Family Tree Builder is a free genealogy software from MyHeritage that allows you to build your family tree on your desktop or laptop computer. It offers many of the same features as the MyHeritage website, with additional advanced features and customization options that make it ideal for the advanced genealogist.
If you already have an online family tree on MyHeritage, you may be wondering why you should bother with Family Tree Builder. There are a number of unique advantages to FTB as a family tree building platform:
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MyHeritage offers three ways to work on your family history projects. These include the website, an app, and MyHeritage Family Tree Builder. Using the software, MyHeritage Family Tree Builder provides you with the most effective and powerful functionality of these.
You have the ability to start a tree by syncing with a MyHeritage Family Page or by importing a GEDCOM file. You can also start from scratch using a wizard that will prompt you to build your tree using the knowledge you have.
Working with MyHeritage Family Tree Builder is also easy. Using tools like Find and Replace, you can change inaccurate facts across a whole tree. Also, you can add individuals who are not family members, but who might be helpful later if you need to research neighbors or associates.
Family Tree Builder makes it easy to create charts by allowing you to customize them as you go. You can also save them as .JPG or .PDF files. This allows for greater accuracy and flexibility as you prepare to publish.
You can also check for updates from within the program. Navigate to the Help menu and click the Check for Updates setting. Once you have done this, the software will look for new versions and updates or let you know that you are up-to-date.
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder is available as a free download. The website to access the download is -tree-builder. Just click the Download Now button. Your download of MyHeritage Family Tree Builder will begin automatically.
To access this edition of MyHeritage Family Tree Builder, you will need a Premium Subscription to MyHeritage. This costs $129.00 a year, with the first year priced at $89.00. A Premium Subscription will allow you to build a tree with up to 2,500 individuals online.
MyHeritage Family Tree Builder does not sync with Ancestry. You can, though, import data from other platforms using a GEDCOM file. After downloading your GEDCOM from Ancestry, you can import it into MyHeritage Family Tree Builder by navigating to the File menu in the software. Click the Import GEDCOM setting. A wizard will then prompt you on the steps necessary to import the GEDCOM file.
The software does support syncing with your MyHeritage Family Page. Syncing is automatic, and so, if you would like to keep a project private, you will have to turn off the setting. If you do not wish to keep your work private, you can use the sync setting to add data from Family Tree Builder to your Family Page. If you are working in the online version of your MyHeritage, you can use the Publish setting to import new data into MyHeritage Family Tree Builder.
Gilad Japhet founded MyHeritage in 2003. Beginning as a home-based startup, by 2005, the company had a powerful online web presence. Its primary focus is connecting family history researchers and records by matching user-created family trees.
MyHeritage has experienced steady growth since then. It has launched a mobile app and purchased Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Additionally, features of the site have become more intuitive, enabling easier matching and editing of trees.
MyHeritage also maintains an autosomal DNA testing program, MyHeritage DNA. It has built robust tools for managing media and non-destructively editing photographs. These editing tools include improving clarity and colorization.
MyHeritage is a company with a responsible global outlook. Its software, MyHeritage Family Tree Builder, supports 40 languages. Additionally, its ability to work with the MyHeritage online platform allows researchers to check data and crowdsource knowledge. Its powerful features and worldwide point of view put it head-and-shoulders above other genealogical software.
YES!
I began at MyHeritage.com five years back, and only kept my subscription for that first year. My personal tree is built on and stored within Family Tree Builder, which I continue to use. I also use it for other family trees not associated with any website. All that you will do is choose 'no' to synchronizing with their website at the program's startup.
When you stop paying for the MyHeritage subscription, it only ends your ability to add new profiles to the tree at their website. It does not delete anything, and there is no reason why you should delete your tree on their website unless you want it removed.
Family Tree Builder helps you research your family history, build your family tree and add photos, historical records and more.
Main features:
- Create, customize and print beautiful charts and reports, even all-in-one charts.
- Control every aspect of your privacy online and offline.
- Share your family history on your very own secure family site.
