About This Site (Frequently Asked Questions)

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Clicking on the links below will take you to the relevant section/information.

For a brief intro about this site, and what is yet to come, please see this article.

About This Website (GenealogySoftware.net)

Questions About Genealogy Software

Reviews and Comments About Genealogy Software

Other Questions

About This Website

About GenealogySoftware.net:

This site aims to provide a one-stop source for news and information about genealogy-related software releases, reviews, and articles, and to preserve the history of genealogy software, regardless of what platform it was created for. Maybe you inherited some old floppy disks, CDs, a computer, or USB drive with some genealogy data on it and you are trying to figure out how to access the research, or maybe you are a developer thinking about creating The Next Big Genealogy App, and are researching potential names and features. Or maybe you happen to like using an older genealogy program that is no longer supported and are looking for like-minded individuals or for some help with getting it to work. This site is for you!

Note: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns a commission from qualifying purchases. It does not increase the price of items you purchase through our Amazon links.

Background of GenealogySoftware.net

This idea has been kicking around for almost 20 years. The first thing I did was start to pull in information on genealogy software that is actively being developed. After that, I began a migration of stories/pages (along with cleaning up those stories/pages) from three other (retired) websites that I ended up with (GenealogySoftwareGuide.com, GenealogySoftwareNews.com, and a Blogger website).

How to Use This Site

There will eventually be an entry for every application that I know about. If an application is released for multiple platforms (operating systems) at the same time, with the same features, etc., it will be listed as “Cross-platform” with an example being The GRAMPS Project. New versions of GRAMPS are generally released for multiple operating systems such as Linux, Windows, and macOS, at the same time, and therefore only need one entry. There maybe some lag for some versions of GRAMPS (it is a volunteer project), but the versions are all built on the same codebase and have the same features. They will be listed under the platform they are most known for (GRAMPS = Linux, Family Tree Maker = Windows), but will be cross-linked under the other Oses they are available for.

As a counterpoint to that, there are mobile applications that, due to platform differences (or even different development teams), may see an iOS (iPad/iPhone) version released at a different time from an Android version, and they may even have differing version numbers. That’s not all – versions can differ by device types.

When an application receives a major upgrade, generally noted by an increase in major version number (such as Family Tree Program 2.3 has been updated to Family Tree Program 3.0), then that major version will have its own entry (see the MacFamilyTree page for examples).

What this site is not?

This website is not going to easily answer the age-old question of “What genealogy software is best, or at least best for me?” Part of that is because everybody’s tastes are different. There are people here in 2024, who are still using the last version of Personal Ancestral File (PAF) or The Master Genealogist 9, both of which were discontinued over a decade ago. They maybe friends with somebody who uses MobileFamilyTree (an iOS-based genealogy application) or Gramps. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the major software packages, and people can be satisfied with vastly different programs and apps.

The other reason why it not might easily answer that question, is that we do try to maintain a neutral position – this site is more about documenting genealogy-related software, and solutions to working with that software and/or solving problems (such as somebody inheriting some 25 year-old floppy disks with old genealogy data).

Note: I didn’t say it wouldn’t answer the question, I said it wouldn’t easily answer the question. That’s a key distinction – this site will help point you towards the software most suited for your hardware and Operating System (OS) of choice. I think we can point you towards several potential choices that you can narrow down by using the trial versions (where available).

So, What is This Site?

Think of it as the genealogy software version of Moby Games, a popular website that tracks hundreds of video gaming platforms, and nearly 200,000 video games. Now, there aren’t nearly that many genealogy-related applications, but the goal is the same – to track every single genealogical-related piece of software (application) out there. A better comparison maybe WinWorldPC, and their tracking of OSes and other software. They are one of those sites I consider to be the gold standard for preserving important information (as well as offering downloads where they can).

What Information is Available on This Site?

Anything and everything related to genealogy software – it’s pretty as we bring everything online in August of 2024, but over the coming months, you’ll see entries for over a thousand genealogy programs and apps added, including screenshots where possible, as well as downloads (if they’ve been made available).

