고정 헤더 영역
상세 컨텐츠
본문
The booming interest in genealogy created by the Internet has provided a lucrative market for programs that help the home user research and create their family tree. The booming interest in genealogy created by the Internet has provided a lucrative market for programs that help the home user research and create their family tree. Developing such a program should not be too difficult because the good ones are little more than a simple relational database with some word processor, desktop publishing and Internet functionality thrown in. Often, the best are the simplest so when you are confronted with a 31-CD monster, you have reason to be concerned, particularly when it comes with a 370-page manual. Generations Family Tree has been around for ten years and it has an ardent following throughout the United States and Australia - for good reason. In its basic form it uses a combination of simple database structure, chart management and data mining to create a family tree.
It takes less than half an hour to get the hang of putting together your family history by simply filling in the details in the appropriate places. So what has gone so badly wrong with Generations Family Tree Grande Suite v8.0? Quite simply it is a horrible mishmash of programs that do not integrate well and, as a complete package, is very user-unfriendly. The package comprises the core Family Tree software, an Internet library application called iCollect, Sierras basic photo editing program SnapShot Express and Master Cook Heritage Edition, although it is hard to fathom why a recipe book has been included. Together they take up less than ten per cent of the package. The rest comprises of several US databases as well as the Generation World Name Index and the passenger list for the Titanic.
Only Generation World Name Index is of much relevance to Australia; however, it will only tell you if a person exists and what town or city they were last registered in and if you want any further information you must pay for it. The Internet links provided as part of the core program are of greater benefit to users in this part of the world. There is also an excellent book by Cyndi Howells on how to research genealogy on the net, which takes up some other parts of the package. Creating your family tree is the easy part. The core program is easy to work out, relatively simple to configure and clever enough to take same-sex marriages and multiple spouses into consideration.
It checks the ages of each person on the tree and alerts the user if they attempt to make an illogical or doubtful entry, such as giving children to a female under the age of 12. Reports are automatically compiled on individuals and family branches and the entire tree can be saved in html and posted on the Internet. Each person has their own card and photographs, sound files and video clips can be imported to their card. However, these imports do not automatically appear in some of the family tree charts that can be generated with a click of a button, and the charts do not handle graphics well anyway. Unlike the cards, images cannot be imported directly into charts but must be copied and pasted from a graphics program. They are difficult to resize because the default setting adds borders or shadows, which must be removed first.
In a strange piece of illogical design, Sierra has left some basic functions out of most of its charts, while at the other end of the scale allowing the user to create 3D charts, which apart from looking pretty are totally worthless because they cannot be printed and do not provide access to data relating to individuals on the chart. ICollect is an awful piece of over-engineering. It will download an entire Web site and store it in a library for you to view off-line at your leisure. In reality it is cumbersome and confusing and downloads a lot of material that is a waste of space. It also downloads each element of a Web site and allows the user to drag and drop some elements in applications like Word (but not Family Tree), with apparent disregard of copyright.
Sierra Generations Family Tree Download Charts For Pc
To make matters worse, it is the default viewer for the design graphics Sierra provides for anyone who wants to spruce up their family tree, but you still have to cut and paste them. Grande Suite promised an awful lot but delivered very little.
A number of websites offer free charts and forms to view, download, save, and print, including family tree-style documents, fan charts, and pedigree forms. All of them show the same basic types of information, such as birth, death, and marriage years for ancestors going back several generations. The difference between them is in how that information is displayed. In a family tree, the ancestors branch out from the bottom to the top of the page; in a fan chart, they're displayed in a fan shape, while a pedigree chart looks like half of a sports bracket and displays the pertinent information reading from left to right. Where to Start Tracing Your Ancestors. If you know the location of an ancestor's birth, marriage, or death, begin with those counties to request basic records. While you're there, search land records (deeds), court cases, and tax rolls.
Free Family Tree Software
Court filings that can be helpful in a genealogy search include adoption, guardianship, and probate records. The federal income tax was introduced not long after the Civil War, and those records may also contain valuable information to help you flesh out your family history. Finding Census Data to Fill Out the Chart. Sites such as Ancestry.com (by subscription) and FamilySearch.org (free after registration) have digitized records, searchable by name, which can be a real time-saver. Otherwise, you'll have to find the exact page your ancestors appear on, and since the census takers went street by street collecting data, the information is not.
To find actual records through the National Archives site, you need to know where your ancestors lived at the time the census was taken. Even if you think you know the exact address, you might be faced with sifting through pages and pages filled with hard-to-decipher handwriting to find their names. When searching a genealogy database indexed by name, don't be afraid to try multiple spellings, and don't fill in every search parameter box. Variations can help you find what you're looking for. For instance, check nicknames, especially when hunting for children named after a parent: James may lead you to Jim, Robert to Bob, and so forth.
Those, of course, are the easy ones. Onomastics is the study of names and you might have to do a little research in this area. While Peggy is a common name, not everyone knows that it's a diminutive of Margaret. Another variation to be on the lookout are names tied to a specific religion or ethnicity—especially those that rely on a different alphabet (such as Hebrew, Chinese, or Russian) or pronunciation (such as ). Stay Organized. Genealogy can be a lifelong pursuit when handed down among families. Having the information you've collected and the sources you've already consulted organized saves time by eliminating duplicate research.
Keep lists as to whom you've written for information, what links you've searched for which ancestors, and any other pertinent information. Even knowing what turned out to be dead ends may prove useful down the road. Keeping track of detailed data for each ancestor on separate pages can also be helpful. Documents are great for at-a-glance information but don't offer enough room for all the stories you're bound to gather. Free Family Genealogy Documents. This free printable family tree records the ancestors from whom you've directly descended in a traditional family tree format and is suitable for sharing or framing. The muted tree in the background and embellished boxes give it a bit of an old-fashioned feel and includes space for four generations in the standard format.
Each box includes enough room for the name, date, and birthplace, however, the format is freeform, so you can choose what information you wish to include. Males are commonly entered on the lefthand side of each branch, and females on the right. The chart prints in 8.5' X 11' format.
