ADVANCED-RESEARCH-L Archives

Archiver > ADVANCED-RESEARCH > 2004-11 > 1100017860


From: Kathy Lenerz <>
Subject: Re: [ADVANRES] Family Tree software
Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 11:31:00 -0500
References: <BAY18-F13plWdtaGzW300039110@hotmail.com> <418FBCD5.8080708@worldnet.att.net> <b3rvo0taef6iurpgfodrjh6f6s72u8ts6d@4ax.com>
In-Reply-To: <b3rvo0taef6iurpgfodrjh6f6s72u8ts6d@4ax.com>


Victoria Sullivan wrote:
> Alas, the reviews and ratings on that site are extremely out of date.

The essay I recommended at that site on the characteristics of genealogical
software is definitely not out of date.

> After you mentioned it, I looked at Genbox on the website. It's a bit pricey for
> a quick buy_and_try & the tour doesn't show me a compelling reason to use it.
> Can you sum up why you love it?

I mentioned the software I use/have used as a disclosure, not as an
advertisement. However, to correct the misimpression presented by the
above-- Genbox is available for a free 30-day trial, which is renewable, so
you don't have to buy it to try it.

In line with Gwen's post, I think it's important to think about the
characteristics of any genealogical software program, and how well they fit
the way you work, not just the number of things it supposedly can do (which
scorecards rate). So below is my list of priorities (not in order) and
examples how Genbox meets them. As has been mentioned, many of these are
in the eye of the beholder.

1. Intuitive
Each type of data has its own window-- sources, places, citations, media,
research tasks, correspondence log, event templates, source templates.
This makes more sense to me than the ways these things are set up in other
programs.

2. Easy to navigate
One can move from one data element to another with links and icons that are
in all the windows. Example: Click on "Links" in the Places window and one
gets a list of events that have used that place. Then click on one of the
events and that event window appears. You don't ever have to drill down
through windows to get to where you want to be.

3. Links among all the data elements
Example: Research targets (tasks) are linked to individuals AND events AND
sources AND repositories.

4. Easy to use
Examples: You can drag and drop a list to change a flag-- no need to create
a report. You can preview how sentences will look in reports-- no need to
create a report.

5. The ability to do complex sourcing, with well-constructed footnotes
Examples: You can have leading text and annotations for citations, so that
explanations and citations end up in same footnote. Extracts from sources
are stored with the source, and can also be put into footnotes.

6. Preservation of data
Example: All data get exported, including witnesses.

7. The ability to search for data in the database
Example: Although the interface could be improved, the ability to search
for and generate a list of people *that can be navigated* is a real plus--
no need to create a report.

8. The ability to create interesting, unstilted narrative
Examples: One can have multiple sentence templates for same event and vary
one's choice of sentence as appropriate, e.g. "He was employed as. . .";
"He worked as. . ."; "He was. . ."

9. The ability to document everything
Example: There are notes fields everywhere. There are both research and
general notes for every person, every family, every set of parents, every
event, every place, every identifier (name). These notes can be included
in the narrative and sourced, adding to #8 above.

10. The ability to connect to and search the Web
IMHO this is a totally unnecessary feature in a family tree program. I
know how to use the Web and have many bookmarks to genealogy search sites;
I don't need to do this from within my familly tree program.

11. The ability to have it all in one family tree program
Many people use multiple programs to do all the things they want. Since
moving to Genbox, I have not found it necessary to use any other software--
I do all my research planning, recording, and reporting in Genbox.

Again, this is NOT an advertisement. It is an example of how to evaluate
software for its ability to meet your needs.

Kathy


This thread: