Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Family Origins?
As you may know, we wrote Family Origins over 15 years ago and licensed the marketing
rights to Parsons Technology. We continued to write every single version
of Family Origins since then.
Parsons Technology was bought up by Mattel, and our contract with Parsons was assigned
to genealogy.com by them.
In January 2003, genealogy.com discontinued Family Origins in favor of their own
genealogy program. This was the third genealogy program they acquired the rights
to and then discontinued.
Because of this it was necessary for us to develop a new genealogy program to replace
Family Origins.
RootsMagic is the natural successor to Family Origins. Don't be fooled by the claims
of other programs.
Do I need my original Family Origins disk to upgrade?
No. You do not need to have your original Family Origins software to qualify or
install the RootsMagic upgrade. However, if you still have your Family Origins database
or data backup, RootsMagic can directly import it without losing any of your previous
work.
I am a Family Tree Maker / Generations / Ultimate Family
Tree user. Can I also upgrade to RootsMagic?
Yes. We are happy to extend this upgrade offer to users of Family Tree Maker, Generations,
and Ultimate Family Tree.
What versions of Family Origins data will RootsMagic
import?
RootsMagic can import databases created by Family Origins versions 4 and higher
and can read backups created by Family Origins version 5 and higher.
How do I get my Family Origins data into RootsMagic?
- Install and run RootsMagic.
- Select "File > New" from the RootsMagic menu
to create a new empty database.
-
Select "File > Search for files" from the RootsMagic menu
- Change "Find what files"
to "Family Origins files" and click "Begin searching".
- RootsMagic will display
a list of all your Family Origins databases which you can highlight and open.
How do I get my Family Tree Maker data into RootsMagic?
- Run Family Tree Maker and load your data
- Select "File > Copy/Export Family File" or "File > Export File > Entire
File" from the Family Tree Maker menu
- In the "Save as type" box, select "GEDCOM (*.GED)"
- Enter a filename for the GEDCOM file. Click "Save". A new window will
appear.
- Set the destination to "FTW", GEDCOM Version to "Version 5.5", character set to
"ANSI", and uncheck "Indent records". Click "OK".
- Close Family Tree Maker and run RootsMagic
- Select "File > New" from the RootsMagic menu to create a new empty database
- Select "File > Search for files" from the RootsMagic menu
- Change "Find what files" to "GEDCOM files" and click "Begin searching". RootsMagic
will display a list of all your GEDCOM files on your computer.
- Find the file that you created from Family Tree Maker and click "Open"
My Family Origins came with PlaceFinder. Is that
included?
Yes, RootsMagic includes the additional program PlaceFinder which used to be included
only in the deluxe version of Family Origins. PlaceFinder is a database of
US cities where you can quickly and easily find out what county any city is in,
or get a list of every city in a county or other options.
Other Questions
If you have any other questions, please contact us.