Hi

It’s been 18 weeks, 6 days and a couple of hours since the last update for kiwitrees, but at last the very latest version (3.2.3) is available for download. Read about the key features below, then

Get your copy here.

A list of the latest changes and improvements can be found on the Change list. You should read these and the Upgrade instructions before you carry out the upgrade process.

All kiwitrees hosted clients will be automatically upgraded over the next few days. Your site will be placed in “maintenance mode” for the short time the upgrade takes. You will receive an email when that is done and your site checked.

More Reports moved to Resources

Continuing the major job of replacing all the very old reports with new better looking, more flexible versions. Four reports have been removed in this release. Two have been replaced by a new version in the Resources set, and two have been moved to the Administration area, as they were not really appropriate for any one other than administrators and users designated as managers.

• The “Descendants” report is now Resources > Descendants. More importantly it is now based on the “Fancy Tree View” module, giving a much improved book-like display of the information.

• The “Related individuals” report is now Resources > Related individuals. This is a handy list of individuals related to anyone you choose, which can be easily printed or downloaded into a spreadsheet.

• The “Missing facts” report has been moved to Administration > Family tree tools > Missing data. This is a tool to help find who in your tree is missing some key facts or events.

• The “Sources” report has also been moved. It provides a list showing where any chosen source is used. Administration > Family tree tools > Sources – review. It works well alongside the previously introduced Administration > Family tree tools > Sources – review citations tool.

There are now just 6 reports left to re-write. I hope to complete those for the next release.

Once they are all done the “Resources” menu will be changed back to “Reports” so the purpose of these tools is clear.

Better relationships

The underlying code for the Relationships chart has been completely replaced. We are now using a complex algorithm that assesses all the links between individuals very much faster than the old code, making it possible to display many more longer or complex connections.

That has also allowed us to add a new feature: relationship descriptons on individual pages. Typically this will describe an individual’s relationship to you (“great great uncle”, or similar), but there are many other configuration options.

Read all about it on the FAQ page here.

Backup your data to the cloud

This new module was prompted by people like me (of increasing age) wanting a way to leave their family history data somewhere easily accessed by their heirs when the inevitable happens. But it can also be used as a routine backup tool by anyone.

It is tied to Dropbox and very much a first attempt. Writing code to interface with a tool like Dropbox is not an easy thing!

There is an extensive FAQ here that explains how to set up and use it.

It can save your GEDCOM file, plus all your media objects, and with a little more effort, even a backup of your MySQL database.

Downloading data to a spreadsheet

Users have asked for tools to export their family tree data in ways that allow analysis and reporting beyond the scope of kiwitrees itself.

One of the long term “road map” items is to write a system specifically to do that. But as a short term measure that goes a little way towards it, all table displays (individual and family lists lists, many of the new “resource” tools, etc) have a new “CSV” button added.

This produces a comma-separated text file you can save to your local PC. This can be opened by or imported into most spreadsheet products like MS Excel or LibreOffice Calc or just read by a text reader.

Upgrading

The upgrade process for this version involves no special requirements, but since the introduction of the “site maintenance mode” there is an opportunity to make it a little better.

So this time, please read Upgrading for more detail before you rush into the usual process.

I hope you enjoy the improvements.