Family Tree Maker 2011 List of Improvements

Family Tree Maker 2011

I just received my copy of FTM 2011 and there are a lot of changes and improvements to the program.  I’m not sure I have found them all yet. 

Here is a review of the changes and improvements I found in the new FTM 2011:

Smart Stories
The new Smart Stories is a narrative tool that helps write family stories. Choose from the facts, sources, and notes you’ve already entered in your tree and then drag-and-drop them into your report. The Smart Stories put these Facts into narrative form.  The Smart Stories are then completely editable.  Smart story text is linked dynamically to your FTM2011 database file, so if a fact changes, the information in your story will be updated automatically.   It’s an easy way to get started writing a story for any person in your family. The Smart Story narrative report is found under Publish, Other.

Charts
Fan Charts
There are five different shapes when creating a fan chart: full circle, semi-circle, quarter-circle, etc. These can be found under Publish, Charts.
Bow Tie Chart
Bow Tie Charts show both maternal and paternal ancestors of one person in one chart.  Maternal ancestors are on left and paternal on the right.  Siblings can now be included in the Bow Tie Chart. Found under Publish, Charts.
 
Last Generation Shown Vertically
In descendant and hourglass charts, the last generation in the chart can be displayed vertically.
Pedigree Chart
The book layout for the pedigree chart makes better use of space.
Photos and Embellishments
You can add images to a chart and drag and drop them wherever you like. In addition, Family Tree Maker comes with a set of embellishments, borders, and backgrounds that you can use to decorate charts and reports. 
Fonts in Charts
Font size, type, and color can be changed based on fact types. This makes the reports more readable, and makes the important things stand out.

Reports
TimeLine Report
In the new timeline report, you can view the events that occurred during your ancestors’ lives. Choose one person –  then choose  family events, historical events, or even private facts to add to his timeline.   You can edit, delete or add your own historical events.  The historical events included with FTM 2011 are world historical events but the program tries to choose relevant historical events.  I think it will make sense toalso  add my own historical facts that I know actually would have affected each ancestor. Found under Publish, Person Reports.
Surname Report
The new Surname Report lists the surnames in your tree, including the total number of individuals with that surname, the number of males and females with that surname, etc. Found under Publish, Person Reports.
New Descendant Reports
Family Tree Maker gives you four descendant report numbering systems: Register, NGSQ, Henry, and d'Aboville. The register and simple register reports are now simplified into one descendant report that included all of the options from both.  Found under Publish, Genealogy Reports.
Custom Report
The custom report now has user-selected primary and secondary sorts. In addition, new options allow you to include age at death, number of children, age at first marriage, and more.  Found under Publish, Person Reports.
Kinship Report
You can now sort the Kinship Report by relationship (for example, first cousins can be grouped together).  This looks to me to be much more like the well-regarded Kinship report from FTM 16
.
Save Report Settings
You can save the current report settings and use them as the preferred settings for that report.
Bibliography
You can create a simple bibliography of source titles or an annotated bibliography that includes summary information, such as repository and reference notes.
Report Headers and Footers
You can define the headers and footers for a report.
Photo Albums
You can now create an album for a person, relationship, or both. Very nice.
Calendar
You now have the option to display death dates in the calendar.

Ancestry Integration
Expanded Web Dashboard
The expanded Web Dashboard now includes Member Connect activity, links to message boards, and notification of new Ancestry messages.  I immediately found someone who saved the census of my great-grandparents to their tree.
Enhanced Performance
Uploading and downloading speeds have been improved. In addition, Family Tree Maker says they have increased ability to upload large files to Ancestry.com.  I don't have a large file so this is something I cannot check out.
Internet Speed
You can choose the type of Internet connection you're using. Then Family Tree Maker uses this information to tailor how it downloads information from the Web.

Media Management
Locate Missing Files
If you've moved your media items and Family Tree Maker has marked them as "missing," the Find Missing Media tool can locate them all at once.  Very handy after moving to a new computer.  Go to the Media workspace, then click on Media, Find Missing Media.
Categories
You can now assign categories to multiple items at one time. This was a helpful addition.  I had just categorized my media one by one.  Phew.
Media Metadata Stored in Family Tree Maker
If your images contain metadata, the information will be stored. If the metadata contains a caption, date, or description, this information will be automatically entered for you.

