What is the best genealogy software available and why?

I am trying to research my family's ancestry and I am using the Mormon software, but it isn't very indepth.

What is the best genealogy software available and why?
Family Tree Maker ($39) is the market leader in the USA for PC's. Reunion is the only program I know of in the USA for the Mac. I use Roots Magic ($29) in the USA on a PC because I work as a data base designer and I know quality work when I see it.





RM is easy to use but does good things which FTM doesn't do. Exactly what it does will sound like "geek" to you; denormalization, for instance. They use a descriptor table and ID for the location, too.





If, for instance, you have "Modesto, Stanislus, California" as the place for 400 facts in your data base, then you find out the county is spelled "Stanislaus", you can change it just ones and it will be correct in all 400 facts.





I agree partly with Wendy - tools should be secondary. But tools help. RM will let me select people. For instance, if I find a great data base of Pennsylvania Weddings 1752 - 1900, I could have RM show me everyone in my data base who had "Pennsylvania" in any fact type - birth, death, census, marriage - so I could check to see if they were in the marriage data base. I could limit the list to those born after 1740 and before 1900. I could have them "served up" to me in three ways:


1) Selected in the individual view


2) Printed on paper


3) "Printed" to a text file, which I could import into Excel





If you search Google for [genealogy software review] or [genealogy software comparison] you will get thousands of biased and unbiased opinions.
Reply:Any genealogical software is simply a means of saving, filing, and visualizing the information you find. If you are interested in quality RESEARCH, the software is not really relevant.


People have been researching their ancestry for many many years, before there ever were computers available at all. I started using a 3 ring binder, and standard paper charts, and standard filing systems.


The computer is a wonderful TOOL but it does not replace the fun of learning good research standards that help you solve the puzzles.
Reply:FamilySearch.org offers a great version of their genealogy program called Free PAF (Personal Ancestral File). It's has quite a few features and is perfect if you're looking for something free. Registration for the website is required, but also free.
Reply:I would think that genealogy changes as information changes over time. I have just discovered my family's roots from the 17th century due to recent discoveries in Europe. It wasn't the software it was the Internet. Rely on the updates more! Good Luck!!!
Reply:I have used Family Tree Maker for over ten years, and have found it to be easy to use. You can input basic information about an ancestor, add notes, and include citations. There is even a place where you can put in photos. I like FTM because you can create custom genealogies. I have made custom made books for different family members, and can put in only their ancestors. They also have links to their collection of sources specific to the ancestor you've put into the program (provided you're online), but use this information with caution; much of it is not verified. First link below is for one offer for this software; second is a review of the software.