Family Tree Maker (FTM) has been through more than a few twists and turns over the last year. In that it would no longer sell or support its popular genealogy program and many thought FTM was done for. Shortly after, however, that Software MacKiev, the maker of Family Tree Maker’s Mac version, would be taking over the program. At the time MacKiev promised that they would provide a free update to the software to those with current versions of the program (2014 on Windows and 3 on Mac). That was almost a year ago — and MacKiev has now made good on that promise.

This weekend, MacKiev sent out an email to current users (who are registered and subscribed to their updates list) letting them know that a stable, recommended update is now live (an earlier, less-than-fully-stable update was offered in late 2016). This update provides a new version of Family Tree Maker – 2014.1 or 3.1 depending on your system – and it looks like they’ve made some big improvements. The new version promises to increase stability, security, speed and responsiveness and has, according to MacKiev, been extensively tested to work out the bugs. If you’ve been having issues with your copy of 2014 or 3, as many of us have, this update may be your solution.

Who qualifies for the update? Advertisement According to MacKiev, the update is for users of FTM 2014 (or Mac 3) who registered their copy of the program. When following the link to receive the update you will be asked to enter information to verify your registration.

What if I never registered or don’t know what version I have? If you never registered you can do so under the “Help” drop down (top left) in your software. This is also where you can find out what version of the program you have if you are unsure (click on “About” under the “Help” drop down). Once registered, you can sign up for. Click on the green circle in the upper left. What if I have an older version of the program?

A discounted offer to upgrade is being offered. You can find this offer in the email they sent to registered owners.

Will TreeSync still work in the new version? According to the update email, TreeSync® will continue to work after the update.

MacKiev will be retiring the current version of TreeSync® eventually, but will replace it with a new version before they do. This a big relief since many of us count on that feature for a seamless integration between devices and to more easily. Should I update to the new Family Tree Maker? The decision about whether or not to update is yours, but given the ongoing issues many have been having with FTM 2014 and older versions, this update seems like a great idea. It promises to provide much-needed stability and speed, and will no doubt be required for any future updates or upgrades. There may be some issues, as there usually are with updates, but MacKeiv’s release of an earlier version of this update likely helped them solve many of these bugs before offering the new, stable version.

So, how do I update? If you received the update email from Software MacKiev read it carefully and follow the instructions. If you did not get the email you can find a link to the update page below. Send Me Tips We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. A few important words of caution, as provided by MacKiev, before you update.

Make sure you have your version installed. The update will look for an installed version to update.

If you deleted your copy at some point you can get a. Do a manual backup of your tree with media. This is always a good idea every time you update. To do this, simply select “Backup” under the “File” menu link in the upper left hand corner of FTM. Make sure you give your file a new name, such as YourTreeBackup0117 and don’t forget to make sure the media checkbox is selected. This only takes a moment. Don’t unlink your tree from Ancestry.

The update will move your link to the new version. The update process is fairly simple., verify your registration and then follow the ordering steps provided by MacKiev.

They will ask you to fill out an order form for your free update, will present you with some addon items to consider before completing your “purchase,” and then provide you with a download link. Once you have downloaded the new update make sure your copy of FTM is closed and run the provided installer. An install wizard will walk you through the needed steps. We had no issues updating our copy.

You might also enjoy: – information on the importance of backing up each media file in your tree so you don’t lose access and how to do it with FTM – includes alternatives to Family Tree Maker. Hi I had 2014 Family Tree Maker on my computer which has now crashed. Lots of files can not be accessed and FTM appears to have gone back to an earlier edition 2012. Have had computer experts check it and no one has been able to find out how this happened. On my fathers side I was back to the year 900. A lot of information and the photos have disappeared. We have just bought a new PC and still have to install it before we can check it thoroughly.

Can you please let me know if the 2014 edition which we bought online is registered. Also if it has been can I download the 2017 version without loosing anything more. I had FTM 2014 Ancestry version and haven’t synced since they turned off TreeSync.

Decided to upgrade. I was able to get the free upgrade to FTM 2014.1.

After I registered this, I went through upgrade process again and it then showed I had 2014.1 but since I did not originally purchase 2014.1 MacKiev version, I had to pay discounted upgrade to FTM 2017. I did not attempt to contact MacKiev and request other options. The great thing was I was able to upgrade to 2014.1 and then to 2017. It converted my previously downloaded trees from Ancestry and reconnected and synced. Last time whenever reinstalling 2014 I used to have to delete trees from my computer then download new to sync. But that was never an issue since I did all my changes online and not within FTM. First of all, i don’t care if the software syncs with Ancestry or not.

I do not have a family tree on Ancestry nor will I ever. I investigated the option and when Ancestry told me that if I put a tree up, then they own the copyright an I forego all my rights to the material -yes, I lose everything I researched, after paying them for the ability to research. We bought FTM 2014, It would never install on my laptop. I spent 4 hours on the phone with someone from Ancestry. The icon still shows up but it goes no where. While talking to the guy from Ancestry, I found out that if using FTM 2014, the data belongs to Ancestry.