Data Entry
Automatic Reference Numbers
Family Tree Maker can assign reference numbers automatically to individuals, relationships, or both. If you upgrade from an older version of Family Tree Maker with reference numbers, your numbers will remain the same in Family Tree Maker 2011.
Enhanced Foreign Characters Usage
Additional foreign language symbols and characters have been added.
Duplicate Person Alert
When you enter new individuals, Family Tree Maker analyzes the information and alerts you if it believes you may already have the individual in your tree.  Haven't run into this problem but it sounds like it can keep a database from getting messed up.
Description Fastfields
You can now use the Fastfields feature for Description fields. Welcome back, fastfields.

General
Updated Interface
This is the first thing you will notice when you open FTM 2011.  There is a new Ancestry color theme.
Enhanced Index of Individuals
The Index of Individuals on the Family tab will now sort people based on name and then birth date.
Historical Timelines
Family Tree Maker comes with a set of default historical events that are used in timelines. Now you can edit, delete, and add to these historical events. In addition, Family Tree Maker looks at facts entered for an individual and displays the most location-appropriate historical events. You can manage historical facts in the edit tab.
First-Time User Assistance
The first time you open Family Tree Maker, it will automatically search for Family Tree Maker (.ftw) files on your computer (Version 16 and earlier).
Place Enhancements
If many locations in your tree are from the same country, you can choose this as your "home" country. That way, Family Tree Maker will not display this country in fields, and charts and reports. I’m happy to see this improvement. It’s just a little thing but seeing USA over and over in the reports looked redundant.  
Companion Guide
If you have any questions about how to do something in FTM 2011, you will probably find the answer in the 349 page Companion Guide.  This pdf Companion Guide which opens on your computer is searchable and can be accessed from Help, Companion Guide.

I have a new laptop that is running 64 bit Windows 7 and the program installed easily. Be sure to backup your FTM 2010 file since the FTM 2011 file cannot be read by FTM 2010.   FTM 2011 install in a new folder and does not install over FTM 2010.  Ancestry.com sent me this copy of FTM 2011, but FTM has been my program of choice since the mid-90’s.  I’ve tried most of the other programs but always come back to FTM.  I love the integration with Ancestry.com which makes my searching for info on my ancestors very easy. I also like the flexibility of the user interface.

When you register FTM 2011, be sure to enter “login to your account” and not “create a new account” if you are already a member of Ancestry.com.  I accidently choose the wrong choice, and I could not register FTM.  I got a message that said “unknown error”  A call to tech support at 1-800-ancestry set me straight.  Thanks!

You can still enter the coupon G5JXTRY at checkout in the box marked Redeem Coupons for a 20% discount.

Family Tree Maker 2011 Available for Pre-Sale

FTM 2011 is now available for pre-sale with free shipping.   You can use this coupon code for a 20% reduction in price.  Enter the coupon G5JXTRY at checkout in the box marked Redeem Coupons.

Family Tree Maker 2011

These are the enhancements listed by Ancestry:

• Smart Stories™— Just drag and drop facts from your tree to the new Smart Stories page. Each time you edit your tree, stories update automatically.
• New and improved charts—Enhance your charts with new backgrounds, borders, and embellishments. Create four new designs, including a 360 degree fan chart. 
• Refined reports—Save and reuse report settings and use 5 new report styles.
• Media management tools—Locate missing media items with the click of the mouse.
• More Ancestry integration—Find out which Ancestry members are searching for your ancestors in the expanded Web Dashboard.  
• Better performance—Upload and download trees from the Internet with increased speed. 
• Numbering—Automatically number every person in your tree for quick reference.  
• Timelines—View more events that occurred during your ancestors’ lives. Even edit, delete or add your own historical events..  
• Easy-to-use tools for merging duplicate individuals, calculating dates, creating to-do lists, and more.

