Legacy vs. Family Origins
Here is a list of some of the differences between Legacy and Family Origins. Granted, this list is coming from a biased point of view but we feel that Legacy has a lot of great features that Family Origins left out. Features that make using the program faster and easier.
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Family File Views
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--- Legacy ---
You can display up to seven views of a Family File and have up to two different files opened at the same time.
--- Family Origins ---
Only one Family Page can be displayed.
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Multiple Parents
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--- Legacy ---
You can tell if a person has more than one set of parents by the highlighted Parents button on the screen.
--- Family Origins ---
There is no indication on the screen telling you that there are more than one set of parents. The only way to tell if a person has more than one set of parents is to pop up the View Relatives list.
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Alternate Names
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--- Legacy ---
You can record any number of alternate names. Any of these names can be swapped with the main name on the Information screen.
--- Family Origins ---
You have to enter alternate names down in the Event list. These cannot be swapped with the main name unless you retype each one.
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Viewing Children
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--- Legacy ---
Allows up to 60 children for each family. 10 or 15 children are shown on the Family View at once. The list also includes the birth and death years and an indicator showing if the line continues.
--- Family Origins ---
Allows up to 99 children but only shows the name of each child. No other information is shown unless you click on the name.
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Pictures
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--- Legacy ---
You can link an unlimited number of pictures to each individual. Legacy keeps track of the location of each picture file in a Master list. If a family file is moved to another computer, the user can copy all the picture files to any folder and Legacy will find them.
--- Family Origins ---
Family Origins also supports linking pictures to individuals but if you move your family file from one computer to another, you have to make sure you put all the picture files in the exact same locations
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Sounds
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--- Legacy ---
You can link sound files to individual pictures. This lets you create a narrated slide show. You can also record sound files from within Legacy.
--- Family Origins ---
You can link sound files to an individual but not to specific pictures.
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Relationships
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--- Legacy ---
The relationship between a specified Source person and all other related individuals in the Family File is shown on the Family View. As you navigate up and down the family lines, the relationships are always shown. These include in-law and step relationships.
--- Family Origins ---
No relationships are shown on the screen. There is a relationship calculator but it only figures the relationship between two people. In-law and step relationships are not included.
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Importing files
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--- Legacy ---
PAF, GEDCOM and Legacy files can be imported. When importing, you can either add to the current file or create a new family file automatically.
--- Family Origins ---
You can only import a GEDCOM or PAF file into the current family file. If you want to import into an empty file, you have to first go create the new file and then import.
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Source Citations
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy has a Source Clipboard (tm) that can hold up to five different source citations at once. These can be assigned to individual events with the click of a button. You can also save up to ten groups of citations for future use, switching between them from a right-click popup menu. Any sources on the Source Clipboard can be assigned from any information input window.
--- Family Origins ---
You can memorize one source citation and then paste it when needed. If you have more than one citation to assign, you have to do the remainder manually. Citations cannot be pasted unless the Sources window is displayed.
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Assigning Sources While Importing
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--- Legacy ---
You can assign a source citation to all records imported from either a GEDCOM, PAF or LEGACY file. This way you can tell where the records came from.
--- Family Origins ---
No source information can be attached during an import. After you import records, you will have no indication as to where they came from.
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Navigation History
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy tracks the last 160 individuals you have viewed. You can either use the History List to jump back to a previously view person, or use the Forward and Backward History arrows to rotate through them.
--- Family Origins ---
No history feature is available.
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Bookmarks
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--- Legacy ---
You can set up to 160 bookmarks on different individuals you want to keep track of. You can jump back to any bookmark at any time.
--- Family Origins ---
No bookmark support.
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Tags
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--- Legacy ---
Each individual and each marriage can have nine different tags applied to it. These tags can be used to keep track of anything you want. For example, you can could use level one tags to create a group of people for which you want to print a report...or perhaps level two tags to mark a few people you want to export and send to Aunt Mabel...or level five tags to keep track of individuals or marriages you want to further research on, etc. The possibilities are endless!
--- Family Origins ---
Sorry, no tagging.
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Navigation
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--- Legacy ---
Both a Family View and Pedigree View are available for navigating back and forth between ancestors and descendants. The Family View displays three generations including a main couple, their parents and their children. The Pedigree View shows four or five generations, a spouse/child list and a siblings list. Both views offer complete editing capabilities. Both views also show if lines continues forward or backward. Each individual also shows there birth and death years.
--- Family Origins ---
No Spouse List is shown on the Pedigree View, making Navigation to other spouses and children difficult. The birth and death information is only shown for the current individual. You have to click on each person to see when they lived. This information is not even available for the parents.
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LDS Support
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Submitting Names to the Temple
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy can easily produce a TempleReady submission file containing any group of people. As part of the file creation process, Legacy can mark each name with "Submitted" and the date of submission. Then, after the names have been cleared by TempleReady, Legacy reads the resulting Temple submission file and marks all appropriate records as "Cleared" along with the current date. You will always know which records were submitted and when they were submitted, and you will know which names were actually cleared and when.
