Personal Ancestral File from Family Search ?

[Desperate Dan]

I have been looking for a programme to catalogue all my findings , and it has to be free or inexpensive

I am not the best organized person in the world, and I would like to have all the info at my fingertips . I have seen this system as available on FamilySearch.org and I wondered if anybody else was using it. Is it any good?
Is it on just the one computer or is it "in the cloud" on the net?.
One more question, with absolutely no disrespect to anybody's religion, ..Does it link your ancestors onto the LDS files?

Mother would spin in her grave if I had her baptized after her death......

[arthurk]

I'm not familiar with Personal Ancestral File, other than knowing that it's been around for quite a while, and some people use it and are happy with it.

If you're looking for something free, you might also consider RootsMagic or Legacy. These are paid-for programs, but both have a free version with fewer features. With this kind of arrangement you can usually start off with the free version and pay later if you want to. At that point they send you a code which unlocks the extra features, and there's no need to re-enter data or do any kind of transfer. Both of these support LDS ordinances, submissions etc, but the feature can be turned off so it's completely invisible; I don't know if you can do this in PAF.

An interesting site to find out about different programs is GenSoft Reviews at www.
gensoftreviews.com/
There's a brief description of each and a link to its website, as well as user reviews.

Arthur

[Jan1954]

Hi there,

Have a look at the discussions that have taken place here (http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/43-Genealogy-Software)

[CanadianCousin]

Hi Dan -

I thought I'd read somewhere that FamilySearch would not be updating the PAF program anymore - this may not be a problem at the moment, but eventually you might be forced to migrate to another program. I'm not 100% sure about this, however, it might be worth confirming one way or the other.

Speaking from my own experience, I started with the Standard (free) edition of Legacy many years ago and while I eventually upgraded to the Deluxe edition, I remain very happy with the program several versions later. The Standard edition has everything you really need, the Deluxe version just adds some nice "bells & whistles". It tends to be a bit U.S. oriented in terms of its documentation/examples, but in terms of functionality it works very well with data from anywhere.

HTH -

Tim

[Sandra Parker]

Speaking from my own experience, I started with the Standard (free) edition of Legacy many years ago and while I eventually upgraded to the Deluxe edition, I remain very happy with the program several versions later. The Standard edition has everything you really need, the Deluxe version just adds some nice "bells & whistles". It tends to be a bit U.S. oriented in terms of its documentation/examples, but in terms of functionality it works very well with data from anywhere.
Tim
Me too, agree with all you say. Most satisfied and really appreciate the free updates once purchased.

Sandra

[warncoort]

I have used PAF from my first foray into genealogy,and apart from a few operator errors,am completely happy with it.

[JackEmerald]

I started with PAF, then migrated to the free version of Legacy because it has so many more features, and is much nicer to use. But if you're looking for something really simple to use, then PAF is the way to go. You don't have to worry about it linking to the LDS. It won't affect whether they baptize your ancestors or not.
Whatever program you use, don't forget to back it up frequently!
JE

[DorothySandra]

I said thank you for the direction to GenSoft, but I'm not sure I'm really grateful: I've just spent 3 hours on free trials! Still, what are Sunday mornings for?

[Desperate Dan]

My thanks go to all who helped out here......

[MythicalMarian]

Speaking from my own experience, I started with the Standard (free) edition of Legacy many years ago and while I eventually upgraded to the Deluxe edition, I remain very happy with the program several versions later. The Standard edition has everything you really need, the Deluxe version just adds some nice "bells & whistles". It tends to be a bit U.S. oriented in terms of its documentation/examples, but in terms of functionality it works very well with data from anywhere.

HTH -

Tim

I'm also a new convert to Legacy DeLuxe edition. I just adore that Source Writer. Doing the sourcing was very fiddly on Family Historian (well for this feeble brain, it was). I'm very happy with Legacy, and like others I do still have the old free PAF as a back-up too.

[kermie62]

I have used PAF since I started. I initally used it just to link names but now I am getting older, I find I need to put in my sources. PAF takes a bit to learn, it is clunky but once you figure it out, its pretty easy to use and forces you into the discipline of recording sources. I am going through my tree and verifying it by finding the original source and adding the source to the tree. I am having the fun of re-researching my tree and finding the original information and also finding strands i have missed or new information that now exists.

I have strayed to other programs over time but always come back to PAF. One of the best things about PAF is that the program is so simple, it can produce files able to be read by other programs without problems. One trap is that when you add photos and documents to it, it simply puts a link to where it is on the computer. Reorganise your files or move the program and you loose the links