By Janet Brigham Rands

In a perfect scenario, a handheld family history program would be as powerful and flexible as a desktop program, with more features than the typical user will ever discover. In real life, a handheld program is limited by the constraints of the handheld computer, and no single program does everything a user could want.

Two shareware programs, however, do two separate things quite well. Both GedStar (v. 4.3) and My Roots (v. 2.0) have useful features that fill in the gaps of PAF for Palm. My Roots works with Macintosh as well as PC -- welcome news for Mac users. Both GedStar and My Roots import data from virtually any PC family history program that can export a GEDCOM 5.5 file, which is helpful to PAF users who have not upgraded to PAF 5. Both are reasonably priced.

Both import GEDCOM 5.5 files directly onto a Palm Operating System (Palm OS) handheld.

Overcoming Limitations of PAF for Palm

Reasons for using handheld-based family history software are to have ready access to your database and to be able to note new information electronically without having to lug around a laptop computer. Toward this end, the free PAF for Palm software is easy to install, and its files are easy to generate and export. But PAF for Palm provides read-only access, it doesn't include source information, and it works only in PAF 5. GedStar and My Roots fill in these three gaps, although without the ease of installation of PAF for Palm, and with a more complicated file export system.

Both GedStar and My Roots require that a file be exported from a family history database into GEDCOM 5.5, and that the GEDCOM then be processed through a conversion utility. This two-step exporting system (not to mention the multi-step installation program) could hinder and confuse some users who do not work comfortably in a PC Windows or Macintosh environment. For these users, PAF for Palm is a simpler solution.

GedStar: GedStar has a feature no other Palm OS program has: It imports source information exported from a family history program such as PAF. Not every scrap of information in a source entry is likely to be included, but source details, citation details, and actual text are among the included fields.

GedStar is so similar to PAF for Palm in design and navigation that it appears more like a sibling than a kissin' cousin. But before you take either PAF for Palm or GedStar to the library or set off with it on a family history trip, you'll need to spend an hour or so learning its navigational twists and turns. Combining its documentation with our PAF for Palm tutorial (www.svpafug.org/handhelds.html), particularly our schematic of how the various screens and features of PAF for Palm are linked, will help considerably. (This schematic is now online, separate from the tutorial, at www.svpafug.org/scheme.html.)

Even once you learn to navigate PAF for Palm and GedStar, you may find that you need to refresh your memory if more than a week or two has lapsed from the time you last used either program. Nonetheless, many of the excellent features of PAF for Palm also exist in GedStar, with some extra navigational links at the bottom of the GedStar screen that enhance the program's ease of use.

The list of updates in GedStar's recent 4.3 release is impressive: sources and notes supported for most major life events, bookmarks so you can jump to specified individuals, improved HotSync database download time, easy database switching, inclusion of spouses on descendant trees, and an improved Search utility that allows searching by Record Identification Number (RIN; use the Index number search and make sure that no other information is filled in on the lines above). It also has an “on this day” feature to show events occurring on a given day. As developer Doug Gordon notes, “This was added just for fun.”

It also has a soundex generator for expanded searching (but don't expect humfree woodberry to link you to Humphrey Woodbury). In any case, the Search function in GedStar works more consistently across various Palm OS versions than does the PAF for Palm search utility.

The GedStar documentation, which is overall useful, indicated that virtually any GEDCOM file ought to work with GedStar. However, files must be exported in GEDCOM 5.5 with ANSEL or ANSI standard. Although the documentation indicates that non-ANSEL characters will be imported even if they would not display incorrectly, I found that not specifying ANSEL or ANSI crashed the conversion utility program. Similarly, PAF 5 files cannot be exported to GedStar.

On the whole, GedStar is a highly useful program, with substantial enhancements over PAF for Palm. At $12, it's a steal.

My Roots. My Roots is unique in that that you can enter information into your handheld database, select those records that contain new information, upload those records to a PC or Macintosh, and merge the data into your master database. However, as the user's guide states in bold letters, you can't just export data from your desktop, import it into your handheld, export it back out to a GEDCOM file, import it back into your desktop program, and expect your data to remain intact. That said, the user's guide then details ways that you can minimize, if not entirely eliminate, the likelihood of losing data. The keys to this are steps we all eventually, grudgingly learn: Back up your database before importing anything, and follow the instructions.

Honesty in software documentation is always appreciated. In this case, it helps us know what we can reasonably expect from the program, given the limitations of today's handheld computers. I consider the explicitness of the user's guide a strength, even if what it is detailing is the program’s limitations.

Indeed, My Roots has many strengths. The greatest one is that nearly any version of family history software that can export in GEDOM 5.5 format is compatible with My Roots, regardless of platform (i.e., PC or Macintosh).

My Roots also provides charts of descendants and ancestors, accessible from the Person Detail view. You can move backward or forward through generations within these views, although only a key person and three generations show on the screen at once. Additionally, it provides 38 predefined Events fields (including such diverse fields as Marriage, Bar Mitzvah, Marriage Banns, and LDS ordinances) and allows creation of custom events.

My Roots' filtering system allows you to work with small, manageable segments of a larger dataset, reducing the need to create multiple small datasets for ease of information management. Nonetheless, most users will find it preferable not to load large datasets, since a large dataset is likely to run slowly on a handheld. My Roots does not handle datasets of more than 10,000 entries.

The program is well documented, with a web-based printable user's guide. I encountered only one case in the user's guide where the author referred to a feature (the Records menu) that was mentioned before it was explained. Aside from such small issues, the manual was useful and well organized.

