Genealogy Insider - Family Tree Maker 2009 Coming Soon; '08 Users Can Upgrade Free

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Family Tree Maker 2009 Coming Soon; '08 Users Can Upgrade Free
Posted by Diane

An Ancestry.com spokesperson confirmed blog reports (found here and here) of the impending release of Family Tree Maker 2009 and free upgrades for registered users of version 2008.

Public relations manager Anastasia Tyler says the 2009 version of the widely used genealogy program is scheduled for release Sept. 3, which coincides with the upcoming Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference. Amazon.com, where you can pre-order the software in packages priced from $29.99 to $99.99, has given the release date as Aug. 26, as have other bloggers.

Tyler also said registered 2008 users will have the opportunity to receive free upgrades—so make sure you’ve registered your software.

She didn’t elaborate on new or updated features, but Dick Eastman posted a description he found online (I couldn’t find that page on FamilyTreeMaker.com—if you can, help a girl out and post a comment with a link).

Update: A reader located the info on version 2009—thanks, Linda!

Ancestry.com | Genealogy Software

8/20/2008 11:33:04 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [16]

8/20/2008 12:07:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I believe his FTM 2009 description is from the Ancestry Store at http://store.ancestry.com/(A(jiMmk6_FnzuLQ6a_qR-7Om4U7PnAGsLOk4vqnAUqbDG0UpwipTnkvDtDQANX2QSXnlNWPomb_AkQGH6t5XY5fbLRsXxq7t07c8gLFlM7Ag81))/ProductDetail.aspx?p=mfsku4637(shops)&PT=

Hope those who stuck it out with FTM 2008 feel it is enough of an improvement...at least it is free to try.

Linda |lmatthewshomeAT NOSPAMbellsouth dot net

8/20/2008 1:41:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Dick fouled up again. And not one of Dick's readers dared to correct him. He gets really grumpy when they do.

Linda is right. It is from the store.

Peter Harfeld |pharfeldAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

8/20/2008 3:24:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Thanks for sharing the link, Linda.

All the Ancestry.com sites are so enmeshed, and a lot of people look at them as one entity. I wouldn't call that a mistake. If anything, I should've thought to check out the store.

Diane

8/21/2008 10:17:45 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

The family tree maker site is separate.
it is its own site.
Probably sells better if it is not too clear what company is behind it. LOL.

Fred Hargrove |fhargroveAT NOSPAMaol dot com

8/21/2008 4:25:06 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Aw man!! I just ordered FTM 2008 a few days ago! I haven't gotten it yet so of course it's not registered. Wonder if I'll be able to get the free upgrade to 2009?

Melanie Fagan |melanie0971AT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

8/21/2008 7:47:32 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Well I have mine registered and sure hope I do get a FREE upgrade as I have not been happy with 2008 at all and don't use it.

Jackie Hufschmid |jhufschmidAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

8/21/2008 8:38:43 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I am still using FTM 2006. Bought FTM 2008 and it was totally
much harfer to us than 2006. So I removed it from my computer.
2008 Software just was a total disaster. I am afraid to use 2009.

Edward Tantsits |edtantsitsAT NOSPAMenter dot net

8/23/2008 9:38:59 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

What about us Mac folks? As usual, left out of the loop. There was a huge number of Apple products sold this past year ... missing customers?

CDC |camdcamAT NOSPAMmac dot com

8/23/2008 10:46:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Back in the mid-90's, I purchased Reunion for Windows. Great genealogy package.

They were bought out by Sierra, and I successively upgraded to Sierra's Generations Millenium.

Haven't heard anything about it since. Sierra just says, "huh?" when asked about this "old" software.

Does anyone know if it migrated elsewhere? Or do I get to start all over?

Todd |genealogy_vaAT NOSPAMyahoo dot com

8/24/2008 5:23:55 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I too purchased FTM 2008 and I was sorely disappointed with it. Some of the ideas were good.. it's just that the execution was/is horrible. The crashes, the sloooownness, all very aggravating and I just quit using it and went back to FTM2005.

If they haven't addressed the issues in 2008, I fear 2009 isn't going to be any better.

Diane |ladynred56AT NOSPAMgmail dot com

9/13/2008 11:40:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

What's the actual free-upgrade final process? I used the new coupon code for my registered 2008 version, got all the way through to a "final" free upgrade screen, confirmation code and everything, then nothing. Will the s/w get mailed? There's no download option? I didn't see anything to describe what will happen, and now I can't get back to the screen.

Thanks, anyone.

Phil James |philAT NOSPAMphiljames dot net

9/18/2008 12:16:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I think you do get it in the mail. I haven't been using 2008 and went out on Ebay and found Version 16, which I love. Fortunately I have an older extra laptop that I think I'll keep 2008 (and 2009 upgrade) on and play with it a little more. I wasn't happy the first time around though.

Susan West |swok34AT NOSPAMgmail dot com

9/24/2008 3:00:28 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I hate 2008 and don;t think I will try the 2009.Don;t think it will be any better.

Rosanna Gray |gidget61AT NOSPAMroadrunner dot com

9/30/2008 9:24:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

I registered my FTM 2008 last February. I have not received any offers for a free upgrade to FTM 2009 & all my inquiries to Family Tree Maker have been ignored. Not even an automatic reply. Any suggestions?

Kimberly Cooper |cooper dot genealogyAT NOSPAMgmail dot com

10/1/2008 9:51:56 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

From what we understand, registered version 2008 users were supposed to receive an e-mail with a download code for their free upgrade. I did notice, however, that there were a lot of comments on the Ancestry.com blog and message boards from users who hadn’t received their invitations.

In a thread on Ancestry’s blog (http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2008/09/09/lets-talk-about-family-tree-maker/#comments), it says, “If you registered a US or Canadian 2008 version of Family Tree Maker and didn’t receive the email, my sincere apologies. Please let us know here in a comment.” If you don’t get a response, my best suggestion is to contact that company directly (our magazine is not affiliated with the software). The phone number for Ancestry/Family Tree Maker is 800-262-3787.

Allison Stacy |ftmeditAT NOSPAMfwpubs dot com

10/1/2008 10:01:26 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

To answer the earlier question about Generations Family Tree, Sierra sold it to Genealogy.com--which then owned Family Tree Maker--in 2002, and subsequently discontinued Generations. Ancestry.com's parent company bought Genealogy.com, including Family Tree Maker, the following year.

Although Generations is essentially a dead program, you shouldn't have to start over completely. Generations will allow you to save your database as a GEDCOM file, which you can then open with other software. Not everything will transfer perfectly, but you won't have to start over.

Allison Stacy |ftmeditAT NOSPAMfwpubs dot com

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