Tracking your Family Tree with Pocket Genealogist v2.14

[Peter Foot]

If you have an interest in family history research this application is definitely worth a look. It allows you to have a copy of your entire family tree on your Pocket PC. It’ll save you lugging around folders of information when you go researching and gives you the ability to search for individuals. The program centres on a family group screen which has been cleverly laid out to fit the limited screen space.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/foot-feb03-pgenie-1.gif" /><br /><!><br /><i>Pocket Genealogist is a tool which won’t appeal to everyone, but if you have an interest in family history research it is definitely worth a look. It allows you to have a copy of your entire family tree on your Pocket PC. It’ll save you lugging around folders of information when you go researching and gives you the ability to search for individuals quickly. The program centres on a family group screen which has been cleverly laid out to fit the limited screen space.</i><br /><br /><span><b>Synchronising</b></span><br />Once you have installed Pocket Genealogist your next step is to import your family tree data. The Advanced version will allow you to import directly from Legacy Family Tree, a popular desktop application, but for everyone else it will import from a standard GEDCOM file which every piece of genealogy software should support. Importing and synchronising your database with the device can be a slow process; however the software shows a detailed log of progress.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/foot-feb03-pgenie-2.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 1: Desktop Synchronisation software</i> <br /><br /><span><b>Searching</b></span><br />One of the advantages of having your family tree stored on a computer is the ability to search the data. The search options are limited compared to a full featured desktop family tree application. Firstly, and probably the most important, is search by Surname.<br /> <br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/foot-feb03-pgenie-3.gif" /><br /><i>Figure 2: Finding an individual by surname</i><br /><br />You must first select a letter and the application will display a list of matching surnames, when you then select one of these it will display a list of first names. A useful addition to this would be a keyword search if you can only remember part of the name. You can also search by location which will return all events that took place in the selected location. I found this slightly odd as it included occupations in the list, but that may be due to my desktop family tree application not complying with GEDCOM standards.<br /><br /><span><b>Making Notes</b></span><br />Because data entry is not currently available the only way to get data back into your desktop family tree application is using “Research Notes”. These allow you to add text memos which will be synchronised back with the desktop application. The desktop application displays a list of these. Ultimately the process is still manual, although with the benefit of cut and paste. It is perhaps not that compelling when you can use the rich text, doodling and voice notes with the Pocket PC built in Notes app. Obviously this will change when the data entry version of the software is made available.<br /><br /><span><b>Extra Touches</b></span><br />As well as the core family tree features the software features a selection of calculators. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/foot-feb03-pgenie-4.gif" /> <br /><i>Figure 3: The Built in Soundex Calculator</i><br /><br />The Soundex calculator converts a name into its Soundex code, used when searching databases for subtle variations of names. The date calculator allows calculations by adding and removing days, months or years to a date. It allows dates as far back as the Gregorian calendar began (September 1752). A co-ordinate calculator converts latitude and longitude into a variety of display forms. The colours of the user interface are highly configurable, although the palette is limited to quite vivid colours which won’t be to everyone’s tastes. A properties screen displays a count of individuals, families and research notes in your family tree file.<br /><br /><span><b>Gotchas</b></span><br /><li>The software does not allow two-way synchronisation, however the registered version allows you to keep “Research Notes” which you can then work through to update your desktop data.<br /><li>The desktop application is rather clunky looking. It would be nice to see tighter integration with ActiveSync so the process could be more automatic.<br /><li>Search options are limited; you can only search by location or surname. It would be useful to allow keyword searching on a range of fields, for example using keywords.<span><b>Where to Buy</b></span><br />The application is available in three versions:<li>A free trial is available which you can use for 30 days but cannot enter any research notes on the device.<br /><li>Basic registration removes the nag-screens and allows you to enter research notes on your device which are synchronised with the desktop. Basic registration costs $20.<br /><li>Advanced registration adds direct synchronisation with Legacy Family Tree and will eventually support full data entry; however this will be available as an update as the data entry version is still a beta product. The Advanced version costs $35.Both registered versions include free updates for all future 2.x versions. See the <a href="http://www.northernhillssoftware.com/pgenie.htm">Northern Hills Software website</a> for full details. The software can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&platformId=2&productType=2&catalog=0§ionId=0&productId=13773">downloaded from Handango</a> (affiliate link).<br /><br /><span><b>Conclusions</b></span><br />The market for genealogy software on the pocket PC is extremely small and therefore there is little choice. However this software can prove very useful especially if you have amassed a large amount of information and you need to be able to refer to it while out researching. Overall I like this application, it is an interesting use for a Pocket PC and well executed.

