Update: Family Tree Analyzer is now available for Mac.
In 2012 I had an idea for a genealogy program. I created a simple program called Census Taker to analyze your tree and produce a list of every person likely to be found in the newly released 1940 census.
It worked great for me, but it was limited. I studied Java programming, hoping to make the program better. I began rewriting my program, but time after time I ran into problems.
Then, suddenly, I found something in a Google search. A free program called Family Tree Analyzer that does everything I wanted my program to do—and a million times more. Goodbye, my fledgling programming career!
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| Programmer and genealogist Alexander Bisset makes it easy to analyze your family tree. |
Family Tree Analyzer analyzed my 18,946-person tree without blinking. It provides a detailed table of each individual's facts in a flawless format that looks eerily like what I was struggling to do with my program.
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| The "Individuals" table helps you see what you're missing and plan your genealogy research accordingly. |
It found every possible data error in my file. It found potential duplicate people. It let me export everything to a spreadsheet so I can fix the problems.
One small piece of what it does is like my Census Taker, but way better.
The Treetops button shows you the eldest person (or people) in your tree with a given surname. I entered my maiden name of "Iamarino". The Iamarinos at the top of 2 branches were born in 1640 and 1710. Awesome.
The Locations, Occupations and Sources tabs show how many people are associated with a particular source, place or job. I'll use it to find typos or places where I want to make the wording more consistent.
I've barely scratched the surface, but I strongly recommend you try this program. Family Tree Analyzer can provide you with all kinds of analysis to help you fortify your family tree.
Find out what else you can do with this free software:
Thanks for a great tip. Worth a look.
ReplyDeleteWell worth a look - I could spend hours looking at the various reports.
ReplyDeleteI cannot download F.T.A into my Windows 10. Can you tell me how to do this? I have so much family history and being in my 80's this would help me greatly.
ReplyDeleteAre you able to download it from here: http://family-tree-analyzer.findmysoft.com/download/ ... That link works for me today.
DeleteThe only official version is at www.ftanalyzer.com - the findmysoft softcom and similar sites are adware/malware sites never use them.
ReplyDeleteThe current version is v6.0.3.0 which can be installed from www.ftanalyzer.com/install
It should work just fine on windows 10, you may have to tick a box to say you allow the software to install but other than that it should just work.
I have setup a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ftanalyzer/ for anyone having questions about the app.
Alexander Bisset
Author FTAnalyzer
Thank you, Alexander! I'm so happy to have found you on Twitter. I promise to update my handful of articles about Family Tree Analyzer with the new URL. And I'm still jealous that your program blows the doors off the concept I was toying around with in Java.
DeleteDo you have any plans to adapt the program to a mac? That is all I own and I would love to try this program. will keep my fingers crossed, Kathy
DeleteKathy, see the link at the top of this article. The program does work on Mac now.
DeleteAny chance of having it work on my iMAC?
ReplyDeleteBrenda, it doesn't look that way. The program relies on Microsoft .Net technology.
DeleteA message popped up with a big red exclamation mark stating that downloading the program could damage my computer and did I want to continue. I got a bit worried, and backed out of it. What are the chances of damaging my computer, and what kind of damage are they talking about?
ReplyDeleteThat’s a standard disclaimer message. If you have any concerns, I’d suggest you contact Family Tree Analyzer on their Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteIt does looks as if FT Analyzer is now available in a native Mac version - according to the official website.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is available for Mac now. I'm going to update all my articles about this software.
DeleteDiAnn, I tried downloading FT Analyzer on my Windows 10 laptop and was unable to download to my pc. Here is version 7.4.2.0 showing but I am unable to download it to run. Any suggestions. I appreciate all help. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteGloria, I had some sort of Windows incompatibility with the program for a long time. I found that my cheap, little Windows 10 laptop that I bought for use while traveling ran the program fine! Now, suddenly, it is working on my regular laptop again. Is there another computer available to you to try?
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