And don't forget the features you've come to rely on:

• Dynamic user interface that lets you quickly switch between important features.
• The ability to import data from other genealogy programs, including Personal Ancestral File, The Master Genealogist, and Legacy Family Tree.
• Powerful sourcing tools that let you document AND rate each of your citations.
• Interactive maps and lists that give you a bird's-eye view of where members of your family come from.
• Photo AND file management features so you can easily incorporate all types of media files into your charts and reports.
• Timelines that highlight personal, family, and world events.
• Easy-to-use tools for merging duplicate individuals, calculating dates, creating to-do lists, and more.

Use Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker together to get the most out of both:

• Search the extensive record collections at Ancestry.com without ever leaving your family tree! And, when you find new records, you can quickly merge them into your tree.
• Take advantage of Ancestry Hints-Family Tree Maker automatically suggests records that may match people in your tree.
• Import your Ancestry.com family tree, along with attached photos.
• Upload your tree to Ancestry.com and connect with millions of other family historians across the world.

I understand the Mac version of FTM 2011 will be available later this year.

Google's Dictionary Changes Again

Google's built-in dictionary has undergone a few transformations over the years and has just undergone another major change. Previously, Google's  dictionary  was found on the blue bar on the right hand side of the Google results page where Google would link search words to definitions supplied by Answers.com, Dictionary.com and eventually to its own dictionary.

But recently, after the latest Google redesign of the results page, this dictionary link to search words has been removed completely along with the blue bar on the search results page where the link resided.

A dictionary is still available but now it just is a little harder to find.

There are actually two ways to access a dictionary from Google and they give different results.

• Google Dictionary
  The more thorough dictionary which is available in multiple languages.  Google's Dictionary gives:
• Definitons
• Verbal Pronunciation
• Synonyms
• Related Phrases
• Usage Examples
• Definitions found on various websites
• A Dropdown box for other languages

• Define:genealogy
Using the Google searchbox, type the operator define: followed by the word you want to look up in the dictionary (with no spaces between define: and the word ). Google will give:
• Related Phrases
• Web Definitions

I find many words in my genealogy research that are not in common usage today and the Google defne operator is all I need.  Some examples:

• Define:rod   (a measurement I found in an old will which described the size of a plot of land )
The rod is a unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, 5.0292 metres, 16.5 feet, or of a statute mile. A rod is the same length as a perch and a pole
• Define:teamster  (an occupation of an ancestor in the 1870 census)
The driver of a team of horses doing hauling  
• Define:apoplexy  (cause of death found in an 1890 obituary)
  
  Stroke: a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain

When the define: operator does not give enough information, the thorough Google Dictionary is now available.  I've actually found no links to the Google Dictionary  from the Google website, so it is best to bookmark it.

Geocities? Reocities!

Back when the internet was new, one of the places genealogists started putting their family trees was Geocities.  During these last 15 years, a whole lot of genealogy info was stored on Geocities.   Family trees, Civil War regiments, burial locations, obits, you name it. When Yahoo closed Geocities last year, a lot of info was lost forever for internet genealogy researchers.  While many active webmasters moved their sites, all too many did not.

The Internet Archive  has archived Geocities webpages from various dates, but I've found the Internet Archive didn't always save all the interior pages of a site.

However I have just discovered Reocities.  Reocities has archived much of Geocities and has an amazingly large amount of the interior pages archived also.

To find a Geocities website you have bookmarked, just change the "G" in Geocities to an "R".  The rest of the URL remains the same.

Examples:
Change
http://www.geocities.com/g96thpvi/ to
http://www.reocities.com/g96thpvi/

Change
http://www.geocities.com/g96thpvi/lettersdiaries.html to
http://www.reocities.com/g96thpvi/lettersdiaries.html

Change
http://geocities.com/Heartland/5251/obitscly.html to
http://reocities.com/Heartland/5251/obitscly.html


To search the reocities archives, do a site search in Google.

Examples:
site:reocities.com civil war burials pennsylvania
site:reocities.com schuylkill county
site:reocities.com mahady genealogy

There is a lot of historical treasures tucked in these reocities sites. 


