More News About Family Tree Maker

Just when you think you understand what is going on in the world of family tree software, everything changes. There has been LOTS of chatter in the blogosphere about the fate of FTM - a great deal of it is very conflicting.  The latest news appears to be that FTM is not going away at all.  It appears that MacKiev has decided to just take over the software, tweak it, and then redistribute it.

According to a recent article in Genealogy and History News, MacKiev is going to have FTM back on the market by 1 March.  According to the frequently asked questions on the MacKiev site,

• If you are using FTM 2014 or newer, you will not need to do anything
• There may, however, be updates to install - particularly on the Windows version
• There will be no cost for updates to those using FTM 2014 or FTM Mac 3
• Full, new copies of the software will be $69.99 (there will be an introductory offer of $49.99)
• If you want to use the software on multiple computers, there is a Family Pack Update for $20 which allows use on up to three computers (mix of Windows and Mac)
• If you currently use FTM with Ancestry.com you don't have to do anything or purchase anything.
• By the end of 2016, MacKiev hopes to have FTM integrated for use with FamilySearch.org. This is a very big deal.  No other tree maker works with both websites.

So this is the story as of today.  Each week it seems that something new is being revealed.  As always, we will keep you posted.  But for now it appears that, if you like your FTM, you can keep your FTM!  Let's hope MacKiev is better at keeping promises than some folks we know.

For those of you who are not using any tree making software and are trying to figure out what to do, Lynn is still planning a presentation on RootsMagic at the 9 March meeting.  RootsMagic has been saying that it will be able to sync with Ancestry.com, so as long as that doesn't change, you now have more options.  If cost is a factor, RootsMagic is still the better value at an introductory price of $20. If you use FamilySearch.org for your research, FTM may be the better option starting in 2017.  

Once all the data is in (later this year), the dust has settled, and it is clear what program is syncing with which websites and what all the costs are, we will publish a comparison.  Stay tuned - it could all change again soon!