2013 in Review

Michael Booth 15 Comments

2013 Year in Review

It’s New Years Eve here in the RootsMagic underground labs which means that it is time for us to crawl out and spend some quality time with friends and family.  It also means that it is once again time to reflect on all that has happened this past year.  And don’t forget to check back on Wednesday as we present our resolutions for 2014.  But until then- let’s all gather in the TARDIS (don’t worry, its bigger on the inside) and travel back to January 2013.

Help Us Help You

RootsMagic Webinars

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 three 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.

One of the most frequent requests for our online instruction was 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.

RootsMagic for PAF Users: A Quick-Start Guide

 

In June, FamilySearch announced the retirement of its Personal Ancestral File (PAF) genealogy software and recommended that PAF users upgrade to FamilySearch-partnered software like RootsMagic.  To make the transition as easy as possible for PAF users, we created a free 16-page, full-color booklet titled, “RootsMagic for PAF Users: A Quick Start Guide“.  We mailed out thousands of of these printed guides while thousands more downloaded the PDF version.

 Conferences, Sponsorships & Awards

2013AboutReadersChoiceAwards

In March, About.com Genealogy hosted the “2013 About Genealogy Readers’ Choice Awards”.  Readers nominated and voted for their favorite products and organizations.  We were honored to receive two awards for:

At the RootsTech conference in March, we once again gave away two iPads in the RootsMagic 2013 RootsTech Treasure Hunt.  Just as in 2012, it was a lot of fun and brought some well-deserved attention to bloggers in our genealogy community.

We attended conferences all over the United States from Southern California to Las Vegas to Indiana.  It’s also been our privilege to sponsor two great genealogy podcasts- The Genealogy Gems with Lisa Louise Cooke and The Genealogy Guys with George Morgan and Drew Smith.

Leading the Way

FamilySearch Family Tree

2013 saw several free updates to RootsMagic 6 that were firsts in the genealogy world.  In March, we became the first software certified to share data with 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.

ProblemAlerts

In July, we introduced the world to “Problem Alerts“.  With Problem Alerts, RootsMagic will find any potential data entry errors (people born before their parents, etc.) in the background and display an alert next to the name of any person with a potential problem.  This alert will show on the pedigree, family, and descendant views.  This feature is a huge hit with our users and the genealogy community at-large.

More Devices, More Platforms

Android Coming Soon

 

Like you, we know how important it is to have your information where and when you want it.  One of our resolutions for this past year was to bring RootsMagic to even more platforms and devices.  We had already brought you RootsMagic for Windows Desktop, RootsMagic for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and My RootsMagic online publishing.  In 2013, we released the beta version of RootsMagic for Android.  After much testing and feedback from our users, we are almost ready for the official release.  Watch this blog for an announcement in the very near future!

Happy Birthday to Us?

2013 was the year that RootsMagic had its ten-year anniversary.  We wish we could say “celebrated” its ten-year anniversary but, in all honestly, we didn’t realize it had been ten years until it was pointed out to us earlier today by Tamura Jones.  RootsMagic 1.0 was officially released on February 4, 2003.  Oh well, maybe we’ll do something for the 11th anniversary 🙂

Thank You!

We sincerely mean it when we say that none of this would have been possible without you and your support.  We are grateful for the wonderful support, enthusiasm, and encouragement that we receive from our community.  We are humbled by the knowledge, patience and wisdom which we so often see freely shared among RootsMagic users.  2013 has been an incredible year for us thanks to you!

RootsMagic Webinars are Now Indexed

Bruce Buzbee 3 Comments

RM-Webinar
One of the free training options we provide for RootsMagic is our free online classes (webinars).  Not only are all of our webinars free, but you can watch them anytime, day or night.  Just go to the RootsMagic Webinars page, select the one you want and start watching.

But one of the biggest issues is that many of the webinars are 60-90 minutes long, and sometimes you are only interested in one part of the webinar.  In the past you had to start up the webinar and scan through or watch the entire thing just to find the part you were interested in.

