Personal Ancestry File 5.0
by Richard Eastman
Newletters dated: June 6, 2001
Personal Ancestral File for Windows is one of the most popular genealogy programs in the world. There are two good reasons for this: it does all the basic functions of a genealogy program and it is free. You can’t beat free. Personal Ancestral File for Windows is available at www.FamilySearch.org.
As good as PAF is, one must realize that it still is a rather basic program. It doesn’t have all the "bells and whistles" of the higher-priced and more powerful programs. As a result, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released PAF Companion in 1997. This commercial program adds numerous new reports to the basic PAF program. Each new version of Personal Ancestral File for Windows has soon been followed by a matching release of PAF Companion. This week I had the chance to use the new PAF Companion version 5.0. It is designed for PAF version 5.0 and 5.1 but also works well with PAF versions 3 and 4.
PAF Companion adds the following reports that are not in the basic PAF program:
- Family Group Record–A printed version of family group view in LDS format.
- Standard Family Group–A variable format that will print all user-defined events. This is a new feature added to PAF Companion 5.0.
- Kinship—Print all relatives of an individual with their relationship(s).
- Hourglass Chart—A box chart that prints both ancestors and descendants for an individual. This is a new feature added to PAF Companion 5.0.
- Pedigree Chart—Traditional LDS pedigree chart of an individual's ancestors.
- Ancestor Chart—A box chart of an individual's ancestors.
- Fan Chart—A unique "fan" presentation of an individual's ancestors. You can also print a full circle or quarter circle chart.
- Ahnentafel—An individual's ancestors prepared in a book format together with an index. Different from the other charts and reports, the Ahnentafel is output directly to your word processor for further editing and printing.
- Descendant Chart—A box chart of an individual's descendants.
- Outline Descendant—An outline report of an individual's descendants indented by generation. This is a useful summary report because only one line per person is printed.
- Register—An individual's descendants prepared in a book format together with an index. Like the Ahnentafel, the Register report is output directly to your word processor for further editing and printing.
Many options are available for customizing these reports to suit your particular needs. New in version 5.0 is the option for including photos on several of these charts. Another special option is "Cousin Smart," which ensures that common ancestors or descendants for two distant cousins who marry are not repeated on the same chart or report, thereby saving space and paper on the printed reports.
I like the capability to print on any size of paper. Large wall charts can be created by taping many pages together or by printing on a large-scale plotter. These charts and reports can be produced on printers supported by Windows, including ink jet, laser, and even dot matrix printers. If you really want to impress people at the next family reunion, walk in with a wall chart that hangs ten feet high and twenty feet wide or something similar. You can print this on your own printer and then tape the sheets together. However, you can also go first class by "printing" the output to a file on diskette and then taking that diskette to a Kinko’s store or similar service that will print the output onto a large, multi-color plotter.
The Register and Ahnentafel reports are automatically output to the word processor of your choice. From there you can perform additional editing, such as adding graphics to your report before printing. Register reports are close to the "de facto" standard for publishing genealogy books. You can automatically create a book with all the basic information and then use your favorite word processor to add personal commentary, pictures, maps, and other enhancements. Currently supported word processors include WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, Lotus Ami Pro, and Microsoft WordPad.
Installation of PAF Companion version 5.0 required less than a minute. I inserted the CD-ROM disk and followed the on-screen prompts, and it was completed almost immediately. You can launch the program independently or from within PAF version 4.0 or 5.0.
I spent some time experimenting with the various reports and found them all to be visually pleasing. I especially liked the hourglass report. I printed one with myself in the middle at the "narrow part" of the hourglass. This printed as a "horizontal hourglass" with my ancestors to the left of my name and my children to the right. In my case, this required four sheets of standard paper, which I then taped together into one large chart. The number of sheets of paper required obviously will depend upon the number of generations selected. The number of pages is displayed before you click on "Print" so you never receive the "surprise" of unexpectedly having to supply a ream of paper.
Another feature of PAF Companion is unique: I do not think I have seen its "Compare" feature in any other genealogy program. This automated feature of PAF Companion finds individuals in the Pedigree Resource File (PRF) on CD-ROM who may match those in your PAF database. The Pedigree Resource File (PRF) on CD-ROM is a huge collection of genealogy files contributed by private individuals around the world. You can use the Compare feature to quickly and easily find others who are researching the same individuals in your database. Note that you must have the Pedigree Resource File Master Index for Discs one through fifteen or newer in order to use this feature. The results are presented in a WordPad document that you can print or save for later use.
PAF Companion version 5.0 requires:
- Pentium processor (or higher)
- Windows 95/98/ME/NT 4.0
- VGA monitor with 256–color-capable video card
- Ten megabytes of hard-disk space
- CD-ROM drive (4X minimum recommended)
In short, if your Windows system can run PAF, it also can run PAF Companion. While I noted that Windows 2000 was not a supported operation system, I installed PAF Companion on Windows 2000 Pro and it worked fine for me. I did not experience any difficulties.
PAF Companion for Windows version 5.0 sells for the rather modest price of $13.50 (U.S. funds). If you use Personal Ancestral File for Windows, you need the Companion. Also, if you use a different genealogy program but would like to add some of the reports or the "Compare Feature," you can always download a free copy of Personal Ancestral File. You then export your data from your present program in GEDCOM format, import it into PAF and then purchase PAF Companion to add the features you want. The total cost will be $13.50.
For more information about PAF Companion 5.0 for Windows, or to purchase it online via a secure Web site, go to: http://www.familysearch.org, click on "Order/Download Products" and then on "Software Products."
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