A bowtie chart for my paternal grandparents
I’ve been using Reunion, the genealogy software designed for the Mac, since I started getting serious about genealogy research, back in 2012. I love Reunion, though the truth is I’ve never used any other software so I don’t have anything to compare it with. It works well with the way I think and I’ve found it intuitive and easy to use. I’m definitely a glass-half-full kind of gal, but the only complaint I’ve ever had about Reunion is that media files do not export with a GEDCOM.
Over the years, I’ve upgraded Reunion when new versions became available every few years. (I started with Reunion 10.) Just last week when I opened the program, I saw that an upgrade to Reunion 13 was available. (It had been three years since I upgraded to Reunion 12.) I quickly checked out the new features and didn’t hesitate to spend $49.95 for the upgrade. The upgrade process was headache-free and I’m happily using and exploring the expanded capabilities.
Here’s a list of my favorite new features. I haven’t used them all but I’m glad to have them available:
- Change Log. I can now look back and see what changes I made each research session. I used this the other day when I forgot to write in my research log. (I think the Change Log is a little hard to find, so I’ll mention that you find it by clicking on the File menu item at the top of the screen. If you don’t see Change Log, try clicking on a different screen in Reunion, if you have more than one open.)
- Summary sidebar. Personal statistics for each member of a couple are now available in the sidebar. The summary sidebar contains information such as spouses, siblings, surnames of ancestors, surnames of descendants, number of descendants in how many generations and so forth. You can drill down on most statistics for more detail.
- Connections allows me to add unrelated people (neighbor, godparent, witness, etc.) to my tree.
- Find Relationship has been upgraded to instantly show a graphic relationship between to people in my tree. I can easily copy that graphic to share with someone.
- Quickview windows pop up to provide further information about a person, couple, source record or surname without having to navigate to another record.
- A Find feature that searches across all records and fields. You can search without having to leave the family view.
- A new Bowtie chart that shows the ancestors of each member of a couple in one view (see photo above).
You can watch this video to see the top ten new features in action.
Eight years using Reunion and I haven’t been tempted to switch. This upgrade makes me feel more enthusiastic than ever!
Amen, Janine. Connections = CLUSTER SUPPORT in my Reunion genealogy database.
At last, in my relative’s profile, I can keep a list of clickable links from him (and his notes) to his “other family,” his cluster– meaning his lawyer, his pastor, the people who made affidavits for his military pension, his neighbors, his wife’s sister’s nephew who worked on his farm and was named in his will. And the neighbor links back to my relative, so I know why I’m documenting that neighbor.
I’ve been grousing for years about the lack of “cluster support” in the world of web-based and desktop genealogy software. I’d almost given up on getting it in any of the products.
Yes! It’s a big advancement! I really haven’t gathered a whole lot of information on friends, associates and neighbors perhaps because I didn’t have anywhere to put it in in Reunion. This could change that.
Oh wow! Seeing this article pulled on my old hearstrings. I have Reunion version 9. Haven’t used it in ages but I’m not all that happy with my FTM so I am thinking of upgrading… if it isn’t too late. Any suggestions?
According to this FAQ, it doesn’t seem to matter what version you’re upgrading from! https://www.leisterpro.com/doc/v-13/upgrade.php Is that what you were asking?
Does it have good print features, for charts & reports? My research is a terrible mess and I finally abandoned about 3 different programs (including Reunion a while back) and now I just use Ancestry on-line and paper. None of them had all the features I wanted and you know what they say about the man with two watches (can never be sure what time it is…) I am about to the place where I want to just pass along what I have but I want to pass it along in reasonable order. And on paper, because my sister does not use a Mac. Thanks– I enjoy your blog.
To be honest, since I’m basically paperless and I don’t share anything on paper I haven’t had to experience printing charts and reports. Perhaps someone else can comment on the print features. Wish I could be more helpful!
Are you still available for questions?
Sarah, you (or anyone else) can always email me at janine@organizeyourfamilyhistory.com with genealogy organizing questions!
I have used Reunion for creating family group sheets, family tree diagrams (to show the variety of relationships we have at a family reunion), and books. Occasionally I’ll make a pedigree chart or list of descendants, indented by generation. Just about everything can be customized. On the family group sheets that I exchange with other researchers or relatives, in addition to the usual birth-marriage-death-burial fields, I like to show occupation, any military service, all of the known residences, and the names of the grandchildren– the things that tell more of a person’s story and are hints for more research. Including little portraits on an FGS seems to draw some interest from the relatives who usually yawn.
When I do a “book” (usually several generations of someone’s descendants, typically 75-150 pages with sources), I choose Register style, and I can choose the data fields that I want to include about a person. Usually I choose to create the book as a Pages document, but other choices are Word, RTF, and HTML. It has less wordy styles than Register, too.
This page shows some of the reports/charts it can produce:
https://www.leisterpro.com/doc/v-13/features/features.php
I have to point out that having a very customizable product means that we have to take the time to choose the fields that we want to display–but only once. It lets me save my custom report formats with names, like FGS-with-grandchildren, so I don’t have to keep redesigning my reports. Now I guess I can define one called FGS-with-cluster.
Thank you so much for sharing this information, Marian!!
I should also have mentioned that all of the reports can go into PDFs, because the Mac’s print dialog box offers the PDF button at the lower left. (If you can print something, you can also make it into a PDF, regardless of the application.) If your sister uses a PC or phone that supports PDF, she might like to look at (and store) your reports there. My own family members are trying to shrink their households, so they don’t always welcome paper reports.
I’m puzzled by LeisterPro’s lack of advertising about Reunion’s reporting features. So I have put some samples of Reunion reports, charts, and data screens onto a publicly-readable Google Drive folder here:
https://tinyurl.com/ReunionFeatures
In it there is a document with links to videos and write-ups about it:
https://tinyurl.com/ReunionHelp
Thank you so much for this additional info, Marian!
Thanks for all the help. mgk
I’ve used Reunion since It came out ages ago. Along the way, I dabbled and fooled around with FTM, Heredis, Roots Magic, and of course PAF. None of them are as good as Reunion! I’m fixing to order the new edition. I do wish it synced with Ancestry, but Leister would probably have to sell their souls to make that happen.
Thanks for your comment, Sharon. It’s good to know that you’ve dabbled elsewhere and always come back to Reunion.
Maybe they don’t advertise because everyone with a Mac knows that most experienced genealogists say that Reunion is the best for a Mac. Maybe that’s why the price is reasonable. I trusted Dick Eastman and others who recommend Reunion. Now I know from experience that Reunion is the best program for a Mac. The feature I like best is the ease of entering data. It’s so much better than FTM! A Register Report sounds a little stilted, but it’s easy to fix because it’s in Pages. I do wish the report listed a person’s ancestors in parentheses between his name and his information. I also like the fact that my notes are printed on both family group sheets and person sheets. Finally, you can use Elizabeth’s formats for footnotes if you choose “free form” when you want to add a footnote.
My older Mac quit on me and I was unable to save Reunion 11 content. I had many things organized and stored in the porgram. I wish to renew/and restore if possible.
Robert, I’d absolutely reach out to the folks at Leister for help. help@leisterpro.com