GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System)

by Don Allingham
A GNOME genealogy program for Linux and FreeBSD and Mac OS X that allows you to easily build and keep track of your family tree. This is an Open Source project and is free. This is where you go to help with the development of GRAMPS. It is written in the language Python. The GRAMPS project has a blog.

Free • Unix • Full Featured
http://www.gramps-project.org/
13 Reviews, latest Jun 28, 2010
Enjoy Using It4.15 out of 54.15 out of 54.15 out of 54.15 out of 54.15 out of 5 4.15
Use It Often4.29 out of 54.29 out of 54.29 out of 54.29 out of 54.29 out of 5 4.29
Easy Input3.17 out of 53.17 out of 53.17 out of 53.17 out of 53.17 out of 5 3.17
Useful Output3.36 out of 53.36 out of 53.36 out of 53.36 out of 53.36 out of 5 3.36
Overall Rating4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 4.00
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13 Reviews of GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System)     RSS 2.0 RSS

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by SilentButeo2,  Jun 28, 2010

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
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  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
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I’m using genealogical programs for over 3 years now. The last 2,5 years i use Gramps.

I was looking for a program that gave me options to connect resources to the data I entered.
This way you can verify later on if the info you entered was from a thrustable source or just ‘heard from …’
My previous genealogical program was ‘aldfaer’. And because of the lack of some decent resource implementation i started looking for an alternative program.

The only area Gramps is not that featured is the graphical output. There are several graphical output functions, but not as many as i was used in aldfaer (maybe a little bit spoiled). But because of the open source character of the program, i think there will be more and more graphical outputs available. Even when I have some time (next year or so, i’ll create a Gramps plugin for graphical output).

I’m using more and more linux and this program also works on that OS.

Biggest Pro: expanded resource information, open source
Biggest Con: because of the amount of options and features, first usage is not that simple (so hang on the fist time you use (test) it)

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by SilentButeo2,  Jan 4, 2010

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5
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  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
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I’m using this software some months now. Previous I used “Aldfaer ” this was a dutch program that i used for 2 years.
The reason that I switched programs, was because I searched a genealogy program that could better handle source information. The older program had only some minimal support for this. Also the fact that it can be ran on linux, was a reason to choose for GRAMPS. (although I use it mainly under Windows for now).

Adding of persons was a bit difficult in comparison with the other program. But I got used to it after adding some persons. The source information is great. You can add for many events (birth, dead, marriage, …) a source. For example: I have a mourning card of a person. I store an image of that on my computer and add this source to the dead event of that person. This way you can easily back-check the information you have entered into the program.

Converting the data from my previous program to GRAMPS was not that difficult. Knowing that I had back then about 320 persons. Converted the old one into a GEDCOM file and imported into GRAMPS. No great errors were found after the import. Only some minor problems due to some restrictions of the elder software.

The only thing that I mis is the minimal output options. In my previous program there where many graphical output options. GRAMPS has less option in that way. There are some third party plug-ins that counter the lack.

Biggest Pro: broad range for “mention of the source” / cross platform
Biggest Con: minimal output possibilities (grafical)

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Pete,  Dec 29, 2009

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
  • Not Rated
  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
  • Not Rated
  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

Came across this application via Full Circle magazine (issues 1-2). Read through it briefly back then, curiosity more than anything. Now doing a university course in history, and also begun researching my own family history quite a bit, so seemed sensible to install it.

No idea what I’m doing yet, but two hours shared with reading help and getting stuff installed is fruitful so far, myself, parents and one grand parent details listed rudimentary fashion.

A bit of time spent looking at features made me realise how useful this will be in my studies (I plan on writing historical fiction one day, can already realise potential uses…)

Had no trouble installing (didn’t mess about, installed via synaptic), running it on Ubuntu 9.10 on a low spec machine. I use gnome-do for opening most stuff, once synaptic had finished, not a problem , typed gra, hit enter, there it was (latest help info is a little bit outdated/confusing, start menu in 9.10 it’s hidden in Accessories > Office.

Interface seems “simple” so far…, had a bit of trouble at first, then once I got started I figured it’s fine, just the user thats the problem it seems… Look forward to sussing out more about how it all works, and more about my family and others o’course.

Biggest Pro: ease of installation and getting started (sort of). The amount of features it offers I can see will be useful once I learn how to use them. Large number of contributers to project, must be onto something here!!!
Biggest Con: Can see there will be a learning curve that could be a little daunting at the beginning for a “casual user”, just finding the right help files is tricky at first (not too bad though, I found them).

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Richard George,  Oct 1, 2009

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
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re: Jay’s gripe … remember it’s possible to run it on Windows as well … I am. So why not export the database in GRAMPS XML from Linux and import it into the Windows version?

