Family Tree Maker software - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Family Tree Maker 5 Updates

meldoton — 5 Jul 2008 2:10:21 GMT

I am finally thinking of updating from Family Tree Maker 5 in order to maxamize the benefits of subscribing to "Ancestry". What options do I have given the age of my present Tree Maker software? You are dealing with a senior nerd/not so please keep it as simple as possible. Thanks!

Data entry conventions

MarcShepherdNYC — 6 Jun 2008 5:35:01 GMT

I'm new at this, and I had a few questions about data entry conventions.

If you know that A & B are siblings, but you know nothing whatsoever about their parents, do you enter an "imaginary" person to capture the relationship? Is there a standard naming convention that people use, so that in a long list you can quickly find these "fabricated" ancestors?

Is there a particular naming convention used when you know someone's last name, but not their first; or when you know their first name, but not their last? Do people enter "Joseph ?", or just plain "Joseph"?

If you know that a couple had a son, but you don't know the son's name, do you enter a person with a name like "Son#1"? Or do you just make a free-form comment without trying to create a "person"?

Sorting FACTS dates

lazyringer — 1 Jul 2008 9:21:04 GMT

Any way to rearrange the FACT dates so that they show up chronologically rather than as entered? You don't find out information by date but rather by research and accident and that is the way I entered what I found. Now it would be nice to see all the info as it happened in time.

Jim Daly

Upgrading from FTM 9 to FTM 16

SUZICOOKS — 30 Jun 2008 9:56:15 GMT

I'm about to upgrade from v. 9 to v. 16 on Windows XP. I'm wondering what to look out for, including my data entry peculiarities.

1. I got disgusted with Master Sources (the format in footnotes is ugly when you just drop them in). I now enter footnotes individually, such as

Montgomery Co. Order Book 1738, p 214, cited in "Samuels Family of Maryland" by Andrew Samuels. Gen Pub Co 1998, p 12.

Is there some work I should do on the sources and footnotes before I bring up the file in the new version?

Do you have any other suggestions to prepare for the upgrade?

TIA,
Jill in Maryland

Installing FTM on new computer.

SharonBurke11 — 28 Jun 2008 6:21:38 GMT

I have FTM 11 on my old computer with a lot of data. I'm not very computer savvy, so flounder while attempting to transfer my old programs.

What is the best version of FTM for me to install on my new Dell with Microsoft Vista? I have tried to go over the old posts here and am confused by the problems with some of the software. Should I install the 2008 version and will I need to purchase a new CD to do this? I have someone coming to help me transfer my data, but want to be prepared with the current software for him to work with.
Thanks - Sharon

Question about formatting of Facts in Register Report

RWildebrandt — 26 Jun 2008 4:18:48 GMT

I'm running FTM 2008.
I just ran a Register Report and I'm puzzled about the way my Facts are being formatted. For example, this individual has a Fact 1 that has a Place/Description of 'buried in St. Pauls United Church of Christ Cemetery'. My Register Report prints out like this 'Fact 1 in buried in St. Pauls United Church of Christ Cemetery'.

So I'm puzzled why the word 'in' gets added to each Fact. And I'm also wondering if there might be a way that I can eliminate the printing of the words 'Fact x'. I really just need to see the text of the Fact.

Thanks for any help!

How to list women married into family name

inwolfepak4 — 28 Jun 2008 1:19:10 GMT

Is there a way to list in FMT2008 all the people with a specific last name (either born with surname or married into family).

I am constantly searching resources such as cemetery listing, obit sites, newspaper sites, etc. Often (50% of the time) I have a women's married name only, but does this person match anyone in my tree? It is very difficult to tell since I often do not have their maiden name. It would be so much easier if I could list all the persons in FTM2008 with that last name (both born with and married into).

Thanks.

internet lookup errors

wmmurray173 — 27 Jun 2008 12:22:58 GMT

I have FTM 16 running on Windows Vista with the Vista patch installed. When I try to lookup information on the internet from within FTM a page opens in IE with an error box saying a page cannot be found. The error is listed in a separate box not an IE page. Most of the time another page then opens (with no action from me)with the information I want but not always. Once when I clicked online help a series of these pages (with an error box) were opened. I had to stop the process after several pages. Any ideas?

Updates on ancestry.com how to merge with existing FTM tree?

PinkElephant2 — 26 Jun 2008 2:18:40 GMT

I have a tree on ancestry.com as well as FTM2008. If I made changes on ancestry.com, can I update my tree on FTM? Or do I need to make a whole new tree?

My tree is very much a work in progress, thanks!

Chart Title for Descendant Chart with even number of pages

RWildebrandt — 26 Jun 2008 3:55:00 GMT

I'm running FTM 2008.
When I create a Descendant Chart that ends up with an even number of pages the Chart Title gets 'split' between two pages. Is there some way that I can get the Chart Title to print all on one page? The option for 'Boxes Overlap page breaks' is unchecked. It would be great if the Chart Title was at the top of the page for the primary person.

Thanks for any help.

Shaky Leaf Questions

RWildebrandt — 26 Jun 2008 3:49:40 GMT

I'm running FTM 2008.
I've got a few questions about how the Shaky Leaf works. Here goes:

1. When I get results do I only see the '5 Star' matches?
2. Will the background search be done against all the databases that I am authorized to search? For example, my subscription on ancestry.com gets me access to the databases with information on German ancestors. Will my Shaky Leaf searches include those?
3. Is there any way to tell the Shaky Leaf to 'ignore' a certain result? Sometimes I will look at a result and see that it is not for my person. I'd like to be able to permanently keep that record from coming up.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Web merge wizard

ltenn — 24 Jun 2008 5:58:19 GMT

I can't seem to get my Web Merge wizard to respond...it aloows all the changes just not the merge..Help I have the FTM 16

FTM listing double generations on one line

suzim — 24 Jun 2008 11:44:28 GMT

I am working on a cousins family line for her. My computer died so to speak & it had to be repaired & reinstalled FTM. All my info was there. BUT when I did a kinship report on one large line it has most of the people double listed such as Brown, John 5th gr-grandson & under that 6th gr-grandson. Or 5th cousin, then 6th cousin. There has been no merging or anything on this line. I am not sure if this problem was there before the computer was repaired because I did not look @ the Kinship reports. No other lines seem to be affected like this. I know we can be related a few times to the person & that is not what is happening here. A person can't be a 5th & 6th grandchild and this is the way most of this line is listed with 2 relationships that are the same except for the generation. Any ideas?? I want to do a genealogy book with this info in it & to me the kinship report is very important but this looks terrible & would be soooooo confusing to my cousin. Thanks.

