Family Tree Maker to be pensioned off. NOT!

My dearly loved 'Brothers Keeper' works beautifully on Windows 10.

 

Thought you would like to hear Ancestry's response to the following query.

I was very disappointed to receive your email saying you will no longer be supporting Family Tree Maker software.
Does this mean we will not get shaking leaves alerts and be able to sync or trees?
Will we be able to use the programme at all in the future.
Was a consultation with users of FTM taken before you reached this decision?

Thank you for contacting Ancestry in regards to your query about the support of Family Tree Maker.
When we finish our support of the program you will still be able to use it. You will still receive hints and be able to sync your tree to the website. The functionality of the program will not change it just means that we ourselves will not be able to support the program should issues arise yet out help section should still have the relevant articles to assist you should you still need support with the program.

As you can see they have avoided answering the last line of my query.
I am heartened it is not all so doom and gloom as I first thought. It gives me time to master 'Family Historian, software. which I had successfully moved all my tree across from FTM.
Do hope I get the FH manual for Christmas as it has not been so easy to navigate as John outlined at GITS.

 

That is quite something because my own Family Tree Legends (FTL) of similar vintage to BK and also dearly loved, goes into deep sulk (and becomes erratic) if I try to access it in anything beyond Vista. So I continue to run in on a stand alone Vista machine.

 

Thanks Lynne, I actually thought there would be no facility to sync and no hints.
So actually it is just the fact that FTM won't be updated, so when I want something better I will have to choose another programme.
Or have I missed something?

 

According to Ancestry's blog, Tree Synch, uploading and downloading trees and media, and Web Search "may no longer be supported" in FTM from 1 Jan 2017. Whether that "may no longer be supported" will become "will no longer be supported" remains to be seen.
They go on to say that most of FTM features are designed to be used off-line and they should continue to work unless something happens to your computer. And trees will continue to be downloadable as a GEDCOM file.

 

It all seems to hinge on one's interpretation of "support".

a) Functions will no longer be supported, therefore the facilities will no longer be available. (member's expectation)
b) Support will be withdrawn, but facilities will continue to function without help or future maintenance. (Ancestry's stance)

Maybe things are not as bad as most forum members have feared/assumed.

 

I agree with you but I think we should assume the worst and make sure we all have saved our trees and media safely elsewhere. As I use FTM I will save everything so that it can be loaded onto another programme such as Rootsmagic if I want to do that. FTM will become out of date without updates.

 

Assuming Bryman's (b) interpretation is the correct Ancestry position, and by update you mean new FTM editions each year or every other year, I don't think you have much to worry about in the short term and even in the longer term. Many people stayed with old FTM versions (myself included) before ever succumbing to later versions, like 2012 and 2014. Indeed I doubt I would have updated had it not been for the incentive -often mentioned by Peter - that Ancestry were dangling a carrot of a free 6 month subscription (or in my case and for many people extending an existing one by the same term). That was certainly my reason for updating plus the ongoing ability to be able to sync my Trees between Ancestry & FTM; the cherry on the cake.

Of course updates have to offer a few more bells and whistles -usually of design and format -but the basic structure is little changed. Whatever version you have, and certainly 2012 onwards, FTM will still be a pretty good piece of Genealogical software. It may not be your favourite (and it certainly isn't mine) but providing the sync across facility still remains I have absolutely no qualms about staying with the version I have; which happens to be FTM 2014.

 

I would be very happy to stay with my ftm to, I like the way it looks and I know what I am doing with it, I do not need or use any publishing features or print off trees I just want to be able to input my family past and present and work out relationships, even if ftm uses Grand instead of Great in the case of Uncles ect.

 

Although it would be difficult to get used to, I think it would be grandif the term were to be used universally.

 

Funny you should post that just after having a discussion with my sister about why I prefer Grand over Great - is she a Great Aunt or a Grand Aunt ? I was not aware that FTM used 'Grand' but can confirm my favourite FTL program when quizzed as to my relationship with a sibling of my grandparents would provide the answer Grand Nephew rather than Great. My argument is simply a Grand parent's sibling is also a Grand Uncle or Aunt, and by the same token, a Great Grand-parent's sibling would be a Great, Grand Uncle or Aunt.

I agree and try to practice what I preach; well most times anyway although some software I use will produce a print out using the term Great. I think Peter has touched on this before but would be interested to hear his own views on the matter.

 

Haven't we had this great versus grand debate before? I can't remember what heading it came under or I'd check.

 

And expensive! Although I live in a rural area, it is not a million miles from the Black Stump (Bryman will confirm this) but my only broadband connection is by satellite. Earlier this year I tried to download FTM and after several failed attempts had to request a refund. THEY JUST DIDN'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND but they finally capitulated. I then purchased the disc but couldn't complete the installation because there was an update which was compulsory. I finally took my laptop to my daughter's and she did something to complete the installation.
For someone who is not all that computer literate setbacks like that are very off-putting.

 

Yes I know. Too much of a hurry. Sorry

 

Found it: Great Aunt or Grand Aunt under Any Questions under Find Living Relatives. I think the decision was that we should use which one we're used to.

 

I have been playing around with RootsMagic transferring from FTM2014 via the GED +images option. An immediate issue is that the GED file gives current location of images, (Images are not actually in the GED file), and that after loading into RootsMagic the image files are effectively being shared with FTM. This is not good news as when you eventually delete FTM or move to a new computer you still have to maintain a folder called something like \Documents\FTW\Media. As the GED file is basically at Text file it is fairly easy to rename it as .txt, Open in Notepad, run Find and Replace to give new location of Media, and rename back to GED. If we have any programmers out there then the process could be automated. I suspect other alternatives to FTM would have the same problem. But for me whatever alternative to FTM I eventually go for its essential that my Media is still linked to individual people. I do not fancy sorting over 1000 images of family members!

 

I thought when I tried it with FH the images were there. Though i didn't like FH. I like Legacy where I have my husband's tree and i thought the images were attached to people there too, though it is a free download. I have another stick ready to put my media on separately but as you say a bit of a job! I shall continue to use FTM 2012 on my laptop as long as it works.

 

No need to 'automate' that activity - look at SPFLite editor.
Load .ged file, change all "x" to "y", save - job done.

 

RootsMagic certainly has a setting where you specify where the images are located. You could create a new Folder/Directory and copy/move the images there if you like. When RM complains that it can't find the images where they were (where FTM put them) you can point RM to the new location, via the "Fix broken media links" option. I haven't bothered as I'm happy for the images to remain where FTM put them.