Questions About Genealogy Software

If You Are a Genealogy Software Developer or Publisher:

We would love to interview you, whether you are a current developer or somebody who built a program 30 years ago. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us!

Does GenealogySoftware.net Sell Genealogy Software?

No, and we have no plans to do so. This site is not setup for selling anything online, either through physical means (floppy disk, CD-ROM, etc.) or digital downloads, and we are not genealogy software developers. We do have affiliate links (Amazon.com, eBay), and we do link to those sites on some pages, where there are copies of genealogy software or books available on those sites (you’d be surprised how many physical copies there are of PAF for DOS floating around, for sale on eBay, etc.). We receive a small commission on anything you buy through those links (and it does not cost you extra), and that helps cover the costs of this site.

Do We Offer Genealogy Software for Download?

Not at this time (August, 2024). At some point we might if we are given permission, and if you are a publisher/developer who no longer wants to host their website/software (say development has been discontinued), we might consider it – please contact us.

Not all older software has been “abandoned”, and I’m aware of the availability of older genealogy software (especially shareware) on many third party sites who were not given formal permission to host such software, but we are not going down that path. We want to actively promote the development and distribution of genealogy software, but only through the appropriate (and approved) methods.

We do try and make sure and include official download links to older (and newer) versions of software, even if it’s just the trial version of a commercial genealogy application. We also include links to the physical media (the boxed/commercial applications) through Amazon.com, eBay, and other sites.

What If I Need an Old Copy of a Genealogy Program?

As a follow-up to the above question, I do try and make an effort to collect a working copy of every version of every genealogy-related application and utility that I come across (including buying them on eBay/Amazon). That includes digging through websites, Usenet, old CDs and floppies from my early days of genealogy research, and contacting authors. While I’m not prepared to host downloads without permission, I maybe able to help – contact us, and let me know what your particular need is – I may be able to help you transfer genealogy data from an older program to a newer program or at the very least, a GEDCOM file.

What if I Need a Manual for an Older Genealogy Program?

Similar to hosting older software, we don’t host any manuals, although we are open to hosting any that we have permission for, whether that be a PDF file or the text posted on a page of the site. We will also host manuals that have been placed in the public domain.

Reviews and Comments About Genealogy Software

Are There Reviews of Genealogy Software Here?

For many genealogy software entries on this website, I do list (and link to) 3rd-party reviews, including magazine articles (we may include excerpts from older magazines) and website reviews. We do not normally do genealogy software reviews. That may change as time permits.

With that said, we are happy to discuss and publish information about new genealogy programs and apps (and updates) as they are released by their developers/publishers. If you would like to send us a review copy or a press release, please contact us. If we are sent a review copy, it will be noted that it was provided to us.

Can Visitors to GenealogySoftware.net Post Reviews?

If you want to write a review of a new (or old) genealogy application, we will have a place in the forums where you are free to discuss genealogy software, as well as a special sub-forum for reviews. If it’s comprehensive enough, we will be happy to link to it from the main website.

Do You Allow Comments?

I will on the blog side of things (news, such as software updates or solutions), but not on the individual software entries in the database – I want to keep those entries standardized and fast-loading, rather than risk slowing them down with a lot of people commenting on them, and also having to worry about cleaning up spam comments or flame wars. The forums maybe the better….forum…for posting comments and reviews, and especially questions.

Other Questions

What About Useful, Non-Genealogy Applications, Browser Extensions, etc.?

If you are talking about Adobe Photoshop (photo restoration), VueScan (scanning software), Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet), etc., we will cover some things, particularly when it comes to photo restoration and scanning, and we will cover various Excel spreadsheets that have been created for genealogy, as well genealogy-specific browser extensions for Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.

There will be a place in the forums to discuss them as well, if you have recommendations.

Are You Associated with Frensley Software and Collectibles?

No. From limited research we’ve done, the folks who originally registered GenealogySoftware.net, Frensley Software and Collectibles, registered it, or at least began using it, in early 2000, and continued to use it up through 2009. Along the way, they sold genealogy software, along with other applications. At some point after 2009, the domain registration was allowed to lapse.