Genealogy Sunshine Coast is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9.00am til 4.30pm.
If you are researching your family history, we recommend that you use a family tree program to make the process of compiling and updating your family history so much easier. There are numerous programs available, many of them free to use, others have a free limited time trial version, upgradable to a paid version with more features. Your data will be easily transferred to the new version.
Any reputable family tree program should be able to produce trees in GEDCOM format - this is the universally accepted format for family trees, enabling your file to be easily read, imported and exported by other programs.
Both Ancestry and Family Search facilitate the creation of your own family tree within their sites. So if you have subscribed to Ancestry, you may wish to develop your family tree there. Similarly with Family Search, which is a free site. If this is your preference, that's fine, but you may find that a specialised family tree program provides better functionality for your needs.
If you're unsure, ask others at the Centre what they are using or recommend.
Be aware that although information about people who are still alive is private and in Ancestry you can make your tree private, you could find amendments/suggestions made by others which are incorrect. The usual advice applies - verify everything!
RootsMagic
RootsMagic (version 10, as at January 2025) is used by a large number of GSC members, so there is always somebody at hand who can help! We also hold regular workshops to help you get the most out of this versatile software.
One of the advantages of RootsMagic is that you can keep all your research and information off line i.e. private. Additionally there are features which can be helpful for say creating a book from your research, printing your tree and attaching additional information.
You can download a free Essentials version of RootsMagic to try it out - all your work will be saved and you can later easily transfer it to the full version, if you purchase the software.
Try free RootsMagic Essentials
Legacy Family Tree
Legacy Family Tree (version 10 as at January 2025) is an excellent FREE program.
Their homepage provides an overview of current features.
FamilyHistorian7
Family Historian 7 is a unique program and works from a GEDCOM file. We use it for developing projects with multiple files so that we can compare links with families, including those unrelated. You can download a 30 day free trial version from the home page.
Check out their features at Family Historian 7 - Features