By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
June 2005

General Overview

One of the most powerful research and storytelling tools available for genealogists and family historians, Genelines lets you SEE your ancestor’s lives in time. By bringing together elements of time, history and family relationships on visual timeline charts, Genelines can bring your family history to life, and even help you find new directions for your family research.

With Genelines You Can

· Create amazing timeline charts

Genelines gives you a suite of seven distinctive, fully customizable timeline charts. These eye-catching charts are created from two sources – your genealogy database and an extensive library of history files – to illustrate your family lines along with any fascinating facts and interesting events you’ve found in the course of your research. No other software or printed materials currently available can provide the same ancestral snapshots as these timeline charts.

· Share family stories

With Genelines 2, sharing your family stories has never been easier! Print your charts on any size paper, including large wall charts. Or, publish your charts in PDF format to easily share them with family and friends. You can even insert your charts into word processing documents and web pages.

· Enhance your research

The unique way in which Genelines timeline charts present your data can lead you into many new avenues of research. By comparing the lives of two or more people, or determining who was alive when an important event occurred, your research efforts will be focused like never before. Genelines charts also help you to identify and expose missing, illogical or contradictory data that will only improve the quality of your research.

· Compatible with all genealogy programs

Designed for use with any genealogy database program, Genelines reads PAF, Family Tree Maker, Legacy, Ancestral Quest, and Ancestry Family Tree data files without importing. Genelines also reads GEDCOM files.

New Features in Version 2

Version 2 includes many new enhancements suggested by loyal users, making Genelines the most full featured and powerful timeline charting program available on the market today.

Of particular note are two new chart formats, a new chronological text report, many new ways to customize your charts and a new PDF publishing option.

Two brand new charts. - Full Descendant chart. - Time-based Fan chart.

Biographical Charts - Historical events can now be included on chart. - Full on-screen edit options now available. - Re-position bars as you please. - Show dates for each event.

Relationship Charts - Resize any life bar. - Customizable birth and marriage symbols.

All Charts - New chronological text view/report. - Full font control. - Resize any life bar. - New symbol eraser tool. - Include author/creator information on any chart. - Support for BC dates. - New chart borders. - Enhanced color editing. - New split chart mode (similar to freeze panes in MS Excel).

New Database Compatibility - Ancestral Quest. - Ancestry Family Tree.

Other - Merge two or more charts (from the same database). - Publish (export) any chart to PDF file format. - Print text report of life events or historical events. - Select user defined event labels. - New File Scan catalogs all genealogy database files on your computer. - Support for metric units of measure (chart dimensions & printing) - Improved navigation with reorganized menu.

Plus, a new User Guide is now available in PDF format.

Key Features of Genelines

Seven full-color, completely customizable charts, including the unique and compelling Biographical chart – a timeline chart that tells the complete story for just one individual.

A new text report that lists, in chronological order, all the events, dates, and places for the people in any chart along with applicable notes and sources.

Flexible options for choosing the individuals to show on a chart, including family groups, ancestors, descendants and even unrelated individuals.

Allows on-screen manipulation of the timeline, colors, fonts, borders, box positioning, and much more.

Estimates and visually points out unknown dates, making it easy to see where more research is needed, as well as illogical or contradictory data.

Ability to save any chart for reuse at a later time.

Publishes charts in PDF format.

Prints charts in a full range of sizes – from a standard size paper to large wall charts.

Provides the ability to merge two or more charts together.

Supports BC dates and metric units of measure.

Comes with ready to use timeline (historical event) files, plus more available as free downloads from the Timeline Exchange. Or, you can create and modify your own historical events within Genelines.

Genelines Charts

Genelines features a suite of seven different timeline chart formats, consisting of two biographical and five relationship charts. Each of these seven charts can be customized according to: timeline, historical events, personal or family events, colors, fonts and border type. The relationship charts even allow you to add people who are not necessarily related.

Each type of chart also lends itself to different research tasks, which will be explored more fully as we illustrate each of the charts individually. All Genelines charts can be previewed and printed in full color, in various sizes - including wall charts - or published to PDF and incorporated into a web page or shared by e-mail.

Biographical Charts

Genelines biographical charts let you create a visual map of your ancestor life events, telling their story in a brand new way. Include such events as career path, relationships, place of residence, etc., and compare these life experiences with those of other relatives in your database. Or, add the historical events that were happening at various times during their lives.

Individual Biographical Chart:
Depicts the life events of an individual in categories such as occupation, health, residence, and so on.

Comparative Biographical Chart:
An age-based chart comparing the life events of two or more individuals.

Relationship Charts

Relationship charts let you view your family pedigrees and lines of descent against the backdrop of historical events on the local, regional or world stage.

You can customize charts according to people, line of descent or family group, personal life details, color, and the history you wish to depict. These charts can explain a great deal about your family and the decisions they made.

Pedigree Chart:
Shows the life spans of an individual’s ancestors across a timeline for as many generations as desired.

Direct Line Chart
Displays the direct family line between a chosen individual and a direct descendant (or ancestor) on a timeline.

Full Descendant Chart:
Shows all the descendants of a chosen subject, for as many generations as selected and available in your database.

Family Group Chart:
Depicts the children, spouses and parents of a selected ancestor across a timeline.

Fan Chart:
Plots an individual’s maternal and paternal lineages by birth for a selected number of generations.

Reports

Text View Report:
Provides a text version of any timeline chart and lists, in chronological order, events and dates for people along with applicable notes and sources.

