RootsMagic Essentials

RootsMagic provides a set of tools for designing a family tree. With simple directions and an excellent layout, family roots can be monitored from their earliest origins.

The program's interface had us hooked from the get-go. Its simple family tree display and easily entered info meant we never needed to consult the program's instructional Help file. While we were expected to do the research ourselves, the program provided a simple bracket system for mapping out our family's history. We were prompted to enter birth and death dates, photos, hometowns and other important information, which formed a web of details that created a clear picture of a family. One of its strongest suits was the tree's ability to make gaps in knowledge obvious. If a great great uncle was missing, the blank entry was surrounded by other family members with whom we could research and hopefully find the answer. The program appeared to offer a great feature in its simple Web-site-creating wizard. Unfortunately, we were unable to actually view the site due to trial limits, but if the site is as comprehensive as the wizard is, it will be good. While the program required a lot of research to get a full picture of one's family, it was ultimately worth it because of the helpful tools.

RootsMagic comes with the previously mentioned Web site limit and a 50-member trial limit.