Infinite-Serials, Legacy family tree v7.0 serial numbers and keys.

• Pros Well structured. Feature rich. Pays off if for long-term research. • Cons Ugly interface.

New hobbyists face a learning curve. Some relationships difficult to enter and properly manage. • Bottom Line The feature-rich genealogy software Legacy Family Tree Deluxe 7.5 has all the tools you'll need to record your personal history, but the user experience could be better.

Recording your life story, as well as that of your ancestors, is easier than ever with modern software and an abundance of Internet resources. (from $29.95) is one feature-rich package that lets you chart family trees, record details about individuals, and otherwise track your family through the years. While it has a wealth of tools and features, the user experience can be daunting, particularly if you're new to genealogy as a hobby. It doesn't guide users as well as our Editors' Choice ($39.99 for Windows version; Family Tree Maker for Macs 2 $69.99). Legacy Family Tree is a fine option if you're reasonably well versed in genealogy as a practice already, and if you're looking for a piece of software to use for a long time. It's not ideal for new family history enthusiasts or those looking to churn out a quick keepsake in the way that Family Tree Maker or its companion site, (free to $34.95 per month) is. System Requirements Legacy Family Tree Deluxe 7.5 is only available on Windows (98 or later) and requires: an Intel Pentium class computer, VGA or higher display set at 800x600 resolution, and 55MB available space.

To access the optional geolocation database, you'll need another 455MB. Plus, the company recommends 512MB (or more) and Internet Explorer 7 to access the Mapping features. And even though Legacy is downloaded software that runs locally, you'll want Internet access to be able to search for records online. Interface and Design Permit me to not beat around the bush and say plainly that Legacy Family Tree Deluxe packaging and marketing—which features a giant ancestry-tree diagram outline rising into the sky with a halo around it—has a pretty overt religious feel to it. The interface, on the other hand, does not.

It's not the most attractive design, but the tools you'll need to record your family history are there, well organized beneath a layer of mustard green backgrounds and extra large sized tab fonts, with no proselytizing to be found. The main screen of the downloadable software puts you in a tab called Legacy Home, where you can read the latest news about the software, see reminders for birthdays and other significant anniversaries, or review items that you've saved to a to-do list. This page would see more use if it weren't so dense with text. The Home area also doubles as a browser window—an address bar and the usual backward, forward, home, reload buttons are at the top—which I found peculiar.

You'll get started faster by checking out the tabs called Family or Pedigree. This is the area where you can build a tree by entering your name (or someone else's) and parentage. All the typical software features, like right-click to add new data, work as expected. Mario Lanza The Lords Prayer here. As a relative newcomer to family genealogy, I could feel my way through this section fine just by reading the available options and filling information into fields as required. Recording Your Legacy Legacy isn't an ideal piece of software to use if you're only looking to dabble in your family history.

But if you're in need of a solid package for some long-term committed use, it does have some powerful features that might pay off. For example, the Research Guidance tab doesn't really give you guidance about doing research so much as it provides a long and thorough checklist of sites you ought to search for records. For any person in your family, you can approach your research in a highly organized fashion by ticking Ignore, To-Do, or Done next to each suggested source. When a suggested source, such as the International Genealogical Index or New York Times Index and Records, is available online, the checklist grid takes note of it, effectively letting you see at a glance which sources you can check in just a few minutes time from your computer.