* FH7 Looks?

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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

How many people have freely chosen to move to Windows 10?


I did. I find it very stable -- I've had many fewer problems than with Windows 7 or 8 -- and very customisable. (I particularly like the ability to use light-weight apps rather than heavyweight programs for some purposes).
As for the ribbon interface!
I like it -- again, I've customised it extensively, including auto-hiding it so it doesn't use screen space when I don't need it. I can go straight to the commands I need when I need them, and don't need to ignore the ones I never use.

But, as others have said, if you use Windows 10 and Office out of the box, you'll find things you don't like. Only you can decide it you're going to spend some time learning how to make it fit the way you work (and believe me, I've seen some weird ways of working that individuals are very happy with -- and power to their elbow if that's the case) or whether you accept the defaults and reserve your effort for pointing out that fings aren't what they used to be.
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GeneSniper
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by GeneSniper »

davidf wrote: 10 Mar 2020 14:41
How many people have freely chosen to move to Windows 10? Microsoft has the muscle to get it as the default OS on new laptops, and it withdraws support for the old OS
Me for one, I like Windows 10 and have to say I find it the best OS I have used. How many other operating systems write drivers for pretty much all PC's, that's really why it is on most PC's and as for withdrawing support. Are there many operating systems that are still being supported 10 years on?

I always found Linux too cumbersome to use and discarded it many years ago, It has maybe improved but the last time I looked at it (A couple of years ago) my mind wasn't changed. MacOS just isn't for me, too expensive and doesn't cut the mustard for the things I do. Chrome OS too basic, relies too much on the internet has Google looking over your shoulder and like MacOS doesn't cut the mustard.
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Gowermick
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by Gowermick »

GeneSniper wrote: 10 Mar 2020 13:15 Gowermick

How's Windows 3 and Family Historian V1 coming along for you? Surely the world advances and software along with it probably the reason you are using FH6.2.7 and Windows 10 and not a quill and parchment. What would you do if FH went down the ribbon route (which works very well if you give it a chance), look for different software or get used to a different way of working with the best Genealogy software. Office is the best software at what it does, although I will agree that it is probably a bit of overkill for most people, unless you also require 1Tb of cloud back-up for around 50 squid a year included.

This seems to have grown arms and legs since I asked my original question about whether FH was updating its looks. Either way I will still be using it I just wanted to know whether it was going to look a bit more modern.

genesniper
I am not averse to changes when they improve my experience. I just object to the likes of MS making 'Improvements', which are anything but!
With the arrival of the latest processors and memory capabilities, MS Office should be lightning fast, but it is not, because MS have added so much bloatware (fancy ribbons etc), that it just slows the whole thing back down. This not a rant at MS in particular, as Charting Companion has fallen into the same trap. Whilst FH loads my large tree in seconds, CC takes forever (20 + seconds). If I change a person in FH, CC has to reload, and this makes the programme unusable. CC's excuse is that the programme is designed to be scalable, and is not slowed down by a very large tree. Unfortunately it means that normal trees suffer as a consequence.

Rant over :lol: :lol:
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GeneSniper
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by GeneSniper »

Mike

That's the same with everything. Remember when the Internet was like lightening when broadband first came out, then dial up pretty much disappeared and the Internet Web pages became filled with pictures, videos and adverts. Internet pages took longer to load until fibre appeared, now we have streaming of Uhd movies and no doubt when faster Internet arrives there will be something else to slow it down.

Software designers add things we don't need all the time, because of more processing power and every now and then one of the things becomes a must have. I agree totally that software should all run like the wind now adays but we want more and more and that always slows things down. I am sure if CP implemented the full FHUG wish list it would slow down as well, but Moores Law should solve that problem and we will eventually get everything at a speed we want
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klm2OUMK
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by klm2OUMK »

I don't know if this the right forum to ask when the much anticipated new version 7 of Family Historian will become available in the near future after completion of beta trials?

(Apologies if this question has already been asked and answered)

Thank you. Everybody take care and continue to enjoy your family history research
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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

We have no idea when FH7 is going to appear. Even when it goes into beta testing (if it hasn't already done so) the beta testers aren't allowed to say that beta testing has started, nor does anyone know how long that testing will take.

