We have just released a new update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.2.1). 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.
The update may also be downloaded from http://www.rootsmagic.com/download.
We have worked many, many hours on this update, but realize there are still a number of items we need to address. We have even had to fix bugs in other company’s products that we are using in RM4.
We decided to go ahead and release this update to get these fixes out while we work on and test other issues. If your pet bug isn’t addressed by this update, don’t worry… all reported bugs have been logged and are being looked into. There are a few bugs (like the occasional random hanging in some of the FamilySearch features) that require more testing because of the possible impact of the changes on other areas of the program.
We want to thank everyone for their support through all this work. Your encouraging words have helped make the long hours seem not quite so long.
Here are the new, fixed, and updated items in this update:
NEW
- Can view and edit place details for places from the master place list (Lists > Place list)
- Added source templates for Elizabeth Shown Mills’ new Ancestry QuickSheet
- Indexes in reports now support color coding
- Added several color schemes (in addition to blue) for toolbar and menu colors (blue, silver, green, windows setting)
- Several reports allow editing title
- Added optional built-in background images for website creation
- New ordinance reservation list when selecting “# people are ready for temple ordinances” from FamilySearch Central
- Added option to exclude RM specific tags when exporting GEDCOM files
FIXED / UPDATED
- Added hotkeys to numerous screens
- Creating a shareable CD doesn’t hang on collecting media
- Shareable CDs don’t crash when opening the media album anymore
- Stopped “Windows no disk” errors when accessing media on drives that don’t exist
- Fixed some search criterias that didn’t work properly
- List of citations for a person/fact/etc now shows page no. / details in the list
- When citing an existing source RM4 starts with the cursor in the first source details field
- Added phone and email to address form display
- Website header font can now be modified in .CSS file
- Added create and modified date to properties form
- Place merge leaves original place in list (w/o checkbox)
- Place details print in website narratives now
- Name in place list report now includes prefix and suffix
- Added hints to toolbar buttons that didn’t have them
- Reader splash screen doesn’t say “Trial Version” anymore
- Family events in narratives use customized sentences if they exist
- Narrative websites use customized sentences if they exist
- Customize sentence displays “They” instead of He/She for family events
- Eliminated extraneous witnesses in shared events in narratives
- Fixed some shared event issues
- Sample sentence supports witnesses on edit individual screen
- Sample sentence supports witnesses on customize sentence screen
- GEDCOM import doesn’t ignore death info if the DEAT tag has a Y on it
- Changed “General” to “Person” on edit screen for notes, sources, etc.
- Spaces are trimmed from name parts when saving name in Edit Person screen
- Fixed issues with a few source templates
- UK edition defaults to using british dictionary now
- NFS matching / searching filters out dups returned by NFS (led to “Must have 2 people to do a combine” errors)
- RM doesn’t crash anymore when importing a corrupt file from other programs (SQLite Error 19)
- BEPS prints on pedigree charts when LDS support turned on
- Fixed read of “Needs more information” status from NFS
- Bibliography prints properly in the Source Report
- Photo tree doesn’t display wrong photos when an ancestor doesn’t exist
- Gazetteer opens with focus on search field
- Sources in narratives handle template field modifiers (like [place:reverse]) properly now
- Website image links are lower case to handle servers that lowercase files and are case sensitive
- FTM import doesn’t crash when invalid source citation is encountered
- FTM import doesn’t mix up some fact types anymore
- FTM import doesn’t put every description in the place list anymore
- FTM general sources import properly now
- Short citation includes detail text and comments if enabled
- Note, source, and media checkmarks display for alt names in Explorer
- Adding a birth (or other life event) over 105 years ago clears living flag for the person
- Deleting address from Lists > Address removes the link to it from the person (same for repo)
- Deleting place from Lists > Place list clears place (and site) for events which used that place
- Seal to spouse prints for parents in group sheets now
- LDS report marriage sealings filter properly now
- If preference file gets corrupt RM will use defaults instead of freezing
- Merging places preserves all place notes
- Merging places preserves place details
- Chart program doesn’t sometimes revert to trial mode
- Sped up merging a person dragged and dropped onto a copy of himself
- Reuse duplicate citations now works properly (make sure “Combine endnotes for each fact” is turned off)
- BIC and other LDS statuses print on group sheets if date is blank
- Fixed random crashes in publisher when Table of Contents is added
- Changed Twin Falls Idaho temple code from TFALL to TWINF
- Legacy import now imports “unspecified” citation links
- Selected date format is used in edit screen and sample sentence on edit screen
- GEDCOM export strips hard returns out of exported single field lines
- Display / printing of freeform sources adds punctuation the same way RM3 did
- Doesn’t display the chapter title in the endnotes when there is only one chapter/report
- Place list remembers size and position now
- Fixed some age display issues on edit screen
- Main views (pedigree, family, descendant, people) now support font style (bold/italic) set in options
- Fixed some issues with privatized narrative websites
- Sort date is created even when user presses Alt+V or Alt+O before moving out of the date field
- Sort date is updated when you select a different date from the calendar in the edit screen
- Bibliography can now print even when footnotes / endnotes are turned off
This is once again amazing! Thank you for your excellent work on RM4. It just seems to get better and better. I appreciate your hard work!