Genelines Research

Genelines timeline charts are unlike those produced by any other program. The visual presentation of your data in a Genelines chart allows you to draw conclusions impossible with standard box charts or text reports. These charts also have the powerful ability to highlight errors or unusual circumstances in your data (i.e. someone with a 150 year life span, a child born to elderly parents, etc.). The result is more than an attractive presentation – the real benefit is that these charts can help you focus your research efforts thereby allowing you to make the most of your time and resources.

Genelines Can Help

There are many ways in which Genelines can help you with your research. Here are just a few examples.

1. Identify missing information. Problem: Missing birth and death dates. Problem: Missing marriage date.

2. Highlight illogical and contradictory data. Problem: Unreasonably long life span. Problem: Wrong birth date.

3. Expose duplicate persons. Problem: Do I have duplicate people in my database?

4. Focus your research. Problem: For whom should I search in the 1860 census? Problem: Where should I look when I reach a dead end? Problem: Which family lines should I be pursuing? Problem: Where to look next?

5. Assist with data collection. Problem: How can I make it easier for family members to send me information? Problem: How can I help people understand how they are related?

6. Understanding your data. Problem: Have I skipped a generation in my data? Problem: How are two distant cousins related? Problem: Understanding a person’s life story. Problem: Comparing the lives of two different people.

Target Customers

Genelines for Windows is a great timeline charting companion for use with almost any genealogy program. In a nutshell, Genelines lets you place the names and lives of your family's past into historical context by creating interesting charts that you can both view on-screen and print. The new version 2 of Genelines adds a lot of new functionality.

The "Universal Edition" reads information directly from Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestral File, Legacy Family Tree, Ancestry Family Tree, and Ancestral Quest. It will also read information from a GEDCOM file created by any modern genealogy program, so you can use Genelines even if your regular genealogy program is not on the list of supported programs.

Installation of Genelines 2 is simple, and after installation, you enter your name and the registration code, and then the program shows you the What's New page.

Genelines 2 has a unique feature called "Scan For Files." The program will search your hard drive, looking for GEDCOM files as well as data files from Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestral File, Legacy Family Tree, Ancestry Family Tree, Ancestral Quest, and any files created by earlier versions of Genelines. If you have used these programs in the past, Genelines will find the databases from these program on your hard drive. It can also find GEDCOM files that you may have received from other people. You just click on one of the listed files, and you will be looking at the data from these files inside Genelines 2.

The program first shows a list of names in alphabetical order. It is possible to scroll up and down the list, although that becomes unwieldy on larger databases. Instead, you can type a name of interest, and as you type, Genelines will go to the first matching name. You click on the desired name and a display appears showing the details of that record, along with several icons for tasks that could be accomplished.

You can see examples of Individual Biographical Reports at www.progenysoftware.com/genelines_samplecharts_individual.html.

The main screen for all the charts is at www.progenysoftware.com/genelines_charts.html.

Genelines gives you an almost infinite number of timeline reports. You can use the history files that come with the program and you can also create your own historical events. You can even create your own history files and save them later for use with other Genelines charts. You can display your ancestor's life alongside the events that shaped his or her life, or you can compare the lives of several ancestors or other relatives together on one sheet. Not only can you show the wars, heads of state, or other national data, but you can also display data on a local scale.

Genelines 2 also produces a fan chart that is also a timeline. When you first look at the fan chart, you think the lines drawn between individuals are "jagged" or rough looking. However, a closer examination shows that these lines are drawn in accordance with birth years and death dates. The result is a chart that is much more meaningful than a standard fan chart.

Look closely at the example at www.progenysoftware.com/genelines_samplecharts_fan.html

Genelines will definitely be a hit with anyone interested in genealogy and their personal family history, and it is well worth its very nominal price. In fact, at its current price point, Genelines 2 is a super bargain, providing many important, powerful features at a very reasonable price.

System Requirements

Pentium processor
Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP
32MB RAM
10MB free hard disk space
VGA or better monitor
Windows compatible printer
Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher (for viewing PDF export files)

List Price

$29.95 Download
$34.95 CD ROM

Genelines 2 for Ancestral Quest
Download: $19.95
CD-ROM: $24.95

Genelines 2 for AFT
Download: $19.95
CD-ROM: $24.95

Genelines 2 for Legacy
Download: $19.95
CD-ROM: $24.95

The download versions are offered as an electronic download only. A registration key along with download instructions will be e-mailed to you within 24 hours of placing your order. No CD-ROM will be shipped unless you specifically order the CD-ROM version. Both options are available on the company's order page.

About Progeny Software

Progeny Software is a privately held software company incorporated in 1995 in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded by principal owners and partners, Pierre Cloutier and Bob Thomas, Progeny’s mission is to develop useful and easy-to-use software tools for genealogy enthusiasts.

The company currently has two primary product lines:

• A line of Windows-based “companion” software that offers a complete solution for printing high quality genealogy charts and reports, including a book format for publishing and historical timeline charts.

• A series of specialized genealogy research databases on CD-ROM that incorporate Progeny’s charting and search engine technology for viewing, searching and printing.

Since its beginning in 1994, Progeny has established a reputation for quality and integrity, and enjoys amicable relationships with both large and small players in the genealogy marketplace. Progeny’s software has been bundled with or incorporated into products published by such high-profile companies as Corel, Mindscape, The Learning Company, as well as the LDS Church. Progeny's products are also distributed internationally by a network of genealogy dealers in the US, Canada, and overseas.

Corporate Head Office for Progeny Software is located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. In order to deliver CD-ROM products and better serve US customers, Progeny Publishing was established in 1997 with a business office in Buffalo, New York.

Contact

Progeny Software Inc.
360 Main St., Suite 14
Wolfville, Nova Scotia
B4P 1C4
Canada
+1 902.542.0665
FAX +1 902.542.0562
www.progenysoftware.com