[dartman]

I've been using this product for over a year and I'm very satisfied. I use both Legacy and TMG on my desktop (and laptop) but it's great to carry around the whole database in my PPC. Navigation through the file is easy.

Kevin Phillips at Northern Hills is very conscientious and responds quickly to user issues. The addition of the data entry module will be a nice enhancement but mostly I just want to gather info in the field and then take a little time to peruse it before I add it to the db. It's great to have all the names, dates, etc right there with me. The research notes are usually sufficient for the raw data.

You can colorize the different fields and column headings on the screens for ease of use.

dart

[Peter Foot]

Dartman, I agree with your comments, Kevin has worked hard on the application and its a very useful tool. Considering the fragmentation of the GEDCOM standard its not an easy job to make an application compatible with all the various "dialects" but this application does work well (except for my problem with occupations listed as locations, this has been proved to be a Family Tree Maker fault).
I have found that the colourisation feature is a nice idea but the palette of colours is a bit gaudy.
I like the extras which have been added to the app and look forward to watch how it develops.

[Fzara]

"Synchronising"

Its Synchronizing!!!!! Why do Canadians spell it differently!?!? Its driving me crazy!

[dartman]

Peter,

You are right about the colors. The pallette is somewhat restricted but I find it useful.

My guess is the data entry and synchronization is a lot more difficult than Kevin anticipated. I can't imagine him doing direct synch's for very many products. He seems to have a working relationship with Legacy so I suppose that will be first. They use Access as their DB engine. Beyond that he may just provide GEDCOM updates. You make a good point about the so-called GEDCOM "standard". I hope he doesn't try to do too much. I'd rather have him work on other features than try to be everything to everybody.

I forgot to mention that you did an excellent job on the review.

Nice work.

dart

[Janak Parekh]

Its Synchronizing!!!!! Why do Canadians spell it differently!?!? Its driving me crazy!
Uhm, the correct question is why we Americans would spell it differently. The English language came from England, you know, and we bastardized it...

This is why I refer to us as speaking "American". Drives some people nuts, but it's more accurate. ;)

--janak

[Fzara]

Of course it came from England...

We didnt bastardize it! The American way is the best way, all the time, regardless!!!

[Steven Cedrone]

All right...

Back on topic please...

Steven Cedrone
Community Moderator

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Its Synchronizing!!!!! Why do Canadians spell it differently!?!? Its driving me crazy!
Uhm, the correct question is why we Americans would spell it differently. The English language came from England, you know, and we bastardized it...

This is why I refer to us as speaking "American". Drives some people nuts, but it's more accurate. ;)
:lol: Americans tend to have a rep for their arrogance. Having traveled internationally for the last two years, I now know why.

I've seen many of my colleagues insist on spelling in much the same way. The reaction they normally get is much the same too... :roll: (I've found myself to be in this situation a couple of times)

As US residents, we really do deviate in so many ways from the rest of the world (e.g. pounds instead of kilograms, fahrenheit instead of celsius, inches instead of centimeters, ounces/gallons instead of litres, etc.). I've gotten to a point now where I no longer need conversion programs to know what I'm dealing with...

On Topic: This looks like a interesting program, it's certainly unique. I had never thought of using my PPC to track my family tree...

[dhettel]

Their is also a 2.50 Beta version Y4, while it is a work in progress, Kevin's betas are much more stable than many 1.x programs I have tried. The program is getting updated about every week. It is now adding full twoway syncing.

David

[Peter Foot]

Their is also a 2.50 Beta version Y4, while it is a work in progress, Kevin's betas are much more stable than many 1.x programs I have tried. The program is getting updated about every week. It is now adding full twoway syncing.

David

I was on the beta program a long while ago before the two-way sync was implemented, sounds like it has come a long way. I look forward to seeing the release version.

[Kevin R. Phillips]

Peter and respondants,

Glad to see such interest, it definately provides encouragement when working late nights on the beta!

There has been a significant amount of changes to Pocket Genealogist in the "Public Beta". Perhaps beta is really the wrong term to be using in this case, it's more like a whole lot of "releases" to a program that could almost be considered a production release. The big difference is that there are no language packs yet, or user guide, and it needs some "polishing" work such as making sure all the fields line up properly and column widths on lists are correct. Instead of one big beta every so often, I prefer smaller more manageble changes and a new beta every couple weeks. This also helps insure that the program remains stable since each beta is much more targetted and is easier to test each change.

