Thursday, November 13, 2008
Try Family Historian 3.1 software before buying
One of the top-rated genealogy software packages in the British Isles is Family Historian. Family Historian 3.1 runs on Windows Vista, XP Home and XP Professional, 2000, ME and 98.
Now it is available at 1,500 Target stores in the United States and Canada, according to a press release from Enteractive Distribution (received via email) - available online at GenealogyToday here.
Enteractive Distribution also announced a new web site to provide useful information to consumers and genealogists. This new web site http://familyhistorian3.ning.com provides modern consumer features such as a product blog, updated news about the product, discussion forum, store locator, FAQ, product support groups, and easy to use customer support features.
I don't want to buy a product sight unseen (and the FH3 web site has very little detail information on it), I decided to investigate the software further. There is a web site for Family Historian at http://www.family-historian.co.uk/ which has a 30-day free trial of the software at http://www.family-historian.co.uk/downloads/dl_trial.htm.
My devoted readers know that I just cannot resist a free trial of software - so I downloaded the software (very quick - only 10 mb), installed it (less than a minute), and uploaded a 20,000 person GEDCOM file (very quick - less than a minute). I wandered around the program for about 30 minutes, ensuring that all of my data came across (it did) , and checking navigation, charts and reports.
When you install the program, also installed onto your computer is a complete PDF (electronic document) version of the book Getting the Most From Family Historian. It installed into the Program Files/Program/ file folder on my hard drive. I probably should read it before I do much testing of the program.
The press announcement conveniently avoids giving the price of the software. I had to go to the UK software page to determine that it costs about 35 pounds, which includes some www.FindMyPast.com units. A download version costs $56, which is a bit pricey compared to other genealogy software available in the USA, like Family Tree Maker 2009, RootsMagic, and Legacy. I wonder if the price at Target will be lower?
I will post later when I have some testing done and some opinions on the software.
Now it is available at 1,500 Target stores in the United States and Canada, according to a press release from Enteractive Distribution (received via email) - available online at GenealogyToday here.
Enteractive Distribution also announced a new web site to provide useful information to consumers and genealogists. This new web site http://familyhistorian3.ning.com provides modern consumer features such as a product blog, updated news about the product, discussion forum, store locator, FAQ, product support groups, and easy to use customer support features.
I don't want to buy a product sight unseen (and the FH3 web site has very little detail information on it), I decided to investigate the software further. There is a web site for Family Historian at http://www.family-historian.co.uk/ which has a 30-day free trial of the software at http://www.family-historian.co.uk/downloads/dl_trial.htm.
My devoted readers know that I just cannot resist a free trial of software - so I downloaded the software (very quick - only 10 mb), installed it (less than a minute), and uploaded a 20,000 person GEDCOM file (very quick - less than a minute). I wandered around the program for about 30 minutes, ensuring that all of my data came across (it did) , and checking navigation, charts and reports.
When you install the program, also installed onto your computer is a complete PDF (electronic document) version of the book Getting the Most From Family Historian. It installed into the Program Files/Program/ file folder on my hard drive. I probably should read it before I do much testing of the program.
The press announcement conveniently avoids giving the price of the software. I had to go to the UK software page to determine that it costs about 35 pounds, which includes some www.FindMyPast.com units. A download version costs $56, which is a bit pricey compared to other genealogy software available in the USA, like Family Tree Maker 2009, RootsMagic, and Legacy. I wonder if the price at Target will be lower?
I will post later when I have some testing done and some opinions on the software.
Labels: genealogy software, Online resources
