RootsMagic Releases Free Genealogy and Family Tree Software

Michael Booth 30 Comments

RootsMagic Essentials

“RootsMagic Essentials” Brings Free Tools for Family History

SPRINGVILLE, Utah. — November 18, 2009 — RootsMagic, Inc. announced the immediate availability of RootsMagic Essentials, free desktop genealogy software based on their award-winning RootsMagic 4 system.  RootsMagic Essentials contains many core features found in its namesake that allow the public to easily start tracing their family trees.

Essential Features for Everyone

“Many of our users have told us that they have friends and family members who are interested in getting started in family history but aren’t ready to invest in a more comprehensive package like RootsMagic,” said Bruce Buzbee, president.  “RootsMagic Essentials gives them the features they need to start researching and recording their family tree at a price that can’t be beat—free!”

RootsMagic Essentials Screen

RootsMagic Essentials shares many of the same features with the full RootsMagic software including clean and friendly screens, the ability to add an unlimited number of people and events, pictures and media management, the SourceWizard to write your source citations for you, powerful merging and clean-up tools, dozens of reports and charts, support for international character sets, FamilySearch integration, and the ability to share data with other people and software programs.  The full version of RootsMagic is available for purchase and includes features not available in RootsMagic Essentials.

Free and Available Now

RootsMagic Essentials is available now for free at http://www.rootsmagic.com.  Users of other genealogy software products will find it easy to experiment with RootsMagic Essentials using their own data.  RootsMagic Essentials can directly import data from PAF, Family Tree Maker (through 2006), Family Origins, and Legacy Family Tree.  It can also read and write data using the popular GEDCOM format.

“We’re excited to make RootsMagic Essentials available to the community,” said Michael Booth, vice-president.  “Our mission is to provide ‘software to unite families’ and our hope is that RootsMagic Essentials will encourage more people to record their family trees and connect with their family histories”.

About RootsMagic, Inc.

For over 20 years, RootsMagic, Inc. has been creating computer software with a special purpose—to unite families.  One of our earliest products- the popular “Family Origins” software, introduced thousands of people to the joy and excitement of family history.

That tradition continues today with “RootsMagic”, our award-winning genealogy software which makes researching, organizing, and sharing your family history fun and easy.  “Personal Historian” will help you easily write and preserve your life stories.  “Family Reunion Organizer” takes the headaches out of planning those important get-togethers.  And “Family Atlas” creates beautiful and educational geographic maps of your family history.

For more information, visit http://www.rootsmagic.com.

Source: RootsMagic, Inc.

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.

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.7.0)

Bruce Buzbee 8 Comments

We have just released a minor update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.7.0).

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:

NEW

– Added “Use standardized place” button when editing a place from the master place list
– Streamlined NFS features

FIXED

– Source list now prints all occurrences of multiple citations of the same source for the same fact
– Fixed a problem with longitude sometimes having the wrong E, W designator
– Fixed problem with non-admin, non-power users getting a “Can’t save application settings” when exiting from RM
– Importing a GEDCOM with more than 2 addresses for a person doesn’t hang anymore
– Merging doesn’t put — MERGED NOTE — when one record has a note but the other doesn’t
– Record number doesn’t print for the spouse of children in narratives anymore
– Nickname delimiter (parens vs quotes) honored in website narratives

Addendum: Version 4.0.7.1 is the current version and includes just a couple of minor tweaks / fixes.

RootsMagic Compatible with Windows 7

Michael Booth 15 Comments

With the exciting launch of Windows 7 today, we’ve had several inquiries wondering how our software works with the new operating system.  We’ve been using and testing our software with the beta version of Windows 7 for several months now and the release version of Windows 7 for the last few weeks.

We’re pleased to report that RootsMagic 4, Personal Historian, and Family Atlas all work great on both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

RootsMagic 4 on Windows 7

RootsMagic 4 Update Released (4.0.6.0)

Bruce Buzbee 29 Comments

We have just released a new update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.6.0).  This update adds several new features, plus returns several reports (such as the blank forms) which didn’t make it from v3.

