Family Tree.  We’ll also be adding new features and enhancements to our Family Tree support.  In the meantime, enjoy the update!

Goodbye, new.FamilySearch.org. Hello, FamilySearch Family Tree!

Michael Booth 25 Comments

We have some bad news, some good news, and some great news.

Bad News, Good News

The bad news is that FamilySearch will be shutting-off the ability to make changes to their (old) new.FamilySearch.org website on Sunday, June 30, 2013.  This means that previous releases of RootsMagic (4, 5, and pre-6.1) will no longer be able to write data to new.FamilySearch.org after this date.

The good news is that the latest update to RootsMagic (6.1) already works with new.FamilySearch.org’s replacement- FamilySearch Family Tree!  In fact, RootsMagic is the first software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree.

The first software certified to share with FamilySearch Family Tree

How will this affect me?

If you use RootsMagic 4, 5, or 6.0 to work with new.FamilySearch.org, beginning Sunday, June 30, 2013 any attempt to make changes to data on new.FamilySearch.org will give an error message.  This is not due to any bug or breakage in RootsMagic. It is simply because FamilySearch is shutting off that capability as they replace new.FamilySearch.org with FamilySearch Family Tree.  Note: This does not affect any other features in RootsMagic 4 or 5. Only new.FamilySearch.org features are affected.

What should I do?

If you are using RootsMagic 6.1 or RootsMagic Essentials 6.1, you don’t have to do anything. RootsMagic 6.1 does not work with new.FamilySearch.org. It works directly with FamilySearch Family Tree, the replacement for new.FamilySearch.org.

If you are using RootsMagic 6.0, simply download the free update to RootsMagic 6.1 by choosing Help > Check for Updates from the main menu of RootsMagic or download the update from our website.

If you are using RootsMagic 4 or 5 and you want to continue interfacing with FamilySearch, you’ll need to upgrade to RootsMagic 6 or download the free RootsMagic Essentials 6.

What is FamilySearch Family Tree?

FamilySearch Family Tree is a new way to organize and record your genealogy online. It is free, is available to everyone, and provides an easy way to discover your place in history with free tools to help you preserve and share your family’s story for generations to come.

With RootsMagic, you can search FamilySearch Family Tree for matches for people in your file. Once you have found a match, you can copy any data that FamilySearch has about that person into your own file. You can also copy any data that you have into the FamilySearch system. You have full control over what data is copied in each direction.

RootsMagic is the first software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree and won the awards for “Easiest to Sync”, “Best Dashboard”, and “Trailblazer” from FamilySearch.

Wait- what’s the “great news”?

Hmm- we better save that for another day. We don’t want to overwhelm you all at once. Stay tuned for an exciting new announcement in the very near future!