Well-designed screens and menus make Family Tree Builder easy to navigate. The innovative slider lets you adjust the number of generations displayed from three (like a family view) to four or five (a pedigree view). Hover over a name to see a window with details on that person. Take advantage of a Quick-Start Wizard and PDF user guide for help.
The Smart Match Merge Utility, lets you merge information and photos when you find matches in other MyHeritage trees. The new Tree Consistency Checker scans your family tree for possible mistakes, such as children born before their parents and inconsistent name spellings.
MyHeritage partnered with Generations Maps for outstanding chart and poster printing. Choose a chart type and style, as well as size, font, borders and backgrounds. Save as a PDF, or order a professionally printed copy.
No matter what software you use, take advantage of Family Tree Builder as a tool to access genealogical collections on MyHeritage.com. Once your tree is online, the site automatically searches for information on your family, looking at people in your tree and the 1.3 billion names in other family trees on the site. The Record Matching tool finds matches in historical records, including US census records from 1790 to 1940, gravestones and newspapers from NewspaperArchive, as well as English census records and civil registration indexes. To access most of these, you need a MyHeritage Data Subscription or credits (5,600 credits valid for 180 days).
MyHeritage is an online genealogy platform with web, mobile, and software products and services, introduced by the Israeli company MyHeritage in 2003.[2][3][4] Users of the platform can obtain their family trees, upload and browse through photos, and search through over 19.9 billion historical records, among other features.[5][6][7][8]
As of 2023, the service supports 42 languages.[9][10] In 2016, it launched a genetic testing service called MyHeritage DNA, with more than 6.5 million DNA kits in the company's database by March 2023.[11] The company is headquartered in Or Yehuda, Israel,[12] with additional offices in Tel Aviv, Israel,[13] Lehi, Utah,[14] Kyiv, Ukraine, and Burbank, California.
MyHeritage was founded in 2003 by Israeli entrepreneur Gilad Japhet (who continues to serve as the company's CEO).[2] Japhet started the company from his living room in Bnei Atarot, Israel. For a long time, the company's headquarters were located in a family farmhouse in Bnei Atarot.[15] In its infancy, MyHeritage was almost completely self-funded but had received funds from angel investors by 2005. It switched from a free service to a freemium business model.[2]
Early on, MyHeritage required users to upload genealogical information from desktop software. The information could be viewed online but could not be altered.[16] In 2006, MyHeritage introduced new features, including facial recognition software that recognized facial features from a database of photographs to link individuals together.[17][18] In December 2006, the company acquired Pearl Street Software which was the creator of family tree software (Family Tree Legends) and a family tree submission site (GenCircles) with over 160 million profiles and 400 million public records.[19]
By 2007, MyHeritage had 150,000 family trees, 180 million person profiles, 100 million photos, and 17.2 million users worldwide. The service was available in 17 languages. The company also began offering a new web-based feature that allowed users to upload genealogical information directly to the MyHeritage site. MyHeritage had also received a total of US$9 million in investor funding, half of which had come from Accel.[16]
In 2008, MyHeritage raised US$15 million from an investment group including Index Ventures and Accel.[20] At that time, the website had grown to 260 million people profiles, 25 million users, 230 million photos, and 25 supported languages.[21] Soon after securing funding, MyHeritage acquired Kindo, a UK-based family tree building service.[22] In 2009, the company released a new version of their free genealogy software, Family Tree Builder, which included the ability to sync between the software and the website.[7]
In 2010, the company acquired Germany-based OSN Group, a family tree website network with seven genealogy sites under its name. Some websites in the OSN network included Verwandt.de in Germany, Moikrewni.pl in Poland, and Dynastree.com in the United States. The acquisition provided MyHeritage with several new features (including coats of arms, family tree merging, and an option to venture into mobile applications) and a total of 540 million people profiles, 47 million active users, and 13 million family trees.[23] In 2011, those numbers increased to 760 million people profiles and 56 million users after MyHeritage acquired Poland-based Bliscy.pl, another genealogy website.[24]
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