Those days are over.  We have just put up PDF indexes for all of the webinars.  You can now search the PDF indexes to find which point in which webinar you want.  Each index covers about 10 webinars, and lists the time (minute and second) where various topics occur within each webinar.  You can then start the webinar and jump to that time in the webinar to watch just the part you are interested in.

We have webinars for every user, whether you are a beginner just getting started, or a power user looking for more tips on RootsMagic tools.

To check out the indexes or list of webinars, just visit:

http://rootsmagic.com/webinars

 

Our Best Holiday Offer Ever

Bruce Buzbee


RM_ChristmasTree

With the holidays coming up, we often get requests from our users about buying copies of RootsMagic to give as gifts to their family or friends.  In what has become an annual tradition, RootsMagic owners can buy discounted copies of our software to give as gifts.

Ten Years of Holiday Specials!

It’s hard to believe this is our 10th year offering holiday pricing for gifts, and to celebrate we are going to do our best holiday offer ever!

During this special holiday sale, you can order gift copies of RootsMagic 6 *AND* the book “Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic” for just $20 (plus shipping).  That’s right, both the program and book together for $20.

Even better, you can order our other products for just $19.95 each, or you can order our 3 best sellers (RootsMagic, Personal Historian, Family Atlas, and the RootsMagic book) together for just $49.95.

There is no limit on the number of discounted gift copies you can buy during this limited time offer which will expire December 20, 2013. You will receive the full program and 360 page book for each copy you order.

To take advantage of this offer, just visit:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/holidayoffer

or order by phone at 1-800-ROOTSMAGIC (1-800-766-8762).  You’ll need to mention the code HOLIDAY2013 when you call.

Working with FamilySearch Family Tree

Michael Booth 4 Comments

As the only software certified to add and share data with FamilySearch Family Tree, we have received a lot of questions about “what is FamilySearch Family Tree”, “who can access FamilySearch Family Tree”, etc.

FamilySearch Family Tree

What Do the Different Certifications Mean?

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what the different levels of FamilySearch certification mean.  When a program is designed to work with FamilySearch, it must receive “certification” in order to have permission to perform various functions.

There are 3 different levels of certification, as listed on this “Partner Products” page at FamilySearch:

  1. Tree Access Tree Access means that the program can only read data from the FamilySearch Family Tree.  Tree Access does not allow writing to the Family Tree.
  2. icon-TreeConnectGray Tree Connect means that the program can read data from the Family Tree, and can also read artifacts like media or sources.  Tree Connect does not allow writing to the Family Tree.
  3. Tree Share+ Tree Share+ means that the program can read and write data to the Family Tree.  For a program to be Tree Share+ certified, it must protect the integrity of the FamilySearch Family Tree by also implementing all the collaborative features (sources, change history, reasons, discussions).  This is important, because a program should not allow a user to make changes to the Family Tree without showing them the full consequences of the change.

RootsMagic is currently the only software with the Tree Share+ certification, so you can easily share your data back and forth with Family Tree (if you want).

Who Can Use FamilySearch Family Tree?

FamilySearch Family Tree is a free website, available to anyone who wants to set up a free account.  If you don’t already have a FamilySearch account, you can go here to sign up:

https://familysearch.org/register/

You can use FamilySearch Family Tree directly from their website, or you can use the Tree Share+ integration built into RootsMagic to view your own data side by side with the data available on FamilySearch.

If you use the FamilySearch integration built into RootsMagic, you don’t have to copy any data from RootsMagic to FamilySearch (or vice versa) unless you want to.  You can still look for matches without transferring your data back and forth.

Where Can I Learn More About Using RootsMagic with FamilySearch Family Tree?

We have created a number of short videos showing how to access FamilySearch Family Tree from inside RootsMagic.  To view these short videos, click here.