So... we'll all just have to wait and see.
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klm2OUMK
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by klm2OUMK »

Thank you for the update. Look forward to hearing any news in the future
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jsphillips
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by jsphillips »

I for one am getting fed up with waiting for FH7 like many companies obviously Calico has the time now to accelerate its testing and release date.
I for one am not recommending any of my U3A members to take this program on board. Calico should not have released earlier its ideas and presentation. Also to take heed of the wish list !!
There are many other software companies who plan and update and release their new program earlier.
Now giving my people the thumbs up for other software suggestions and to trial where possible.
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ColeValleyGirl
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by ColeValleyGirl »

obviously Calico has the time now to accelerate its testing and release date.
Well, maybe -- if no-one involved has Covid-related health problems, or childcare responsibilities that make working from home less effective, and if they aren't dependent on others for software components that are delayed for exactly the same reasons. And that's before we get to the question of whether beta testers are similarly unencumbered...

CP would have been commercially remiss not to take advantage of the publicity opportunity that Rootstech London 2019 offered. Would you have preferred not to know that a new version was in the works? Or would you have been "giving your people the thumbs up for other software suggestions and to trial where possible" because CP was silent.

I'd also say that what we've heard so far (formatted text, source templates etc.) hits many of the long-standing wish-list items. And until we see the product released, we can't know what else has been addressed.

And finally, if you could recommend the current product to 'your people' why can't you do so now?
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by tatewise »

I second that.
If FH V6 was worth recommending last year, then it is still worth recommending now, regardless of where FH V7 is in the pipeline. Who knows what Covid-19 issues Calico Pie are facing? Let us hope they are not serious.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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GeneSniper
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by GeneSniper »

HMMMMMM!!!!!!

I agree that FH6 is a great program, but whether I would recommend it to someone just now I am not so sure. Imagine buying FH6 seven months ago when you were being offered a free upgrade to FH7, you learn how to use the program and CP release FH7 and it is so different that you have to learn how to use the software all over again. This is my problem with companies just saying we are going to release software sometime in the future, without showing how it will look or work. If you have a working copy (Which CP obviously did at RootsTech) then put up a video on your site or some screenshots just to show that things are changing, but not too much. Rootsmagic being the classic example at the moment, If I was going to purchase RM7 with the promise of RM8 and had seen how different it was going to be, I would have hung off until RM8 was released or moved to another program. The learning curve of a new program can be great enough without having it pretty much forced on you with a new release 6,8,10 months down the line. Then again with the RM example you would have got your moneys worth from RM7 by the time RM8 gets released :lol: .

I put off redoing my tree because of the FH7 release (which I would never have done if I had known it would take this long), as I had enough work to be getting on with tidying up my tree. I had hoped the little that had been said about the release was exactly what I was looking for and was willing to wait. I have finished my project housekeeping and really don't want to start a redo that may turn into another redo or massive housekeeping exercise. I have ended up having a look at other software to see how they work just in case FH7 is not what I was hoping it was going to be and something does it better. Please don't have a rant about my last sentence, FH7 will probably be everything I am looking for (As FH6 isn't far away from it), I have just found in the past with software releases that when things are spoken about but not shown, they either end up not appearing or are watered down because they have ended up being to difficult to implement or make the original program a nightmare to use and get pulled all together. I presume CP haven't been resting on their laurels and have been working on this upgrade since before 6.2.7 was released 2 years ago, so a what's coming in FH7 page on there website would not be out of the realms of possibility. As for COVID19 as an excuse??? A simple message on your website saying that due to COVID19 the release of FH7 has been further extended so won't happen until at least Q? 2020 or when ever would keep their users informed. It just seems that the My-History online retailer is the only place with any information for any future purchaser of Family Historian of what they might expect.

I shouldn't grumble I have found out one thing over the last few months Ancestral Sources is not for me, I persevered with it for a month or more and just don't like it. I suppose the last wee while of being idle with FH6, has let me look at how I work and want to work with my tree in the future, rule out programs I don't like (but had kept using) and bring in ones to replace them. Sort out how I want my back ups to work and clean up my filing system and make it a bit cleaner and less cumbersome than it had got. Bonus.
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by jsphillips »

Thanks all for your postings. I also hope that all Calico staff is healthy and going along OK .
COVID has changed many things ...with no release they will lose Income and go along the collapse lines of other big companies.
RM8 have released a video showing many of their new features.
By now Calico could give the potential users something similar to "Not before Christmas 2020" or similar.
Many of my U3A users I have put on an old outdated version of FTM 2012 to get them used to using some software.
If RM8 is due out within a couple of months and no likely announcement from Calico they will go that way. It is like many things in life today "no communication"
Many years back FTM normally bought out a new version every one to two years.
Trying not to knock FH6 it has served me well!! I was a Director of a very large well known Group before I retired and we had to set deadlines for new products and computer software changes or lose creditability and business.
So fingers crossed some release soon
Keep healthy all of you
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trevorrix
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by trevorrix »

Please calm down folks. There is no need to make false assumptions and get hung up about release dates. FH7 will be ready when it is ready, not before. It is not prudent for developers to release much detail about future improvements as doing so would put them at a commercial disadvantage. Calico Pie have an excellent track record that speaks for itself. Patience.