GREAT work! I did not want to write a book until I actually view the update.
Wow! Very impressive.
I LOVE IT!!!!
Great work. It was worth all your hard work.
Great Stuff! Keep up the good work.
How do I update RootsMagic to-go with the new 4.0.2.0 update?
John
RM4 ROCKS! You are AWESOME! Just know that we all GREATLY APPRECIATE your time and efforts in all the updates/fixes/new features! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
John, once you have updated RootsMagic on your desktop computer, run RootsMagic To-Go and it will update RootsMagic on your flash drive.
That ought to quiet the naysayers! Once again, thanks Bruce.
Bruce, Michael;
Many thanks for your VERY hard work and efforts. I continue to be amazed by your stamina and gentlemanly approach to your users.
Thank You to your wives also for what must be a long and tireless period of support.
We can see the other coders scrambling to catch up, but you have a leg up on them and they will be hard pressed to compete with their products.
Thanks, Herb…
WOW you guys have been very very busy.. thank you for all you do.. Great Program
Ron
Wonderful! Thank you so much. I adore the new RM. Still hoping that a future update will allow reporting of the witnesses in an event.
It’s a great program and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the old Roots Magic and the new is awesome! Thanks so much for a great product! Keep up the good work.
This continues to be my favorite genealogy database and I have tried many! Thank you for all the good work – it’s great! Being able to keep all my information in one place is awesome!
I am glad that I chose Roots Magic to create my Tree.
It has made it so easy and the program keeps on improving due to your hard work.Well worth the money spent
Are you nuts???? $20/30 for a program with these features? You all need a holiday after all the work you and your staff (and your partners of course) have put in in this product, and us gratefulusers should be paying. $49.95 or $99.95 would be a more appropriate price for a product with these features. Cheers, and thanks!
Incredible customer service! I was already delighted with the program and now this is a tremendous bonus! 🙂
Still trying to figure out how to create & publish a book like the “Books feature” in FTW.
Existing FTM books did not come forward.
Badly need a printed manual. Understand about 12 weeks out.
Basic program is a winner, but learning is a painful process.
Customer support is truly wonderful!
The program is fantastic, I am really pleased that I switched from my previous program to RM.
Still waiting for RM4 to work with family Atlas but other than that…
I love RM4. I was using PAF and switched in January 2009. The only thing I miss is the slide show that PAF included for each person. I’d love to have that in RM4. Maybe it is even there and I’ve missed it. I can’t get over how well your sources work. Thanks for all of your hard work.
In RM3 there was a “generation type” reference called “Henry”. What happened to it and similar references in RM4?
Hi, Thanks for the fixes. I have a request to you. Could you add a feature to the name lists that allows a user to input the initial letter of a surname & have the cursor move to there. I also use FTM & find it to be a very handy feature when many surnames are at the end of the alphabet. Thank you.
Jim Amberman
Jane, a slide show option isn’t currently available, but you’re able to submit any wish list items at http://www.rootsmagic.com/forums/index.php?showforum=3.
Robert, I’m not sure, but are you referring to the Henry descendants report found under Reports > Narrative Reports in RM4?
If you are talking about the Henry generation numbering system, that choice is on the Narrative report screen as it was in RM3.
Thank you thank you thank you for this update! Two problems you fixed have been major time-savers for me (not checked as living if events are over 105 years old, and having the cursor start in the page box for sources instead of the Master Source box). I love your product and love it even more as the issues from the last release are fixed. Keep up the wonderful work!!
I have had them all, Family Tree Maker, Legacy, My Heritage,… Nothing compares to RootsMagic 4, I love it, I recommend it! The best software out there.
Jim, to which name list are you referring? RM has typically had the capability of moving to the appropriate name(s) as you type characters.
Thank you! In working to link and connect our family in NFS this has really made the project possible. The elimination of typing from one program to the other is the best feature…
Thank you
I just went through the NFS interface tutorials at:
http://www.rootsmagic.com/fs/
RM4 seems so intutitive that I did not realize all the power that was behind the icons. It made the process go so quickly.
The search feature is right there
and so great.
I recommend the tutorials 100%!!!
Thanks for fixing the problems with the Shareable CD. It works perfectly except that it would be nice if the Introduction allowed or used word wrap. My introduction looks weird and I can not figure out the exact width I need to make the text so I do not have a series of long and short lines.
Again thnaks
Thanks so much for your dedicated efforts to make RM such a cool product. I LOVE the NFS capabilities. This is one great product that I must still learn to use better!
gets better as i learn to use the features…having owned most programs available. this IS the best