As someone relatively new to genealogy, after much consideration, late last year I purchased FH v3 with the free upgrade v4 CD offer from S&N, which has yet to be delivered. For me, FH v3 is a brilliant program and together with Gedcom Census it does pretty much all I ask of it. I don't regret my purchase one bit, and I recommend it highly.
However, since receiving the comments and experiences of v4 users via the RootsWeb Digest, I am wondering seriously whether to take the risk of installing the v4 updgrade CD when it arrives, and quite possibly cause problems I would be unable to solve with my happily running FH v3. I am sure I am not alone in this thought.
I appreciate and understand that reputable companies such as Calico Pie move their programs on to improve their functionality and facilities, but is FH v4 any more than tinkering to keep up with the genealogy program Joneses... or am I being very unfair?
I have not seen FH v4 screen shots or seen it running, so I have no idea what it looks like or how it could affect my way of working with FH in a Windows Vista environment. So, do the supposed improvements and extras of v4 make for a better and more worthwhile experience, and is the CD upgrade from v3 to v4 problem-free? In short, once v4 is installed does it do what it says on the tin?!
I would appreciate any v4 user's comments and experiences before I either take the risk of installing v4 or decide on binning the v4 upgrade CD after it drops on my doormat.
My thanks in advance to one and all,
Brian
ID:3618
* v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
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Jane
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8442
- Joined: 01 Nov 2002 15:00
- Family Historian: V7
- Location: Somerset, England
- Contact:
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
Brian,
The problem with the install routine has been fixed on the download version, it was to do with a conflict between early V2 CD installs (which only work on windows 98 and XP).
So in your case you would not have had the problem.
If you would like to see some of the new functions V4 check out:
[wiki]how_to:v4:index[/wiki]
for a few quick tutorials.
As a member of the Beta Test team I have been working with V4 for some time. For me there are some very nice extra features, and if you want to work very much as you did in V3 you still can. There are a couple of things which are different, but just need a slight adjustment to the way you do them.
So - Don't bin the CD, even if you put it to one side for a while and install it later.
The problem with the install routine has been fixed on the download version, it was to do with a conflict between early V2 CD installs (which only work on windows 98 and XP).
So in your case you would not have had the problem.
If you would like to see some of the new functions V4 check out:
[wiki]how_to:v4:index[/wiki]
for a few quick tutorials.
As a member of the Beta Test team I have been working with V4 for some time. For me there are some very nice extra features, and if you want to work very much as you did in V3 you still can. There are a couple of things which are different, but just need a slight adjustment to the way you do them.
So - Don't bin the CD, even if you put it to one side for a while and install it later.
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RalfofAmber
- Famous
- Posts: 173
- Joined: 25 Nov 2006 19:34
- Family Historian: None
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
Just to add to Jane's answeer, I also contributed in my own small way to beta testing, and you need to bear in mind the actual 'risks' are very low, as:
The only thing I haven't thought through is how I want to organise all my files given the way that upgrade from 3->4 can move your media around into the project directoy, which means I need to housekeep how I organise my disc and back up software
- No issues were found that might damage the gedcom file at the heart of the tree
- Therefore gedcom census will still work fine
- You have the support of Callico Pie (evidence problem resolved in a few days and they didn't try to cover it up
- You have support from this list as well!
The only thing I haven't thought through is how I want to organise all my files given the way that upgrade from 3->4 can move your media around into the project directoy, which means I need to housekeep how I organise my disc and back up software
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ChrisBowyer
- Superstar
- Posts: 389
- Joined: 25 Jan 2006 15:10
- Family Historian: None
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
A personal view, having had it on beta for a while...
The Focus window is a much nicer looking start than a list of names (and possibly a case of keeping up with the Joneses), but doesn't make a great deal of difference to the way I work (which is nearly always on a working diagram plus the property box).
The resizeable and configurable property box is a major improvement... I would hate to go back to the V3 one.
