Feature List

Navigation: RootsMagic 8 > Getting Started >

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RootsMagic is the award-winning genealogy software that makes family history easy. RootsMagic Essentials is a free genealogy program that contains core features from RootsMagic. This list shows the features found in RootsMagic Essentials as well as the additional features unique to the full version of RootsMagic.

RootsMagic Essentials	RootsMagic 8	Feature
General Features
Y	Y	Runs under Windows 7 (SP1+), Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 (future)
Y	Y	Runs under macOS High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), Big Sur (11), Monterey (12) (future)
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	Free technical support
	Y	Database tools let you test the file integrity, rebuild indexes, and compress database to remove deleted records
Portability
	Y	Run RootsMagic directly from a flash drive on Windows, Mac, or both
Navigation Pages
Y	Y	Easily switch between various data types and functions (People, Places, Sources, Media, Tasks, Addresses, Search, Publish, etc)
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
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	Map view of all places in your file	Geocode (automatically add latitude/longitude) places
	Y	World gazetteer to find places
	Y	PlaceClean feature to automatically clean your place list
Sources Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Media Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Tasks Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Addresses Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Search Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Publish Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
Settings Page
Y	Y	Pedigree View (5 or 6 generations)
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	Y	Open multiple databases on screen at the same time
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	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	Sharing events among multiple people lets you assign witnesses or other people involved in an event
	Y	Craft your own customized sentence for each fact or role from the live-edit pane in "Edit person" window
	Y	DNA test recording
	Y	Add private events that you can suppress from printing or exporting
Search Features
Y	Y	RootsMagic Explorer lets you easily find and edit anyone in your family tree
Y	Y	Search by name, record number, dates, places, notes, and many other types of data
	Y	NameFind lets you easily find people by married name or nickname
	Y	Search and replace for notes, names, places, media items, etc.
	Y	WebSearch
	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.
Printing Features
Y	Y	Print to any printer connected to your computer
Y	Y	Customize headers, footers, margins, fonts for any printout
	Y	Save reports to PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
	Y	Save reports to your word processor (RTF)
	Y	E-mail reports directly from the print preview
	Y	Print color coding in pedigree charts, group sheets, box charts, narrative reports, wall charts, ahnentafel, descendant list, and timelines
	Y	Include pictures in narrative reports printed to rich text (RTF) files
Report Types
Y	Y	Pedigree Charts (standard and cascading)
Y	Y	Family Group Sheets
Y	Y	Box chart reports (both ancestor and descendant)
	Y	Box charts - Select box style
Y	Y	Narrative reports (modified register and ancestor)
Y	Y	Individual summary prints everything you know about a person
Y	Y	Scrapbook of pictures for people, families, sources, and places
Y	Y	Blank reports (pedigree chart, group sheet, research log, etc)
Y	Y	Ahnentafel - A list of ancestors
Y	Y	Birthday List - A list of birthdays and anniversaries in the database
Y	Y	Descendant List - An indented list of the descendants for a person
	Y	Direct Descendant List - A direct line of descendants down to a single person
	Y	Research Logs - Sortable research logs of the data you have researched
Y	Y	Duplicate List - A list of potential duplicate individuals in the database
Y	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	LDS Ordinance List - A list of LDS ordinances in the database
Y	Y	Marriage List - A list of the couples in the database
Y	Y	Place List - A list of the places in the database
	Y	Place List - Print the events which happened in each place
	Y	Place List - Include latitude, longitude, and notes for each place
Y	Y	Repository List - A list of the repositories in the database
	Y	Repository List - Include the sources, to-do items, and correspondence with each repository
Y	Y	Source List - A list of the sources in the database (sorted and grouped)
	Y	Narrative reports (register (NEHGS), indented descendancy, Henry descendancy, and D'Aboville descendancy)
	Y	Calendars with birthdays and anniversaries
	Y	Relationship chart shows exactly how two people are related
