Monday, November 18, 2013

Monday Mailbox: World Family Tree

The Ancestry Insider's Monday MailboxDear Ancestry Insider,

I wonder if you could tell me if we can view anywhere on Ancestry.com the information that was on WFT disks? Also, would you be able to view that information on the library edition of Ancestry.com?

Signed,
Marlene Polster

Dear Marlene,

I asked Ancestry.com about World Family Tree (WFT) accessibility. As you probably know, World Family Tree was/is available for purchase on CD-ROMs and is also accessible online at Genealogy.com, a website owned by Ancestry.com.

Ancestry.com told me that the user agreement with the contributors prevents them from making the data available on Ancestry.com.

--The Ancestry Insider

6 comments:

  1. I do not believe that answer is correct. Several years ago, Ancestry had a database in their collection that was called, I believe, "Ancestry World Tree". It was supposedly composed of "stitching" together information from trees and various of their databases. I was told by Ancestry personnel that the World Family Tree information was included in that database and the source tab could actually direct you back to the original tree.

    I am sorry that the World Family Tree database does not seem to be available any longer as it was a great source of clues. Some of the early WFT disks had some excellent material on them.

    As a follow-up question... I have dozens of the CDs from FTM, including many WFT CDs. Current FTM does not read them; how can they be viewed? Does ancestry have a version of their viewer that runs on current versions of Windows?

    john.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I am sorry that the World Family Tree database does not seem to be available any longer..."

      It was euthanized by puritanical holier-than-thou's of the decidedly short-sighted variety.

      Delete
  2. John, I can answer that one!

    There is a free utility that can view the CDs. It’s called Family Archive Viewer and can be downloaded at http://www.genealogy.com/abtffiv.html . It’s actually a stripped down of an early FTM version, and will run on Windows 95 or higher, and it’s worked for me on on both Vista and Windows 7. I don't have Windows 8, so I'm not sure of compatibility.

    Be sure to read the warnings on the download page if you are a FTM user.

    debbe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie,

      Thank you. I have now installed it. I do not use FTM any longer, except to read FTM files sent to me. Legacy is now my tool.

      john.

      Delete
  3. I too have many of the CD's that worked with FTM. I tried using the Archive Viewer and it didn't work for me. I have Windows 7. I sure wish I would have kept my old FTM disks. I also use Legacy now. Anyone else have issues with the Archive Viewer not working?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Install the free Microsoft Virtual PC onto your Windows 7. Then install an old version of Windows such as Windows XP onto Virtual PC. You will then be able to install and run pre-Windows 7 programs on the Windows XP. The main reason that I use this method is to continue using the excellent Quicken 2000 UK edition.

      Delete

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