Not all data entry features have been completed, but the current beta release does allow entry for events, notes, facts, sources, adding individuals, etc. Like the production release, you can use the beta in "trial" mode although the data entry features aren't enabled unless you buy an "Advanced" version.

Did I mention that the sync speed is greatly improved and that you can now directly read TMG (The Master Genealogist) using Wholly Genes GenBridge technology? There are so many changes it's hard to know where to start. It does now support two-way synchronization and you can export your data to GEDCOM so although it's still not complete, it's very usable for data entry. (But be aware that putting your database on CompactFlash or other external media is MUCH slower than having it in memory and databases on external media are much more of a memory "hog") Almost forgot, the 16MB database limitation has also been removed, you can (perhaps quite unrealistically) have as many as 16,000,000 individuals (or events, notes, etc.) in a single database now.

To answer some of your points:

I do agree that the desktop side is a little clunky, most of the efforts have been directed towards the device side. I hope to spend a lot more time at some point in the future to address this. My list of features to consider is quite lengthy, enhancing this program could keep me busy for years!

I briefly looked at ActiveSync during initial development and there were some issues that caused me to choose a more "manual" approach. I will revisit this in the future however.

A better search function is also on my list although one reason it hasn't been already implemented is that the database isn't well suited for that type of activity. (Using the native "Object Store" database format) I'm really impressed how well the PocketPC devices perform until you throw a big database at them or try to process a lot of data like what a search would do. One has to be encouraged though that with each new iteration of hardware and software these devices get much more capable of running full featured software. A better search is on the top of my list for future enhancements. BTW, there is a option in the beta that might resolve your issue with FTM Occupations. (or for that matter, any event where you put location and comment in the same field) The beta also now has GEDCOM "profiles" so that users can add new tags to support their desktop genealogy program of choice. (Generations for example allows you to define new tags for events (Facts) or sources, Pocket Genealogist supports this and even can display the information on the device with the same "label" as is found on the desktop)

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of hightlights regarding the Public Beta. Even though it's known as the "Data Entry" release, it's really a lot more than that which helps explain why it's taking so much longer than expected. That and the fact that I'm apparently REALLY bad at estimating how long it takes to do these sort of things. (No chance I'm going to let you talk to my wife about the projects I'm allegedly working on at home!)

More info on the beta can be found here:

http://www.northernhillssoftware.com/pgeniebeta.htm

or more information in general

http://www.northernhillssoftware.com

Kevin Phillips
Northern Hills Software

[Kevin R. Phillips]

Peter,

I just realized I hadn't responded to one of your points. The color palette that you see is the 16 default colors defined by windows. There are also two other boxes on that screen for "Custom" colors and tapping on them brings up a "color wheel" that allows you to pick any color you like, very similar to "big" windows.

However, the bad news is that not all CE versions/platforms support this. If I remember correctly, all versions of CE 2.11 or better with all platforms work EXCEPT for the Palm-Size. (I just tried it on a Jornada 430 and it does not work)

Kevin

[KevinRPhillips]

Pocket Genealogist 2.80 is now available. This release adds a couple of very nice and much requested enhancements. This is a free upgrade for current users.

Major Changes:

(1) "Basic" now supports data entry.

(2) There is a new Ancestor and Descendant Tree View. "Basic" will allow display up to 3 generations at a time, "Advanced" up to 255.

(3) There is a new Backup/Restore function for your databases with the "Advanced" level.

(4) Both "Mounted" and "Object Store" memory databases are now supported. The old default was "Object Store" but the new default is "Mounted". The user guide has more details but in a nutshell if you have a large database or want to use the most memory efficient and fastest format, use "Object Store". However, you can't use the new backup function unless the database is "mounted".

Other Changes:
(1) The color selection screen for the "3-gen" display has been reworked to be more representative of the actual display.

(2) The "Edit", "Master Lists" menu now includes Source Type, To Do Category, Parent Relationships, Child Relationships, and Child Statuses.

(3) There is now an option of specifying the "port" that is used during synchronization. This may be helpful for those using a firewall program.

(4) Better support of PC-Ahnen 2004 GEDCOM imports.

You can get the downloads here including a new 2.80 User Guide.

Http://www.pocketgenealogist.com/download.htm

If you have a PocketPC device, make sure you get the correct download (instructions on website) for your device.

Enjoy!

Kevin R. Phillips
Northern Hills Software
mailto:[email protected]