A NEW EDITION ARRIVING SOON
It's been 35 years since Family Tree Maker was first published, and each new edition has taken this grand old brand to places its creators could only have dreamed of. Where relatives review your trees on their smartphones. Where the interface grows in just the right places to go easy on your eyes. Where Mom's wedding album becomes an interactive documentary in which she literally speaks her mind about each of her guests. Where a built-in family history resource center has exactly what you need. All this and more in the new world of Family Tree Maker. We think you're going to like it here.
Family Tree Maker
But wait there's more.
Just so there's no confusion here, the items below are just a few of the more notable new features of FTM 2024. There are dozens more, large and small. Like hyphenated dual surname support (which I agree is not so small if yours is a name that's hyphenated). And there's extensive work "under the hood". Work that makes this by far the fastest and most stable Family Tree Maker ever built. One that can handle BIG trees. Really big. Hundreds of thousands of people big. And even if your tree isn't absolutely gigantic, you're going to feel the difference.
WHAT'S NEW IN THIS EDITION
There has never been a more useful set of features added in a single edition of Family Tree
Maker.
Turn Back Time® 5000
Being able to fix a mistake that was made up to 1000 changes ago was just the ticket if you discovered you lopped off Uncle Harry's branch of the family – weeks ago. Introduced in FTM 2019, having Turn Back Time meant you could roll back changes with a single click to just before that catastrophe. Because every change is recorded in the Turn Back Time change log. Even the details of changes for complex operations like merging and syncing with Ancestry. So we asked users what more could we possibly do to improve on THAT? Easy you told us. Give us more change log steps. And so we have. Five times as many, with a slider in FTM 2024 that goes from 1000 to 5000.
Connect Workspace
Making it super easy to connect with your relatives is an idea so big that it gets its own workspace. The new Connect workspace makes it a snap to share your family tree with your relatives — and enlist their help in fact-checking it. They start by viewing your tree on the FTM Connect mobile app for Apple and Android devices (see below). If they find something to share with you they simply add a Relative Hint™ sticky note to the tree. Then, through the magic of TreeVault®, their sticky note icons instantly show up in your FTM tree and in the Index, right next to Ancestry and FamilySearch hints. And, as your network of helpful relatives grows, the Connect workspace automatically keeps track of their progress. Time to get connected.
FTM Connect 2.0
A greatly expanded FTM Connect app is what
makes getting connected with your relatives
possible. First off, there's Guest Access. Enabled
by TreeVault, Guest Access is what allows you to
send invitations to relatives you'd like to view your
tree on their phone or tablet. And when they do, they'll find even more
information from your FTM tree in this version, including
Relationships, Person and Research Notes, and Web Links. And for
some fun, there's direct access from the app to our Family Tree
Maker collection of famous trees — from Alexander Hamilton to Luke
Skywalker, and Walt Disney to Game of Thrones. Enjoy!
AlbumWALK®
AlbumWALK has been called a "game-changer" for capturing memories in photos. Built around our very first technology patent, it's a free mobile app for iOS and Android devices that allows anyone to record memories and embed them in a photo using our tap-talk technology to create interactive talking photos. Just tap a face on a photo and talk about that person. Tap the next and talk and so on. And when you're finished, AlbumWALK creates a mini-documentary with professionally scored background music that can be played back in the media center of FTM 2024.
To move album files to your tree, AlbumWALK relies on TreeVault, which on the way to your media collection, also puts an up-to-the-minute backup of all your AlbumWALK photos and albums in the TreeVault cloud. Once in Family Tree Maker, the talking picture files can be viewed in a built-in AlbumWALK player. Watch AlbumWALK Player video.
Easy on the Eyes™
One of the most frequent requests we get is "Can't you do something for my poor tired eyes?" Well now we have. Easy on the Eyes does just one thing. It enlarges areas of the People workspace while you are working in them and then puts them back to normal size. So go ahead — you can stop squinting now. See how Easy on the Eyes works by watching a video of the feature in action.
New Photo Darkroom® Tools
In FTM 2017 we introduced a set of repair tools for damaged photos, especially those faded over time to be almost blank. And we named them collectively Photo Darkroom. Now in FTM 2024 we've greatly expanded the tools you'll have on hand to rescue old family photos. They include cropping and a range of new repair tools that will help you remove dust and scratches. And, as with the first set of Photo Darkroom tools, the original photograph is always saved unchanged.
Resource Center
We've been thinking for a while about building a resource center inside Family Tree Maker. And now we have.
So what will you find there? Resources of all kinds to help you with your research. Connect with a professional to take your research to the next level, or a mentor to help you get started. Find the nearest Family Tree Maker user group, or get everything you need to start one. Check out our tour calendar for visiting societies, or request we swing by the next time we're in your part of the world. Sign up for free webinars. And, oh yes, get discounts we've been busy negotiating for you. See you there.
Co-Pilot 2024
The co-pilot program started with FTM 2017 to make sure that each new user of Family Tree Maker got off to a good start. And that's still the concept behind our Co-Pilot 2024 program, but greatly expanded to include the growing number of mobile apps that now make up the Family Tree Maker ecosystem. Here's how it works. Two days after your first launch of FTM 2024, we'll offer a brief diagnostic test that can tell us if you've had a great flight, or if there are some things we can start to address with you right away. You'll be offered help if you want it with getting TreeVault set up. With making your first Connect Workspace mailing to relatives. And with creating your first AlbumWALK page. It's free, fast and completely optional. You're cleared for takeoff, captain.