FTM 2005 Kinship report - relationship errors. Any ideas????

Bob_Heffley — 29 May 2008 5:09:32 GMT

My kinship report is generating stange relationships.
*** Instead of my "great grandfather" it says "husband of the Great grandmother". Note: there were no 2nd spouses anywhere up this tree.
*** My relationship to my 2nd cousin says "Half 2nd cousin". There were also no 2nd spouses in this tree back to the common great grandfather.

Any ideas what's causing this? I have been using FTM for 5 years and this seems to be a new error.

Accidentally Deleted Individual in Family Tree Maker - Please Help!

afton991 — 24 Jun 2008 9:53:39 GMT

I accidentally deleted an individual who was linked to a great deal of information in my family. When I tried to restore from a backup (and am not even sure when I created the last backup so don't think it was even current), it restored the file as the one I currently had open (saved over the backup) My CD that did have the correct information saved on it is somehow corrupt so I can not recover this info from any of my backups. Is there any other way to recover this information or is it lost forever?
Thank you very much for your help!
Afton

FT2008 - File compatibility with earlier FT versions

mbgpub — 23 Jun 2008 4:54:04 GMT

How can I save or export a file from the 2008 version so that it will be usable with FT 2006? I have tried both export options, but could not open my database with the 2006 version. Thanks a lot --

Family Tree Maker 2009

PamDeeDunn — 19 Mar 2008 6:33:46 GMT

I was on Amazon.com looking for a copy of The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2008. I did find it, but I also
found a copy of Family Tree Maker 2009 Official Guide that
can be pre-ordered. Does anyone know if and when there will be Family Tree Maker 2009 released?

Printing Timeines

EileenSouza — 22 Jun 2008 2:35:55 GMT

Is there any way to print a timeine in FTM 2008?

Upgrading FTM 2006 UK to 2008 UK

mjpriestley1 — 21 Jun 2008 9:13:49 GMT

I'm not sure what to do.
Has anyone upgraded 2006 -> 2008 UK please? What are the operating benefits and features. The details in the adverts seem vague. I would welcome any advice. Mike

FamilyTree Maker 11 to 2008?

WestKYGenealogy — 21 Jun 2008 12:33:26 GMT

I need some advice & help.
My computer recently died, thank God i had my data base backed up. I had XP and version FTM 11. Now i've had to go to Vista and FTM 11 doesn't seem to work on it. Can i buy 2008 and it pick up my FTM 11 file? I have 15 years of research in that file i'd hate to have to start over.

Help?
Don Howell
westkygenealogy@yahoo.com

Can I change the directory for the auto-backup file?

RWildebrandt — 18 Jun 2008 3:05:09 GMT

I'm running FTM 2008 with the latest service pack.
I'm using the 'Automatically backup family file' in the Tools/Options settings.
I'd like the file from the auto backup to go to a different directory. It seems like the auto backup file goes to the same directory as my active family file. I have a second drive with a directory for my Family Tree backups. I'd really like my auto backup file to go to that location.

Is there a way I can change the destination for the auto backup file?

Thanks for any ideas.

Descendant Chart - how to get Chart Title on one page?

RWildebrandt — 18 Jun 2008 2:57:02 GMT

I have FTM 2008 with the latest service pack.
I have a Descendant Chart that is 4 pages in size.
My Chart Title gets split between two pages.
Is there some way that I can get the Title to stay all on one page? Preferably, the page that has my 'primary' individual on it?

Thanks for any ideas!

FTM Lite--Downloaded in April, now need on other PC

vmountjoy — 16 Jun 2008 6:59:28 GMT

I downloaded FTM Lite when it was available for a limited time back in April; that was on my XP computer. Now, for accessibility purposes it would be better to have the program on my other computer, but since the offer has expired I can't for the life of me figure out how to do this. I tried sending the original installer via email to the other PC in a split zip file because it was too large to go any other way, but even though I managed to extract it from the zip file in "one piece," it wouldn't run. Double-click and nothing happens. I thought of uploading it via FTP to a website domain I own, but with the split zip procedure it will probably turn out the same way, and the installer is too large even to go via FTP without being "split."

Can anybody think of a way to get this program over to a second computer without having to purchase some kind of complicated internet backup/transfer/whoknowswhat program? Also, before anybody goes to any trouble...is FTM Lite compatible with Win 98?

Thanks!

Val

images of master vs citation sources?

67Sherri — 6 Mar 2007 1:46:00 GMT

I scanned an image of a death certificate in the master sources page. I assumed an image would be accessable for each citation source from the master source. I don't feel I should have to scan the same certificate in over and over again for all the facts it gives. How can you scan a source one time and use that image in other places as well?

Error on my FTM 16 Program: Family tree executable has stopped working

hamboz — 14 Jun 2008 11:56:20 GMT

I have FTM 16 installed on my Windows Vista computer. I also downloaded the Patch for Vista. When I try to export a family genealogy report as a pdf file, I get the following message: "Family tree executable has stopped working" and the entire program shuts down. I did the check suggested in another query I found on this message board and found no errors in the program. However, I did find that the "Amyuni document converter 2.10 kernal-mode print driver was not installed" in the Install exe. file in the FTM program file. I am wondering if the FTM has an update that can correct the problem...we just installed a new printer onto our computer and I wonder if everything --the printer, Windows Vista--is just too new for the program?
Thank you for any help!

Version Opinion

swok34 — 28 May 2008 3:16:53 GMT

I purchased FTM 2008 and I really do not like it. I upgraded from Version 12. I really liked that version, but thought as in most cases, software typically has some improved features. I find it very difficult to even edit a simple bit of information.