Sharing Sources Between RootsMagic and FamilySearch Family Tree

Bruce Buzbee 28 Comments

As the only TreeShare+ certified program, RootsMagic is the only software certified to share sources with FamilySearch Family Tree.  We’ve gotten a lot of questions about this great feature, so we’ve created a short (12 min) video that shows exactly how to do this.  But let’s start with a quick overview first.

Sharing Sources with FamilySearch

Once a RootsMagic person has been matched to a person on FamilySearch, you may wish to compare and exchange sources between RootsMagic and FamilySearch. The source tab will display the sources attached to the RootsMagic person on the left and the sources attached to the FamilySearch person on the right.  You can view more details about a particular source by clicking the blue information icon to the right of the source name.

FSSources
Click to embiggen the image

Clicking the checkbox in front of a source will bring up a screen with one or more options available for the source. You can copy a source from RootsMagic to FamilySearch, or from FamilySearch into RootsMagic, and you can also detach, tag or untag a source on FamilySearch. Choose what you want to do with the source and then select the options for that comand. Some options (like copying a source from RootsMagic to FamilySearch) will also ask you to enter a reason why you are making that change.

CopyFSSource
Click to embiggen the image

If your RootsMagic source has a WebTag, the URL for that WebTag will be included when you copy the source to FamilySearch. When moving a source from FamilySearch to RootsMagic, the URL (if any) will be added as a WebTag attached to the source when it is brought over.

A Short Video

And here is that short video I promised, which goes into more detail about how to share sources between RootsMagic and FamilySearch Family Tree.

Remember, to use RootsMagic with FamilySearch Family Tree, you’ll need to be using the latest version of RootsMagic 6 (6.3.0.2).  If you already own version 6, select Help > Check for Updates from the main menu.  If you are using an older version, you’ll need to upgrade to v6.

In our next blog article, we’ll show you another FamilySearch feature unique to RootsMagic, the Change History List with the ability to restore incorrect changes to Family Tree.

RootsMagic Introduces Problem Alerts

Bruce Buzbee 42 Comments

As I teach RootsMagic classes or webinars, I’m surprised how often somebody will say “I didn’t know that feature was in there”.  One such “unknown” feature is RootsMagic’s problem list.  The existing problem list (found at Tools > Problem Search > Problem List) scans everyone in your file to try and find any potential data entry errors (people born before their parents, etc) for everyone in your file.

Since the problem checking is such an important feature, we are introducing Problem Alerts in our latest update (version 6.3.0.0).  With Problem Alerts, you no longer have to manually run the problem list to see possible data entry issues.

RootsMagic will problem check in the background and display an alert next to the name of any person with a potential problem.  This alert will show on the pedigree, family, and descendant views.

ProblemAlerts
Click to embiggen the image

Just click on the problem alert and RootsMagic will display a list of the potential problems for the person.

ProblemList
Click to embiggen the image

You can highlight any of the potential problems and edit the person or family, mark the potential problem as “not a problem”, add the problem to your To-Do list so you can work on it later, or print the list of potential problems for the person.

You can enable or disable Problem Alerts from the Tools > File Options screen. You can also select which types of problems you want the Problem Alerts to look for.

Here is a short video showing how this cool new feature works.

Remember, to use Problem Alerts, you’ll need to be using the latest version of RootsMagic 6 (6.3.0.0).  If you already own version 6, select Help > Check for Updates from the main menu.  If you are using an older version, you’ll need to upgrade to v6.

In our secret underground labs, we’ve already found the Problem Alerts to be very useful in helping us clean and maintain our genealogy data. We’re confident it will be just as useful for you too.

 

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!

RootsMagic is Only Software Certified to Share with FamilySearch Family Tree

Michael Booth 18 Comments

The Only Software Certified to Share with FamilySearch Family Tree

We are pleased to announce that an update to RootsMagic 6 is now available which has been “Share Certified” by FamilySearch for use with their new “Family Tree” system.  This means that RootsMagic is the only software certified to share data with FamilySearch Family Tree!

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.

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!