Introduction

Family Historian ƒh is designed to run on Windows computers. V5 and earlier versions of ƒh runs on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, or 10, however V6 and later do not run on Windows XP, and V7 does not run on Vista. This includes the Windows Surface Tablet which runs full Windows 8.1/10 (Windows RT will not run ƒh). Therefore, ƒh does not run natively on any other operating systems (OS).

Family Historian ƒh can be made run on Mac or Linux computers with some limitations.

Mac / Linux Options

There are two different ways of running ƒh on Mac or Linux operating systems

• Using a Virtual Machine
• Using an emulator such as Wine or one of its variants

Virtual Machine

Both free and paid options are available.

See Running Family Historian on a Virtual Machine

Wine and its variants

Both free and paid options are available.

See Running Family Historian on Wine or Running Family Historian on Crossover or Running Family Historian on PlayOnLinux/Mac

Apple iOS

The operating system iOS runs on iPad, iPod & iPhone devices, and is different to that used on Macs. This means completely different software is required.

Applications for these devices can only be purchased via the Apple Store and the best way to find currently available apps is to search for ‘gedcom’ in the store, or follow the Links below.

• GedExplorer loads ƒh projectA Project is a Windows folder, created by Family Historian, which contains all your Family Tree information recorded in Family Historian. Normally located in the Documents\Family Historian Projects folder. GEDCOMGEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication, is a specification for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software. It is a file format that most genealogical programs and online trees recognise. and Media directly
• GedFamilies enables a GEDCOM file to be easily transferred to your iDevice
• GedView can import a GEDCOM file and linked multimediaWhen you add a picture, video, sound recording, document file etc into a Family Historian project, a Media record is created to represent that media item within the project; the Media record includes a link to the actual Media file. to an iDevice
• Heredis is free, can import a GEDCOM file from the Export Gedcom File PluginPlugins are small programs that allow new features to be added without upgrading Family Historian itself; some plugins are written by Calico Pie and others are written by users., and allows subsequent editing on an iDevice

There is a way of displaying Family Historian created Family Tree HTML pages on an iPad (and Android) as described in Forum thread FH CD-DVD viewing on ipad March 2014.

Android

Android is a Tablet and Smartphone OS, and there are a variety of Applications available for it. The quick way to find them is to go to Android Apps on Google Play and search for ‘Gedcom’.

The Applications below use a Windows program to convert your Gedcom/Project to a database file to be sent to your device.

• GedFamilies sends the GEDCOM file directly and handles attached media
• GedStar Pro can use Dropbox or Google Drive to transfer the file, and partially supports ƒh media

Other Applications for Android that can read Family Historian Gedcom files, but may have some limitations on file size include:

• Heredis is free, can import a GEDCOM file from the Export Gedcom File Plugin, and allows subsequent editing on an Android device
• GedExplorer loads ƒh project GEDCOM and Media directly
• and others from Google Play Store…

Windows RT

This is a cut down version of Windows 8, but does not run native Windows programs. If you have a tablet or phone running this OS we are not aware of any Family History Apps that can handle GEDCOM files at this time. (If the Apps in the next section support the ARM Processor does that mean they run on Windows RT?)

Windows Surface Tablet and other tablets running a full version of Windows

These tablets run the full version of Windows 8.1/10 with a small touch-screen and no keyboard. ƒh does run on these devices, but the buttons and text may be small and inconvenient to use, unless a keyboard and mouse are attached.

There are other Windows 8.1/10 GEDCOM Apps are available from the Windows Store but there is little feedback from FHUGThe Family Historian User Group is a group of user with wide-ranging experience, from newcomers to very experienced users, all of whom are very willing to shared their knowledge about the programme. members.