Goodbye Ancestry

50Twuncle

After almost 20 years of Family Tree Maker - Ancestry is finally killing off the software package
http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/12/08/ancestry-to-retire-family-tree-maker-software/
They haven't explained why they took this decision or what they are replacing it with
But, the reasons are bound to be profit related
The problem is that many people have spent years building up their family trees and rely on up to date FTM software to display the files - so if FTM is killed off, there will be hundred of thousands of unhappy customers....
What alternatives are there ?

pmduk

Have you tried googling alternatives to family tree maker?

50Twuncle

Yes - of course I have
I was just wondering what other people made of the announcement and what alternatives they used ......

50Twuncle

If I bought, say a 2010 version of FTM from Amazon, cheaply - just to get 6 months free access to Ancestry - then use my present 2013 version of FTM on my PC - Will this run as 2010 or 2013 ?
ie) Does the version of FTM affect the version of Ancestry that you have access to ?

Johno100

I use Legacy Family Tree, does the trick for me and most importantly I believe you can export your data from FTM and import it into Legacy.

50Twuncle

FTM files or just gedcom files ?

SailorSam

When i started a family tree i thought Ancestry was expensive and have only ever used it for free in my local library. But i suppose if you think of it as a hobby and you're paying for it as a liesure pastime which you can spend endless hours doing at home, it may well be worth the money.

Sooler

50Twuncle wrote: »

If I bought, say a 2010 version of FTM from Amazon, cheaply - just to get 6 months free access to Ancestry - then use my present 2013 version of FTM on my PC - Will this run as 2010 or 2013 ?
ie) Does the version of FTM affect the version of Ancestry that you have access to ?

2013

No

:xmassmile

50Twuncle

SailorSam wrote: »

When i started a family tree i thought Ancestry was expensive and have only ever used it for free in my local library. But i suppose if you think of it as a hobby and you're paying for it as a liesure pastime which you can spend endless hours doing at home, it may well be worth the money.

It is a hobby for me - my tree is currently composed of over 2000 people and grows every day !

50Twuncle

Sooler wrote: »

2013

No
:xmassmile

So you reckon that 2013 FTM will not be compatible with 2016 Ancestry - but 2012 will be ?
balderdash !!

Elsewhere

I've never tried any family tree making software so I don't know if any of these are useful - open source programmes:

http://sourceforge.net/directory/home-education/genealogy/os:windows/