"Genealogy" software advic

[Aedilred]

Hi all. This is the sort of problem I can't believe nobody's had before, but I haven't been able to find any software that actually does what I want. So if anybody knows of anything that would meet my requirements I'd be very grateful if you'd let me know!

What I am looking for is essentially a program that lets you plug in the members of a family (preferably with dates of birth/death) and then produces a chart of the results in a logical fashion. The catch, though, is that I want it to show things laterally as well as vertically: not just the individual's parents but their uncles/aunts, great-uncles/aunts and so on.

I've tried several programs including Gramps, which allows for an admirable amount of detail but is rather cumbersome and still only shows the direct line of ancestry (unless I'm being thick) so no siblings, cousins, etc.. The program I've found that does what I want best is MS Paint, in fact, but that's pretty ugly and painful and editing a family tree in Paint is enough to make one weep.

It's probably worth noting that I'm using this exclusively for fictional/mythological/historical family trees and therefore I don't need any of the research software or internet connectivity which seems to clutter up most genealogy software.This is one of the reasons I've been having trouble with the stuff I've been using so far.

Any help or advice much appreciated!

[leafman]

Have you tried Family Tree Maker? I don't know how internet connected it is now but I think older versions could display the lateral elements of the tree, it's been a while since I used it.

[Maxios]

I think you can do that on Ancestry.com. It's a pretty cool site, I actually found a picture of my first ancestor to arrive in America in the late 1800s on it. Blew my friggin' mind.

[grimbold]

i had a similar issue a while back for a school project

and yes, i ended up doing it in paint, sorry, i'm pretty sure it's your only option :/

[GrlumpTheElder]

Have you tried Family Tree Maker? I don't know how internet connected it is now but I think older versions could display the lateral elements of the tree, it's been a while since I used it.
I would recommend this. The latest version of Family Tree Maker is still pretty stand alone, it can do everything that you seem to be asking.

However, it's not free, but you can probably find an older version of it for a very reasonable price.

[Janus]

https://familysearch.org/
Might give Family Search a shot. I don't have much experience with it myself, but I was just able to find my grandfather along with his parents and siblings. Maybe you'll have some luck, and it's free.

[Aedilred]

I'll give Family Tree Maker a shot; thanks. If that doesn't work I might have to bribe a compsci to code me a new program or something. I don't think I can face doing it in Paint, and while I don't mind doing them by hand, that's something to do at the end, rather than the beginning.

[Keld Denar]

My girlfriend uses Legacy for all of her family tree cataloging. Looks nice and prints out neat reports.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Ancestry works fine for catalogigigiging things, but I don't think it'll do lateral family trees very well if you want a handy little chart...

[sana]

http://www.ahnenblatt.com/screenshots.html

not only easy to use but also allows for different types of output (sideways top down etc.)

and the best is.. It's free

[grimbold]

well...
i am very glad i was wrong!

[Iudex Fatarum]

Strangely a friend of mine's father made almost exactly what you are asking for.
http://www.bkwin.org/
I've seen the charts it prints out, they are quite good. The website doesn't look good, but give it a shot.

[Aedilred]

Excellent, I'll give that a go.

I've also ordered a copy of FTM so hopefully I'll be spoilt for choice now.