Family Historian 7
A powerful program that’s almost uniquely customisable, FH7 is capable of adapting to even the most demanding needs
‘Media tools focus on linking photos and other supported documents’
User Interface
You have four basic views to choose from, but an early illustration of Family Historian’s unique customisability is that you can generate a chart and use that as your working environment. A properties pane minimises the need to open additional windows, while a series of tabs on the left can be used to quickly switch between sections and act as a navigation trail.
A lot of work has gone into keeping things simple, but Family Historian is packed with so many features that it’s still possible to get lost. Nevertheless, persevere and Family Historian’s flexibility is something you’ll grow to love.
Media Management
Family Historian’s media tools focus exclusively on linking photos and other supported documents – there are no imageediting tools in sight. Files can be linked to people, families, events, places and sources, and Family Historian was the first to frame people’s heads in photos.
Charts And Reports
Family Historian offers publishing tools to support most people’s needs – a mind-boggling array of charts, infinitely customisable, accompanied by 40 reports, along with a book-publishing tool that lets you combine these with your own custom-written content. Added support for formatting means your reports and books will look better than ever.
Mapping Tools
Family Historian boasts the full set of mapping and placemanagement tools, but one niggle is that the Places List tool opens in a separate window instead of integrating with the main user interface. Going through your places database standardising entries isn’t as quick and straightforward as other tools, although you can at least easily select – and merge – duplicate places. The addition of a historic map (Britain only) from the 1920s–1940s is welcome, but the lack of street names on the maps make them awkward to navigate.
Online And Mobile Integration
At present, Family Historian can automatically search Findmypast and MyHeritage for matches to people in your tree – a small circle with the number of hints is displayed next to a person’s name, and clicking this reveals a handy summary and link to explore the results in Family Historian’s own browser. Subscribers can view the results, and drag-anddrop facts and images into the relevant property panel. However, there are no options for keeping your tree in sync with an online provider, and no mobile apps.