Biggest Pro: Free! Very well featured
Biggest Con: Takes some getting used to

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Frederico,  Sep 26, 2009

  • Not Rated
  • Not Rated
  • Not Rated
  • Not Rated
  • Not Rated

I’m writing just to address Jay’s review (I will not be rating since I have already done so).

The TEXT tag is a part of GEDCOM - a rather fundamental and basic part even. I’m not sure exactly what other program was being referenced but giving GRAMPS an overall rating of one star because of a problem that “might or might not be” due to GRAMPS is unfair.

From GEDCOM 5.5:
—-
TEXT {TEXT}:=
The exact wording found in an original source document.
—–

Different programs have different levels of support for GEDCOM, but more importantly different ways to *display* the data. Some not not support all the GEDCOM tags and as such do not expect that e.g. source citations exist in a TEXT field, and use NOTE for that (which isn’t what GEDCOM specifies). This is a limitation of such a program, and a lack of compliance with GEDCOM.

So, to sum it up:

- GRAMPS does it best to produce completely compliant GEDCOM, as good or better than most other products.

- Due to different degrees of implementation in terms of GEDCOM it is unfair to fault GRAMPS for producing absolutely correct GEDCOM that isn’t properly imported by some other, unnamed application.

- This is especially true when one uses certain fields for a purpose other than what they were made for.

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Ed Vim,  May 15, 2009

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5
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  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
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There are some pretty good comments in previous reviews so I don’t need to repeat them. But I just want to add that for those of you who feel somewhat ‘computer illiterate’ and are intimidated by anything more complex than writing notes and checking your email, than this is a great project to get into. Install GRAMPS on your computer and just started playing with it. It won’t cost you anything except some time, time you’re investing in yourself and your extended family. Click on all the menus and buttons and just see what they functions are there for you. A project like this is good incentive for you to pick up basic computer skills — you will subconsciously be learning to use a mouse, enter data, navigate multiple windows/boxes, etc. because you’re motivated to work on something as gratifying as your family history.

And thank you to all the developers behind GRAMPS, it’s a great piece of work.

Biggest Pro: Lots of online support
Biggest Con: With so many options and features, it’s a little intimidating (but extremely gratifying in the end)

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Jay O'Val,  Apr 4, 2009

  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5
  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5
  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5
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I was using Gramps on Linux. My Linux distro seems to have stopped supporting it so I transferred my .ged file to a Windows computer and tried a few other gedcom programs. My issue with Gramps is that it seems to be using a non-standard field and info in that field doesn’t show up in other gedcom programs. The field on the ged file is TEXT and on Gramps is where I was storing the BDM certificate numbers. I can retrieve the info by copying the info from the TEXT field into the NOTE field, but it is a bloody great nuisance, and people who don’t have the technical skills I have would be defeated by this. Quite frankly I don’t know if it’s Gramps or the other programs that are non-standard, but seeing as 3 other programs don’t have that field I’m suspicious of Gramps. Maybe someone else knows the answer, but I can’t be bothered researching to work it out. The whole reason for using gedcom programs is the standards so someone has messed up somewhere. I’m dropping the ratings completely because of this.

Biggest Pro: Works on Linux
Biggest Con: non-standard

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Frederico Muñoz,  Apr 4, 2009

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5
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  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

I have the apparently uncommon experience of not having dealt extensively with any other genealogy software prior to GRAMPS - only after. Since many people grow an attachment to what they use, regardless of faults, this plays a role.

Quite simply GRAMPS is the best genealogy program I’ve had the pleasure of using. The logical and organised way does promote more stringent best practices than in some other programs, although I can only see this in the result which has saved me plenty of times when tracking dubious information: when using it all feels rather natural.

I will not say much about what GRAMPS offer, I will merely restate what was already said: it is a full-featured program appropriate to the serious genealogist. Does this mean that it doesn’t catter to the weekend genealogist? Of course it does, after all I am an amateur weekend genealogist, but even so it encourages a certain way of looking and entering the data that makes one unknowingly follow a certain pattern that becomes priceless. In a way it bestows upon the merely curious amateur genealogist the tools and logic that will pay up big time, without (and here I disagree with some reviews, see below) unnecessarily complicating data entry (except in some well-defined situations which could perhaps be easier).

After trying GRAMPS for a while I decided to try some other programs, after all this is the only way to correctly gauge the relative quality of the program. I tried most if not all of the programs with either a Linux or OSX version (many Windows programs have a corresponding OSX version). I also tried a smaller samples of Windows programs, mostly in their demo versions. What I found out is actually completely opposite of some of the comments I’ve read: in almost all of them I became truely lost in terms of data entry, with extremely crowded and/or gaudy input screens that many times insisted on taking up the entire screen estate. Navigation was a bit bothersome, and here I’ve came to truely appreciate GRAMPS data entry model: the Relationships and Pedigree views offer an highly contextual data-entry experience, with a logical and consistent feel to it, without which I felt looking around for individuals.