My question is this: should I go back to the V12 or should I upgrade to another version that's not quite 2008? I spent about $75, but I can justify that with the Ancestry subscription since it's been awhile since I've subscribed and I'm finding some new information. As much as I hate to lay out more money, I don't want to find myself left in the dirt with Version 12.

Link FTM 2008 to Existing Ancestry Account

rickmar1_1 — 14 Jun 2008 12:50:03 GMT

I've been building a tree online at ancestry.com with the free stuff for a few years. I sprung for the cost of an active subscription and got FTM 2008 in the deal. I installed the software but can't see how to link it to the existing account at ancestry.com. What am I missing?

family tree maker 2008....what's the diference between deluxe & platinum???

jen4WMs — 15 Jun 2008 4:29:36 GMT

What is the difference between the Family Tree Maker 2008 Deluxe edition and the Family Tree Maker 2008 Platinum edition? I do know that deluxe has a 3 month free subscridtion & platinum has a 6 month free subscription. Are there any other differences? Does either access or have information on searching in other locals or just the US? Help me please!!! I mentioned to my husband that I would like this for my birthday but we want the best deal.
Much thanks to anyone who can help.

Not any Families, only individuals.

pearn1 — 9 Jun 2008 12:16:32 GMT

Recently I got a gedcom from a cousin. Some how she has gotten duplicates of every person in her database up to 12 times. Most is only 8-9 times. Trying to help her, she sent me a gedcom. When I opened it, there is not one family. They are all listed as individuals on the Family view.

After several hours of work, I merged, by hand, every duplicated individual. When I got the file there was 5398 individuals, now there is 738.

Now, lets say I go to the index, select a person. In the Family View they are all alone. No spouce, no children and no parents.

Then when I click on "add parents", this person goes down in the section for children.. Then gets siblings. Yes.. siblings appear.

There is a problem with in this also. I can choose one of the siblings, go to the index and choose that sibling from the index. Again.. only one in the Family view. Then click on "add Parents"... this person goes to the kids section below. Now... I might get all his/her siblings or I might get just one.. or two.. etc.. It seems to work different on different individuals I selet.

Now if I go up to add parents, Then add the father for example. Then click to add his parents, I get a message that says something like Can't add (person name) siblings. There will be duplicates if (person name) siblings are added. Then you can click ok.

Makes no difference who I do all this to, comes out the same. Just how do I fix this?

If I type some one's name in and don't use the index to select them, then I get different info, if any at all. I checked and it does not make duplicates. But just depends on what sibling you click on as to what family members are going to come up with them, after putting a family together.

Thank you.

Abrupt Shutting Down

lesabepp — 16 Sep 2007 3:57:44 GMT

I finally got my family file imported into FTM 2008. I thought that there were some nice features as I was straighten up my file info, then all of sudden it started shutting down on me. Every time I try to change any info with the media files or link it with facts it just dies. I can't even us the program for it closing on me all the time. I have downloaded the SP1 which didn't fix it. Is anyone else having this problem? And is there a fix?

Re-ordering spouses

MarcShepherdNYC — 11 Jun 2008 12:34:32 GMT

I have an ancestor who married Husband A. After A died, we thought she married C. It turns out there was a "middle" husband, B. After B died, she then married C.

As we didn't know about B until later, A and C were already in the family tree. When we entered B into FTM 2008, the software listed the spouses in the order A, C, B. There doesn't seem to be a function to re-order them based on the dates the marriages took place.

We were able to rectify this by "detaching" spouses C & B, and re-attaching them in the correct order. That worked, but is there any better way?

FTM 2008 Deletes original picture files after attaching them

Frank_Mastronardi — 30 May 2008 3:17:50 GMT

Recently I attached a new picture to a person in my tree and FTM2008 deleted the original pic on my computer and put a renamed copy into its default media folder. I have all my photos set up by a person's name so its easy to identify. This works fine with FTM2006 but I hate that 2008 changes the name of the pictures.

Worth going up to FTW 2008?

colincrawfordni — 8 Jun 2008 9:15:05 GMT

Hi there. I haven't been actively researching for a while, but as these things happen, I've been e-mailed by a distant relative and am now ready to go again. I am currently running FTW v7.5. Questions: 1) is it worth moving up to the latest? 2) can FTW 2008 import the file from FTW v7.5?

Thanks

How to 'connect' a spouse?

RWildebrandt — 8 Jun 2008 6:47:24 GMT

I'm using FTM 2008 with the latest service pack.
I have a person - Alice - in my file.
Using the Web Search I found a record that had a spouse for Alice. His name is Leo. I used the Web Merge function to add Leo as the spouse of Alice. Now I go back to the People view of my tree. Alice is my primary person. But underneath Alice's box in my tree is the box that says 'Add Spouse'. What I expect to see is the information for Leo. Leo does show up in the larger box beneath the tree. And if I click on the 'Choose Spouse' button in Alice's box I can choose Leo. Leo then becomes my primary person. If I switch back to Alice, Leo will stay in my tree as the spouse of Alice. But if I navigate off of Alice in my tree and then return to Alice I get the same 'Add Spouse' box rather than the box for Leo.

I've checked the Facts for both individuals. They both show the same shared marriage record. Neither individual has another spouse. There are no children. I've done a Tools/Compact File. If I run a Descendant Report for Alice's father the report shows that Alice and Leo are married.

Any ideas how I can get Leo to consistently show up in my tree as the spouse of Alice?

Thanks.

FTM 2008 Relationship Calculator Bugs

MarcShepherdNYC — 8 Jun 2008 7:04:13 GMT

There seems to be a well known bug, where FTM 2008 will sometimes fail to recognize that two people are related, even though a relationship obviously exists. Is there a known work-around?

I'm running 2008 with the latest service pack.

Ensuring that multiple facts will print

MarcShepherdNYC — 8 Jun 2008 7:09:41 GMT

Let's say that you have an ancestor who entered the United States multiple times. Each time she entered, you can enter an "arrival" fact.

In FTM 2008, one of those arrival facts is designated "preferred," and when you run a register report, only the preferred fact gets printed.

Is there a program option or another way of entering it so that all of the arrivals will get printed?

different versions of Family Tree Maker

welcometokellysworld — 8 Jun 2008 6:59:06 GMT

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can tell me what the difference is between Family Tree Maker Deluxe Edition, Platinum edition, and Family Tree Maker 2008 Essentials. Basically I'm looking for something where I can store my information, upload pictures and documents, and I saw where the Platinum edition had a free 6 month membership to ancestry.com.

