Piggin One-Name Study: Software: Benchmarks

Name	Custodian II	Clooz	GfW	TMG	Pedigree	BIRDIE 2
Website	+	+	+	+	+	+
Self-description	series of databases with pre-defined forms, specially designed to store genealogical information	electronic filing cabinet	stores source material as you come across it and lets you link individuals into families later on	a	flexible customizable database, allows detailed information to be recorded and linked together	event database
Active user group					+
Handbook		+
Operating system	Windows 95+			Windows 3.1, 95+	DOS
Phase 2: imports CSV	yes			no
continental CSV	?			no
imports gedcom	yes, but without lineage data			yes
imports rich text
detects duplication
data fill
cites sources
Phase 3: drag and drop
maximum number of events in display				30
stated file-size limit				unlimited
field-size limit (characters)				100
rich-text fields				as "memo". rich-text????
inexact searches
complex searches
shows search results as: summary/ cursor location / highlight
single-person dossiers
creates lineage links
qualifies links with surety values, negative surety				yes/yes
automatic age calculation
Phase 4: exports all data to CSV	yes			yes
exports gedcom	no
exports in MS Access format
browse original event tables
compresses empty fields when printing indexes
reports suppress details of living
variable date formats/ automatic conversion				yes/yes
templates for civil registration certs./ IGI/ census						FILLER

Websites:

Custodian:http://members.aol.com/pandssmith/Custodian.htm

Clooz: http://www.clooz.com/

Genealogy for Windows: http://www.deltadrive.co.uk

The Master Genealogist: http://www.whollygenes.com

Pedigree: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pedigreesoftware

BIRDIE 2: http://www.tdrake.demon.co.uk/

Other issues for consideration: flags as in TMG, hyperlinks, splitting databases,

Comparing databases for new data: not currently practicable because none of these packages can perform Phase 1.

Since a pre-genealogy tool is concerned with accurately reproducing indexes, rather than assembling a family tree, the number of possible variations in spelling of names is not relevant, and methods of merging people only partly so.

See Bill Mumford's Scorecard Pages. He recognizes an important distinction with the following remark:

Other situations occur, as when using an event based program, it is necessary to redefine family links. This is accomplished in an entirely different manner than in a lineage linked program however the scorecard simply says Family links, add or delete. In this instance, it is the concept which is being scored, not a specific feature.

See http://www.mumford.ab.ca/reportcard/scardfrm.htm

More Mumford guidance:

Every element listed on the scorecard is available in a genealogical program although that program may not yet be evaluated. There are no “Gee, it would be nice if” elements.

Note that he does for example check SQL searches (though rare in genealogical programs)

"Browse dbf files: Some software offers the user the option of opening the tables that make up the database" (The only one that Mumford lists which can do this is TMG.)

Project: Test Sheet for Software