Furthermore, source management in some of the programs I’ve dealt with are almost an afterthought. THis can look nice enough at first but after a while a good system of source management becomes of the utmost importance. I felt that several of the programs I tried were more interested in providing useful yet ultimately less relevant eye-catching features such as slideshows and music playing. Also, the GUI of many of them, while not bad, was not better than GRAMPS *at all*. This could be because several of the programs I tried use toolkits and technology that looks a bit different nowadays.

I do some of my research on a LDS HFC. Almost all people there use PAF - and this is actually one of the programs that I found nice enough - and GRAMPS has consistently given me an edge in terms of finding the correct information, managing the scanned certificates and pinning down problematic information. All this with a good looking yet professional GUI, decent report options (especially so in terms of flexibility, for those who have the inclination to fiddle with it) and IMO superior data entry logic and source management.

Some points to be improved are mostly related to parts of source mangement (always the thougher thing to get right) and some additional features that will no doubt be added eventually (say, Genetic information for example). The plugin architecture has proven itself useful since for example GeoView adds quite eye-catching mapping capabilities to GRAMPS, with event overlays for individuals and families.

In short, a superb program and one whose whole logic has had a tangible positive impact on my own genealogical investigations. Do give it a try, while I can understand that some people are more used to a more free flowing method of data entry GRAMPS way will in a short time yeld obvious beneficts (and, I repeat, while being easy to use after a very short initial period of looking around the different views).

Biggest Pro: Source and media management, data entry model, consistent appearance
Biggest Con: Some entries lead to a prolification of dialogs.

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Newt,  Mar 9, 2009

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5
  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5
  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5
  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

“Other genealogical software may offer more entry on the initial individual’s data page, but the GRAMPS system encourages methodical data entry backed up with source information.”

Researching family data results in little bits and scraps of information coming in a haphazard way. Easy, unrestricted data entry is essential. I don’t want a system ‘encouraging methodical data entry’. I want to see one page where I can enter a person, his birth/death, notes, source, his spouses and all their children, in any order, with one-click switching to the page of any other person listed on that page.

I don’t judge software by what they can do but by how easy they do it and how much time they save me.

Instead GRAMPS has several different menus you have to go through to enter all this information. It is needlessly complex. I should be able to enter information directly into the ‘relationship’ menu. They really only need two pages: tree view and individual (and his family) view. Of course, combining simple-to-use with powerful requires some difficult user-interface design. This is where I think the designers should concentrate their efforts.

Here’s a simple test:
Very basic data entries should be the easiest. A 10year old should be able to start up the program and enter his mom/dad/brothers/sisters/granparents without prompting. There are other programs that can pass this test. Can Gramps?

Biggest Pro: Powerful, free, runs on Linux
Biggest Con: Unnecessarily complicated

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Gerald Perkins,  Oct 6, 2008

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
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I was using Family Tree maker. This is light years better. It does force you into using good logical practices. Very easy to do sorts and find where you made a mistake.

Biggest Pro: Everything is open, sortable.
Biggest Con: Reports, but I here that the new version (3.0) has a custom report generator..

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Jim,  Sep 28, 2008

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5
  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
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Full featured program for a great price - free! Inputs and structure of database is excellent for experienced researchers. I rated the output a little lower because for me as a newbie to linux, learning to create filters to get the output I wanted was/is a little daunting. But as I learn more, I am appreciating the ability to structure searches and reports to suit my project needs. It has been fun watching this program grow,

Biggest Pro: User community support, great toolset, rational grouping of data
Biggest Con: fairly steep learning curve for new users in defining filters and getting desired results

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by ArtZ,  Sep 27, 2008

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5
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I switched to GRAMPS from the old Family Tree Maker when I switched from running Windows to Ubuntu Linux. Overall, I am very pleased. GRAMPS’ reporting is not as sophisticated as FTW’s and some things take a few more keystrokes. I love the way that GRAMPS links to external media files and uses a standard database engine. This leaves me very confident that I will always be able to get to my images and scans and that the core genealogy database will not get corrupted or so large as to be difficult to back up.

I particularly like the NAVWEB web site which lets me a) publish my own genealogy web site, b) control the content of the site, and c) do it independently of any commercial services. I use this to allow family and friends to access the site without requiring them to register and log into anything.

The graphs are also wonderful, especially the family lines graph. It is delightful, especially with thumbnail images of the people, and highly intuitive.

Biggest Pro: Free and powerful
Biggest Con: Too many keystrokes and some dialog boxes cannot but submitted with the Enter key.

GRAMPS (Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System) Review by Adrian,  Sep 26, 2008

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5
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  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5
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  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

I did this review a year ago for fullcirclemagazine (pdf available online) and GRAMPS has developed even further. It is currently at version 3.01 with .02 to be released very soon. There are now Gramplets to give great instant reporting and navigation. The Genealogy CD is on version 4 and has GRAMPS version 3.01 on it. Here was the text of that review.

