Genealogists who use Ancestry.com might be wondering when the next version of the Family Tree Maker software will come out. The short answer is that you can stop waiting. Instead of creating a Family Tree Maker 2013, there will be periodic updates to Family Tree Maker 2012.
On July 13 of this year, there was a big problem with the Mac version of the Family Tree Maker software. Ancestry.com noted on their blog that they were were aware of the issue and were “working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible”.
Whatever the issue was, it was not affecting the Family Tree Maker software for PC. For whatever reason, though, the issue was making internet connectivity a problem for Mac users. On July 19, 2012, another blog post indicated that the internet connectivity problems had been resolved. There were instructions about how to install an update to the software.
Today, August 17, 2012, Ancestry.com announced on a blog post that there will not be a Family Tree Maker 2013. It seems that many genealogists were eagerly looking forward to the new version. Instead of making a new version, genealogists who use the software can expect “bonus features” that will be added throughout the year.
There will be “numerous enhancements” to TreeSync, to make syncing your tree to the Ancestry.com website quicker and more reliable. There will be new Family View Report that displays a person’s ancestors, spouse, and children, all together. Expect to see a new Undocumented Facts Report. It will be a list of people’s facts that don’t have any source documentation.
Other new enhancements include an ability to merge information from multiple versions of the same fact. There will be new source templates for the 1940 United States Census, as well as improved support for city directories. There will also be “dozens of report enhancements”. Check the Ancestry.com blog for full details about those.
The original blog post implied that the upcoming enhancements were only for the PC version of the software. Scroll down through the comments left on that blog post, and there is an update that That notes that Family Tree Maker for Mac 2 will also be receiving similar “bonus updates” throughout the year. In other words, the Mac users are not being left out.
It is suggested that genealogists who are not currently using Family Tree Maker 2012 should purchase a copy. Those who are using an earlier version of the software should update to the 2012 version. Clearly, you cannot get the updates if you don’t have the right version of the software.
Image by Josh Evnin on Flickr