RootsMagic Essentials

RootsMagic 9

Feature

General Features

Y

Y

Runs under Windows 7 (SP1+), Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 (both 32 and 64 bit)

Y

Y

Runs under macOS High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), Big Sur (11), Monterey (12), Ventura (13)

Y

Y

Single-file database format

Y

Y

Support for international character sets through Unicode integration

Y

Y

Integrated backup and restore help safeguard your data

Y

Backup media files

Y

Y

Automatically check for updates to your software

Y

Free technical support

Y

Database tools let you test the file integrity, rebuild indexes, and compress database to remove deleted records

Portability

Y

Y

Run RootsMagic directly from a flash drive on Windows, Mac, or both

Navigation

Y

Y

Easily switch between different data views (People, Places, Sources, Media, Tasks, Addresses, Search, Publish, etc) without losing your place in those views

People Page

Y

Y

Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)

Y

Y

Family View

Y

Descendant View (2-7 generations)

Y

People List View (Customizable and filterable)

Y

Couple List View

Y

Association View

Places Page

Y

Y

List view of all places in your file

Y

Y

Reverse places in list to view together geographically (Provo, Utah, Utah, USA => USA, Utah, Utah, Provo)

Y

Y

Instantly view on screen all people with an event in a place

Y

Directly edit a person from the list of people with an event in a place

Y

Map view of all places in your file

Y

Geocode (automatically add latitude/longitude) places

Y

World gazetteer to find places

Y

PlaceClean feature to automatically clean your place list

Sources Page - Documenting Your Information

Y

Y

Add source documentation to any person, fact, or family

Y

Y

SourceWizard automatically writes proper sources for you

Y

Y

Almost 400 SourceWizard templates based on Evidence Explained, Evidence!, and Cite Your Sources

Y

Y

Hints in the Source fields guide you in entering your sources

Y

Y

Assign industry-standard quality terminology (for sources, information and evidence) to your master sources

Y

Y

Easy to use source list tracks all your documentation (certificates, census, books, etc)

Y

Y

Enter each source only once, then reuse it elsewhere

Y

Y

Reuse citations for multiple facts or people

Y

Y

Directly view and edit all citations for any source

Y

Y

Instantly view a list of all people or facts using a source or citation

Y

Y

Add a global source to each person when importing a GEDCOM file.

Y

Y

Record repositories where the sources are found

Y

Create your own source templates using the powerful built-in template language

Y

Easily merge duplicate sources from the master source list

Y

Add a source to multiple people at once

Y

Easily make a copy of a source

Y

Copy (memorize) sources to reuse (paste) elsewhere

Media Page

Y

Y

Attach photographs, sound clips, and video clips to any person, family, place, source, or event

Y

Y

View media as thumbnail grid or list

Y

Y

Include photos in your books, group sheets, and other printouts

Y

Y

Attach documents (Word, PDF, etc) to any person, family, place, source, or event

Y

Y

Relative links to media to faciliate moving between computers

Y

Drag and drop media into albums

Y

Fix broken media links

Tasks Page

Y

Add tasks to keep track of needed or completed research

Y

Track goals, results, dates, status, priority, and more

Y

Link tasks to people, family, events, sources, citations, places, and more

Y

Filter tasks based on task data, or items the tasks link to

Y

Place tasks into folders to group them as Research Logs

Y

Research Log view displays a folder as a table including goal, result, sources, and more

Y

Easily view all tasks in a particular repository

Y

Print filtered tasks as either a task list or research log

Y

Save and re-use complex task filters

Addresses Page

Y

Y

Keep track of addresses for people in your file

Y

Y

Keep track of repositories where records are stored and research is done

Y

Merge duplicate addresses and repositories

Search Page

Y

Y

Simple person search easily finds people by name, sex, birth/death year

Y

Y

Advanced person search finds people by name, record number, events, dates, places, notes, and many other types of data

Y

Y

Easily find people by married name or nickname

Y

Search and replace for notes, names, places, media items, etc.

Y

WebSearch lets you search popular websites for people in your file

Y

Find Everywhere lets you find text in any record in your file: people, families, notes, sources, media, places, to-do items, research logs, and more.

