return to: Berks FHS Home Page Use Of Computer Packages 18 Feb 2000

Use of Computer Packages ... for Genealogy and Family History Requirements

The following is guidance on the requirements for a competent Family History program. Most of these are provided by modern applications.

Each individual has a different requirement depending on the type of 'research' they do (e.g. one-name studies, getting as wide a tree as possible, harvesting names, investingating social history, ...)

Features

What is included?

Ease of Use

• Needs to be intuitive
• Have good help

Computer needs

• Will it run OK on a slow computer (if appropriate)
• Most programs are designed for IBM compatible PCs but there are programs for most computers including: Apple Mac, BBC, RISC, Acorn, Psion, ...
• On a PC - does it require 32-bit operating system (viz Win95/98/NT/2000)

Program facilities - general

• store data in an under-lying data-base (usually lineage-linked)
• ability to:

enter/show details for an individual - an Individual page
show and amend details for a family - a Family view
enter pedigree details for an individual - an Pedigree view

• be able to record, as a minimum, the following events: birth, christening, marriage, death, burial
• handle dates correctly
• import/export data in the GEDCOM format
• be able to merge files
• capable of searching for duplicate and near-duplicate individuals
• be able to select and sort records
• provide a reasonable selection of customisable reports, charts etc
• a demo database is desirable (e.g. Royal Family, Jesus, ...)
• 'on-screen' help facility
• is there an auto 'backup' facility

Program facilities - optional

• be suitable for research on one-name studies
• have multi-media facilities (e.g. for photos, sound, videos, ...)
• be able to generate Web pages and sites automatically
• produce special charts (e.g. circular charts for family trees, ...)
• be able to produce books
• be able to search the Internet
• provide research data - on CD or by access to the Internet

How well does it handle 'unusual' events?

Can the program record:

• 'non-married' status - Today 25% of children may not be children of the stated father!
• 'same-sex' marriage
• surrogate mothers, ...

Limitations

• Is the program suitable for beginners or is it a specialist product?
• Does the program only store a limited number of records?
• Does the program have adequate source recording and separate source data?

Performance

• This should not be an issue on PCs manufactured in the last few years

Cost

Consider the total cost including:

• technical help
• updates - how frequently do they occur?

Support

• Is there a printed manual? This is becoming rarer
• Is technical support easily available?
• Is there 'user group'support?
• Are 'inexpensive' updates readily available?

Miscellaneous

• Is a demo version available - and is it for the current version?