MyFamilyTree 10 adds new interactive Fan chart view, introduces tool to resolve duplicates

Ahoy family historians! Chronoplex Software has released a landmark version of its free family history app for Windows users. My Family Tree 10.0, also available in 32-bit form, adds a brand-new interactive fan view that can also be used as a printable or shareable chart.

Other highlights include a new tool to resolve duplicate entries, various improvements to the user interface, a brand new progeny report and the ability to create placeholder entries in the tree for filling out later.

Traditionally, My Family Tree has given users a choice of two interactive views: family (pedigree) and ancestors. Version 10 adds a third option in the form of an interactive fan chart. The view can be accessed directly via the Charts menu, or toggled via the charts button, which now switches between the three available views.

Users can navigate this view like the others -- roll your mouse over an ancestor for a pop-up summary or click to make them the focus of the new chart, bringing their details into focus in the right-hand pane. Right-click their entry to reveal more options. Six generations are shown by default; users can alter this to show between four and eight generations via the Chart Options button.

Another notable new feature is a tool for resolving duplicate entries, accessible by right-clicking an individual and choosing 'Replace or merge person'. Users are given a list of possible matches, allowing them to either replace that person with the currently selected one or to merge the two entries into one.

My Family Tree 10 now supports building a skeletal tree using placeholders when in fan or ancestors view -- simply right-click an existing entry and choose 'Add relationship' to select the type of relation -- all direct relationships, from parents and children to siblings and partners, are supported.

The Reports menu gains a new report: progeny, which displays a selected ancestor and their descendants in basic list form. Elsewhere, the Ahnentafel report now supports more generations.

Relationship types and statuses also gain new options, from marking relationships as dissolved to registering unmarried partnerships. Users can also specify custom relationships and indicate when these new relationships started if known.

The program’s user interface has also been tweaked, with family chart color schemes updated to follow Fluent color design principles, and family chart lines rendered more crisply with the number of overlaps reduced. Chart dates are also more clearly defined in circumstances where a person remains living or their date of death is unknown.

My Family Tree 10.0 64-bit and My Family Tree 10.0 32-bit are both available now as freeware downloads for PCs running Windows 10.