I wanted to let you know that I finally caved in and upgraded to TMG6. I just couldn't wait for Legacy to add the real endnotes/footnotes into the program.

However, the import was not that easy. The supposedly fabulous Genbridge import process doesn't correctly import Legacy 5 files. Some parts of both sources and citations are missed as well as closed to-do items from Legacy. Anyway, I ended up using the generic gedcom import although it had the same probems.
Jim Byram was a great help during the process and really walked me through it but it is not for the faint-hearted (I actually had to manually manipulate the gedcom file text in notepad).

I finally got my report and am happy with it.

Ok, so which genealogy software program do you use?

In the last 10 years I have used Family Tree Maker 2-5 & 10, PAF5 and Legacy 2-5. I am now considering making another switch. Why? Well if you've been reading my blog, you'll know that I want to write a family history using a narrative descendancy report as a basis. This led me to discover that Legacy 5 didn't support "real" endnotes/footnotes. I waited for Legacy 6 to be released in September only to discover that it still didn't.

Investigations into other software revealed that the features weren't really as equal as you might think. Most of these applications are quite mature and you'd think that there would be little difference between them. That is true to a certain extent when you look at the basic features. But for those of us that are a little more advanced with our record keeping there are quite a few differences.

A search of the internet revealed that all comparisons of genealogical software are outdated. So the table above is my summary of some of the more *important* features and which programs have what. You'll see that no program has everything, even the supposedly all-encompassing The Master Genealogist.

Timelines - show a variety of historical event timelines to put your ancestors into their social perspective
Real Endnotes/Footnotes - create endnotes/footnotes that your word-processing program can recognize
Book Reports - allow you to print more than one report at a time with a single table of contents and/or index
LDS Support - report on ordinance data (such as missing ordinances, import TempleReady updates)
Correspondence Log - track your correspondence
Witnesses - allow you to add witnesses to an event, including allowing your ancestor to be a witness
Gensmarts support - integrate with the Gensmarts research suggestion tool, by making suggestions for individuals that exist in your database and importing the results
IGI Search - allow you to search the IGI and other online databases for individuals that exist in your database without leaving your genealogy software, import the results
Source Wizards/Templates - provide source citation templates (Mills/Lackey) to ensure that your source citations are correct and complete

Anyway, I hope that this helps you decide which program suits your needs.

If you have been adding names for years into your genealogy program you have probably collected thousands of names from different sources and have probably changed your methodology style over time. If you have never thought about cleaning up your database or are not sure where to start, this blog entry is for you.

1. Duplicate individuals
Most genealogy programs have a merge feature. This is designed to look for duplicate individuals and to then merge them together. Make sure that the two individuals really are duplicates. Many families named individuals after other individuals in the family and so exact duplicate names are quite common in genealogical research. If your genealogy software allows you to review information during the merge process, make sure that you review parents, spouses and any dated information to ensure that you do not unintentionally merge two real individuals. If the individuals aren't duplicates, mark them as not duplicates so that you do not have to do this review again during another merge in the future. And whatever you do, create a backup before you start this process!

2. Cleaning up individuals
Almost all genealogy programs have a potential problems report. This report can be useful in spotting non-sensical data in your file. Many programs allow you to set threshholds for the data, such as minimum age for marriage, maximum child-bearing age or maximum life span. Check each individual listed and if possible, mark them to be ignored if the potential problem isn't actually a problem. Correct any genuine problems that you find.

3. Cleaning up places
Not all genealogy software programs allow you to merge places but some of the common programs do (such as Legacy). Use the Location List in Legacy to spot duplicate places and merge them together.

4. Cleaning up sources and citations
There are three things to do here. First is to merge any duplicate sources. This happens often when another gedcom is imported into your file. For example, one user might have referred to the IGI, the other to the International Genealogical Index.

Secondly, ensure proper source citation. While it is not necessary to become too obsessed about the proper way (check Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Evidence"), you should at least be consistent. Rootsmagic 3 has a Source Wizard that helps you to enter the information in the correct format and to ensure nothing is left out in the citation. The Master Genealogist has a similar feature where you can select whether you want to follow one of the more popular citation formats and then it guides you to how to do this.

Lastly, every "fact" in your database should have a source. The Master Genealogist has a feature that reminds you to enter a source when you enter data. TMG, Legacy and Rootsmagic all require multiple steps to find missing sources. You will need to search by fact, for example, individuals who have a census record but no associated source. In Legacy this requires that you tag all individuals that have a census fact, and then untag all individuals using census sources (you may have one census source or many, depending how you have set up your sources). This will give you a list of tagged individuals that you can add a source to.

5. Broken trees
Some programs allow you to count trees in your file. Ideally your file should only have one tree. Everyone should be connected in some way or other. There should be no stray individuals disconnected from your tree. Rootsmagic 3 allows you to count trees, select the Count Trees in Database from the Tools menu.

Legacy 6 Standard is available for FREE from www.legacyfamilytree.com
The Master Genealogist 6 (www.whollygenes.com), Rootsmagic 3 (www.rootsmagic.com) and Legacy 6 Deluxe are all commercial products.