Author Archives for Tana L. Pedersen

Family Tree Maker 2009: Web Clipping


Most Family Tree Maker users are familiar with the process of merging Ancestry.com facts and records into their tree. But did you know you can merge information from other websites too? It’s called Web clipping, and it’s one of my favorite tools. 

Family Tree Maker: Transferring Trees


Recently, I received a number of e-mails from users who all have the same question. How do I move my Family Tree Maker file from one computer to another? It’s a situation most of us have faced. Whether you’re finally upgrading to a new system or you need to reformat your hard drive to get rid [...]

Family Tree Maker: The Extended Family Chart


As you probably know by now, the 2009 Software Update includes a new chart: the Extended Family. This tree displays every individual in your file or just the ancestors and descendants of a specific individual. Each generation appears on its own horizontal row: grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, and so forth.

Family Tree Maker: Making Colorful Charts


What family historian doesn’t want to brag a little about their latest find or show off their tree? And one of the easiest ways to showcase your family is with charts. Family Tree Maker lets you easily create a variety of standard ancestor and descendant charts, but with a little effort (and practice) you can [...]

Family Tree Maker: Creating a Calendar


The 2009 Software Update includes a monthly calendar that can display all the birthdays and wedding anniversaries in your tree. To make your own calendar:

Go to the Collection tab in the Publish workspace.
In Publication Types, click Other.
Double-click Calendar Report, or select its icon and then click the Detail tab.
To customize the calendar, click the Calendar [...]

Book-Building is Back


One of the comments I hear most is concerned with book-building: Where did it go? And will it ever come back? Thankfully, the people at Family Tree Maker have been listening. With this 2009 software update, you can once again create your own family history book from the convenience of your computer desktop. 
Getting started is [...]

Introducing Source Templates for Family Tree Maker


The 2009 Software Update contains some exciting new (and updated) features! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my thoughts and experiences that I hope will help you take advantage of all the great new enhancements. Today we’ll look at source templates.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit this: I don’t always practice what I [...]

Tana L. Pedersen

Tana has been writing for the technology industry for more than ten years. She is author of The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker 2009, The Family Tree Maker 2009 Little Book of Answers, and co-author of The Official Guide to RootsWeb.com.