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/download.

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

NEW

– Added blank reports (pedigree chart, group sheet, cemetery record log, correspondence log, research log)
– Added Print button to the Count Trees screen
– Added Print button to the Relationship Calculator screen
– Added option to display birth year in side list index
– Added option to display record number in side list index
– Marriage list report can now print marriage rec# with any sort order (as an option)
– Any events which don’t fit on a printed calendar print on an overflow page at the end of the calendar
– Double clicking a fact in RM Explorer now opens the edit screen to that fact in edit mode
– Added “Edit Family” button to problem list
– Added RootsMagic Launcher to manually start RM on flash drive since Vista now disables autorun on removable drives
– Installer will warn if you try to install on a removable drive (use RM to go instead)
– Added Oquirrh Mountain temple to LDS temple list

FIXED

– Direct line children in ancestor narrative now show spouse / marriage information
– Doing “Add multiple people” when sharing a fact now assigns a default role (which can be changed for each person)
– When deleting a shared fact, RM will warn you that it will delete the fact for everyone sharing it
– Named groups side list is now updated when you change color coding for a person
– Alternate names in family group sheets now reference the correct sources
– Family sources are now printed on group sheets
– Sources now print in group sheets for LDS facts
– Replacing a “submitted” ordinance with the actual ordinance in the NFS sync screen now clears “submitted” in the RM fact
– Unlinked non-image media items now show broken link in media gallery and media albums
– Fixed the format that latitude and longitude are exported to GEDCOM
– Lat/Long and Media for place details are transferred via GEDCOM
– Mapping screen (Tools > Mapping) remembers size and position
– Fact types turned off for individual summaries aren’t printed in the summaries anymore
– The title of a text page in publisher appears in the table of contents (instead of “Text page”)
– [Husband] and [Wife] fields now work properly in narrative report sentence templates
– :Age and :Role modifiers now work for [ThisPerson] in witness sentence templates
– Helper status bar now shows on File > FamilySearch > FamilySearch Import when in helper mode
– Living flag is cleared during FO import if person has a death-like fact or over 105 years old
– Publisher can print blank pages that appear at the very front of a publisher book
– Todo report doesn’t print false repository when todo item doesn’t have a repository
– RootsMagic on flash drive (To-Go) can find place database on computers w/o RM installed
– Deleting places and place details removes media links to those items

Come See Us in California, Arizona, Idaho and Indiana

Bruce Buzbee 5 Comments

This month finds us traveling around the country for conferences and presentations.  If you live in one of these areas, please stop by and say “hi”.

OCTOBER 16-17 – REDDING CALIFORNIA (CALIFORNIA FAMILY HISTORY EXPO)

We will be in Redding, California October 16-17, 2009 as major sponsors of the California Family History Expo.  Visit our booth, attend our classes, or take away one of our over $500 worth of prizes!  The exhibit hall and our RootsMagic classes are free, but there are other great classes you can register for as well.  For more information about the California Family History Expo, visit:

http://www.fhexpos.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=52

OCTOBER 16-17 – MESA ARIZONA (MESA REGIONAL FAMILY HISTORY CENTER)

Michael Booth, VP of development for RootsMagic will be presenting two RootsMagic classes open to the public at the newly remodeled Training Center of the Mesa Regional FHC located at 464 E. 2nd Ave, in Mesa, AZ.  The first class will be Friday evening at 7:00 PM, and the second class will be at 10:00 AM Saturday morning.  Classes are free but you are asked to register by calling 480-964-1200.  For more information visit:

http://www.mesarfhc.org/new_books_publications_1.htm

OCTOBER 17 – REXBURG IDAHO (BYU IDAHO FAMILY HISTORY CONFERENCE)

