It is a matter of personal preference. Do you want to store your family tree high up in the Cloud or do you want more control by only having it on your computer? Do you want to keep your tree available on your computer only or do you want the world to have access to the fruit of your labor? Are coconuts fruits? I wonder…
There are many offline family tree programs and apps available for offline storage in your computer. Most are one-time purchases with offers of future upgrades and additional services. This is software that collects your tree on your computer. The software organizes your tree, always easy editing and corrections, allows you to print out reports, trees, group sheets, fancy fan trees for display, share gedcom files, keep secret notes not for publication, make a tickler file of things you want to verify later and warnings of past false trails. I can only recommend the one I use, Familytreemaker. It used to be owned by Ancestry.com. Now it is owned by a company in the Ukraine. You can purchase it directly on the website mackiev.com. I have used it for 20 years as it evolved from a shareware program on a floppy disc to an app on my iPhone. It is portable. Most libraries allow laptops and iPhones in their research areas. You don’t have to rely on Wi-Fi coverage. Its best features are that I can link my research stored on my computer to both Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org databases. I can download anything I find to my computer with simple effort. I can synchronize my computer tree one stored on Ancestry.com with two clicks. I don’t have to retype all the information or corrections twice. Why do I use a software program in addition to my online Ancestry.com? Sometimes I turn off my subscription services for months when not actively researching and still make corrections and additions to my tree. I can also store private research notes I don’t want on the WEB.
By Ed Peck
Special to the Herald Times
