RootsMagic is a genealogy software program designed and written by RootsMagic, Inc, an American software design and development company founded by Bruce Buzbee in 1987.Bruce Buzbee, President, RootsMagic, Inc. (Privately Held; Computer Software industry), June 1987 — Present, LinkedIn Bruce originally wrote the program Family Origins.Bruce Buzbee, For over 18 years Bruce has been writing genealogy software, having originally written the popular Family Origins program., Logan Utah Regional Family History CenterFamily Origins, As you may know, Genealogy.com created Family Origins in collaboration with a third party developer. We regret to announce that the third party has chosen to discontinue development of the software. Because of this decision, Genealogy.com will be unable to continue support of Family Origins products as of June 30, 2003., Genealogy.comUnofficial FAQ for Family Origins, Reference manual
Features RootsMagic genealogy program assists family historians in tracking, organizing, printing, and sharing family history.Bruce Buzbee: Making Family History Fun and Easy, By Maurine Proctor, October 11, 2010, Meridian Magazine
The software was originally developed as Windows-only, but is now available in Mac OS X. It is designed as a single-file database It can import or export data to or from the Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org websites. It allows backup to a hard drive, flash drive, or DropBox. It has six navigation views: Standard pedigree view, with either five or six generations visible, user selectable; Family view, to review the family unit on a single screen with navigation options; Descendants view, with two to seven generations, user selectable; People list view, displaying a customizable set of facts (in columns) for people in database; Couple list view, display a list of couples in database; Associates view (display a list of associates who have been entered into the database) "Drag and Drop" feature allows copying individual recordss, families, and entire extended families from one database to another. May be used to create user website files, and maintains its own free website (hosted at MyRootsMagic.com) for customers to publish their own genealogies. In 2022 there were three versions of RootsMagic 10 sold in the UK - Basic (£29.95), Standard (£39.95) and Platinum (£49.95). while the U.S. version sold by RootsMagic, Inc cost $39.95 for new users and $29.95 for registered users of previous versions.
History Retail version RootsMagic version 1.0 was released 2003-02-04RootsMagic, RootsMagic 4, Modern Software Experience RootsMagic News, RootsMagic News RootsMagic version 2.0 was released 2004-05-24 RootsMagic version 3.0 was released 2005-09-08 RootsMagic version 4.0 was released 2009-03-25 RootsMagic version 5.0 was released 2011-11-28RootsMagic 5, New Software Released 28 Nov 2011RootsMagic Blog, RootsMagic Blog RootsMagic version 6.0 was released 2012-11-19RootsMagic 6, New Software Released 19 Nov 2012 RootsMagic version 7.0 was released 2014-11-25RootsMagic 7, New Software Released 25 Nov 2014 RootsMagic version 8.0 was released 2021-09-30RootsMagic 8, It’s here! Presenting RootsMagic 8 RootsMagic version 9.0 was released 2023-02-27RootsMagic 9, It’s here! RootsMagic 9 RootsMagic version 10.0 was released 2024-06-19RootsMagic 10, Introducing RootsMagic 10! RootsMagic version 11.0 was released 2025-09-05
Free version RootsMagic Essentials was released 2009-11-18 RootsMagic Essentials was updated with the version 5 release 2011-11-28 RootsMagic Essentials was updated with the version 6 release 2012-11-19 RootsMagic Essentials was updated with the version 7 release 2014-11-25 RootsMagic Essentials 8 was released 2021-09-30 RootsMagic Essentials 9 was released 2023-02-27 RootsMagic Essentials 10 was released 2024-06-19 RootsMagic Essentials 11 was released 2025-09-05
File format RootsMagic 4-9 database design uses SQLite 3 as its database engine so the .rmgc and .rmtree database files it creates are readable using third party SQLite management and development tools.SQLite Tools for RootsMagic The .rmgc database structure is used in RootsMagic versions 1 through 7 while the .rmtree database is used for versions 8 and above.
Platforms RootsMagic was designed to run on the Windows and Mac platform, however some users run RootsMagic on Linux machines using Wine.RootsMagic, Wine AppDB entryWineskin, Wineskin Tutorial
As of RootsMagic 10, the program can be run on Windows 8, 10, and 11, as well as MacOS High Sierra (10.13) through Sonoma (14). Version 11 can be run on Windows 10 or 11, as well as MacOS Monterey (12) through Tahoe (26)., RootsMagic 10
References
External links
SQLite Tools for RootsMagic