Friday, September 21, 2012

New Family Tree Maker 2012 Update

I just opened my Family Tree Maker 2012 program and got the message that there is a new Version 704 available.  This is a required update.  The Update Description says:

This update contains important improvements to the Family Tree Maker 2012 product.  

These improvements include:

1. Improvements to TreeSync reliability and performance

2. Private Media - Media items can be marked private and will be excluded from TreeSync.

3. Web Links - Person and citation web links can now be created in Family Tree Maker and can be synchronized between Family Tree Maker and Ancestry Member Trees.

4. Improved Sync Log - The TreeSync Details log can now be printed and now shows the names of people who made each change that is being synchronized to Family Tree Maker from Ancestry Member Trees.

5. Improved Backup & Restore - A synced tree can now be backed up and restored to the same or another computer in a way that allows syncing to continue.

6. Place Name Hierarchies - Place names can now better accommodate addresses and other place detail (such as cemetery, church, hospital, or historical names, etc.).  This new capability also allows places to be displayed as part of their hierarchical structure if desired (this can be turned on or off). 

7. Copy & Paste Facts - Facts (including date, place, description, notes, media, and source citations) can be copied from one person and pasted to anyone else in the tree.  When pasting you can select any/all members of the person's family and paste to all at once.

8. Updated help for all of the new and enhanced features added during the past year.

9. Numerous other bug fixes and minor enhancements.

One new feature that intrigued me was the Web Links tab on the People Workspace and Person Tab:  I clicked on the Web Links tab to see what happened:



I filled in the blanks above for the biography of my grandfather, added the title, and clicked "OK."


On the Web Links tab, when I highlight the item shown I can Edit, Delete or Open the Web Link by clicking on the icons on the Web Links menu line.

I wondered what the Help page for the Web Links said.  Here is the Help page for "Add Web Link:"


It says:

"Add Web Link lets you attach a web address to a person. A person's record can have multiple web addresses associated with it. You can include the web addresses in books and reports, or you can open the web page in your default browser directly from the link."

In the "Web Address" option field, it says:

"Specifies the URL to the web page you want to attach to the person. The address must be a properly formatted to work. At times it may be better to copy the address from your browser and paste it into the Web address field.
"The Open Link button opens the web page in your default browser."

In the "Link name" option field, it says:

"Specifies the title of the web address. You can give the link any name. This name appears in the Web Links list."

This looks like a really helpful addition to Family Tree Maker 2012.  I wonder if it gets transferred in a GEDCOM file, or is included to an Ancestry Member Tree?

Check out Russ Worthington's Family Tree Maker User blog for more discussion of this FTM 2012 update.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/09/new-family-tree-maker-2012-update.html

Copyright (c) 2012, Randall J. Seaver

2 comments:

Andrew Hatchett said...

"This looks like a really helpful addition to Family Tree Maker 2012. I wonder if it gets transferred in a GEDCOM file, or is included to an Ancestry Member Tree?"

Randy,

I know that previously the "WebLink" feature on the Ancestry Member Tree (in lower right hand sidebar) didn't sync with FTM when doing updates. Ancestry said that in the future it would be fixed to do so...

Perhaps this is that long promised 'fix'.

Andy

Unknown said...

Randy, thanks for this. I haven't had a chance to delve into the updates yet, so this review is perfect for me, and perfect timing. ~ Jen