Webmasters:  if you link to an old geocities site, simply change the "G" in geocities to "R" to continue linking.  You can also check the Internet Archive and see if either site has archived the interior pages.  I don't know if reocities has archived all old geocities sites, but it had the ones I checked.

Reocities is historical information only.  There is no way that a webmaster can update his old site.  While some of it may become outdated, much of it is still valuable.  There are old letters, obituaries, regimental histories, and so much more.

The Making of Reocities

Google's Similar Sites

There are a lot of genealogy sites on the web and you probably have your favorites.  How can you find additional sites like those favorites?  Last week, Google launched a search feature that helps you easily find new websites that are similar to the ones with which you’re already familiar.

Google has offered a "Similar" feature on results for a while now as a way to discover new, useful sites, but it was easy to overlook. Now they are showing these alternative sites more prominently. For queries where similar sites are likely to be helpful, Google has started to display a list of "Pages similar" at the bottom of the results page. For example, if you search for Rootsweb, this is the list of sites similar:

Pages similar to http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/:

• FamilySearch.org - Search for family ancestors. Billions of free family ... - familysearch.org 
• USGenWeb Project - Consisting of a group of volunteers working ... - usgenweb.org 
• Genealogy Today - genealogy and family tree history, ancestry ... - genealogytoday.com 
• genealogy, ancestry, family history - Discover Your Ancestry, ... - kindredkonnections.com

  And right below that is Additional Searches Related to Rootsweb.

While a broad search like Rootsweb might give very obvious similar sites, try checking out Similar Sites when searching for surnames and localities related to your family tree and see if this the newest Google search feature is useful to you.

Who Do You Think You Are? Reruns on MSNBC

MSNBC has begun re-airing the run of NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are" series on Friday evenings at 10pm ET through June 11th.

If you missed any of the original WDYTYA episodes or if you want to review any of the genealogy search techniques shown in the shows, now you can.

How Do I Find My Ancestors?

You may be asking yourself, "How do I find my ancestors?" after viewing the compelling new TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?.   The TV show tells the stories of the family history of celebrities, and unearths connections to the California Gold Rush, Salem witch trials, slave auctions, the Civil War, and other unique slices of American history. 

This show personalizes the family history of celebrities and turns it into a gripping narrative entwined with the history of the country.  The celebrities reflect who we all are -  a microcosm of the United States multi-ethnicity.  All families have a unique story, not just celebrities.  After all, before they were celebrities, they were regular people from regular families.

If you are interested in tracing your own family tree and discovering your own unique family story, it's easy to get started.  Begin with yourself and work backwards as they do in the TV show.

Start your private family tree online to enter what you already know about yourself, your parents, your grandparents, and as far back as you know.  Invite your parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins and other family members to contribute what they know to add to your online tree - fill in names and dates, tell stories and upload photos.  Ancestry.com will use what you enter to try and find more about your family in the world's largest online collection of historical records and family trees.

Talk to the older people in your family.  You may be surprised what they know but never talked about because they thought no one was interested.  Here are some suggested questions to ask them to get the ball rolling.

After these first steps, learn the additional steps for building your family tree at the Ancestry.com  Learning Center. And here are further resources for how to begin your genealogy search.

Your family story is waiting to be found.   "To know who you are you, you have to know where you came from."  Your journey can be as exciting, as emotional, and as surprising as the stories on the TV show because it is your personal family history.  The excitement and surprises happen as you uncover that story

Who Do You Think You Are? success in the UK

The idea for the new US television show on NBC Who Do You Think You Are? originated from a phenomenally successful show in the UK, which has traced the roots of over 50 celebrities in the last 6 years. During the last season, more than 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the UK show. 

Nearly 12,000 Brits attended the Who Do You Think You Are? Live conference in February 2009. Of those, 84 percent say they started researching their family history since 2004 when the show began.  The show has generated a surge of family history interest in the UK and, hopefully, the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are? will result in the same enthusiasm.