Tbank You,

Kelly

Conventions for several surnames of person

gangus39 — 8 Jun 2008 11:54:39 GMT

I have 2 boys with the option of at least 4 surnames.... are there any conventions as to which one would be used as the primary name?
e.g.
Mary A married Elija B - they had 3 children
Elija deserted wife and children.

John C moved in with Mary B (nee A) and had 2 illegitimate sons... John left Mary a few years later. 2 sons subsequently placed in care of the State.
The Govt agency recorded their surnames as 'D'
they lived most of their lives using the D surname incl. marriages and death records.

So which name would or should be used as the main or primary surname?
A, B, C, or D ?

How do you identify the other surnames ?

Worth going up to FTW 2008?

colincrawfordni — 8 Jun 2008 9:15:27 GMT

Need help converting .fbc file

sassyarab — 13 Apr 2008 4:45:49 GMT

I have a totally different computer from the one that I created this file on, which had a version of Family Tree Maker on it (not sure what version, have not used the computer for well over a year). I still have the computer tower, but I would rather not hook it back up just yet. I just have the tower, not the old monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc, so it would be a major production to switch towers and hope I did not delete the FTM on there before I stopped using the tower (which my husband may have done in case we gave away the tower).

I am not totally sure what genealogy software I will be using after this, I need to see what is out there first before I decide.

What is the easiest way to access the info in the .fbc file I have stored on a disc? Is there a universal conversion I can do to get this file accessible?

fmt 2008

rhdale1946 — 7 Jun 2008 7:26:17 GMT

I want to know who to canvert the new file format back to Ver16 i am going to uninstall FMT 2008 I do not like it and can not get 80% of my place are not in the data base. the Web search does not find the right info. I still do it from ancestry.com home page.
i hope a GED file is not the only way, I will lose Meda file if I do that.

Service Pack3 Old Problem Returns

patster1 — 19 May 2008 10:19:17 GMT

Just downloaded the latest version of FTM2008 (17.0.0.965). I found a problem in September last year (copy below) and it went away till last week, it's baaaack. I recieved no replies to the message at that time, is anyone having like problems with this new version? I cannot say as to why the problem went away in September.
Pat Bowen
----------------------

Posted: 21 Sep 2007 12:03AM Another Annoyance Discovered

Has anyone else found this to be an annoyance? With FTM 2008 open and displaying the ancestry tree with the family view below minimize the program using the toggle feature on Windows status bar and again maximize the program. When I do this the lower family view closes and will not reopen until I click the open/close point in the lower left of the entire window. I cannot say that this happened prior to loading the SP1 version about 1 1/2 weeks ago but I do find it very annoying when working between FTM2008 and Internet browser. Is there a option for this "feature" because I do not find it a plus. I do like the toggle feature to open/close these windows but I would like to leave it open when working in this area.
Pat

FTM sync with online tree?

xhepera — 4 Jun 2008 5:01:56 GMT

I'm currently using FTM 2008 Lite in deciding whether or not I want the full version. I need to know if the full version of FTM can be made to sync with the ancestry online tree here at ancestry.com. The Lite version doesn't seem to do very well at picking up the info I imported. I exported the ged file from Ancestry and imported it into FTM Lite. However, FTM Lite seems to want me to add records and sources that are already attached to the online tree. I do a lot of my searching on ancestry.com and it would be convenient if there was some way to simply sync the two trees. Thanks for any info!

Deleting a marriage

MarcShepherdNYC — 6 Jun 2008 5:24:09 GMT

I am using FTM 2008.

I accidentally created a second spouse. It was a mistake; this particular ancestor never had a second spouse. Although I can delete the second spouse, the person view still show a '2' in the spouse box, and the facts screen still shows a dummy "marriage to unknown." How do you make the erroneous marriage fact go away.

Download to...965 patch

jgilbert7040 — 3 Jun 2008 3:35:12 GMT

I have enough problems with Vista without having problems
down loading your patch.
Please send me the easy way to download this patch using Vista.
THANK YOU.
Jack

FTM 16

gem5955 — 1 Jun 2008 2:54:00 GMT

I got the attached message yesterday after I clicked on my desktop shortcut. I then looked for the file and it is under my programs file.

When I look at all of the files within the FTM 16 folder I don't know which one would have the data.

I tried to open FTM 16 again this morning and got the same message.

Anyone have any ideas as to what went wrong.

Thanks,
Ellen

Import Media Into FTM

brentf777 — 3 Jun 2008 8:54:20 GMT

I would like to know if it is possible to import media into FTM 2008 that is attached to my online ancestry.com account. I used the online service exclusively for a long time and am rather frustrated that I can only export a plain old GEDCOM from my ancestry account that when imported has no pictures. I would also like the ability to download from the web census and other documents attached to individuals in my account. I see the option to export media from FTM to Ancestry.com but not the other way around. If it can't do that, the software is not very useful to me.

Where's the activation code ?!?!?!?!

brunettesailor999 — 27 Apr 2008 7:49:22 GMT

When installing FTM 2008 Deluxe, it's asking me for a 19 digit code. I've torn the box apart and all of the instruction books and all of the cd cases and there's no code! What do I do!?!?!?

FTM 2008 Still Crashes

ralphm66 — 2 Jun 2008 2:20:34 GMT

Am I the only FTM 2008 user still experiencing crash problems?

SP3 seemed to be a big improvement in using FTM 2008. Unfortunately the program still crashes. SP3 was installed as soon as I recognized it was available and the program has crashed already today (6/2), also on 6/1, 5/29, 5/28, twice on 5/22.

Of course I should, perhaps, be grateful as this is a huge improvement of the pre-SP3 program where it crashed every time a new Source was attempted.

Based on postings on this board, I have been compacting the file daily; usually it's <1% results.

Hardware capabilities shouldn't be a problem as I'm using Vista on a quad-core CPU w/4GB RAM.