No one can tell me my hard work belongs to them. I do a lot of research in libraries, cemeteries, court houses, etc that have nothing to do with Ancestry but I do put that info in my FTM so I can print reports, etc. It will be interesting to see what the new company has in their agreement. I’m still using Family Tree Maker 16. Bought 2011 when it came out to run on my new at the time Win 7 laptop as the laptop wouldn’t let me install FTM 16, kept saying the solution was to purchase the upgrade. 2011 was a piece of crap. Made my new laptop with 8Gb ram and 1Tb hard drive run like a slug; tried de- and re-installing several times over the years.

Same slug result. Laptop works great without it. Funny thing is I bought a Win 7 desktop and upgraded to Win 10 last summer. FTM 16 mostly works on it, although I can’t print reports, create gedcom files and the newer names I’m adding (over 92,000) don’t always show up in the list. But if I find a family member that still shows up in the list, I can trace down to the new individuals.

Wasn’t about to ruin my working database by installing the 2011 software on my PC. Don’t care about TreeSync. My Ancestry tree has less than 3000 names. I prefer to choose who to add.

I also go back and forth with having a membership and am currently in a not active membership period. I do my own backups to my external hard drives and memory sticks. There’s no price listed for the upgrade. As far as I’m concerned, I spent good money and was royally ripped off with the piece of garbage FTM 2011 software (and there were plenty of other people complaining how bad it was on different websites).

1) What’s the price and 2) any chance to test it out to see if the new version actually works. I believe Roots Magic will already sync with Ancestry, and it seems to do a smoother job than FTM ever did. With FTM I ended up with duplicates in both my home tree and the one on Ancestry and in some cases it added info to the wrong person.

I Have Finally Given Up On Family Tree Maker For Mac Free

When RM first made the deal with FTM users they promised they would work on getting it to smoothly integrate with Ancestry, and they seem to have kept that promise. They also have a version that will run on flash drive. I thought FTM was a great program before Ancestry bought it. Ancestry seemed much more interested in just mining the data from FTM sources and synced trees than they ever were in customer service.

A free update for Family Tree Maker for Mac 2 is now available. It contains improvements to TreeSync and a number of new features. When you open Family Tree Maker for Mac 2, you should be notified that an update is available.

If you aren’t, go to the Family Tree Maker 2 menu and select “Check for Updates.” TreeSync Improvements. Private media items. If you have personal media items like birth certificates and photos of living family members that you don’t want to include in your online tree, you can keep them private on an item-by-item basis when you sync (or export) your tree. Improved backup and restore. It’s easier to keep your online and desktop trees synced if you encounter an issue; previously, if you had to use a backup file, your tree wouldn’t sync anymore and you’d have to upload a new version. With this update, you can back up a synced tree and restore it if you have any problems.

Synced Web links. If you’ve added Web links for individuals or URLs in source citations, these will now be included when you sync your tree. Printable sync log. Now you can print a list of all the changes that will be made to your online tree.

New Features. More reports. This update includes a number of new reports: an index of individuals that lists every individual in your tree and their birth, marriage, and death dates; a notes reports that lets you display person, research, relationship, or facts notes for an individual; and a surname report that lists the surnames in your tree, including the total number of individuals with that surname.

New report options. The descendant and Ahnentafel reports have been updated and the descendant report includes additional numbering systems. New sorting options have also been added to the custom report.

Organizational tool for places. The larger your tree gets, the more locations you have to keep track of. On the Places workspace, locations are now grouped together by country, state, county, and city to make them easier to look at and sort through. 22 Comments.

I Have Finally Given Up On Family Tree Maker For Mac Mac

Morten Aasberg. The new update is stalling the application when I click the button “Install and Relaunch” I have tried to perform the update procedure on a number of occasions, but the same thing happens every time, and I have to force quit the procedure and restart the application, which then opens again in Version 21.2.5487. I’ve sent Support an e-mail regarding the issue five days ago, but no one has replied, so I try leaving a comment here on the blog, hoping that someone will notice it, and forward it to someone who can help me out on this. Best Regards Morten Aasberg, Oslo, Norway. Hello, Trevor Thank you for the response. Repairing disc permissions solved the problem, and the updated app seems to work fine. There’s one thing I’ve been thinking of, and that is whether there is a place where users can give feedback to the development team.

I Have Finally Given Up On Family Tree Maker For Mac

As mentioned, I think FTM2 is a great program, however functionality like being able to assign source citations to groups of people in one operation would, in my opinion improve the work-flow of the program a great deal. Best regards Morten Aasberg. # 7 Elizabeth H Compacting does a number of things, one is to remove unused space in the database (family file.). This unused space can be created by FTM as you add and delete items in your database. Think of it this way Imagine you have a row of books on a library shelf. You remove some books randomly from various places along the row and you leave ‘holes’ or gaps in the row.

Now you want to reclaim some space to put more books in at the end of the row. So you ‘compact’ the row by pushing all the books together from one end to make room for more books. Effectively you have compacted the row. Compacting in FTM does something like that ie it removes the holes and makes the database run more effectively because it is more compact. There is a lot more to it, but this may give you an idea. It is worth compacting the database regularly as it makes it more efficient. It also reindexes the internal tables which also makes it work better John D.