Family Tree Maker Platinum [OLD VERSION]

I have been a genealogist for over 20 years. Family Tree Maker was the program I used for most of that time. About 4 or 5 years ago, I decided to try out some other genealogy software applications. I recently came back to Family Tree Maker's current version.Family Tree Maker is easy to use. You can go back and forth between an overview of the family and detail on an individual. I've used many custom fields, and include some in my reports.One big plus for Family Tree Maker is that you can easily customize reports. This was a big challenge I had with RootsMagic. At a recent genealogy fair, both RootsMagic and Family Tree Maker had booths. I showed both companies the report I needed (descendant tree with certain fields). RootsMagic's staff said that they could not create this report. Family Tree Maker's staff showed me how to create the report (and I use this report regularly).A big plus for this version is 6 months of Ancestry.com. This is a great service, and I use this for much of my research. This was my primary reason for purchasing the Platinum version. I also like the free copy of Family Tree Maker that you can give to someone else.In short, if you are a genealogist or just want to create a family tree, this program is a great choice.

I used Family Tree Maker for numerous years and never had any real issues. Until now. When I purchased the Platinum Family Tree Maker 2012 back in December, it showed that I had to do a mandatory update or that the product would not work. I clicked on the update icon and....nothing! After researching the internet and the Ancestry.com blog, I found that because I have Windows 7, there "may" be a problem and I "may" have to disconnect my firewall. All I needed to do was find out what version of Family Tree Maker 2012 I had and click on the .exe file that correlates with the number. I did that and clicked the .exe file. "Error.File does not exist"!!!At this point I email tech support, and tell them everything that I have posted above. "we will get back to you in 48 hours or less". Two weeks later, I get an automated response that points me to the .exe file!!! At the bottom of the page is a "did this answer your question?" which I said no. I was very dissatisfied and explained why. After another two weeks of no response on my initial question of why isn't my update working, I am finally fed up.I love Ancestry.com for their genealogy records and I'm ecstatic about the new DNA improvements, however when it comes to Family Tree Maker, there are so many issues and bugs this should have NEVER been put out for the public. I have an expensive product that I can't use, customer service still has not gotten back to me, and at this point, I'm done with Family Tree Maker. I'll be surprised if I ever get a response to my initial question about an update and a product I can't use.After researching different genealogy programs, I downloaded a free program from Legacy called Legacy 7. It's wonderful! Easy to use, updates are free and the best part is that it works! After a week of using Legacy, I bought the updated version and love everything about it.Ancestry.com needs to listen to their customers, because looking at reviews, there are numerous people who are saying the same thing and Ancestry.com either doesn't want to listen to their customers, or doesn't care. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your money on this.

The Family Tree Maker Platinum 2012 includes 6 months of Ancestry.com membership which is limited to U.S. collections. This provides access only to genealogical records from the U.S., not all the other countries, such as those in Europe. Unless a person is strictly, 100% Native American, the limited membership can keep records from a lot of ancestors unavailable. For example, within a day or two of use I encountered the need to access Canadian, UK, German, Irish and Scottish records. I was finally able to upgrade from the 6-month U.S. membership to the World membership, but had trouble doing it, and was denied the first time I asked. I first contacted them and inquired whether I could pay the difference between a 6-month U.S. membership and a 6-month "world" membership, but they declined. They first said I would have to pay the full $149.70 for the "world" membership, then offered a reduced "sale" price of $119.70 price, but it was substantially higher than the $72.00 difference between a 6-month U.S. membership and a 6-month "world" membership. I thought it would be a simple matter for Ancestry.com to sell the upgraded world records membership at the appropriate price difference, yet I was initially told that they cannot and will not. I assumed it was probably only a matter of elevating this issue to their higher management who could authorize a proper upcharge which I would gladly pay, and of course, I would also be paying for Family Tree Maker Platinum 2012. I arranged to return the product in transit already to me back to Amazon when it arrived. I sent a separate email to Ancestry.com to see if they will reconsider, but I received no reply by the time the software was delivered. So I called Ancestry.com and this time instead of asking for technical support, I reached their sales area and was told that they would after all upgrade my membership (for a fair price, this time). I was finally satisfied and retained the software and successfully upgraded my membership. Now I can evaluate the software.