Print everyone in your family tree

MauriceLBonin — 20 May 2008 11:02:25 GMT

Hi

Does anyone know how, with selecting one person to be the focal point in the family tree, to print everyone that you ahve entered in the family tree.

I have over 3000 entries, and I would like to print them all out. Afterall, they are all related to me, in one way or another.

If not in Family Tree, then does anyone know of another software that could do this also.

Thank you in advance for helping me out.

Maurice

Dates

bjkebarry — 28 May 2008 5:04:22 GMT

I am entering Date in my FTM v16 and in some cases I have the Year but somtimes on certian people I put in the Year such as 09 Jan 1714 and it comes out as 09 Jan 1714/15
does anyone know why this happens..... It only happen with certian people
Thanks
Karen

How do you show siblings in 2008 Charts?

mcamp60 — 28 May 2008 11:27:50 GMT

I can't figure out how show siblings in my FTM 2008 Pedigree Chart but the Help file says i can by checking a box. I can find this darn box anywhere. My FTM 16 lets show siblings and spouses.

Can anyone help?

Cant Register new version

Frank_Mastronardi — 22 Aug 2007 11:53:43 GMT

I just got the new version of Family Tree maker 2008. After I installed the program and ran it I got a message telling me I wasnt connected to the internet abd to try again later.

I was connected to the internet and checked my internet securty program to make sure that Famiy Tree Maker wasnt blocked and it wasnt.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Children Descending from Father not Mother in FTM 2005

Sheri60178 — 27 May 2008 4:15:38 GMT

When printing a family tree chart, the line connecting the parent to the child in some of my families shows as descending from the father rather than the mother. I always thought they should descend from the mother only. Am I mistaken? If not, do you know how I can fix this?

Proxy Server and Firewall

notnerb — 23 May 2008 3:12:59 GMT

I have done a pretty comprehensive search of messages on these boards about connecting FTM through a proxy and/or firewall. None of them seem to help me.
I have loaded FTM on my work laptop because it is portable and I do lots of flying, which gives me time to update family history in my own time.
I am connected to a LAN that goes through a proxy & firewall to the internet. I cannot go asking the corporate IT guys to disable a firewall or change proxy settings in a carefully secured environment of a $5b+ company!
Now, FTM is the first commercial software application past version 2 I have encountered that does not allow for a proxy on the network. It can't even pick up the settings from Windows by itself and there is nowhere in the options to set them. In 2008, this is not what I expect of a product with this level of market penetration.
Has anyone managed to make this work, and if so, how? I'm not interested in home PC solutions - only where this has worked from with in a corporate environment.

Family Tree Maker

sheilalewis90 — 25 May 2008 4:15:26 GMT

I cannot work out how to transfer my date from Ancestry into FTM
Also it only seems to search for people in USA
Am I stupid or have I bought the wrong product

Naming merged files

ReneLou — 19 May 2008 10:16:46 GMT

When doing a web search, find a source and merge the document with your file, has anyone found a method to change the saved file name? Files are named media, temp, etc which makes it useless to look in the folder and find a document. Anyone have any suggestions?

Importing a GEDCOM file from rootsweb

coreydern — 23 May 2008 1:12:06 GMT

Hi, I am new to this. I am trying to import and merge a GEDCOM file from rootsweb into my own file but am having problems. I cant seem to get people matched up so it follows on from my great grandfather HAYLOCK lineage. can anyone help? Cheers, Corey

Inferior product - 2008 FTM

lascot29 — 22 May 2008 5:12:22 GMT

If this was any other product, there would be a re-call and customers refunded the purchase price.

If 2008 was released in October 2007, why are we able to purchase the inferior product in May 2008?

Where is customer protection?

Very upset!
Helen

How are you documenting obituaries?

CliffBogle — 20 May 2008 8:37:42 GMT

I am curious to learn how other users are documenting obituaries in FTM 2008.

Up to now, I simply typed the text into the Person Notes section. However, I am thinking that I would prefer to have this as a separate FACT. But, there is not an Obituary fact by default (yes, I know I can create one manually), so I wonder if this is the best method. My reasons for creating a ‘fact’ are to properly cite the newspaper source and to attach a scanned image, when available, into the Media section.

Your thoughts and suggestions?

Marriage Order

ManuNeko — 19 May 2008 6:40:32 GMT

In FTM 2006 I was able to order the marriages of a person. In FTM 2008 it looks like the marriages stay in the order I typed the in. Is it possible to order the marriages by the maariage date? And if so, how do I do that?

Activating Ancestry.com 6 mo. membership

rtaggart23 — 19 May 2008 12:00:08 GMT

I purchased FTM 2008 which came with a 6 mo. membership to Ancestry.com. I want to activate the Ancestry.com membership, but I don't want to install or activate the FTM 2008. How should I do this? I do have the code # for activation.

FTM 2008 Crashes (a lot!)

kosts — 5 Jan 2008 10:14:10 GMT

I've been enjoying FTM 2008 for a couple weeks with enthusiasm, but it crashes very frequently.

It freezes often when merging data from a record found online. Usually just restarting and going through the merge process again will keep the process going.

But I'm having much trouble now adding Sources. For example, when adding a new source for a new document I've found, the program quits and sends a crash report to Microsoft.

Specifically, when on the People->person->facts page, I add a new fact (e.g., birth info), and then hit the new source button, I get the 'add new source' popup without trouble. (though often in the list of sources I don't see some sources I've added manually). Then I type in the "Source Title" and some "Citation Detail" and hit OK, the whole program quits instantly and offer to send crash info to Microsoft. This is a highly consistent crash.

I don't mind the crashes as much as the inability to document my sources!

I have applied at least one patch and comapacted my data.

Any ideas?

Spouse search

ralphm66 — 17 May 2008 10:32:04 GMT

The index in FTM V16 allowed one to display the women's names by their married name.

Is there a way in FTM 2008 to do something like this?

Saving FTM V16 File as V2005

Evonne28 — 15 May 2008 8:49:15 GMT

I want to share a family file from my FTM version 16 with a family member who is using FTM version 2005. I am able to export my file to version 2005 but when the relative tries to open it in her version 2005 it opens as a read only file. Is there any way to save it so she might use it as a working file. I am trying to avoid exporting to GEDCOM as I want to preserve the pictures in the scrapbooks for her. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

FTM 2008 Burial Data

ralphm66 — 14 May 2008 1:16:44 GMT

It appears that SP3 is finally going to make FTM 2008 useful and perhaps worth the $$ I paid so many months ago.

