I believe that online genealogy programs are the wave of the future. Accessing your genealogy database "in the cloud" makes a lot of sense, especially in research collaborative efforts with your cousins or perhaps as an effort by a family society. Groups of genealogists can work together on projects, even simultaneously, even if some use Windows, others use Macintosh, and perhaps some even use Linux.
A new program is now in late beta test and is expected to launch soon as a version 1.0. Best of all, this is FREE software, issued under the GNU General Public License.
Please take note of the program name: WebTrees. I suspect you are going to hear a lot more about it in coming years.
A new program is now in late beta test and is expected to launch soon as a version 1.0. Best of all, this is FREE software, issued under the GNU General Public License.
Please take note of the program name: WebTrees. I suspect you are going to hear a lot more about it in coming years.
WebTrees is based on the popular phpgedview application. Whereas phpgedview aimed to do everything for everyone, webtrees aims to to be efficient and effective by using the right combination of third-party tools, design techniques and open standards.
Quoting the WebTree web site at http://www.webtrees.net:
Web based Family History Software...[End of quote from the web site]
webtrees is based on the popular PhpGedView ('PGV') application. Whereas PGV aimed to do everything for everyone, webtrees aims to to be efficient and effective by using the right combination of third-party tools, design techniques and open standards.
Finding your way around
Here is some more detailed information about the menu items above here:
* Home - Clicking on Home at any time will return you to this page.
* Forums - Here you will find a list of discussion forums related to various aspects of webtrees. At present they include:
o Help - the place to go for assistance with any problems you are having installing or using webtrees.
o Translation - somewhere to discuss issues related to translating webtrees into one of the huge range of languages it is available in.
o Customising - ask questions or give advice about making custom themes, modules or anything related to those non-standard webtrees modifications.
o Open Discussion - a forum to raise the wider issues related to webtrees, NOT to be used for help requests.
o Request for New Feature - Record the details of any new features you would like to see included in webtrees in the future.
* Wiki - This provides a link to the webtrees' WIKI pages. These supplement the pop-up Help screens available throughout webtrees, as well as many other useful information topics. (NOTE: not yet developed)
* Demo - Here we will, when it is ready, provide a demo of the current release of webtrees. This will allow you to view its features exactly as they will appear on your own installation. Later we may also include demos that show examples of developmental code, so you can see possible new features of webtrees.
* Add-ons - If you are interested in using or developing non-standard or customised features, themes, or modules, this is a place where they can be uploaded, and made available for others to download.
* LaunchPad - A VERY IMPORTANT LINK to the home of our code base. Select this option to download the latest version (currently a BETA test version only), submit report bugs, or help with translations. It has sub-links for:
o Translations - the place to go if you are able and willing to help translate webtrees into other languages. Its a very simple process using Launchpad.
o Bugs. Use this link to go direct to our Bug Tracking page on Launchpad.
WebTrees is a software product that installs on most any web server. Apache and IIS are the most common types of web servers. There are no requirements to use a specific type or version. It requires PHP5.2.3 or later as well as MySQL. Those last two products usually are included on all web servers. WebTrees has been tested with tens of thousands of individuals in its database and speed appears to not be a problem.
You can enter data one person at a time or else upload a GEDCOM file that was created by most any other genealogy program.
You can access a demo version of WebTrees by following the instructions at http://www.webtrees.net/demo
Webtrees is still in beta test. The full release version 1.0.0 is expected to be released on the 26th of August.
For more information about WebTrees, look at http://www.webtrees.net/
