Family Tree Maker apparently alive and well

One of the big genealogical news stories of the past year was the abandonment of the popular genealogy program, Family Tree Maker, by Ancestry.com. Ancestry initially announced that sales of the program would be discontinued and ultimately by December 31, 2016, support for the program and the ability to sync with an online family tree would end. However, just before RootsTech 2016, MacKiev.com announced that it had purchased the rights to the program and that support and sales would continue.

I recently received the above notice in the form of an email. Here is a more complete copy of the statement from the image above:

As it gets closer to the end of 2016, we're understandably hearing this question a lot. After all, it was initially announced that there would be no Family Tree Maker support after the end of next month. But that was a million years ago back in December 2015 when it was also announced that the brand wouldn't continue at all. All that changed 7 weeks later on February 2nd of this year — the day Ancestry announced that they'd decided after all to sell this wonderful old brand to us. And that together we would be building on what Ancestry had started, including creating a new sync technology together. 

So relax. TreeSync® will not stop working at the stroke of midnight this December 31st. And though it will be retired at some point in the not too distant future, before that happens, there will be new syncing technology available to replace it. It's already well into development and we will be starting outside beta testing in the next few weeks. And that means syncing as we know it for FTM is going to live on into 2017 and beyond. So if you've been worried about what happens at the end of the year, well you can just stop worrying. Syncing, Search, and Shaky Leaf hints are all here to stay.

Acquisition and upgrades to the program are available as follows:

HOW TO GET A COPY OF FTM

As you probably know, we have published updated versions of Ancestry's latest editions which we call FTM 2014.1 and Mac 3.1. You can find out how to get a copy below. Where you go depends on what Family Tree Maker edition you currently have: 

• Users of FTM 2014 and Mac 3 - Free updates are coming soon. If your copy is working well, just hang in there and sign up for the FTM Mailing List at www.familytreemaker.comto be notified as soon as the updates are available. If, however, you are experiencing crashes or the application has slowed to a crawl with really large trees, see “What About That Free Update” below to find out how to get an interim update sooner. 

• Users of older FTM editions - No matter how old your copy of FTM is, or whether it's running on Windows or Mac, you can download an upgrade for $29.95 (vs. $69.95 regular price). Click here to take advantage of this limited-time upgrade offer today. You'll also be presented with an option to purchase a hard copy on CD ($10) or our new natural wood USB drive pictured above ($14). 

• New users - If you have never owned a copy of Family Tree Maker before, you can download a full edition from our online store for $69.95 by going to www.familytreemaker.com and clicking the Store button. You can purchase a download with or without a hard copy on CD or on a USB drive. And on startup, you'll get an offer for a 14-Day free trial you can use to search all US records on Ancestry.com.