Y

Search and replace various record types (names, places, media filenames, etc)

Y

Save and re-use advanced search criteria

Y

Y

Easily view or edit people in search results without losing your place in the search or having to re-do the search

Publish Page

Y

Y

Print reports to screen or printer

Y

Publish large format charts to printer or file

Y

Y

Share your data with FamilySearch (optional)

Y

Y

Upload or download an Ancestry tree

Y

Share your data with Ancestry (optional)

Y

Publish your family online at MyRootsMagic.com

Y

Y

Print to any printer connected to your computer

Y

Y

Customize headers, footers, margins, and fonts for any printout

Y

Save reports to PDF (Acrobat)

Y

Save reports directly to your word processor (.DOCX)

Y

Save list reports directly to your spreadsheet (.XLSX)

Y

Y

Print color coding in pedigree charts, group sheets, charts, narrative reports, and more

Y

Include pictures in reports saved to .DOCX

Y

Include indexing in reports saved to .DOCX

Settings Page

Y

Y

Easily view and modify settings from one location

Y

Y

Settings for program, folders, general, display, preparer, WebHints, and LDS

Easy to Learn and Use

Y

Y

Easy file management

Y

Y

Family members are automatically linked as you add them

Y

Y

Automatically checks for duplicates as you add people

Y

Y

Click in an empty parent or child slot on screen to add parents or children

Y

Y

Just double click on a person's name to edit that person

Y

Y

All information for a person is shown on a single streamlined 'Edit person' window

Y

Y

Sidebar on main screen makes navigation easy

Y

Y

Resize edit and search dialogs to see as much information as you want

Y

Y

Online help with video

Organize Your Information

Y

Open up to 4 databases in separate windows to support multiple monitors

Y

Y

Alternate names in lists makes it easy to find a person by their other names

Y

Y

Display relationships to root person in info panel

Y

Drag and drop people between databases

Y

Automatically link dragged people into the other database

Y

Named Groups of People lets you create groups you can use in reports or other areas

Y

WebTags let you add links to websites attached to people, sources, places, etc.

Editing

Y

Y

Add unlimited people, facts/events, notes, sources, and more

Y

Open up to 3 Edit Person screens at the same time

Y

Y

Edit person screens are modeless, meaning you can leave it open while doing other things in the program

Y

Y

60 predefined fact types (birth, marriage, death, occupation, religion, etc)

Y

Y

Easily track multiple relationships, such as adoptions, foster parents, etc

Y

Y

See a person's age at every event on their edit page

Y

Y

Enter place history, latitude and longitude for each place

Y

Create your own user defined fact types, and add any number of roles

Y

View all media for a person (general, fact, citation, etc.) from a single screen

Y

Sort media attached to a fact or person

Y

Sharing events among multiple people lets you assign witnesses or other people involved in an event

Y

Spell check notes

Y

Craft your own customized sentence for each fact or role from the live-edit pane in "Edit person" window

Y

Add private events that you can suppress from printing or exporting

Report Types

Y

Address labels for mailings

Y

Address List - A list of the addresses in your file

Y

Y

Ahnentafel - A list of ancestors

Y

Association List (Individual) - Show all associations (to any level) for a person

Y

Association List (Relation) - Show how 2 people are connected via associations

Y

Y

Birthday List - A list of birthdays and anniversaries for people in your file

Y

Box chart reports (both ancestor and descendant)

Y

Box charts - Select box style

Y

Calendars with birthdays and anniversaries

Y

Custom report designer - with fields that can span columns or rows and even include notes

Y

Y

Descendant List - An indented list of the descendants for a person

Y

Y

Direct Descendant List - A direct line of descendants down to a single person

Y

Y

Duplicate List - A list of potential duplicate individuals in the database

Y

Fact List - A list of people with or without a particular fact

Y

Y

Family Group Sheets

Y

Individual List - A list of the people in the database

Y

Individual List - Include the facts, parents, spouses, and children of each person

Y

Y

Individual Summary - A summary of information for a person in your file

Y

Kinship List - A list of everyone related to an individual

Y

Y

LDS List - A list of LDS ordinances in the database

Y

Y

Marriage List - A list of the couples in the database

Y

Missing Information List - A list of people missing selected information

Y

Multimedia List - A list of the media in the database

Y

Narrative reports (modified register and ancestor)

Y

Narrative reports (register (NEHGS), indented descendancy, Henry descendancy, and D'Aboville descendancy)

Y

"On This Day" report shows family events on a selected date, as well as famous births and deaths, and historical events

Y

Y

Pedigree Charts (standard and cascading)

Y

Photo Tree - Tree with 3 generations of pictures

Y

Y

Place List - A list of the places in the database

Y

Y

Place List - Print the events which happened in each place

Y

Y

Place List - Include latitude, longitude, and notes for each place

Y

Relationship chart shows exactly how two people are related

Y

Y

Repository List - A list of the repositories in the database

Y

Y

Repository List - Include the sources, and tasks with each repository

Y

Research Logs - Sortable research logs of the data you have researched

Y

Y

Research Notes - Prints the research notes and comments for every citation for a person or family.