FTM V16 had the burial data in 2 fields; one for date and another for Place. In that program I had entered, where data was available, the cemetery name followed by city/county/state.

FTM2008 has 3 fields for this data: date, Place, Description. The migration process populated all my V16 data in the Place field (usually including cemetery name, city, county, state). It seems that if I do not 'Ignore' each of these fields, it's not going to recognize a Place name that starts with the cemetery name.

I have started to manually split the cemetery name into the Description field, leaving a recognizable city/county/state in the Place field. But I do notice that when one goes to the map from the Place data that includes the cemetery name, the map actually displays the cemetery location within the city/county/state it is located.

I'm interested in how other researchers are populating these fields; are you separating the cemetery name from the city/county/state or including all the data in one field or the other?

Re-ordering sources

jeremiahnorthridge — 13 May 2008 3:44:08 GMT

As I find sources for an individual (1910 census, 1880 census, 1930 census, 1900 census) I enter all the information and source thoroughly. When I go to publish this information, I would like re-order the sources chronologically/alphabetically or in order of importance -- is there any FTM version or function that allows for this re-ordering?

Add general source to file to be merged or imported

wbsteve — 13 May 2008 2:33:25 GMT

How do I add a source to entries of a FTM 2008 file (file B) that I would like to merge or import with another file (file A) so that I provide a source in the new file A which identifies (or credits) the merged or imported file B. Both files are in FTM 2008 form and will also be using FTM 2008 to merge or import file B to A.

FTM 2008 Media and sources

tschlarm — 13 May 2008 7:05:11 GMT

Hi All,

I'm working with the Media options in FTM2008. I like the flexibility, but a little overwhelmed by all the places you can link media.

You can attach media to the
1) Source title
2) Source citation
3) The silhouette in the people tab
4) The general "Person media" below all the facts
5) Each fact on the person tab
6) Possibly other places I haven't found yet

The Help provides very little guidance what types of things should go in each area.

For example, a scanned obit from an old newspaper. Should it go into the citation or the source title? My guess would be citation, but what, if anything, what be media for a source title?

A scanned paragraph from a book, probably should go in the citation media. What would go in the Source Title media, a picture of the book cover?

A census page - source citation?

Since there are so many options for sources, is anyone aware of a list that could provide some guidance in this area.

Thanks

Online Searches

mkdotson — 10 May 2008 2:20:55 GMT

I just recently updated to Verison 16 and so far love it.

My only problem is the ancestry searches I have my person name birthdate but it pulls up so many searches that are not close and you have to go thru 100's before you find the closest. I do specific searches, but that is still a pain and it even shows names that are no where close to info I have.

Any suggestions or tricks to help narrow down and not get all the unrelated info?

Thanks

FTM 2008 duplicate source citation question

jcrohio — 5 May 2008 5:18:00 GMT

I have a couple of source citations that were supposed to be the same but due to some mispellings ended up being different source citations (example Mercer County ED 5 Page 6 and Mrecer County ED 5 Page 6). When I changed the spelling to correct this instead of one source citation I ended up with two that are indentical.

My question is this: Is there any way to merge these two together to form one source citation linked to all the fact in both original citations?

I hope this is clear.

Thanks for any help

Jack

Create

armsl — 12 May 2008 2:39:59 GMT

I am currently using FTM v 9.0 and only, just today realized that I cannot create the proper files to upload to my own homepage. I already have a domain and hosting space and I want to be able to show charts, family group sheets, corresponding photos with all the appropriate links etc. I was hoping I could export my FTW file into html files that would all link together and work. Is there some way to do this? or do I have to look at alternative software?

Crash problem solved

DavidStarling86 — 10 May 2008 12:25:26 GMT

Since mid July last year FTM2008 would crash every time I would try to open a chart or report. Other features of the program seemed to be ok. I finally thought there might be a problem with my printer. I decided to disconnect my HP photosmart 7760 printer and connect my wife's HP Deskjet printer. Voila, the program now works very well. I bought a new HP Deskjet wireless printer and the program works well with it also. No more crashes. Thanks to all of you techs. who listened to my whining and patiently offered your suggestions.

date format

kathy34051 — 6 May 2008 12:17:59 GMT

I just uploaded my family tree from Family Tree Maker to Ancestry.com. The dates I had used initially were DD MMM YYYY (month spelled out). When I look online, it's now YYYY-MM-DD. (all numbers) Did I do something wrong? Do I have to change them all manually on Ancestry.com?

Startup Error w/sp3: "FTM 2008 was not properly closed the last time it was used..."

garyalandavis — 10 May 2008 7:46:27 GMT

I received this error after the SP3 update:

"Family Tree Maker 2008 was not properly closed the last time it was used. You may need to compact your last opened file to resolve any issues caused by an improper shutdown."

Click OK and it attempts to start the applicatio. The splash screen says "Application Initializing..." for a while and then terminates. There is a message in the Event Log each time I try (see attachment image).

I uninstalled FTM 2008 and then re-installed it and it prompted with the update request. I selected "Later" and the app came up OK. I closed normally and restarted. This time I accepted the update and when it ended, I selected to not launch. Finally, I started the app normally and the same error appeared and acted the same. This was on Windows Server 2003 SP2.

I have FTM 2008 installed on Vista 64 and as administrator, did the upgrade when prompted. It works correctly on the FTM database which happens to reside on my Win Server 2003 accessed by a network shared drive. Of course, I do not access the database concurrently.

Any ideas on how to get the version on my server to run?

Thanks,
Gary Davis

Unable to Register FTM 2008

jpc153 — 8 Oct 2007 3:54:33 GMT

I have read through many of these posts about issues with "Authentication to server error"

I have a desktop and laptop in which I have installed 2008 onto. Neither one of them will register.