	Y	Address labels for mailings
	Y	"On This Day" report shows family events on a selected date, as well as famous births and deaths, and historical events
	Y	Photo Tree - Tree with 3 generations of pictures
	Y	Address List - A list of the addresses in the database
	Y	Correspondence List - A list of the correspondence in the database
	Y	Fact List - A list of people with or without a particular fact
	Y	Kinship List - A list of everyone related to an individual
	Y	Missing Information List - A list of people missing selected information
	Y	Multimedia List - A list of the media in the database
	Y	Statistics List - Statistics for any group of people
	Y	Surname List - Statistics on the surnames in the database
	Y	Timeline (Chronology) List - A chronological timeline of events for a person or group of people
	Y	To-Do List - A list of the to-do items in the database
	Y	Research Notes - Prints the research notes and comments for every citation for a person or family.
Publish Your Family History
	Y	Publish your family online at My.RootsMagic.com
	Y	Make Shareable CDs to give to others, with custom menu and a read-only version of RootsMagic
	Y	RootsMagic Publisher lets you create complete books with narrative, notes, charts, photos, source bibliography, index, and more.
	Y	Include cover and title pages, copyright, dedication, acknowledgement, preface pages
	Y	Include table of contents
	Y	Include free form text pages
	Y	Customize your index format and number of columns
	Y	Place index in reports
Spectacular Wall Charts
	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	Fan Charts
	Y	Add a background image or color
	Y	Print charts up to 100 feet wide
	Y	Print charts on regular size paper and tape together, or print on large format printer
	Y	Export charts to PDF or SVG files
Multimedia
Y	Y	Attach photographs, sound clips, and video clips to any person, family, place, source, or event
Y	Y	Include photos in your books, group sheets, and other printouts
	Y	Attach documents (Word, PDF, etc) to any person, family, place, source, or event
	Y	Scan photos directly into RootsMagic
	Y	Photo editor lets you adjust sharpness, brightness, contrast, and rotate and zoom images
	Y	Drag and drop media into albums
Sources - 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	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
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 books, 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	Search and replace in notes
	Y	Spell checking
	Y	Live spell checking
	Y	Thesaurus
	Y	Add private notes that you can suppress from printing or exporting
Internet Features
	Y	Create dynamic websites with pedigree, family, and individual views, and supporting notes, sources, and media.
	Y	Publish your family online at MyRootsMagic.com
Y	Y	New FamilySearch certified synchronization
Y	Y	Automatically check for updates to your software
	Y	WebSearch searches the web using a variety of search engines or search specific genealogy sites, or add your own sites to search
	Y	Add your own links to your home page
	Y	"Privatize" living persons when creating your website
	Y	Create outputs in Adobe Acrobat (PDF), or web files (HTML) to upload to a web site
Research Features
Y	Y	WebHints display possible records for each person automatically
	Y	Research Manager lets you create unlimited Research Logs to document your work
	Y	GenSmarts integration to get research suggestions from inside RootsMagic
	Y	Add GenSmarts suggestions to your RootsMagic to-do list with one click
	Y	"To do" list lets you keep track of research you still need to do for any person or family
	Y	Correspondence Log keeps track of all your incoming and outgoing correspondence
	Y	WebSearch searches the web using a variety of search engines or search specific genealogy sites, or add your own sites to search
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	DataClean helps you clean up problems in names and places in your database
	Y	CountyCheck Explorer lets you look up US, UK, Canadian, and Australian counties, states, etc. to view information and interactive maps.
	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	Spell Checker checks the current notes, or all notes.
	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
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 Tree Maker import (version 16 and earlier)
Y	Y	Direct PAF import (versions 2.x and later)
Y	Y	Direct Family Origins import (versions 4 and later)
Y	Y	Direct Legacy import (versions 2 and later)
Y	Y	Full GEDCOM 5.5 support so you can exchange data with other programs
Y	Y	FamilySearch Family Tree import
Y	Y	Full LDS support. LDS support can be turned on or off.
FamilySearch Support
Y	Y	Access Certified
Y	Y	Update Certified
Y	Y	Sync Certified
Y	Y	Print Certified
Y	Y	Ordinance Reservation Certified
Y	Y	Ordinance Request (FOR) Certified
Y	Y	Discussion Certified