Comments on: Family Tree Maker 2009 – See an Ancestor’s Life Migration Path

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:46:15 +0000

I have used FTM since version 1. I had been using 2005. Recently Imoved and then changed computers. I had lost the 2005 disc so I bought the 2009. Yikes. I am not well pleased. It is slow and cumbersome. Am I the only one who thinks this way. Can I go back to 2005 or since I have all the data loaded into 2009 will it not accept it?
Any help appreciated.

By: Derrick

Derrick — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:27:27 +0000

Do I have to purchase 09 to get this feature or is there an upgrade for 2008?

By: Lida Rains

Lida Rains — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:43:51 +0000

I was trying to find my family tree that I started and I am unable to find it. What do I need to do?

By: Staub

Staub — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:48:00 +0000

With 2008 I was able to download the Official Guide pdf file. With 2009 you want $30. WHAT’S THIS? I expect you to publish the download instructions for 2009 Official Guide.

By: Terry Cacutt

Terry Cacutt — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:14:56 +0000

Guys,

Sorry to buck the trend, but I am enjoying using FTM 2009, I have only ever used online equivelents previously and it seems fairly user friendly, with great ease of use.

However, the mapping function I must agree is a bit of a pain, you can ask on resolving the places for it not to keep questioning a location so that makes up for it.

The integration with MSVE seems very clunky, with unresolved addresses being showed clearly on a map and once the location has been resolved MSVE then not finding the address.

When looking at a map showing the migration of a family member I want to see exactly where they went from, not just to see the county so in that respect its very dissapointing.

If anyone is interested, I think a nice utility in the next version would be to integrate with a Timed Map, i.e. the Place names etc are relevant to the time period of that ancestor, and not just todays map of the world.

Has anyone thought of integrating not just with Google earth but also the new Google streets, this would be a nice feature, although I’m not sure enough people would use it.

The main complaint I would have is that I cannot find a way of adding a grid reference to an address, I can zoom into an exact location using MSVE and it would be nice to be able to click on that location and have the grid reference stored against the associated fact. The mapping would then be much more accurate, incorporate this with a timed map and you’ll be able to quickly go and visit any location today that your ancestors used to live at for photo’s etc.

Anyone agree and can we campaign to have some of these additional features in FTM. perhaps someone can develop an Add-in.

Kindest Regards

Terry Cacutt

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:51:21 +0000

This feature has some promise but I had a hard time finding it because it is not in the online help.

Also, t would be great if there could be a way of dealing with current versus historical place names beyond just using the description field. Maybe some way to manually add historical places and cross-reference them with current names? Then, you could pick which name to use when mapping.

By: John Small

John Small — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:49:18 +0000

When tracking a migration path under Places in FTM 2009, the various points show up, but the line conecting the migration path does not Why?

By: Christopher

Christopher — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:23:08 +0000

This feature is hopeless. If a street no longer exists, the map insists on finding one which does still exist, even if that place is at the other end of the country – and despite the town and county saying otherwise!

For example -

1920s-1950s Place:
Artillery Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, England.

2008 Place (result in FTM 2009):
Artillery Street, London, England

Why does it match on the first word only?

Try switching? Have done: putting the street name after England (ridiculous) makes NO difference.

A distracting gimmick.

By: T Spring

T Spring — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:42:26 +0000

I agree with comment #14. I have some information about the unit an ancestor served in during the Civil War that’s coming up -no lie- as a place in Alaska!

Love the idea. But it needs some fine tuning.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:38:17 +0000

Hi Russell

Thanks for publishing that example.

Can you select multiple people from the list on the left and see the associated paths overlaid on the map?

Also, is it possible to export a KML or KMZ file for publication on a website (along the lines of this file generated by Map My Ancestors – http://www.familytreeassistant.com/ExampleTree.kmz – you’ll need to expand the time slider in the top right corner to view).

Thanks

Tim