I'll be watching Friday night.  Let's hope the show will become as popular in the US as it is in the UK

"Who Do You Think You Are?" Episode Schedule

Update: NBC has renewed Who Do You Think You Are for 2010/2011.  They also announced a new schedule for the remainder of this season: 

 

• April 9: Sarah Jessica Parker (Repeat) 
• April 16: No episode 
• April 23: Susan Sarandon 
• April 30: Spike Lee

 

Here is the current schedule for the Who Do You Think You Are? episodes according to NBC:

• March 5 - Sarah Jessica Parker
• March 12 - Emmitt Smith
• March 19 - Lisa Kudrow  
• March 26 - Matthew Broderick
• April 2 - Brooke Shields
• April 9 - Susan Sarandon  
• April 23 - Spike Lee  

   

Who Do You Think You Are? in the News

 

  In the coming weeks, Who Do You Think You Are? is going to be spotlighted in several major media outlets. Among them, Oprah will designate an entire hour to family history next Tuesday!

 

Here's a list of a few shows to watch for (all dates/times are subject to change):

 

• Wednesday, March 3
• Today Show (NBC) 8-9 am
• The View (ABC - check your local TV listings)
• The Joy Behar Show (HLN - Headline News) 9 pm ET
• Friday, March 5
  
  • Today Show (NBC) 10-11 am
• Monday, March 8
  
  • Martha Stewart (check your local TV listings)
• Tuesday, March 9
  
  • Oprah (check your local TV listings)
  • Craig Ferguson (CBS late night)
• Friday, March 19
  
  • Bonnie Hunt (check your local TV listings)

 

Tune into NBC this Friday night, March 5th at 8/7c to find out how Sarah Jessica Parker is connected to the Salem Witch Trials.  Was her ancestor an accused or an accuser?  We'll find out on Friday.

Free Online Backup Storage for Your Genealogy Files

Google recently announced that any file type can now be uploaded to Google Docs storage. Google gives 1 GB of storage for free and more storage if you pay.  A single file upload is limited to 250 MB.  Google says  “This makes it easy to backup more of your key files online, from large graphics and raw photos to unedited home videos taken on your smartphone.”    Look for a “bubble notification” when signing in to know when this feature becomes available to you.

I created a folder in Google Docs called Genealogy Backup and began uploading to see if I found Google Docs a viable backup storage solution for my genealogy files.

I uploaded my genealogy files .ftm, ftmb, and .ged files to my Genealogy Backup folder.  All uploaded successfully and once uploaded I then had the options to download these files or to share them.

I next uploaded multiple pdf files - all the reports that I had saved which were produced by my genealogy program.  These also uploaded successfully and  not only can I download and share these pdf reports, I can also read them online and print them.

I then tried my media file which includes all my downloaded census and other record images.  I wish I could have uploaded the folder as a whole, but Google Docs made me upload them by record by record.  I could select multiple records to upload at a time, but when I tried to select all, Google Docs gave me an error message and told me to select less records to upload.  Uploading all these record images took quite a bit of time and used up a lot of my free storage space - not very practical.  I hope Google will soon allow uploading a whole folder at one time.

Overall, I am pleased to have another free place to backup my genealogy files, but I'll just be uploading my ftm genealogy files and not the individual record images.  The upload is manual and not automatic like the backup service Mozy (Mozy not only gives 2 GB storage for free, but does the back up automatically).

Here is my Genealogy Files Backup Plan.  I used to copy my files to CD's, but now copy to a flash drive.  With Google Docs, I like the idea of also having my files saved somewhere away from my house in case of a real disaster where both the computer AND flash drive were both destroyed.  I think saving to the Google Docs cloud makes a lot of sense.

The best discovery with uploading genealogy files to Google Docs is that I can now easily share my genealogy with family members by uploading and sharing my reports.  All free.

My genealogy files are small and Google Docs suits my needs for a secondary genealogy backup storage.  If Google Docs doesn't have enough online storage for your needs, Mozy offers 2 GB storage for free and has automatic backup. Microsoft SkyDrive offers 25 GB of free storage with a manual backup and ADrive offers 50 GB of free storage with manual backup. Or you can always email yourself genealogy files using your gmail account.  Gmail offers more storage than Google Docs and the amount is constantly being increased.  I suspect at some point in the future Google Docs will follow suit.