Y

Y

Scrapbook of pictures for people, families, sources, and places

Y

Y

Source List - A list of the sources in the database (sorted and grouped)

Y

Statistics List - Statistics for any group of people

Y

Surname Statistics - Statistics on the surnames in the database

Y

Task List - A customizable list of tasks in your file

Y

Timeline List - A chronological timeline of events for a person or group of people

Y

WebTags List - A list of WebTags in your file

Y

Who Was There List - A list of people who could have been in a particular location at a particular time

Spectacular Large Format (Wall) Charts

Y

Fan Charts in any orientation (top to bottom, left to right, etc)

Y

Ancestor Wall Charts in any orientation (left to right, bottom to top, etc)

Y

Descendant Wall Charts in any orientation (top to bottom, left to right, etc)

Y

Hourglass Charts (combined ancestors and descendants) in any orientation (top to bottom, left to right, etc)

Y

Add a background image or color

Y

Print charts up to 100 feet wide

Y

Export charts to PDF or SVG files

Notes - Telling the Story

Y

Y

Add notes and stories/notes to any fact, person, couple (family), or shared role, place, place details

Y

Y

Notes print in narratives, group sheets, and other reports

Y

Y

Print your documentation (notes and sources) in your reports, summaries, and forms

Y

Note formatting (bold, italics, underlining)

Y

Spell checker

Y

Add private notes that you can suppress from printing or exporting

Tools

Y

Y

Date calculator

Y

Y

Pop up calendar when entering dates

Y

Y

Soundex calculator (including alternate methods)

Y

Y

Bookmark any individuals in your database

Y

Y

History list lets you backtrack through last 200 people visited

Y

Y

Back button moves back to previously visited people

Y

Y

Potential problem list

Y

Y

View WebHints for Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, or Findmypast

Y

DataClean helps you clean up problems in names and places in your database

Y

Problem list is interactive (edit problem person or family directly from problem list)

Y

Mark possible problems as "not a problem"

Y

Place name standardization and geocoding

Y

Mapping people and places

Y

Create groups of people that you can name and select by that name

Y

Color coding to highlight groups of people's names in color so they are easy to spot

Y

Counts the number of separate trees in your database.

Y

Relationship calculator shows you the relationship between any two people

Y

File Compare lets you compare two RootsMagic files side by side and copy people, events, names, notes, sources, and media between them

Y

Enhanced properties list shows database properties in greater depth

Y

Rearrange spouses of every person all at once

Y

Rearrange children in every family all at once

Y

Change a fact type globally for every person

Y

Delete a fact type globally for every person

Y

Delete a group of people all at once

Y

Combine groups using various criteria

Merge Features

Y

Y

Powerful merge capabilities

Y

Y

Prioritized merge list

Y

Y

Color-coded record comparisons makes it easy to spot differences

Y

Mark possible duplicates as "not a match"

Y

SmartMerge automatically handles the "obvious" duplicates

Y

ShareMerge helps when collaborating with other RootsMagic users

Compatibility

Y

Y

Direct Family Origins import (versions 4 and later) (*Windows)

Y

Y

Direct Family Tree Maker import (version 16 (2014) and earlier) (*Windows)

Y

Y

Direct Legacy import (versions 3 and later) (*Windows)

Y

Y

Direct PAF import (versions 2.x and later) (*Windows)

Y

Y

Direct Master Genealogist (TMG) import (versions 1 - 10) (*Windows)

Y

Y

Full GEDCOM 5.5 support so you can exchange data with other programs

Y

Y

Ancestry Tree Import

Y

Y

FamilySearch Family Tree import

Y

Y

Full LDS support. LDS support can be turned on or off.

Ancestry Support

Y

Y

Upload RootsMagic data to an Ancestry tree

Y

Y

Download an Ancestry tree (including all media) to a new RootsMagic file

Y

Share data back and forth between RootsMagic and Ancestry

Y

View and accept Ancestry hints for people in your RootsMagic file

FamilySearch Support

Y

Y

Download data from FamilySearch

Y

Y

Share data back and forth with FamilySearch

Y

Y

Share notes, sources, ordinances, events, and people with FamilySearch

Y

Y

View, add and edit discussions on FamilySearch