Changing Family Tree Maker to Apple

[Glenys]

Has anyone changed from Family Tree Maker in Microsoft to Family Tree Maker for Apple? We've recently bought an Apple and I need to transfer all my information and wonder if the Apple version has a facility to receive the info from the Microsoft version and convert it rather than me having to start all over again.

Just thinking, 20 years ago I would never have thought I would be typing in that last paragraph, apples only ever grew on Trees! I even went on a course to find out what a peripheral was!!! How times have changed.

[dickiesam]

Hi Glenys,
I haven't done this myself but I think the solution is to create a standard Gedcom file for each individual tree or data-set on the MS machine and export it to a CD [or DVD if the file is a really big one]. Then import the file into the Apple version of Family Tree Maker. A gedcom is not an MS format so it should go onto the Apple.

You could, I think, even email it to the Apple as an attachment and import it from your email client. If someone sent you a ged file for your FTM program they don't have to tell you what machine created it, so it should work. On reflection you could probably do the transfer using a flash drive.

Dickiesam

[MaryA]

I would agree with Dickiesam - a gedcom file is industry standard and should be accepted from/by both a Windows and a Mac.

The only thing I would say is to check if there is a forum for FTM that mentions this as I'd be wondering, if it were me, whether all my attachments - photographs, jpegs of censuses etc. would come out in the right place, another thing to keep in mind when considering what method of transfer to use ie how big the file size would be with all attachments.

[Glenys]

Having read review about Family Tree Maker for Mac, I'm not sure whether I should go ahead and buy it. I've read some reviews of Reunion 9 and everyone seems to think that's better. Has anyone used Reunion 9? Would I be able to write in book form rather than just creating a book for family info sheets?

[MaryA]

In case nobody else has any experience of Reunion, have you thought to ask Peter Jol, I know he does talks on various programmes, he might have some ideas about this one.

[Stephen Nulty]

I switched a few months back from a Windows PC to a MacBook. I then bought a copy of FTM for Mac and simply opened up my existing file on the new machine.

It opened immediately, all the data was there, nothing lost, etc.

My biggest difficulty has been in undertanding some of the new features, and I would have had that problem even if I had just upgraded the PC version.

So yes, I would suggest just going ahead and doing it, with the usual proviso of backing everything up first. I bought an external hard drive, copied everything from Windows to the new drive and then copied it all straight back on to the MacBook.

Simple.

[MaryA]

Good to hear about the experiences of somebody who has been there and done it!

[MarkOnslow]

Us poor Mac users are always sidelined when it come to genealogy software. It's lucky that at least a few of the developers pay attention to Mac users.

[MaryA]

I was wondering if things might have become easier with the advent of the ipad, thinking how useful it would be for carrying around, that it would become more popular and software would become more available. Fingers crossed anyway.