At RootsTech London 2019 I watched two demos of FH7. One public and one private, around 40 minutes in all. The overall looks have not changed. Any learning curve will likely be confined to major new features such as the complete revamp of the word processing part of the programme.

My wife and I also run a U3A group for family historians. We only use and recommend Family Historian and will quite happily continue working with FH6 until FH7 is released. No panic or change of policy required.

Sorry, I missed the reply to my post in this thread about vertical scrolling being implemented in FH7. We have the Source pane element of the Property Box switched off so that is not the issue.
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by Jane »

jsphillips> Many of my U3A users I have put on an old outdated version of FTM 2012 to get them used to using some software.

So you have been stealing software to give to your group? Even outdated software is still in copy-write. Handing it around to your friends is piracy. As a former director I would have thought you would know that. If you want to give something out use one of the programs which have a free version.
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by tatewise »

Well said Jane. I also do not condone software piracy.

I hope that FH is not distributed in a similar cavalier way.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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GeneSniper
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by GeneSniper »

trevorrix wrote: 29 May 2020 19:15 Please calm down folks. There is no need to make false assumptions and get hung up about release dates. FH7 will be ready when it is ready, not before. It is not prudent for developers to release much detail about future improvements as doing so would put them at a commercial disadvantage. Calico Pie have an excellent track record that speaks for itself. Patience.
I accept the it will be ready when it's ready, but willing to show it off to people at a show that is hundreds of miles away from me and not willing to put a clip on your website seems a bit rich. Doing a video interview and telling people what is in it and not at least putting that information on your website when you have a news section. Where is the commercial disadvantage if you have been showing it off at shows and doing interviews about it. You have seen it publicly and privately, I am sure you were not the only one, to have seen it publicly so it is not a secret. Have you looked on the FH website, you would be hard pushed to know that an announcement had been made 7 months ago about a new release in the future.

CP even advertise a FH Bulletin email on their site-
Family Historian Bulletins is an email newsletter sent out a few times a year. The bulletins contain notifications of things that are likely to be of interest to Family Historian users, such as:

upgrades (including free upgrades)
new releases
free video tutorials
workshops and courses
offers and discounts for Family Historian users
hints and tips
news
events
They could have even sent one of these out. Hell I know more about Rootsmagic 8 than I do FH7 and I own FH6 but not RM7. The Rootsmagic folks don't seem to be worrying too much about a commercial disadvantage. As I have said before My-History seem to be the place to find out what's coming in FH7, so someone is either giving them information or they were taking notes at RootsTech. Considering this information was not put on their site until recently, I am guessing the former.

Well that's my wee rant over for the day, It's amazing how a question about how a future new release looks ends up here :lol: :lol:
William

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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by tatewise »

Have you not signed up to receive
Family Historian Bulletins
? They DID send one out!

Did you get the Family Historian Bulletin – November 2019 by Email that said:
Version 7 is Coming!

Version 7 is coming - and it's packed with exciting new features and improvements to take the program to another level. Visitors to the Family Historian stand at RootsTech, in London last month, were given a sneak preview of the new version, and it got a great response. We'll be talking more about the many new features and enhancements in the coming months, but here's something to whet your appetite: Family Historian 7 will have integrated word-processing. This is the single most-requested feature on the Family Historian User Group Wish List by some margin. What does that mean you ask? Well it probably means everything you think it means, and more. Yes you can change font styles (italics, bold, underline, etc) and fonts and font sizes. And yes you can have bullets, and paragraph formatting and alignment and indentation. And yes there's spell-check and dictionary/thesaurus lookup. You even now have tables - and they turn out to be a really useful tool for genealogists. We had to completely rewrite the report engine because we needed a much more powerful report writer to support all the new features, but that's another story.

Integrating this level of word-processing functionality into genealogy software, is already a first for the genealogy world. No other program we know of comes close. But version 7's word-processing features go much further still and include embedded source citations, record links, web links, autotext and more. Don't worry if you don't know what these are. Let's just say that they're tools that every genealogist should have, and currently no genealogist does have. We'll be talking more about these features, and other new and improved features, in future editions.

