Reunion For The MAC Review

        Overview

        ---Reunion is an extremely easy to use software program that uses the format of a family card collect and display the data. Although various versions may be found in AOL or CIS and elsewhere, the most current version can be downloaded from Leister Production's website - http://www.leisterpro.com         		    

        Pluses:

        ---General - extremely visual, easy-to-use and intuitive. I have only opened the manual to check a question two or three times in the 4 years that I've had Reunion . The rest of the time, I find what I need to know by the sensible, logical interface. One of the most valuable things to me is its flexibility, and the variety of reports the program generates. Reunion does all this with a sophisticated, editable interface that delights my graphic sensibilities. I believe that the elegant reports that Reunion generates says a lot about the care and value I put on my research. I love the professional way the reports speak to my correspondants when sending a query or a report on my family research. To many this might not even BE a feature, but to a graphic designer like me, it's a HUGE plus.

        ---The Button Pallette. This includes a variety of "tools" that sit on the top of the family card, and allow you to quickly move around the program. The first button is the INDEX, and a click will instantly take you to an alphabetical list of all the names in your database. I use this when I am going to the message boards or the Online Chats, to quickly identify a family or a particular member. A click on the person's name will take me to the "family card" and if it's a "bingo", I can quickly create a report in either RTF (Rich Text Format) or in a SimpleText format. This file can then be copied and pasted into a message board Query or reply--or attached to an email for a potential "cuz". The The following buttons are: Quick List, Calendars, Find, Overview (a quick pedigree chart), View Facts, View Custom Notes, View Spouses, Pictures (to view linked digital images), Mailing Addresses, Edit Children, Edit Spouses, Enter Male Child, Enter Female Child, and a button allowing you to interactivly jump to the PREVIOUS family. The BUTTONS can be placed anywhere you prefer: top, left or right.

        ---Pedigree Charts - You can create a variety of charts. Descendant charts up to 99 generations, pedigree charts up to 35 generations, including a top-down cascading pedigree (four or five generations per page) and then export the data to "SuperChart", which is completely editable --and can be modified, resized, and printed in sizes from a single sheet of paper, up to a HUGE wall chart for family reunions, etc. Add graphic images to your charts, including digital images of your ancestor. These features, combined with the ability to use what ever fonts YOU choose--whatever colors YOU choose, make this a really valuable addition to your Family History.

        ---Group Sheet, Person Sheet and Questionaire - standard with options to include pictures, sources, message text, and preparer info. Can be run in batches - ancestors or descendants of a person and can generate an index. You can also generate blank forms to send to family members.

        ---Lists/Reports - automatically opened in your word processor, and are automatically formatted with page numbers, page breaks, headers, superscript reference notes. You can generated an INDEX that includes the individual, the birthdate, and the birthplace.

        ---Book Type Reports - A Register report (the descendants of a couple) an Ahnentafel Report (a report of a person's ancestors) and you can copy pictures to the clipboard and combine them with your reports in your word processing program, to add personalization to your reports.

        ---Customer Support - Perhaps one of Leister Production's GREATEST assets is the character of its company and the passion each employee seems to feel about offering a product that's not "just good enough". I appreciate williness to go the extra effort to trouble-shoot and solve any problems I've had. I've never waited more than a day for an answer to a question , and if I've ever run into a problem and a bug has been identified--a fix has been sent to me by the following email. With all the computer software that comes and goes (along with their respective companies), Leister Productions provides a reassuring standard of excellence and integrity.

        Minuses:

        ---Limited field sizes - 52 characters for location fields, 50 for dates.
        ---No apparent LDS format - unimportant for me but critical for some.
        ---No match/merge individuals feature.

        Conclusion:

        ---Reunion is my FAVORITE Software, and its ease of use, dependability, and reliability all work to make it my RESEARCH PARTNER. I even have it on my PowerBook, and take it with me to the Library when I travel for research. I would heartily recommend Reunion and DO--to anyone wanting a sophisticated, flexible, easy-to-use, and FUN! Genealogy Software. It is well-worth the premium price that Reunion must charge to keep its software on the "cutting edge". I eagerly await all the exciting new features in the upcoming version 5.0 for the Macintosh.

        AUTHOR: MMeadPond@aol.com

        NOTE: The opinions expressed in this Software Review are the author/user's own and in no way reflect the opinions of the Genealogy Forum.



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