--- Family Origins ---
You can export a GEDCOM file to be read by Temple- Ready but that is as far as they go. No marking of records is done at all. You will have no way of knowing if someone has been submitted or not.
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LDS Ordinance Reports
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--- Legacy ---
You can print these Ordinance reports:
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All records, with or without ordinance dates
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Records with missing ordinance dates
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Records with no missing ordinance dates
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Records with one or more ordinance dates
Each individual is printed with their surrounding family members shown so you can better see who someone really is.
--- Family Origins ---
Only prints unfinished ordinance report. No surrounding family is shown to identify the individuals. Must print two reports in order to see both individual and marriage ordinances.
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Name Index
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--- Legacy ---
The Name List includes a block of eight detail fields that display information about the current person. You can set these detail fields to show any information (including Soundex Codes for surnames). You can search for records in the Name List by either RIN number or surname. You can jump into the list to any letter by pressing the Letter buttons. Records can be tagged on three levels and bookmarked. Customized reports can be printed from the list contents.
--- Family Origins ---
Only basic information is shown, with no option to change it. No other information can be displayed and no reports can be printed from the list.
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Focus Groups
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--- Legacy ---
You can easily create groups of individuals, families, and entire ancestor or descendant lines to be used when exporting or printing reports. Up to nine different focus groups can be saved for future use.
--- Family Origins ---
You can check selected groups of people when exporting or printing reports but these groups cannot be saved and they are cleared when the exporting or printing is done.
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Searching
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy offers many search options. There is a simple fill-in-the-blanks form, a detailed search form that accepts multiple search criteria using AND and OR, and multiple special-case searches. You can search for:
- All the family members of a specific individual.
- All the ancestors or descendants of a person.
- The oldest direct-line ancestors of a person.
- The youngest descendants of a person.
- End-of-line ancestors and descendants of a person.
- Linked individuals with no children.
- Linked individuals with no parents.
- Unlinked individuals.
- Individuals with bad dates
Searches can be used to create sub-lists of individuals that can be used for tagging and other purposes.
Multiple search lists can be combined together.
--- Family Origins ---
There is no Query-by-Example or special-case searched available.
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Merging
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy has the most intelligent merging feature on the market and shows you the most information about individual pairs so you can make informed decisions when combining duplicates. You can set the comparison parameters used to determine who is presented as a possible duplicates. You can even stop a merge session and resume later, right where you left off. When merging, you can decide which information to keep in the resulting record...the rest can either be copied into the notes field, or made into an event, or put into the alternate names list. You don't have to give up any valuable information with combining records.
--- Family Origins ---
The duplicate search only lets you specify how many years between birth dates...nothing else. When you decide to merge two individuals, you have no idea what actually happens. You can't decide which information to keep. Family Origins just creates duplicate of everything, including parents. And since there is no easy way to see if someone has duplicate parents, you may never know. (Legacy presents the duplicate parents for merging even if their names are not spelled the same.) If there are any differences in the spelling of names or relationships, records will not even be presented for merging.
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User's Guide
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy comes with a 272-page professionally bound User's Guide with complete instructions on how to use the program. It also includes many tutorials and other lessons.
--- Family Origins ---
Sorry, no manual comes with the program at all. You'll have to search through the help files...
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Blank Forms
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy prints blank forms for Family Group Sheets, Individual Reports, Pedigree Charts, Census forms for all available US census years from 1800 to 1920 and the 1801 and 1811 Canadian censuses. You can also print customized Questionnaires to send out to request information, and blank Research Logs to assist you in your research efforts.
--- Family Origins ---
Can print blank Pedigree Charts, Cemetery Record Form, Correspondent Log and Research Log.
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Web Page Generation
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy can generate five styles of Web pages (Ancestor, Descendant, Pedigree, Family Group Sheet and Individual styles).
--- Family Origins ---
Family Origins can produce HTML files for use on a web page.
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To-Do List
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy produces both individual and general To Do Lists of tasks, such as research and correspondence, needing to be done. The lists can be sorted and printed to take on research trips.
--- Family Origins ---
Family Origins can track and print a to do list of things that need to be done.
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Video Clips
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--- Legacy ---
Legacy offers an option to link video clips to individuals and events.
--- Family Origins ---
Family Origins currently handles the linking of video files to individuals.
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What Legacy does that Family Origins does not
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Legacy has three types of Note fields; Regular, Research and Medical. (FO only has regular.) Legacy users can download free updates from our web site as often as they like. Legacy can display a slide show of an individual's pictures, completely narrated with sound files. Sound files can be recorded from within Legacy. Picture files can be converted from one format to another. Pictures can also be rotated and flipped. You can also adjust the sharpness, brightness and contrast of any picture and then save the results. Legacy has more than 70 user-definable options for customizing the program. FO has only 14.