GRAMPS - the Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System.

Geneaology is the study of family tree lines, tracing ancestors back as far records legends, or memories can remember. Research skills are the most important, and of those, documenting and backing up your findings is paramount. GRAMPS is a free, open source application that allows you to record your ancestral research findings in a comprehensive and professional interface, then you can produce reports on your data in a number of formats.

The GRAMPS project was started by Don Allingham, but has grown to a core set of dedicated developers that are continually expanding, tweaking and testing their product to make it evermore refined. With many open source projects, this development team is not an exclusive group, and anyone can join in to help, learn or test. Their community is based around mailing lists, IRC and a WIKI based website.

This application has been developed originally for Linux and Unix based machines but has been ported to other operating systems including Mac and Windows. For the Ubuntu community, GRAMPS installs and runs on all variants of Ubuntu, though there have been reported display issues with some KDE themes, so if this is a problem, there are remedies available on the website.

The program is written in Python, using the GTK/GNOME interface making a database that is generally saved in its .grdb format but is best archived in the larger and slightly slower .xml format. XML allows the database to be transferred more easily across to other computers. The system can cope with large numbers, and had been tested on databases in excess of over 100,000 individuals recorded.

Where to get it – at the time of writing, the GRAMPS version 2.2.6 is available through the Ubuntu Feisty Add/Remove programs, and select to show ‘All open source applications’. To install, simply select this version and install. The latest release information can be found on the GRAMPS website. Ubuntu repositories can sometimes lag slightly behind, so make sure you have the latest version! If there is a newer version, you can go to the download section and download the latest package gramps_zzz.deb and gramps-help_zzz.deb, and install with your package manager, normally double-clicking the .deb file is sufficient. Once installed the program can be found in Applications > Office > GRAMPS genealogy system.

In addition to the standard installation, GRAMPS is also available on a LiveCD. This allows usage of the program on any i386 compatible PC directly off the LiveCD without installation required (currently only available for i386, not 64bit or Mac LiveCD, though the program does work on any Ubuntu install). The current version 3.0 includes GRAMPS 2.2.7 within an Ubuntu 7.04 LiveCD and is a great introduction to Ubuntu software. The CD also contains other open source software for the user, including Lifelines and GeneWeb. There is also a link on the desktop that will open up irc and get you directly into the #GRAMPS channel with one double click of the mouse, which is a really useful feature, and one that should be considered for core Ubuntu LiveCDs. One thing to remember is that if you want to save your work while using the livecd, you will need some kind of portable media. A usb stick is ideal. Such detail would be helpful to new users. Of course alongside this is a fully functioning Ubuntu, available for use or install. On a personal note; this was the route that the reviewer became fully interested in Linux and, more specifically, the *buntu distros and community.

Once you have created a database you can get to the interesting part of entering your data. The interface has a pleasing graphical nature, with appropriate icons and pedigree displays. Initially you enter the general individual details of name and gender. Then you need to enter details such as birth, death and occupation etc. each as a separate event within that person’s life. This makes data entry a little longer as you need to open a new event for each item of data.

However, in understanding the system, this makes the data more qualitative. Other genealogical software may offer more entry on the initial individual’s data page, but the GRAMPS system encourages methodical data entry backed up with source information. The events are structured to make data entry easier. For example the initial event shown is for Birth. If this has already been entered the next logical field is Death and this comes up automatically within the form

As you add more and more data, so the additional views within GRAMPS become more useful. You can navigate and catalogue your data under the headings of People, Relationships, Family View, Pedigree, Events, Sources, Places, Media and Repositories. I have personally found that the Relationships view one of the easiest ways to navigate a database with more than 50 individuals.

As suggested earlier, documenting research findings are key to proving the validity of the genealogical data. The ’source’ is the reference for each item of data, that gives it credibility. There can be many items of data within a source and GRAMPS has a ’scratchpad’ that allows you to copy source reference between individuals within your tree. To your individual, you can add media, such as photographs, sound and movie clips that can be display or linked to from within the database.

Once you have your database, it is good to make a hard-copy version to share, archive and refer to. GRAMPS can produce a fantastic array of output, including books that collate many aspects of your data and presents them in a single collection to your own specification. These reports can be made in a variety of formats including Open Document format, HTML, even SVG depending on the type of report. Charts, time lines and ancestral reports can all be made, and there is an active development in producing further report formats. In addition to this, a database can be output to for a website structure that can be uploaded to a server and displayed for all to see and navigate.

Biggest Pro: It is Free and Open Source meaning you can talk to the developers directly, for assistance and to offer improvemont suggestions
Biggest Con: Takes a little while to get used to (but then becomes second nature)

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