Best site to use for completing family tree

[sandpiper1809]

I am relatively new to tracing my family tree but am finding rather confusing when filling info onto my family tree (currently using Ancestry.Com) as it does not show all the details I want to see at a glance.
Are there any other tree builder sites that allow the following info to be shown (without the need to actually clicking on the individuals name)

Name
Birth & death dates
Marriage date/s
Occupation/s
The one I am using at the moment only shows birth & death, thats it! It could be that I am not using the Ancestry site as it should be and maybe I am able to pick & choose the info that is shown at a glance. But having had a good look on the site...I;ll be damned if I can change it!!
Any help??

[Jan1954]

Hello,

Have you tried googling Genealogy Software? A fair old number of websites come up - some have free programmes and others you need to pay to download. However, those that require a fee usually have a time-limited free download so that you can try them out before you buy.

Have a browse of these as well.

[Richard1955]

Most of the free and paid for software will give you the options of how much and which info to show.
I personally don't keep my stuff on a family tree on the internet. I prefer to keep it on my computer.
I don't want to find myself with a subscription that has expired and all my info out of reach.
I use Myheritage and can view all the things you ask.
It's free to download but annoyingly it does keep trying to upload to the internet.

'Best site to use for completing family tree'.
You'll never do that.
Regards
Richard

[Peter Goodey]

Best site to use for completing family tree

The best place is not a site at all - it's your own PC where you can run the software of your choice that comes closest to your ideal. There are plenty that you can try without paying. Gramps is open source and therefore totally free and is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OSX. See also the Genealogy Software forum on this very site.

It's up to you whether to also use something like Ancestry but your primary data should be held locally (with back up arrangements)

[olliecat]

The one I am using at the moment only shows birth & death, thats it! It could be that I am not using the Ancestry site as it should be and maybe I am able to pick & choose the info that is shown at a glance. But having had a good look on the site...I;ll be damned if I can change it!!
Any help??

Just wondering about this part. Where are you viewing each individual? The overview page for an individual shows a timeline, which can include birth, marriage, death, occupation and any event that you add for that individual.

Having said all that, it's a good idea to get you own genealogy software to run on your PC. You can still keep your tree on Ancestry updated if you are so inclined.

[Peter Goodey]

PS You use Ancestry. Don't buy their product (Family Tree Maker) just because it sounds easy or safe. Please assess all the alternatives before deciding.

[christanel]

Gramps is open source and therefore totally free and is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OSX.

I thought I would take a look at this program as it is one I hadn't heard of. However on starting a download it came to a stage where it asked me to either browse for 'python' on my computer or go to python.org for a free download. That is where it became complicated. Evidently python is a computer language aand there are versions 2 in various forms and version 3. It asked me to compare and decide which one I needed! It seems version 3 can do a lot more than the versions 2 but may not work on some programs so they have put some of the newer features in to versions 2. It is about this point I became really confused.
Can anyone explain why Gramps needs python computer language and also whether python may already be lurking on my computer somewhere. I'll keep my query relevant to vista and xp at the moment.

[MarkJ]

[QUOTE=christanel;456305]

Gramps is open source and therefore totally free and is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OSX. QUOTE]
I thought I would take a look at this program as it is one I hadn't heard of. However on starting a download it came to a stage where it asked me to either browse for 'python' on my computer or go to python.org for a free download. That is where it became complicated. Evidently python is a computer language aand there are versions 2 in various forms and version 3. It asked me to compare and decide which one I needed! It seems version 3 can do a lot more than the versions 2 but may not work on some programs so they have put some of the newer features in to versions 2. It is about this point I became really confused.
Can anyone explain why Gramps needs python computer language and also whether python may already be lurking on my computer somewhere. I'll keep my query relevant to vista and xp at the moment.

Because Gramps is written in the Python programming language
All computer programs are written in some language - most are a C type language, C, C+ or C++ etc, some are in other languages. It really depends upon the programmer as to which language he or she prefers, is most familiar with or will work best with what they are trying to achieve.
Python is unlikely to be on your computer by default if you are using Windows as far as I know - but I don't use Windows.

Like Peter, I also use Gramps and have done for many years. I also use a php program called phpGedView, but that needs a webserver running on a website or your own computer. Not difficult and quite interesting to set up, but probably not one for most people.

Another little mentioned program is Geneweb - which is available free of charge for Unix systems such as Linux, Mac and Windows. It is purely html (the language used on websites) but you don't need to know any of that - you just enter details as normal. It runs as a little self contained server and is quite nice. Although quite old, it works fine.

Other than those, there are lots of free Windows only ones which can be easily found via a search engine. I would never ever rely on a website under the control of a commercial venture to store my only copy of my family tree. By all means keep a copy on whatever pay site you use (Ancestry, GR or FMP etc) but always keep at the very least an updated Gedcom and copies of documents and pictures on your PC and ideally another backed up somewhere else (e.g a USB stick or similar)

Mark

[christanel]

Hello Mark
thank you for your quick response. I do have 3, would you believe, genealogy software programs on my computers as well as tribal pages and suitably backed up to removable hardware. I am just insatiably curious as to whether I am missing something.
So if I was to download python which version do I go for if only needing it to view gramps?

[MarkJ]

Well, if it is of any use, I have version 2.6 on my Linux system of python.
You should be able to see the layout of Gramps on their website - which would show you the basics.
I have no idea how good the Windows version is - it was a purely Linux program originally, then Mac support was added later. The Windows port of Gramps was - and maybe still is, I haven't checked - unsupported and being sorted by keen, knowledgable types who wanted a Windows version. Again, I think the Gramps FAQs etc explain more about the status of the Windows port.

Mark