GEDCOM, complete name FamilySearch GEDCOM, is a de facto open file format specification to store genealogical data, and import or export it between compatible genealogy software. GEDCOM is an acronym standing for Genealogical Data Communication. GEDCOM was developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an aid to genealogical research. Most genealogy software supports importing from and exporting to GEDCOM format.
PhpGedView is a free PHP-based web application for working with genealogy data on the Internet. The project was founded and is headed by John Finlay. It is licensed under the GPL-2.0-or-later license.
Password Safe is a free and open-source password manager program originally written for Microsoft Windows but supporting wide area of operating systems with compatible clients available for Linux, FreeBSD, Android, IOS, BlackBerry and other operating systems as well.
Family Tree Maker is genealogy software for Windows and Mac that allows the researcher to keep track of information collected during research and to create reports, charts, and books containing that information. The software was originally developed by Kenneth Hess of Banner Blue Software, which was purchased by Broderbund in 1995. It passed through the hands of The Learning Company, SoftKey, Mattel, and others before coming under its current ownership. A redesigned Family Tree Maker 2008 was released on August 14, 2007. The 2009 version of the program corrected some of the errors and omissions of its predecessor, and introduced a few new features. Family Tree Maker 2010 claimed to further enhance the radical redesign and be more powerful and feature-packed with faster navigation and quicker load times.
Celerity BBS was a descendant of the freely distributed source of TCS BBS 1.43, and ultimately nearly completely rewritten.
Gramps is a free and open source genealogy software. Gramps is programmed in Python using PyGObject. It uses Graphviz to create relationship graphs.
Personal Ancestral File (PAF), as of 2013, is a discontinued free genealogy software provided by FamilySearch, a website operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It allowed users to enter names, dates, citations and source information into a database, and sort and search the genealogical data, print forms and charts, and share files with others in GEDCOM format. PAF also linked images and other media files to individual records.
Legacy Family Tree is genealogy software for Windows that assists family historians in tracking, organizing, printing, and sharing family history. The standard edition is distributed as freeware, with no restrictions, only requiring registration on the company's web site to download the software. Users may pay a fee in order to conduct Product activation to "unlock" the additional features in the deluxe edition.
This article compares several selected client-based genealogy programs. Web-based genealogy software is not included.
LifeLines is a free open-source genealogy software tool to assist family history research. LifeLines primary strengths are its powerful scripting language and the ability to easily import and export information in the GEDCOM format. It was the first open-source genealogy program for Unix. The Lifelines scripting language is now supported by several other open-source programs.
The Master Genealogist (TMG) is genealogy software originally created by Bob Velke for Microsoft DOS in 1993, with a version for Microsoft Windows released in 1996. Data entry was customized through the use of user-defined events, names, and relationship types. Official support for TMG ceased at the end of 2014. Informal support continues through a number of online user groups.
Brother's Keeper is a genealogy software program for Windows.
GenoPro is a software application for drawing family trees and genograms. GenoPro can store additional information such as pictures, contacts, places, sources, occupation and education history for each individual, as well as document the relationships among individuals.
Family tree mapping is the process of geocoding places in family tree files to produce geospatial data suitable for viewing with a virtual globe or 2D mapping program.
Ahnenblatt is a genealogy software application for Microsoft Windows developed by German programmer Dirk Böttcher. It features data entry, plausibility check and creation of charts and reports. The software imports and exports GEDCOM files and exports Web pages.
Genbox Family History is genealogy software for Microsoft Windows, developed by Thoughtful Creations. It functions as a database, a research planner and task organizer, a data analyzer, a chart producer, and a report writer.
Ancestral Quest (AQ) is a genealogy software application for Microsoft Windows developed by Incline Software, LC. It features data entry with sourcing capabilities and scrapbook extensions; a print engine for standard or custom charts and reports; a web page creator; a collaboration engine; and an extension tool for other genealogy databases.
MacFamilyTree is a commercial genealogy program for macOS which allows users to build family trees and document genealogical research by adding data about family members including pictures, documents, and sound clips. It provides integration with iCloud to synchronize data across multiple devices and features the ability to generate and publish HTML web pages from saved family trees.
yEd is a general-purpose diagramming program with a multi-document interface.
TreeDraw is a genealogy program for computers running Microsoft Windows. The program is a chart editor which aids family historians in creating and printing family trees. Developed by SpanSoft, Scotland, the software is distributed as shareware with a free trial period.