If you use pictures at all, the new multimedia stuff is essential. IMHO it's changed from bordering on the unusable to very easy and natural to get it right first time. Since I've had V4, I've sorted out a lot of the mess I've made over the years of filing and recording pictures.
Apart from those, the user interface overhaul is mostly just tinkering with the appearance, and not particularly well done, but no real harm.
I don't use my own queries much, but hope that the new functions will mean that you'll find better ones to download from here in the future, and of course they won't work in V3.
Overall, I think the risk is small, and the benefits are well worth the hassle.
The Focus window is a much nicer looking start than a list of names (and possibly a case of keeping up with the Joneses), but doesn't make a great deal of difference to the way I work (which is nearly always on a working diagram plus the property box).
The resizeable and configurable property box is a major improvement... I would hate to go back to the V3 one.
If you use pictures at all, the new multimedia stuff is essential. IMHO it's changed from bordering on the unusable to very easy and natural to get it right first time. Since I've had V4, I've sorted out a lot of the mess I've made over the years of filing and recording pictures.
Apart from those, the user interface overhaul is mostly just tinkering with the appearance, and not particularly well done, but no real harm.
I don't use my own queries much, but hope that the new functions will mean that you'll find better ones to download from here in the future, and of course they won't work in V3.
Overall, I think the risk is small, and the benefits are well worth the hassle.
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ChrisBowyer
- Superstar
- Posts: 389
- Joined: 25 Jan 2006 15:10
- Family Historian: None
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
P.S. I don't mean to belittle 'keeping up with the Jonses' as a policy... Sometimes it's essential. People will choose software because it looks nice and maybe find out later whether it's really useful for what they're trying to do. The more people buy it, the more can be invested in developments that we really need. I don't think Calico have the balance too far wrong this time.
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
I agree that here keeping up with the Jones in the case of the Focus Window. For any user who has changed to using FH, there would be quite a bit of a culture change to cope with the record and diagram views when they would have been using a family type view of their data. Now new users can delve straight in without having to change the way they think about their data.
v4 Upgrade: Is It Worth the Risk?
I don't have as much experience of Family Historian as the previous respondents but I can confirm what they are saying and I think that Chris Bowyer's comments hit the nail on the head particularly well.
I don't think you have anything to lose by moving to version 4, but how much you gain depends on what stage of genealogy you are at and how you focus your research. Someone who is relatively new to genealogy or moving over from another genealogy software programme will find the new focus window extremely useful and user friendly. So will anyone who's research is focused on capturing a lot of detail, such as photographs, military service, events etc, about a relatively small family, focus group or time span - perhaps up to five or six generations and/or the last 150 years.
The value of the new focus window probably diminishes the further back you go and as your database gets larger. That's where the diagrams, lists and individual property box really come in to their own. I have one database of 5,000+ people covering my wife's pre 1600 Royal and noble genealogy (via the Wedgood family of Staffordshire). As far as I can see at this stage, version 4 will only give me a very marginal improvement over version 3 for this type of application. However it will be a significant step forward for my family research 'closer to home'.
There are probably a thousand different ways of doing genealogy. The beauty of version 4 is that it can be tailored to work in the way that suits you.
I don't think you have anything to lose by moving to version 4, but how much you gain depends on what stage of genealogy you are at and how you focus your research. Someone who is relatively new to genealogy or moving over from another genealogy software programme will find the new focus window extremely useful and user friendly. So will anyone who's research is focused on capturing a lot of detail, such as photographs, military service, events etc, about a relatively small family, focus group or time span - perhaps up to five or six generations and/or the last 150 years.
The value of the new focus window probably diminishes the further back you go and as your database gets larger. That's where the diagrams, lists and individual property box really come in to their own. I have one database of 5,000+ people covering my wife's pre 1600 Royal and noble genealogy (via the Wedgood family of Staffordshire). As far as I can see at this stage, version 4 will only give me a very marginal improvement over version 3 for this type of application. However it will be a significant step forward for my family research 'closer to home'.
There are probably a thousand different ways of doing genealogy. The beauty of version 4 is that it can be tailored to work in the way that suits you.