| You've probably been looking at purchasing some | | | | to deal with multimedia. A good genealogical |
| sort of software program to help you on you | | | | application should be able to handle cataloging and |
| family history project. You may have discovered | | | | incorporating not only your paper documents (and |
| that there is a pretty decent supply of software | | | | word-processor files), but also any digital images, |
| programs that could meet your needs, but you | | | | audio and video you may have accumulated. |
| don't know which ones to buy. To add to the | | | | Another piece of advice to help you select the |
| confusion, there seems to be new software | | | | right software for you: before you plunk down |
| appearing every few weeks or months! How in | | | | your hard earned cash make sure you have gone |
| the world do you sort through the choices and | | | | online and read reviews of the software. Keep in |
| determine which one is the right choice for you? | | | | mind that some "review sites" are paid to write |
| Instead of looking at the choices available and | | | | reviews which may be very biased. You may |
| making a decision from there, you should | | | | even wish to join some genealogy forums online |
| determine what you need from a software | | | | to find out what the people in that community |
| program and find the one that meets those | | | | think about certain software applications. Again |
| needs. You may not find one that meets all of | | | | keep in mind that some people in the forums |
| your needs, and in that case you must pick the | | | | may actually get paid to promote certain |
| one that comes closest to meeting your needs. | | | | software programs. |
| So how do you know what you need? If you're a | | | | Some of the "big names" in genealogy software |
| beginner you may not even know what is | | | | are: |
| available and what you should expect the | | | | - RootsMagic: demo version available |
| software to do for you. Here are a few tips to | | | | - Legacy Family Tree: free basic version |
| help you get starting making a selection. | | | | - Personal Ancestral File: free basic version |
| All genealogy software programs will help you to | | | | - Reunion: runs on a Mac; very costly |
| tackle the documentation issue. You've been | | | | Prices for these programs can range from free, |
| gathering a lot of information (or you will be), so | | | | to very lost cost, all the way up to very |
| your software needs to help you make sense of | | | | expensive ($99). You don't always get what you |
| that information, as well as track your sources of | | | | pay for, but usually the higher quality programs |
| information, and allow you to make notes about | | | | are also higher in cost. You must learn to look at |
| your information. Any genealogy software you | | | | your software purchase as an investment in your |
| find should deal with documentation - if it doesn't, | | | | family history project. Best wishes to you on |
| you should drop it from your consideration. | | | | your family history project journey! |
| Another consideration to keep in mind is the ability | | | | |