About Family Historian

Family Historian is a comprehensive family history software product from Calico Pie Limited.

There have been several versions of Family Historian since it's release in May 2002. Each has added significant functionality to the program.

In common with many other programs Family Historian allows Free Upgrades within a Release. So if you have Version 4.0 you can upgrade free to Version 4.1.3. To move to a newer Release, such as Version 5.0, you need to purchase a new Licence and program.

If you are upgrading by a single Release, e.g. Version 4 to Version 5, you may purchase a discounted Upgrade Licence Download or CD. However, if you are more than one Release behind (Version 2 or Version 3), you must purchase a new Full Licence.

An Upgrade Licence program detects the previous Release of the software is installed and upgrades it. A Full Licence program will detect and upgrade any earlier Release to the latest Release.

If you have customised Standard Text Schemes or your default Diagram formats (for example by adding Icons), prior to doing an upgrade, it's recommended you save the 5 Core Diagrams^† as Custom Diagram Types and clone any edited Text Schemes to Custom ones, as the installation process may overwrite the standard items with replacements. See how to Move Family Historian Settings & Projects for further details.

Similarly, if you have customised Standard Reports or Standard Facts Sets it would be wise to create Custom versions.

See How to (Re-)install Family Historian for detailed instructions for any upgrade path.

^† _{Core Diagrams are Ancestor, Descendant, Ancestor & Descendant, All Relatives and Everyone, most of which are opened by icons on the toolbar.}

Users with early Version 2 CD may have problems installing on 64-bit variants of Windows, see How to Install on 64-bit Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP for more information.

Any variant of Version 2 can be upgraded for free using the Family Historian Version 2.3.5 Upgrade.

Any variant of Version 3 can be upgraded for free using the Family Historian Version 3.1.2 Upgrade.

Any variant of Version 4 can be upgraded for free using the Family Historian Version 4.1.3 Upgrade.

Any variant of Version 5 can be upgraded for free using the Family Historian Version 5.0.9 Upgrade.

An upgrade from Version 2 or Version 3 or Version 4 to Version 5 requires a CD or Download, that can be purchased from Calico Pie Limited at the Family Historian Site or from other software retailers.

http://www.family-historian.co.uk/ - Family Historian software homepage