Ancestry.com Releases Family Tree Maker 2012 with TreeSync™, Allowing Family Tree Updates from Anywhere via the Cloud

Update of the No. 1 Selling Family History Software Makes Researching & Sharing Family History More Rewarding Than Ever

PROVO, Utah (Sept. 29, 2011) – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, today announced the release of Family Tree Maker® 2012, an improved and expanded version of the world’s No. 1 selling family history software. Now with its new TreeSync™ capabilities, Family Tree Maker 2012 enables family history enthusiasts to sync their desktop family trees and their trees online at Ancestry.com unlike any other desktop software available on the market.

“We have a long-term vision to make family history simple and more accessible to the masses,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product for Ancestry.com. “Now with the combination of Ancestry.com, the Ancestry mobile app and the new Family Tree Maker, users can work on their family tree anywhere, anytime.”

Family Tree Maker 2012 introduces TreeSync, which enables family historians to sync their online tree at Ancestry.com and their desktop family trees, including photos and other historical records they have attached. This enables Family Tree Maker users to bring their desktop tree online to share with invited guests and continue their research from wherever they are.

The new software comes with a free membership or free trial to Ancestry.com that gives users access to billions of historical records, and millions of memory-making historical photos, stories and family trees. Membership with Ancestry.com connects Family Tree Maker 2012 users to the largest family history community in the world, and helps users find other members who might be researching the same ancestors so they can compare notes and discover more together.

Other improvements in Family Tree Maker 2012 include:

·         An easier-than-ever user interface to get users started right away

·         Upgraded help content and video tutorials

·         Improved content-generation and editing options to create engaging “Smart Stories” about family history and family members

·         The ability to combine families into one harmonized tree, bringing step-families and adoptees into the main family tree

·         Simple generation labels and text boxes to make family trees more interesting and informative

Expert users of earlier Family Tree Maker releases will find new power-user tools in Family Tree Maker 2012, including:

·         Upgraded personalization capabilities enabling users to add their own images, adding narrative text and displaying explanatory generation labels to charts

·         Index report of every individual in a family tree with birth, marriage and death dates

·         Chart the line of descendancy between an ancestor and any descendant in your family tree