{"id":3167,"date":"2019-07-17T10:21:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T16:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.rootsmagic.com\/?p=3167"},"modified":"2019-07-17T10:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T16:21:09","slug":"happy-30th-birthday-rootsmagic-part-12-growth-and-new-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.rootsmagic.com\/?p=3167","title":{"rendered":"Happy 30th Birthday, RootsMagic! \u00a0Part 12: Growth and New Products"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This is Part 12 of\u00a0<\/strong>our ongoing series documenting the history of our company. If you’re just joining us, be sure to read\u00a0Part 1<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>,\u00a03<\/a>,\u00a04<\/a>,\u00a05<\/a>,\u00a06<\/a>,\u00a07<\/a>,\u00a08<\/a>,\u00a09<\/a>,\u00a010<\/a>, and 11<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once RootsMagic 4 and RootsMagic Essentials were out the door, we tried to concentrate on upgrading the software and adding new functionality. \u00a0But we were hearing from our users that they wanted to be able to take their data on their new tablets they\u2019d gotten for Christmas. The only problem was that we had no programming skills on tablets, either iOS or Android.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than hire new programmers just to write apps, we decided to outsource them. \u00a0We got a bunch of bids from companies all over the world, but finally ended up selecting a local company here in Utah. \u00a0We knew that genealogy software is actually very complex, and this company was actually already familiar with RootsMagic and genealogy software in general.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever hired out programming, you know it can get very expensive. \u00a0And we were faced with the decision how to recover the costs of creating these new apps. \u00a0In the end, we decided to leave them as read-only to keep our costs down, and to make them available for free. \u00a0We released our iOS app in Dec 2012<\/a>, and didn\u2019t know it would take another year of development before we could get the Android version out.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"RMapp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back when we released RootsMagic 4 we assumed we\u2019d never have to rewrite the program again. \u00a0But as we got more and more requests for a Mac version it became clear that we might get to do just that.<\/span><\/p>\n

We knew there were a couple of options\u2026 write a separate Mac version (or have another company write a Mac version for us), or rewrite the program so that we could compile the same program to both Windows and Mac. \u00a0We\u2019ve seen too many programs where their Windows and Mac versions are quite a bit different (both interface and functionality), so we really didn\u2019t like the first option. The second option would ensure that both Windows and Mac users would always have the same functionality, yet redesigning the program again seemed daunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

So in the summer of 2014 we began rebuilding RootsMagic so that we could compile natively to both Windows and Mac. \u00a0But having done this multiple times, I knew firsthand how long it could take, and the Mac users were getting more and more vocal. \u00a0So as a temporary fix, we contacted a company called Codeweavers that wrote software to let Windows programs run on a Mac. We had them build a custom wrapper for RootsMagic, and in September 2014 we released MacBridge<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since we had to pay Codeweavers for every copy of MacBridge we distributed, we sold it as a separate program so we could keep track of the numbers. \u00a0The MacBridge program allowed you to install the Windows version on your Mac, but the process was somewhat unwieldy, and it was hard to explain to users how it was supposed to work.<\/span><\/p>\n

We decided we needed to simplify this whole Mac \u201cwrapper\u201d thing, and worked out a license with Codeweavers where we could pay a flat amount every month and be able to distribute unlimited copies. \u00a0This not only allowed us to create a \u201cRootsMagic for Mac\u201d standalone installer, but also meant we could distribute free RootsMagic Essentials with the wrapper as well. And yes, we continue to eat the cost of that monthly license to this day \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/p>\n

While we continued to work on the new Mac\/Windows version, we decided to release a new version of RootsMagic<\/a> based on the older code with some exciting features we had been working on. \u00a0RootsMagic 7 included a new feature called WebHints, which would display hints from FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast, and let you click on a little lightbulb to jump to those sites to see the hints.\u00a0 We also announced MyRootsMagic, where registered users could easily post free websites of their family tree.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then in December 2015, Ancestry dropped a bombshell that they were discontinuing their Family Tree Maker program. \u00a0About this same time they contacted us and asked if we were interested in working with their API and integrating RootsMagic with Ancestry. \u00a0Of course we jumped at the opportunity. I had been asking Ancestry to work with their API for years without any luck, so this came as a very pleasant surprise. \u00a0After crossing all the T\u2019s and dotting all the I\u2019s, we jointly announced that we would be working together on February 2, 2016<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We optimistically guessed that the new Ancestry features would be done by the end of 2016, but we underestimated the complexity that lay before us.\u00a0 And as we began work on the integration, we noticed that our RootsMagic 7 sales were dropping. We realized that users were holding off buying RootsMagic until the Ancestry features were released, so we announced that the Ancestry features would be a free update to version 7. \u00a0Sales immediately picked back up, but we realized this meant that RootsMagic 8 which we were working on separately would have to be put on the back burner until the Ancestry integration was done.<\/span><\/p>\n

We tried to be as transparent as possible about progress on the Ancestry features.\u00a0 Normally we wouldn’t pre-announce a new feature, but in this case Ancestry wanted it to be known that we were working on this functionality.\u00a0 So it left us open to a lot of second-guessing by users as the development went past our estimated release.<\/p>\n

During the latter part of development, I started growing a beard and started joking that I wasn’t going to shave until the Ancestry features were released.\u00a0 Finally, on June 28, 2017, we announced to the world in a short live video from our “secret underground laboratories” that it was finally here.\u00a0 It was kind of a ridiculous video, but was also kind of an emotional release from all the hard work we put into those features.<\/p>\n