Review by KJN

Family Tree Maker is the premiere geneology software available for consumers, and has tremendous capabilities for discovery, tracking, and creating documentation to share. It is also very time-demanding to use, both from a learning curve aspect and from a product usage aspect. It can also be expensive in the long-run if you maintain a subscription to Ancestry.com. I have casually used other geneology software years ago, and this package beats previous generations hands down in it’s professional interface and plethora of features. Cooperative efforts over the internet through TreeSync with other family members can be a force multiplier. One newer feature, the photo editor, is a waste for me, since I have several other more capable software packages, but for some it may be helpful. If you have a great deal of time available to explore the software and web site, Family Tree Maker Platinum could be a powerful discovery and documentation tool. Frankly, I’m not as committed to tracking my geneology as this software requires.