Information

Desktop
-Windows XP Service Pack 2
-IE7
-No Proxy
-Recently updated with security updates and patches as of September
-Going through Cable Modem able to get to the internet just fine
-XP firewall turned off
-Date and time is correct, automatically adjusting for DST
-Family tree maker v.16 able to register normally
-previously had ftm 2008 beta version, but uninstalled before installing actual version of 2008.
-able to update patches through FTM 2008 and have most recent .440 version
-Has norton 2004 running, have tried to temporarily disable

Laptop

-Windows XP Service Pack 2
-IE7
-No Proxy
-Recently updated with security updates and patches as of September
-Going through Verizon broadband Wireless Internet Card, able to get to the internet just fine
-XP firewall turned off
-Date and time is correct, automatically adjusting for DST
-Family tree maker v.16 able to register normally
-previously had ftm 2008 beta version, but uninstalled before installing actual version of 2008.
-able to update patches through FTM 2008 and have most recent .440 version
-Has McAfee running, have tried temporarily disabling it

Here is what I have tried

-downloaded most recent version of FTM 2008
-checked clock and date settings
-shut off windows firewall
-temporarily disable antivirus protection
-re install FTM 2008 multiple times
-re boot multiple times (Usually fixes windows problems)
-contatcted FTM tech support twice and sent an email with system NFO files
-Should not have accelerator running since its cable modem and broadband card
-Banged head against wall numerous times

Anyone else have any other suggestions?

Thanks

FTM 2008

robinbarthell — 8 May 2008 1:02:29 GMT

when i get a hit and it takes me to acestry.com shows the info i then merge the info dates, spouses husbands children etc etc it doesn't add the children to the mother and father it adds it to the people colum on the right and not under the parents under tree??? how do i get the children to the parents

Service Pack 3

tomtuell — 9 May 2008 9:22:29 GMT

Hi,
I just installed Service Pack 3. I checked help about and it looks like it installed. When I click on a name in the index it no longer changes the Family View, but it does change the Person View. I closed and reopened. No change. I rebooted. No change. Suggestions?

Service Pack 3

MPayne3243 — 6 May 2008 2:50:36 GMT

I just tried the update. It supposedly installed. When I tried to open FTM2008 I first got a message that said FTM had encountered an error and had to close. Then when I tried to reopen I got a message that FTM did not shut down properly and to go to Compact File in Tools. The next time I opened FTM 2008, I got a new tree screen and if I clicked on OPEN it took me to previous files, none of which are the most current version of my tree. WHAT NOW?

FTM 16 Tree Size

gem5955 — 8 May 2008 12:12:25 GMT

I did a 7 generation descendant tree. On the lower left hand side of the my screen showed the size of the tree 159.8" x 20.9".

However, when I had it printed it was only 4.5" vs 13.5".

I redid the tree this morning and exported it to PDF format. I did not select size to PDF. Ater I saved it I looked at view and clicked actual. It shows 54"!

My font is 20 and yet when printed it wasn't 20!!!!

Any suggestions?

Ellen

FTW 2008 keeps shutting down when I enter sources_HELP_

sgmbeaver1 — 29 Jan 2008 11:14:37 GMT

Every time I enter a date or place for an individual and try to attach a source to it my FTW 2008 shuts down.

Anyone else having this problem? I just installed the program last night so I've only been playing around with it today. I'm not very impressed so far. I wish I woulnd't have spent the money!

New Patch 965 Available Now!

Heinekn — 2 May 2008 11:56:59 GMT

Hey...

They have released the new FTM 2008 service pack:

http://www.familytreemaker.com/Support/Patch.aspx

Jerry

Problem since SP3 installation

kfoste02 — 4 May 2008 5:24:03 GMT

I updated to SP3 on Friday and everything went flawlessly. I am very pleased with the increased reation speed as I work through the program. I worked on my tree all day yesterday and most of this morning...I just noticed that all of my relationships are gone! I am set as the home person and it is telling me that my father is an "unrelated person". Any ideas?

added to web tree / import to FTM?

dgknox_1 — 3 May 2008 2:58:45 GMT

I finally uploaded my GEDCOM/FTM tree to the website.

immediately finding a lot of connections and "adding" them to my web tree.

However they don't show up at all in the FTM 2008 software.

Is there a way to keep FTM updated? or re-import my updates from the web tree?

FTM 2005 SE vs. FTM2008 Lite

nmknov — 6 May 2008 3:08:35 GMT

can anyone explain what the differences would be between FTM 2005 SE and FTM 2008 Lite?

Thanks

Copy and Paste FTM from XP to Vista

genediane_1 — 5 May 2008 5:19:48 GMT

My old labtop no longert would do the job, bought a new Labtop with Vista having a hard time transferring my files and have made a mess of it. If I could copy and paste family pages I might be able to recover my work without typing eveything over. At 80 yeras old I might not live long enough.

Help with sp3

MelyndaRoss — 4 May 2008 8:55:41 GMT

Talk about frusteration. I am beginning to think I have purchased the software from hell! I just purchased/installed FTM 2008 a few days ago. I installed the old (959?) patch, but I can't install the sp3. After I download, winzip says

"Some data in your zip file is damaged--CRC check failed."

Then the next pop-up says "The size of the extracted file (23004996) does not match the uncompressed size (23005006) recorded in the zip file."

I have downloaded it several times; it says the same thing each time. Any suggestions?

Need Help Deleting a Person

georgewhaley1 — 4 May 2008 9:02:15 GMT

I am running FTM 2008 SP3. I just discovered a "stowaway." An individual with no parents, no siblings, no children, no spouse. She has five facts: name, sex, birthdate, marriage date (to no spouse), and marriage location. When I try to delete her by clicking the delete icon in the Family or Person view or selecting Person/Delete Person form the menu I get the following warning: "You cannot delete the last person in your tree. You can delete this tree from the Plan view or you can keep this tree and change the information about this person by editing it in the right pane."

I definitely don't want to delete this tree as she is not the last person. I have about 1800 individuals in my tree.

I tried temporarily attaching her to a family and then deleting her. I get the same message.

Any suggestions beside putting out a contract on her? :-;

George

Service Pack 3

reclaimedpast — 3 May 2008 3:33:03 GMT

I received a notification and downloaded the FTM-2008 Service Pack 3 last night. Following the download, I shut down for the night.

This morning, I can't open up my FTM. I get a message saying that I should "compact last opened file to resolve any issues" and instructs me to go to Tools and choose to compact files.

I would do that other than I can't open up my FTM to do such a thing. I tried to call the toll-free number to ask for support, but a recording said they are not open throughout the weekend. Have I got big worries in that I can't open up my FTM after downloading this patch? Grrrr.

Anybody can help?

Thanks

J

Web search hits are USA not UK - Why?

crvdale — 24 Apr 2008 2:16:30 GMT

Struggling to get to grips with FTM 2008 and the 'new look'. A web search of an individual with all UK dates/locations recorded returns hits in USA records not UK. Takes ages to get to UK ones. Previous version of FTM let you customise searches. Can't work out how to do that with 2008 version. Easier to go to Ancestry.co.uk and manually search there! Any help would be appreciated.
Chris
PS I tried to search for similar posts on this topic but the search doesn't appear particulary 'selective'.

Spacing problems when adding facts to FTM-2008

reclaimedpast — 3 May 2008 7:26:48 GMT

Help!

Sometimes when I'm adding information into my FTM-2008 research notes, I can enter info without a problem. Other times when I hit "enter" to start a new line, I have double spacing instead of single.

If I've not made myself clear, let's say I want to type the below example in a single-spaced format using the "enter" key to get to begin the next line. Sometimes I can do this and get single spacing and other times I can only type it out in double spacing. I want this double spacing to STOP!

1830 OH Census
Belmont County
E.D. 0, Page 0, Line
UNKNOWN, John: 45 Yrs. MO-GER-GER

Come to think about it, I am okay entering research notes into my FTM under an individual's name unless or until I have "cut and pasted" something into the research notes (such as SSDI info from Ancestry.com) and then when I add additional info (such as an obit or census heading) I get things in a double-spaced format. Does this make sense to anyone and how can I get back to single spacing?

Thanks

J

Outline Descendant Tree Chart

joy_bellew — 3 May 2008 8:57:20 GMT

Can you tell me what the number in parenthesis means that is in front of a name on my outline descendant tree? (For instance; 3 (4) Wiletta Mae Smith, b:16 May, 1911, etc.) I know that the 3 means she's the 3rd generation, but, just can't figure out what the (4) would mean. And, is there a way to delete this number?

.NET incompatibility issue?

arboracorn — 30 Apr 2008 1:04:34 GMT

Having read many posts on FTM2008 crashing on adding source citations, and media, I thought "hasn't happened to me".
Suddenly, it did happen to me - immediately after I had downloaded and installed Service Pack 1 for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. I have had v2.0 of .Net Framework installed for a long time without any problems.

I notice that programs within FTM2008 include Vista Software's Database Engine, plus two other files as the .NET Provider. One of the latter files is VistaDB.NET20.dll, written I believe before Microsoft's SP1 to version 2.0. I wonder therefore whether a compatibility issue may occur between the .NET20.dll file within FTM2008 and the installation of SP1 to the .NET Framework v2.0 ?
Seems a coincidence that my Applications Event Log now points to a '.NET Runtime 2.0 Error' on each and every instance of FTM crashing when I try to add a source citation! - but ONLY since I installed the Service Pack 1.

Other people have reported this source-addition -> crashing, at various times Jan to Mar this year - I wonder if any of them had downloaded and installed the SP1 to the .NET Framework 2.0 (or had it installed by Windows Update) just prior to the problems arising?

I have heard about a fix - FTM2008 SP3 Beta - does anyone know if it is freely available now? - and how we can obtain it?

02 May 2008 patch appears to allow export of large files to .ged

viofam08 — 3 May 2008 2:53:17 GMT

Now that the biggest problem is fixed, I hope the many, many others are as well. More later.

Tree Printing for FTM 16

gem5955 — 2 May 2008 5:27:33 GMT

I just had my first family tree printed commercially- it is 41"w x 11"h. It is an All-in-One tree. It was very inexpensive and its all on one sheet.

The only problem is that the starting name is right up to the edge of the paper and that causes a problem if I wanted to frame the tree.

Does anyone know how to over come this?

Thanks,
Ellen

FTM2008 "Lite"

jrboddie — 1 May 2008 4:55:01 GMT

I see there is now a free download of "FTM2008 Lite".

This is good but I wonder what features were removed. My pay version is pretty "lite" as it is!

FTM 16 scrapbook problem

suzannemk1 — 30 Apr 2008 3:23:24 GMT

When I try to open an individual scrapbook with one item in it, FTM shuts down. No error message, just the Windows message that "Family Tree Maker execuatble has stopped working." then "Windows is searching for a solution to this problem..."

I installed FTM 16 from a CD onto my laptop with MS Vista and imported my FTM file created with FTM v.9. It has worked great. I can't remember if I installed the Vista patch or not-- I think I did. I tried running FTM as an administrator but it still shuts down when I try to open that scrapbook. I suspect a problem with the scrapbook file when I loaded the FTM v9 file into FTM 16. Is there any way to delete the scrapbook file without actually opening the scrapbook?

Relationship problems

Lkn4kin_1 — 29 Apr 2008 6:19:22 GMT

I just exported my tree from ver11 to 2008. I have had it on my computer about an hour. I notice all my relationships are scewed. My sisblings are listed as half-sisters, my 2x grgrandfather is the "mother" of his son, etc. I'm holding my breathe...not a good way to start. What's up? Can anyone help me?

Geneology Report Size

ufairbanks — 26 Apr 2008 8:25:21 GMT

Does anyone know of a program that will generate an "entire" genealogy report of everybody in your tree? I have been told by Family Tree Maker that their software will only print up to 16 generations or an undefined amount of records. This is even if I save it as a PDF file. No matter how many more people I add to my tree, I am stuck at arouond 1620 pages. Yes, I could print off separate reports for each of the initial children in the tree, but would prefer an "all in one" report. Any suggestions?

Authentication with the server failed

dmann0055 — 4 Mar 2008 3:05:07 GMT

I keep getting an error sign with the above subject. I read in some other threads that a wrong time setting can cause this. I have just installed Family Tree Maker 2008 and notice that the date is March 5 (It is March 3). How do I change that date? Is there anything else it could be?
Thank you for you help.

Dmann