So when is version 7 coming? Not before Christmas unfortunately. But we've got a great Christmas present solution for you - see next.
It went on with a video of an interview at RootsTech, gift packs and upgrades to FH V7, and further news and screenshots in the Dick Eastman Newsletter including Waterfall Charts and new DNA Tools.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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GeneSniper
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by GeneSniper »

Hi Mike,

Yes I have been registered for the bulletin since I purchased FH6 and have had emails from them before (No change of email address). Just to make sure I have re subscribed today, in case my email address has been deleted for some reason. Doesn't excuse not having the information on your website, as passing traffic would still not know about what is happening with FH6's upgrade, so maybe missing prospective customers.

I presume there are other bulletins since this one.
We'll be talking more about these features, and other new and improved features, in future editions
I am sure if I contact CP they will be able to forward me copies of them.
William

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tatewise
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by tatewise »

You are right about at least publicising what is in that Bulletin on their web site.
I havn't received another Bulletin since Nov 2019 and the one before that was 18 months earlier in May 2018 !
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by ColinMc »

Not quite sure what I expected, but CP's latest accounts, submitted Nov 19 for yr to 31 Mar 19 records that they had an
average of 3 employees during the year!
CP.jpg
CP.jpg (17.44 KiB) Viewed 10581 times
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E Wilcock
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by E Wilcock »

I am not party to what goes on commercially or behind the scenes. I was not at the Roots Tech and dont know what was in the announcement about fh7.
But it did annoy me very much and still does annoy me to know that there will be improved handing of text (and presumably of text import from TMG) but not to be given a date.
I own Roots Magic.
The announcement from fh made me regret having imported some of my TMG trees (direct opening) and for a long time, I delayed bringing in my First World War TMG project into fh.

Covoid quarantine and time on my hands at last persuaded me. I can no longer do massive data entry in TMG. So I opened it in fh and then added one Battery. The next step is to find every man on the 1901 and 1911 censuses and to prepare for entering data from the 1921 census as soon as it comes on line.

The idea comes from a German project looking at the social, economic and geographical distribution of the men and boys who volunteered for the German army in Aachen in 1914 - and the effect of their service, death and injury on the economic survival of their wives and children.
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by tatewise »

Colin, in previous years they have had 4 employees, and I suspect that may not include the Director Simon Orde.
Given a product price of £36, and a guess of a few thousand sales per year, you would not expect tens of employees!
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by ColinMc »

I made nor make no comment on the number, I was just interested in what size the company was.

As you say, unit price is not high.
Colin McDonald - Researching McDonald, McGillivray, Tait, Rountree families
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by REMyhill »

Some interesting comments here, both in criticism and in defence of FH. From a personal perspective I am perhaps more worried about a small company going to the wall and the software I am using becoming obsolete over time, than I am about when they are going to tempt me into yet another upgrade. However, nothing in life is guaranteed and as long as you maintain your Gedcom backups, if worst came to worst, you could always migrate to another system.

I am someone who does not like change for change's sake. For years, I used an early version of FTM with a simple uncluttered interface. That "classic" look lasted until 2006, when it was marketed as "Who Do You Think You Are?" software. From 2009 the look changed dramatically, and inevitably, navigation became more awkward. The trend to shoehorn as much information as possible onto the screen made for a chaotic experience, at least that's how it was for me. I carried on using the older version for a few more years but as operating systems moved on, it became more difficult to run. Eventually, about 5 years ago, I gave in and switched to FH6.

It was a steep learning curve, FH6 being more sophisticated than the ancient version of FTM, and even now I can't claim to have mastered all of it. Tatewise has been a great help in getting me over some early hurdles (thanks Mike!). He has made a very valid statement about the cost of FH, the number of users and the size of the company. I am a little surprised that it hasn't grown bigger. After all, it is far and away the best tool for UK users. I wonder how many of us would be prepared to pay a higher price or even switch to a subscription base in order to secure the future of the company?

One final observation - It is refreshing that Calicoe Pie doesn't bring out a new version every year with a few minor tweaks to dangle as bait. If version 7 isn't here yet, it's almost certainly because CP is making sure it's ready, and when it is, I hope the "look" won't have changed too much. Too many developers throw the baby out with the bathwater in the name of progress!!
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Re: FH7 Looks?

Post by Gowermick »

REMyhill wrote: 14 Jun 2020 07:38 I wonder how many of us would be prepared to ... switch to a subscription base in order to secure the future of the company?
Here’s one person who abhors such practices. I don’t mind paying extra for quality, but once I buy software, I don’t see why I should continue paying for the priviledge of using it! The company have recovered its costs in developing the sofware, so why should I continue paying, just to give them more profits? The only upgrades I expect for nothing are those that fix bugs in the original software, other upgrades and improvements I expect to pay for.
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