You may have heard about Family Tree Maker, the premier family tree software available. Originally, Family Tree Maker was completely separate than Ancestry.com. There was no relation. However, Ancestry.com acquired the rights to it. In 2008, the software was completely reprogrammed to align more directly with the Ancestry.com site. Not quite ten years later, Ancestry dropped in-house development, and Software MacKiev took over the program. Fortunately, it still has strong connections with Ancestry and can work with your Ancestry account. For many years, Family Tree Maker has been an excellent addition for any genealogy enthusiast.
If you have Family Tree Maker, you can move your family tree back and forth between the Ancestry.com site and the software program. It is important to note that you can create your family tree on the site, but you will miss out of certain advanced features in the software program. It’s also important to note that Family Tree Maker is not a research tool. It only allows you to compile family tree data. To perform research, you will actually need an Ancestry subscription.