PAF is easy to use and has a great range of printouts.ĭownload for free from or do a Google search for PAF Download – PAF – ( Personal Ancestral File) is FREE! It was developed by the Mormon Church ( Latter Day Saints), who also developed the GEDCOM standard for interchanging Family data between programs. The new Macs can run ‘Windows’ in ‘Parallel’, and can run any PC or Mac software, though running a Windows Famly Tree on a Mac defeats the purpose of Mac’s beautiful graphics. Try downloading a free trial version first to see which package you prefer.įamily Tree software will not work on both platforms, so the first decision is – do you use Windows or Mac? Most genealogy software has been developed for Windows computers, however Macintosh computers are increasingly popular and more software is being developed. When making a family memoir you do not need to learn complex genealogy techniques for researching back hundreds of years, so get a basic Family Tree software package that is easy to learn, does useful printouts and is preferably free! But do get a quality package so that you can extend the tree in the future and one that is GEDCOM compatable so information can be easily exchanged if you want to switch systems in the future. File you paper sheets carefully so you can refer back to them. If you are still uncertain alway put a ‘?’ beside the information.

You can download free Ancestor/Pedigree charts and several other useful recording sheets from Other free charts can be found on Write all information in pencil and when you have confirmed a date or name with a primary record and backed it up with a secondary record – THEN change the pencil text to ink. Start collecting data on sheets and begin to draw up your family tree manually on a paper chart before rushing into a software package.

A family tree print out makes it easier to link everybody visually and have one document to refer to and discuss with other family members. You can then see your family grow and print out family trees. Once you have build up a few names it’s exciting to then add them to one of the many computer Family Tree software packages. Initially you will record information about a family on paper and then set up a software family tree package on your computer. However as soon as you start to collect stories, you realize that you need accurate information about the family to put the stories in context. A family memoir is mostly full of stories.

Free gedcom software for mac