Favorite Genealogy Software

What’s your favorite genealogy software? Do you use more than one program?

I use Family Tree Maker. I’m sure the reason that I use it is because it was the only genealogy program available at Best Buy when I decided to start working on my family tree. And honestly, I love it! Or at least I did, until the newest version came out. I’ve always been thrilled with the upgrades that Family Tree Maker has come out with, but the newest version is so totally different, it is like learning a new program from scratch! I always laugh at the “nasty” comments made on message boards when a new version comes out because I think people just tend to fight change. So when I got the program and started seeing all of the changes, I resolved that I would hold all judgments until I used it for awhile. Some things, I really like. For example, I love that you can see the basic information for a selected individual at the bottom of the screen while looking at the entire tree. And I love that when the program does a search and finds information on the internet, you can add all of the information found by clicking a single “Merge” button. But entering new information on my own is very cumbersome and finding a specific piece of information can sometimes take some time! And I REALLY wish that I could "merge" information from my computer into my online tree at Ancestry.com!

So I’ve been using both versions of the program – new version for searching and old version for entering information by “hand”. But I know I’m going to lose some information this way. SOMETHING is not going to transfer like I want. I don’t feel “together”.

Which makes me wonder how people who use more than one program do that? Are you constantly exporting GEDCOM files back and forth? I’d love to hear your comments!