Another of its virtues is that information you enter into My Roots on your handheld is automatically tagged, so that you can use the program's filter to export only entries with new information to your desktop or laptop computer. Don't expect the uploaded GEDCOM to merge seamlessly with PAF -- it is likely to require tinkering, just like merging any GEDCOM file usually requires tinkering. However, having the information in one electronic format makes it easier to move to another electronic format without significant re-entry of data.

My Roots is a relatively straightforward, easy-to-learn program. Its design is more intuitive than GedStar's, and it is easier to navigate. Of course, none of these handheld programs is as easy to navigate as PAF itself, because of the limitations of handhelds. Organizationally, My Roots is simpler than PAF for Palm and its well-dressed cousin GedStar, although by achieving simplicity, My Roots' developer introduced at least one limitation.

Comparing Programs

Because all three programs run on the Palm Operating System, all are limited to what Palm OS can do. All three share a capitalization problem inherent in Palm OS, namely, that you must change surnames to all-upper case (e.g., JONES) or to both upper and lower case (e.g., Jones) before exporting to your handheld, because the Palm OS alphabetizes all-caps and caps-and-lower-case names separately. It's unclear whether this is a bug or a feature, but it is a reality that the user must remember and must work around.

An additional limitation unique to My Roots is the abbreviation of spouses' and children's names in the Person Detail view, which is also a sort of family-view screen. To reach this screen, you tap either the name or the date field in the opening List of People view. This brings up the Person Detail view, with the person whose name or dates was tapped now showing up in a parent position. On this screen, you can see parents' names, a popup list of siblings, and a list of events, including marriages and birth of children.

If a spouse's or child's name consumes too many characters for one line, the given name is truncated to a first initial. Accessing the full name of such involves tapping on the name to bring up that person's own screen. Then, to return to the screen on which that person appeared as a child or spouse, you have to tap on the name of the parent you were first looking at.

Not so big a deal, you're thinking? Try doing it in a family of 14 children. Tap on the child's name. Tap on the parent's. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...28 times, twice for each child in the family. Actually, the problem isn't the tapping, it's the likelihood of tapping in the wrong place, because handheld screens are small. Tap in a wrong place and you suddenly can find yourself tapping on the PDA’s calculator.

We can hope that the next version of the software will have a small but mighty change: In the Person Detail listing, children's surnames could be truncated to an initial, and the given name could be spelled out in full. Since it is less common for surnames to differ among children than for given names to differ, this one change would simplify the family listing and would reduce the chance of tapping the wrong space and losing one's place. Spouses' given names could remain truncated, since the spouse's surname is probably a more significant bit of information than the spouse's given name. This would make the program considerably more user-friendly for databases containing families with lengthy surnames and numerous children. And in the case of multiple children and multiple spouses, the user need only tap-tap to see a child's full name.

The most recent release of My Roots has a variety of enhancements over the previous release. Now, the maximum number of descendants that can be displayed for any given individual has been raised from 50 to 100. Also, siblings are ordered by date of birth. The “fund person” function has been expanded beyond the List of People screen, and new children or siblings are automatically given the father’s surname, if the father is known. The name can be changed as needed.

One change that might not be as welcome as others is that when a person is identified as a wife or husband, the sex is automatically assigned. This inflexibility, also seen in PAF 5, makes it difficult to assign some parenting relationships, such as a child raised by two unmarried relatives of the same sex who lived together. While these situations are not common, they can be problematic in that they do not fit neatly into software the preassigns sexes to parental roles.

Overall, My Roots is a useful tool, particularly for those Macintosh users and non-PAF 5 users who are unable to take advantage of the free PAF for Palm. Its price is modest; its download and installation are relatively easy; and its documentation is more than sufficient. I particularly appreciated the user's guide's candor in detailing workarounds to circumvent the limitations of importing and exporting data.

Try Before You Buy

You can download and try out both GedStar and My Roots without registration, although not all features will work and the program's functionality may be time-limited. If you are not sure that the program will be compatible with your handheld or your desktop software, you may want to try out the unregistered copy first, then register it for full use later. In both programs, registration information is emailed to you once you pay for a copy of the software. As soon as you enter the registration code into the program on your handheld, your copy of either program will be fully functional.

It is best to not expect any one handheld program to manage everything in your family history. One Palm OS program, HandyTree, attempts to do this, but the data are not readily importable or exportable in GEDCOM format. Additionally, the program requires installation of a Palm OS utility called thinkDB2, which alone costs twice what HandyTree costs, and (for full features) also requires a desktop-based utility that costs even more. HandyTree is not designed for those who already have family history databases, and by itself it is sufficient only for light-duty family history work..

If you plan to buy a handheld computer rather than a laptop so that you can have mobile access to your database, you probably will want to invest an additional $40 to $100 in a thumboard or portable keyboard to facilitate information entry. Some handhelds come with a thumboard or small keyboard.

Decisions, Decisions

Three useful programs, big decision. What's a user to do?

If you want simple installation and use, and if you can do without sources, PAF for Palm's the program for you. If having sources at your fingertips is important in your work, use GedStar. If you want easier navigation and data entry directly into the program, use My Roots and upload the resulting GEDCOM.

Or use them all! You can create a GEDCOM 5.5 file that you can then convert separately with the GedStar and My Roots conversion utilities. When you're working in PAF 5 and want a quick handheld version of your data, you can do a quick export to PAF for Palm.

These programs can all reside compatibly side-by-side on your Palm OS handheld. Maybe you can have it all!

* = inadequate; ** = adequate; *** = good; **** = excellent; ***** = superb

Websites

PAF for Palm

GedStar

My Roots

(See more of the Best of The PAFinder.)