Someone new to Genealogy asked, "What software is good to use for my family tree"?  Please memebers join the coversation on this.  He has trees on both Ancestry and My Heritage.

I get this question often when I teach beginning classes. The answer depends on what you plan to use the software for. If your tree on Ancestry is well-documented and has lots of attached images, I would recommend Family Tree Maker because it can sync with your online tree and you'll have the same tree residing on your home computer. This is good if you ever decide to stop paying for Ancestry, you'll have all of your documents you carefully attached.

 

If your tree on Ancestry is bare basic, then you could try another program. RootsMagic, Legacy Family Tree, and Ancestral Quest, all have trial versions that are free. These are fully functional and can be free forever. If you want their added bells and whistles, then pay the upgrade price of around $30. (sometimes there are sale promotions). These programs reside on your home computer and except for RootsMagic, do not link up with Ancestry trees. RootsMagic does have a "Tree Share" feature that is per person, not a whole tree sync.

 

I personally use RootsMagic and do not maintain an up-to-date tree on Ancestry. I upload a tree using Gedcom every so often. But that is my style. My working tree is on my home computer only.

 

These recommendations are based on PC only. I can't offer much help for MAC. I know there is FamilyTreeMaker for mac and Reunion.

I use Roots Magic. I downloaded my tree from Ancestry.com into RootsMagic and it will sync any changes you make on either Ancestry or RootsMagic. I have another version of my tree in RootsMagic where I transcribe documents and keep notes.