Reluctantly need to replace Generations - any suggestions

[suedent]

Can anyone who has experience of Generations suggest a suitable replacement?

I have tried FTM and really didn't get on with it, added to that none of my sources exported properly, as I have several hundred sources on each of several trees I don't relish having to sort them all. This particularly applies to my huge Polperro database which I frequently refer to to answer queries by Polperro FHS members.

A couple of days ago I downloaded a trial version of Rootsmagic, I thought it had solved the sources problem but on closer inspection only one source per person shows when viewed in tree form. All the sources do show when a report is created so I know they have exported, just not in the way I'd like.

I'd really prefer not to replace Generations but it's glitchy with XP and I will probably be replacing my laptop in the New Year & I would guess that the glitches would only be exacerbated with Vista (that's if it works at all!!)

[arthurk]

I'm not sure what you mean by

on closer inspection only one source per person shows when viewed in tree form.
I use RootsMagic (now) but I'm not aware of being able to see sources (other than a single icon to show whether there are any sources or not) unless you're actually editing the person's facts/events. Would you be able to explain what screen you're on etc, please?

My software journey started with Generations too (v.6), but I found it kept crashing and corrupting the database and then it became unsupported. I used Legacy for a time - very stable, and well supported. However, the support was actually too good for me - frequent updates, bug fixes etc, but at 20MB or so a time on dial-up it got too much. I did like the program, although it didn't have a very wide range of charts and I used TreeDraw as an add-on. Now I've moved to RootsMagic, and while I still miss one or two features from Legacy, I find it a very good overall package (including charts).

I remember that moving out of Generations was a bit tricky, as some of the events/facts weren't recognised in Legacy, but I got there in the end. I think the source information got jumbled too, so I had to go through each one and move its name from one field to another. I don't know if this might be related to what you've found. Moving to RootsMagic was easier, but not entirely straightforward: different programs have different field options for some of the notes or event/fact types, so a bit of manual tidying up is always to be expected. Sometimes it can help to try a few different GEDCOM export options to see which works best (but do make sure your data is well backed up before doing anything, in case something goes wrong and you have to start again).

Anyway, if you can give a bit more detail, I or someone else might be able to help some more.

Arthur

[suedent]

I'm not sure what you mean by

I use RootsMagic (now) but I'm not aware of being able to see sources (other than a single icon to show whether there are any sources or not) unless you're actually editing the person's facts/events. Would you be able to explain what screen you're on etc, please?

The single icon you have mentioned indicates that there is a source, when I click on that I see one source where in generations I might have had 2 or more sources for that event.


I remember that moving out of Generations was a bit tricky, as some of the events/facts weren't recognised in Legacy, but I got there in the end. I think the source information got jumbled too, so I had to go through each one and move its name from one field to another.

That is what I was hoping to avoid, I have a massive database involving thousands of people who either lived in Polperro or were descended from Polperro families. I generally have all the census entries listed as sources. The thought have having to manually adjust every source is just to depressing, not to mention time consuming. I'm also busy transcribing Parish records in my spare time & TBH I know which I'd rather be doing.

[christopher_n_lewis]

Hi Sue

Like you, I have reluctantly moved away from Generations. I considered RootsMagic, as it seems to 'look and feel' similar, but I found it's charting functions couldn't do what I wanted. I'm now looking at Family Historian, it is very different in design philosophy, but does have some nice features. Specifically
i) Draws marriages in the 'English' way (two people boxes linked by a double line), with dropline to the next generation coming from the double line, rather than the 'American' way (both partners in one box)
ii) Will add little symbols for whatever you want, in my case to see if I have census info for that person
iii) unexpectly, but great to have, can plot two families, and has a coloured line to highlight where marriages link the families - very useful for your Polperro people I imagine
iv) the ability to link an image to a source, which I use for censuses and certificates, no more hunting through papers to check the source

Otherwise it is all rather strange - I'm hoping to use the holiday period to settle down and work out how to use it.

Re moving the data across, this will have drawbacks which ever package you choose, since the use of GEDCOM varies slightly. Generations in particular doesn't have good source fields etc. for censuses, and I suspect many people find their own way of recording them. I did. You may find you need to do 'search and replace' of field names to get what you want in the new package. This will take time and experimentation to find how to do what you want. One example of the difficulties comes from the different systems used to reference 1841 census compared with the later years. Or the difference between 'christening' and 'baptism'. The C of E seem to regard them as the same thing for babies, but they are not when the person is an adult, and the Baptist churches certainly do not regard them as the same.

Bear in mind that it is quite possible that you will not be able to create one GEDCOM file with all the information in the way you want it, you may have to create more than one and merge the people later.

Have you looked at Mike Hobart's hints and tips on using Generations, and the archives of the Generations Users email list? There are some useful hints on data transfer.

[And as a topical aside, it would not surprise me at all if the technical difficulties of transfering data from one system to another lies behind the recent fuss about the Child Benefits database]

HTH
Christopher

[suedent]

Hi Sue,

Have you seen the pgt123 (http://www.parishchest.com/en-gb/dept_2015.html) system?

I hadn't seen it before Pam, thanks for pointing it out. I'll certainly consider it.

[suedent]

iii) unexpectly, but great to have, can plot two families, and has a coloured line to highlight where marriages link the families - very useful for your Polperro people I imagine

I fear I would probably end with a tangle given the amount of inter-marrying amongst Polperro families |laugh1|

Joking aside, thanks for your opinions on Rootsmagic, it has certainly given me food for thought. I must admit I did take a look a Family Historian at the Great North Fair but I didn't really like the way it looked.

I fear the real problem is that I want something that looks & feels like Generations but just works properly! |banghead|

[arthurk]

I considered RootsMagic, as it seems to 'look and feel' similar, but I found it's charting functions couldn't do what I wanted. I'm now looking at Family Historian, it is very different in design philosophy, but does have some nice features. Specifically
i) Draws marriages in the 'English' way (two people boxes linked by a double line), with dropline to the next generation coming from the double line, rather than the 'American' way (both partners in one box)
ii) Will add little symbols for whatever you want, in my case to see if I have census info for that person
iii) unexpectly, but great to have, can plot two families, and has a coloured line to highlight where marriages link the families - very useful for your Polperro people I imagine
iv) the ability to link an image to a source, which I use for censuses and certificates, no more hunting through papers to check the source
If you select Wall Charts in RootsMagic's Reports menu, a separate charting program opens - similar to the way Generations does it, if I remember correctly. I'm not a great expert on this, but from the little I have done with it, I think you can do most or all of the things you mention here. Individual items in the chart can be altered and customised, and I think you can cut and paste from one chart to another.

Generally I think it's a good idea to spend a few days (or even weeks) testing out a program's features before committing to it, so that you get to know exactly what it can and can't do. And there are dedicated mailing lists and/or forums for most programs, either at Rootsweb or via their own websites, where newbies are welcome to ask questions.

Arthur