RootsMagic Review
Editor Rating:4.6
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RootsMagic Review

The Good: Extremely versatile and extremely compatible with most file types. A quality level of media support, and fantastic on the go features which enable you to use RootsMagic purely from a USB stick.

The Bad: A functional but not attractive interface.

The Verdict: Easily our third best genealogy software, RootsMagic provides a wealth of function and capability to anyone who might need it. It is very powerful and very capable, while the interface may be considered outdated by some, under it lies a potent and wonderful program.

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What makes RootsMagic one of the best genealogy software?

RootsMagic is a highly capable and one of the best family tree software that can create quality presentations and documents showing ancestral trees and other genealogical research that you may have conducted. It is compatible with an enormous number of file types, which means that it is unlikely that you will ever find a document that it cannot read or export to that it is necessary to have. It contains many standard features of quality genealogical software, but does these very well. It is very well worked as a database, and as such it is capable of processing and collating enormous amounts of information and data, making this especially suited to large projects.

RootsMagic is not only able to read any file that you are likely to add it to or export to, it is also extremely portable which is a very welcome feature when doing field research which requires you to take your software with your documents even if they are electrical. RootsMagic can be run directly from a USB stick, and as such it can be used wherever an accessible computer is that it can be plugged into. This is great if you are using a laptop or several computers such as if you are traveling around and looking at physical copies and lots of different areas of documents. Its compatibility also means that even if different agencies and document holders use varied or obscure file formats for that digitalized files, this should not cause a problem. This is great for heavy users and users doing very detailed research.

Often, a lot of genealogical research involves a large amount of searching using the Internet. RootsMagic contains a feature to help you speed this process significantly as you find your ancestors. It can fill out searches for you using selected details without you having to leave the program. This saves a lot of time in switching between your search engine and your genealogical software, and saves the effort of having to constantly copy and paste details.

An enormous number of multimedia options mean that with RootsMagic you can create fantastic presentations that are great for personal and professional use. These include ancestor and descendent charts, timelines, and even charts that are up to 100 feet wide. These are immensely customizable very easily, with a drag-and-drop system that enables you to put pictures and shapes onto the chart you are creating quickly and easily and with little experience. Along with this is a tool called RootsMagic Publisher, which as the name suggests is fantastic for creating extremely professional and presentable documents including books in a highly customizable way, and includes features you would expect from professional publications, such as being able to include footnotes and bibliographies.

RootsMagic is a powerful and versatile tool that is able to create an extremely presentable depiction of your family history. Its compatibility is almost unparalleled, and its ease-of-use is very welcome amongst people who have used it to find family members. Although its interface is not the best in comparison to the top rates in our reviews of best family tree software of 2018, it is functional and the software is powerful. It is highly useful to anyone trying to create something to show to others, and so is suited to casual users and professionals alike. Recommended for all users looking for a quality program, especially those with large projects on those looking to create something of a high quality that is very presentable.

  

Why choose RootsMagic as your genealogy software?

  • Compatible with enormous number of file types, so likely to be tripped up by older file types or obscure file types
  • highly portable make new fantastic for field use hopefully use across multiple forms and computers
  • Fantastic multimedia features mean that you can create stronger and presentable documents from both small to extremely large sizes

 

System Requirements

  • Windows XP SP2/Vista (32-bit or 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
  • Windows 8 (32-bit or 64-bit)
  • Hard disk space: 675MB for installation
  • Memory 1 GB RAM

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