Ancestry has just come out with some new features to enhance your genealogy research and family history experience, Ancestry Pro Tools. These are an assortment of tools that are intended to work with your family tree that you have on Ancestry. Ancestry Pro Tools
Tree Checker Find duplicates or errors in your tree, such as dates, locations, and relationships. Charts and Reports Create, print, download, and share detailed family histories, where you can choose anywhere from 2 to 7 generations, a birch or pine layout, and your focus person. Advanced Filters Search, group, and sort people in your tree with advanced filters by family line (direct line, paternal line, maternal line, and end of line), events and places (birth, marriage, death, lived in, and any event you choose the time or place for), Possible Errors (possible duplicates, other possible issues), and Hints. Map Views See where everyone in your family tree lived in respect to one another. The Catch
How to Order Ancestry Pro Tools
Is It worth it?Is it worth it? Up to you. As of now, these features don’t seem very useful to me; although, if there were a way to include sources and citations, along with who created the report, I would consider this. Some have said they love it, and some have said it is definitely not worth it. It’s ultimately up to you to try it out for yourself. You do have the option to just purchase it 1 month at a time and cancel it whenever you’d like (at least 2 days before), so it may be worth it to try it out for at least a month. To be honest, I DO NOT AGREE WITH SOME OF THESE BEING behind a pay wall/EXTRA, like the Fact Checker or Advanced Filters. These are a necessity for any tree and should already be included in the already high price of Ancestry. Let me know what you think, in the comments below. More Ancestry and Genealogy ResourcesLearn about more Ancestry updates, tips, tools, and features and other family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
26 Comments
12/18/2023 09:57:27 am
I use Family Tree Maker as my software and some of these things I can already do, so it wouldn't be worth it for me pay for these. I know there are a lot of angry Ancestry members about this additional payment for this add-on, and I agree. If this is something that is going to stay, they should at least change the "All Access" membership term to another word, because it is misleading.
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12/20/2023 03:21:55 pm
Thanks, Jenny! I wholeheartedly agree with EVERY statement you have made. ;)
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Pat
12/19/2023 11:31:50 am
I also have Family Tree Maker and don't see paying for the Pro Tools which duplicate what I can already do. I also agree that with what we pay for the service [I have the All Access] the Pro Tools should be included.
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12/20/2023 11:28:20 pm
This info is interesting. I do wonder how long it will take for us to be able to access it in Australia. Hopefully not too long.
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12/30/2023 04:36:58 pm
Hopefully not, so you can try it out soon, if you wish. ;)
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12/21/2023 12:18:55 am
I agree that Ancestry should include this in their already high pricetag for those who wish to use it. I have All Access, too, and it is enough of a yearly outlay for me. I use Legacy Family Tree, and it will do much of this for me already, and the rest, I can do for myself. They'd look less foolish if they would make up their minds about the price before they launch the add-on.
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12/30/2023 04:41:14 pm
Yes! But...They are reminding us that the subscriptions are record based only and this has nothing to do with records, thus the add on...hmmmmmm, what about ALL the other features rolled out over the years that aren't record based? I agree with ALL of the above. ;)
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Scott Philip Parisi
12/21/2023 06:50:57 pm
I am paying for pro tools but can't find them on my page? Anyone know where they are?
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12/30/2023 04:42:27 pm
Hi Scott! Did you see the instructions above? If you still have trouble, let me know. :)
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12/22/2023 08:38:07 am
I fork over $458/year to Ancestry for the "all access" membership, and I won't be upping that to $577/year to get a handful of tools that *should* be part of any basic family tree software. Hopefully, Ancestry will come to their senses and bundle the new tools with *at least* their paid memberships (and preferably with the free one, too). In the meantime, I'm using FTAnalyzer to get many of the same features for FREE. (See ftanalyzer.com)
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12/29/2023 01:29:56 pm
My account on AncestryCom has been free for five years! I have access to my family tree and even free 'HINTS'...IF i need to search for docs on Ancestry... Just go for a month or two!
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12/30/2023 04:50:12 pm
That's exactly how I used to roll, years ago! I used it to store my tree, and did almost all my research on FamilySearch, and the old school way; then I paid once in a while for Ancestry. Now I can no longer do that.82 FB groups? Wow, good for you! Way to go! ;) 12/30/2023 04:46:22 pm
Agreed, Brian. ;) Be careful what you wish for though, especially with the term "bundle"...they could wind up doing just that, then raising the subscription prices, again. ;)
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1/16/2024 04:12:02 pm
No doubts there, Diane - Ancestry will probably announce "We heard you and decided to bundle Pro Tools with our All Access membership, because WE CARE!" :-) Then, 3 months later, they'll raise the All Access price by $10/month!
Linnie
12/28/2023 11:18:48 am
I don't want this extra and am infuriated that I have to put up with the constant pop-up ads, which makes Ancestry unusable. Every single time I flip to another page it flashes another pop-up. Are others getting these? We should all be complaining, perhaps a class-action lawsuit because we can't use what we pay for.
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Kristi Marshall
1/4/2024 07:35:03 am
A simple tool I would use while viewing a profile page is to see how I am related several generations out to the person in the tree. It would drop down in the upper box beneath the name. That option appears to be gone and looks like it is now behind the Pro pay-wall. Maybe I understand adding a premium for new features, but taking away from what we had before with our memberships is awful. I'm going to do more disengage from ancestry.com. Very disappointed.
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1/20/2024 09:33:08 am
Hmmmm, I'm confused, Kristi. That is still there. Maybe you changed your home person to someone else in the tree, under settings? You have to be set as the home person of your tree to see your relation to each ancestor and relative in your tree. ;)
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Kristi Marshall
1/20/2024 09:49:21 am
Thank you Diane - yes, I mispoke. I realized that the person I was looking at (somehow) did not have a direct connection to me on the tree. I don't recall how they ended up in my database, maybe added with a source? Anyway, you are correct. And I apologize for confusing you. Although I really appreciate you take such a close look at my message. Thank you.
Karen McPherson
1/4/2024 07:36:57 am
I paid for Pro Tools. When I open the menu where the Pro Tools appear, I only see Charts and Records and Tree Checker, not the Advanced Features and Map Tools as in your example. How do I access these other features?
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1/20/2024 09:41:31 am
The filters are accessed when you go to "Find" (left panel tool box and top right button and right click tool box) or "Tree Search" (left top button) on an ancestor profile page. As far as the maps go, to be honest, I do not know. You can ask in the Ancestry Facebook Group or chat with Ancestry to get that answer. :)
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Sandra Neder
1/16/2024 03:17:50 pm
Legacy.com software on my home computer has the same features, so there's no need to pay extra on Ancestry. I agree that some of those features should come with the already high-priced Ancestry.
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1/20/2024 09:43:03 am
Agree. P.S....Just my personal opinion, there is really no need for a chromosome browser. ;)
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Denison Chapman
2/6/2024 07:24:35 am
Go checkout the AI Biographer™ now included in Heritage. Looks very cool.
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2/7/2024 12:48:51 pm
Thanks, Denison. I covered the MyHeritage AI Biographer in the post: "https://www.knowwhowearsthegenesinyourfamily.com/blog/new-myheritage-feature-ai-biographer-creates-instant-biographies-for-your-ancestors", which you can read about. :)
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