Hi there.
I am a total newbie to everything involving Family Trees. However my father expressed an interest and as a result he was passed alot of work done by a distant cousin who took this sort of thing very seriously. Sadly my father is in his eighties and is running low on steam pressure these days . I have therefore offered to help out. The Family Tree has been hand drawn as a wall chart that extends a good 10ft across the table, is generally in a poor condition but has entries that go back to the 17th Century, i.e. it is extensive. So my initial thoughts were to start by trying to record what I currently have in more robust software possibly with the aim of developing it, if I "catch the bug", and certainly with the aim of being able to show it all online.
I have therefore spent some time looking at suitable genealogy software. Three products in particular: Roots Magic, Family Tree Maker and Legacy 7. Legacy seems to be orientated towards the US market. Family Tree Maker seems good, but you only get the full value if you sign up to the Ancestors.co.uk website and that seems a bit pricey at the moment. Roots Magic therefore seems the remaining option given that you can export the tree in html.
(1) So, am I missing something here? Is there another software product that I should consider? I guess I am looking for something that does the basics well, is easy to use and can grow alongside my interest level.
Two other quick questions while I'm at it ...
(2) Is there a hints and tips FAQ that makes good reading for those total newbies like myself?
(3) How are you supposed to record maiden names in the software?
By the way, I feel like a bit of a fraud because I have done absolutely no work in creating this Family Tree. Someone else has done it all for me and maybe, as a result, I've missed half the fun!
Best Wishes and thanks for any help.
Mark