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If so, this software would definitely get one from me! I cannot afford an expensive program and began using RM6's free version. However, I soon found out it was a "teaser" and anything useful was only available in the purchased version so I finally saved up and bought it. I had already entered over 2,000 records and wanted to utilize some of the reports not available for free. While the existing records transferred just fine (thank goodness!) the "paid" parts of the program didn't even come close to what was promised. After entering about another 500 records, I wanted to run their "facts" report. As the majority of my ancestry is European nobility, and I was entering in the era before surnames were required, I would enter Otto IV with Otto in the first name field and IV in the suffix field. Well I ran my fact report using the "title" field (9 pages) only to discover that it SOMETIMES picks up the suffix but USUALLY it doesn't so I ended up with a report with 22 Henrys, 6 Richards, 4 Ottos, etc and now do not know who's who! I have to go back and forth to the screen and look each one up separately. GREAT TIMESAVER!!! It doesn't even pick up a suffix of "Jr," or "Sr." so if a name ran in the family (am now talking about records in the 1800-1900 range) it doesn't show that either, If a birthdate is entered as "about 1900", "circa 1900", "between 1900-1905" it does not show up in either the onscreen index or any reports so again with the back and forth and hand written notes. I could have used my Excel program easier than this piece of junk!
Support? I just got off the phone with them. By her voice I could tell it was an elderly lady and the first thing she said was "I'll try to answer your questions but I really don't know anything about the program". Oh joy! I hardly got a word in edgewise but did manage to ask about the suffix problem to which I was told "Why do you want to go back that far? Who cares? No one has reliable records on Kings and Queens anyway! MOST people only go back 4-5 generations." Okay! When I asked about the birthdate she said that "well is you don't know for certain you shouldn't be entering it anyway". I got a definite sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach thinking about all the hours I had already spent entering data. I asked about the "merge" function for duplicate entries and that - when used the way instructed - it put in EVERYTHING twice (like spouses, children, dates) and then requires you to hand manipulate the unwanted information "but be careful because it usually ends up deleting everything and you have to re-enter the entire record". Another joyous moment. I gave up trying to speak but politely listened (respect your elders and all that) because she never took a long enough breath to give me a chance to comment anyway! Finally she said "We really only care about the information the LDS (Latter Day Saints) church wants so we don't worry if the other fields won't really work". THEN DON'T PUT THEM IN THE PROGRAM!!! In short I am looking for a program that does what it says; that has customer support who are current with technology; with reports that show ALL the data, not just select fields. It's a good thing that I am nothing if not persistent because I hear there are all kinds of problems downloading a file from RM6 and importing it into another software. I just KNOW that I will have to start all over!!!!!!!!!!
In summary, I would not recommend RootsMagic to a friend.
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