Family Historian User Group

Not wishing to decry Version 7 , which I see is great and all encompassing but what are the MAIN differences for the average user between V6.27 & V7 ?

I consider myself neither Advanced or Newbie. Many of the Forum subjects are beyond me and seem to be quite complex. As a grass roots user my main concern is:- does it enable me to record all my basic and complex research Findings? and thence to print this out in various reports. I also hold 2 groups of U3A members showing them where and how to research their families and how to store this data in this program. Some of them have version 5 or 6. For these members to shell out additional monies to upgrade, they and myself really want to know as basic everyday users what extra benefits they will derive.
Out of 16 members only 1 is interested in Plugins and queries etc it is hard enough getting them to use the basic input.
I can see for a new user V7 would be fine.

On the FH website under the FEATURES tab see What’s New in Version 7 https://www.family-historian.co.uk/whats-new-in-7.
In due course, there will be details in the FHUG KB too.

This raises an in interesting question for your U3A members. The general principle of always upgrading to the latest version is good, but cost is obviously a factor. There's no doubt that for new users, and for current users who may not have done much research but who are planning to do a lot more, upgrading to FH7 definitely enables you to "record all my basic and complex research Findings and thence to print this out in various reports" much more consistently, tidily and thoroughly than previous FH versions. Word processing, Templates and data entry assistants are big improvements. The FH7 workflow (see "Introduction to Source-Driven Data Entry" in Help), once you get used to it, is the way to go.

Where it gets trickier is for those of us who have over the years accumulated a vast archive of FH sources and are now faced with decisions on how best to present it making use of the new features.

Don't forget price, am I mistaken but would buying a hard copy of FH6 with the promise of an upgrade to FH7 not have been cheaper than getting an upgrade to FH7? Therefor having a full version of both.

Yes it would. One in the eye for loyal customers.

Hi Simon
I find great difficulty in getting some of my members to even enter correctly the data let alone now saying this is changed again or new.
Most of them want INSTANT success in researching and also in entering. Its a case of softly softly surely and slowly. I will advise per Mike from Website all new/changed items to them and let them choose. Some of them are on FTM 2012 and do not want to even change program as they are used to it.
Some of their laptops/desktops come out of the Ark along with operating system Win7 and Win 8.
"I only use my computer for emails and photos"
The majority of All U3A members in the UK are over 60.

The majority of All U3A members in the UK are over 60.

Speaking from personal experience, this is not a problem.

I tick some of those boxes about age and level of tech skills and so far my favourite improvement is that the software re-opens on the person that you were last working on. A small tweak but it makes life so much easier. My other joy is the formatting of the Auto text box at the bottom of an AS entry page which now looks so much tidier and easier to read.

I still have lots more to learn and explore but I’m sure the rest of the improvements will be just as useful when I work out how to use them. I just wish there was a U3A group near me to help me learn!