While FH has many advantages, especially for Windows users, running a virtual machine on a Mac is not a viable option for users who don’t have the resources in RAM or disk space or don’t want to deal with the inconvenience (like me). Ben already switched a while back to using Family Historian (FH) in VirtualBox on a Mac. What better way to get a hold of the family trees of thousands of RootsMagic, Family Tree Builder, and Legacy Family Tree users? And get new subscribers? Without the overhead of continuing to develop a problematic software application? Let other companies bear those costs!Ī few readers have asked what we plan to use.

In a recent blog post, Ancestry stated, “We are exploring possible relationships with other desktop software solutions that would make it possible for their products to integrate with Ancestry.” This makes perfect sense. And besides, while some of them can sync with or, they can’t sync with. I’ve read with envy the glowing reviews for some of the Windows apps like RootsMagic and Family Historian, but using Windows apps on a Mac is just not convenient, ideal, or Mac-like. TreeSync was in fact the only reason I stuck with FTM, despite the bugs and constant crashes until it finally stabilized with version 3 for Mac. Let’s face it: FTM has travelled a rocky road since the major update in 2008, and then again in 2012 when they added the TreeSync feature. This is a business decision on Ancestry’s part, and in the long run, I think it will be a win-win situation for both Ancestry and genealogists. We’ve all heard the news by now: is retiring Family Tree Maker (FTM) after 26 years, at least 6 different owners, and 22 major versions for Windows (plus 4 for Mac). Photo credit: Flickr user DncnH (CC BY 2.0)

Import family tree maker into gramps