This Family History Conference is sponsored by Brigham Young University – Idaho. The conference provides instruction on how to find information about your ancestors and other related topics.  Jason Mendenhall will present a class “Introduction to RootsMagic 4” which will cover the new features in version 4, including the New FamilySearch support.  More information is available at:

http://www.byui.edu/ce/familyhistory

OCTOBER 30-31 – FT. WAYNE INDIANA (INTL. BLACK GENEALOGY SUMMIT)

Then on October 30-31, 2009 we will be exhibiting at the International Black Genealogy Summit in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  For more information visit:

http://www.blackgenealogysummit.com

RootsMagic 4 Book Available for Pre-Order

Bruce Buzbee 16 Comments

The book Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 4 is on a truck racing towards our warehouse.  This 336 page book written by Bruce Buzbee (that’s me) starts with the basics (creating a database, adding people, etc).  Subsequent chapters go into detail on more advanced aspects of RootsMagic 4.

We are now taking orders for the book which will begin shipping the day the books arrive (probably Wednesday August 26).  As always, the fastest way to order is online.  You can also order by phone starting Monday morning, but be prepared to leave a message and be called back since we could be getting a lot of phone calls those first few days.

The regular list price of the book will be $14.95, but we are going to offer it for the bundle price of $10 (plus s/h) for a limited time.

Click here to order your copy of Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic 4

Updates Available for RootsMagic, Personal Historian, and Family Atlas

Bruce Buzbee 13 Comments

New RootsMagic Update Available

We have just released a new update to RootsMagic 4 (version 4.0.5.0).  This update is primarily a bug fix update, although there are a couple of new items.

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/download.

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

NEW

– Children in narrative reports that are in the next generation now print birth, marr, and death info in the child list
– Added “Search > Move to primary position” to move the highlighted person (really only useful in pedigree and descendant views)
– Added a button to FamilySearch match and sync screen to view the person on the FamilySearch website
– Added birth year to FamilySearch sync screen for relationships (both RM and FS sides)
– Added FamilySearch import to import a tree from New FamilySearch into an RM file (File > FamilySearch > FamilySearch Import)
– Added Remove to the FamilySearch ordinance request screen to unreserve names

FIXED / CHANGED

– Color coding now works on Timeline Chart
– Spaces are trimmed from name parts when adding a new person
– If short footnote is left blank, RM will use the full citation in its place
– Changed default for color coding to “Highlighted person”
– Box charts in wordwrap mode don’t sometimes truncate a person’s info anymore
– RM warns you when you try to print a group sheet that would be blank
– GEDCOM import doesn’t sometimes duplicate city/state/postal code in second street field anymore
– Drag and drop doesn’t create a blank death fact for people who had their “Living” flag unchecked
– Disputed or disproven alt names now display red crossout
– Fixed several screens / reports where an “unknown spouse” could have phantom events
– GEDCOM import / export now supports “proof” settings
– Drag and drop now preserves “proof” settings
– Added person’s name to title of Individual Timeline list
– Source list prints a person’s suffix for citations
– Changing title of descendant list holds now
– NFS sync screen name matching color coding works properly now
– PAF import handles user defined divorce events now
– When running RM from a flash drive, File > New now defaults to a folder on the flash drive
– NFS Sync options list repositions if necessary to remain completely on screen
– Group sheet doesn’t display wrong Seal to Spouse info when a person wasn’t married
– Submitted ordinances in group sheet print as “Submitted” instead of date to prevent confusion
– Submitted ordinances in NFS sync screen display as “Submitted” instead of date to prevent confusion
– Fixed several issues when printing FORs from NFS
– NFS Match and Sync only shows primary names in list (doesn’t list people multiple times in list anymore)
– Description field in events now transfers back and forth from NFS

New Family Atlas and Personal Historian Updates Available

We have also just released updates to our Personal Historian and Family Atlas programs to provide support for importing the new RootsMagic 4 files.  These are free updates for registered users of Personal Historian and Family Atlas.

To download the update for Personal Historian, go to:

http://www.personalhistorian.com/Support/Updates.aspx

To download the update for Family Atlas, go to:

http://www.familyatlas.com/updates

Join RootsMagic at the Salt Lake Family History Expo

Michael Booth 7 Comments

SaltLake-2009-WebHeader

Come join us at the Salt Lake Family History Expo August 28-29, 2009 at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah.  Visit our booth, attend our classes, or take away one of our over $1,000 worth of prizes!

Free Exhibit Hall!

Visit us at the RootsMagic booth in the Expo’s exhibit hall and experts will be on hand to answer questions about the RootsMagic software.  Don’t miss special conference discounts on various RootsMagic products. The Exhibit Hall also features family history vendors from across the world. The Exhibit Hall is free to the public and is open:

  • Friday, August 28: 9 am – 6 pm
  • Saturday, August 29: 9 am – 5:30 pm

Free RootsMagic Classes!

Come learn about the new features in RootsMagic 4 ( including our award-winning integration with New FamilySearch) in 3 free classes.  That’s right, these classes are FREE to anyone (but you do have to come pick up a ticket from our booth to attend).

  • New FamilySearch Made Easy with RootsMagic 4 – Friday 11:30 am
  • What’s New in RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 8:00 am
  • Sharing and Publishing Your Family History with RootsMagic 4 – Saturday 2:30pm

We are also teaching a couple of other classes as well:

  • Personal Historian: Bringing Life to Your Life Stories – Friday 3:00pm
  • Where in the World? GPS and the Genealogist – Saturday 11:00am

Fun Prizes!

And to help show off some of the great features in RootsMagic 4, we’re going to give away these great prizes in each of our free RootsMagic classes.

  1. Two 4GB flash drives pre-installed with RootsMagic 4.  That’s right, RootsMagic 4 will run directly off a flash drive.  And with the included RootsMagic To-Go program you can easily transfer your data back and forth between your desktop computer and your flash drive as well.
  2. Two copies of Evidence Explained (a $50 value each) to highlight the updated SourceWizard in RootsMagic 4.  It will automatically write your sources in Evidence Explained, Evidence!, Cite Your Sources, or other formats, as well as let you create your own custom formats.  And it’s easy to use!
  3. Two $25 gift certificates from Generation Maps.  Generation Maps makes it easy to print those large wall charts you’ve created in RootsMagic 4.
  4. Plus a bunch of stuff just for fun: RootsMagic tote bags, badge holders, genealogy ties, and more!

Other Classes!

Over 100 other classes will be presented by industry leaders and experts from the local and national genealogical community.  Products and services from genealogy companies will also be showcased in an exhibit hall where you can meet with specialists for free personal consultations on research questions or problems.

If you wish to attend the other classes, pre-registration is just $68.00 through August 24.  After August 24, you may register at the door. The cost at the door will be $78.00 for both days and $48.00 per day. Individuals who want to attend only one or two classes and visit the Exhibit Hall can register for single classes at $12.00 each.

Expo details and the class schedule are available online at: www.FHExpos.com.

Competitive Upgrade Discount Ends in 3 Weeks

Bruce Buzbee 7 Comments

$19.95 Price Ends August 31st

When we released RootsMagic 4, we offered a limited time “competitive upgrade” price to users of other genealogy programs to thank them for their help testing RM4 during our community preview.  That competitive upgrade price will expire on August 31st.

So if you are a user of Personal Ancestral File (PAF), Family Tree Maker, Legacy Family Tree, or The Master Genealogist, (or an other genealogy program for that matter) you can still buy RootsMagic for the upgrade price of $19.95 (that’s $10 off the regular price).  Or if you have a friend you have been trying to switch over to RootsMagic, there’s no better time than now.

To receive the competitive upgrade discount, visit:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/upgrade

RootsMagic Book Coming Soon

As a side note, the long awaited book for RootsMagic 4 is at the printer.  Keep watching this blog, or make sure you are subscribed to the RootsMagic News email newsletter to be notified as soon as it is available (sorry, we can’t take orders for it until it is ready to ship).