Clooz Review by Sandy Johansen,  Mar 25, 2013

Have used original Clooz for years and am really enjoying the enhanced new version. I use clooz to track all of the source documents I’ve collected on both my personal line and those that I collect for clients. What a boon it is to have a single master list of my documents available. It makes report writing easier, it organizes my materials and provides me a safe and consistent place to manage my data. The team is really working hard to make this an extra-ordinary product, kudos for a job well done. Love how it interfaces with Legacy too!

Biggest Pro: Saves me time, keeps my work organized and easily accessible, great value for the price.
Biggest Con: None, I liked it before and still love it, but can say I wish the new generation was here years ago!

Clooz Review by Ken K,  Jan 5, 2013

I have used Clooz since the 2.0 version - it was “clunky” then but the 3.0 version has brought this up to a very functional, relational database. You can see the digital photos and documents that you refrence and it forces you to get organized with your documents. Now, my documents are not just filed, they are organized and I can go to them directly. I don’t search through folders hoping to find the supporting reference.

Biggest Pro: relational database that links people, proofs and images
Biggest Con: you need to come up with your own proprietary reference numbering system

Clooz Review by Lyn,  Jan 4, 2013

Clooz is frustrating and extremely hard to understand. One of the men did try to help but even then it was still confusing. I gave up and quit. I did get a refund, but I did feel someone needed to tell the other side.

Biggest Pro: I did get to talk to a person for some help, not a recording
Biggest Con: Too technical and confusing to learn to use.

Clooz Review by D Yarbrough,  Nov 26, 2012

love, Love, LOVE the software modifications. I have been playing with Clooz since version one, but just never really caught on to the way it works..

NOW, with modifications, and the great support group, I finally understand it…

Pick up a source document. Select the document type from the list. (or create your own document type), and enter the information found in the document. You can even link to the document as an efile.

Reports are great as well. You can find all the documents you have entered for an individual or all the individuals listed in a given document.

AWESOME JOB Guys..

Clooz Review by Greg McCoy,  Nov 6, 2012

Clooz 3.1. Its the only program for genealogy that I know of that allows you link several persons identified in a photo with one scan of that photo and it shows you all of those links in a single database. It also keeps track of census, documents, death certificates, build styles (homesteads of various ancestors), wills,etc. scans and links them all to the correct ancestor.

Biggest Pro: Organization with attention to details and data entry is a cinch!

Clooz Review by Sam,  Nov 5, 2012

I have used Clooz for several years starting with version 1.23. Although I have looked for other programs that would allow me to easily organize and find all of my accumulated pictures, documents, census notes, and miscellaneous items, so far I have not found one that has as much flexibility as Clooz. Being able to link individuals in my file to the 1200 / 1400+ items in my genealogy research has saved me countless hours of hunting through my materials.

The latest version of Clooz has improved the reporting and sorting of records. All in all I consider Clooz to still be the best genealogy record storage software on the market.

Biggest Pro: Linkage of multiple items to individuals.
Biggest Con: Still can create a new record with the same personal file # as a previous record. Needs better reporting flexibility.

Clooz Review by Ken,  Nov 5, 2012

I have been a user of Clooz since 2009 and have found it to be a valuable tool in organizing and catologing my data. It goes beyond FTW or Legacy. I like the fact that I can print a simple census report, for instance, that lists all of my ancestors that lived within a certain county or ED at the time the census was taken. I also like the ability of importing from Legacy.

Biggest Pro: Data reporting and organizing.
Biggest Con: Data entry.

Clooz Review by Betty,  Nov 5, 2012

I love that I could link right to my Legacy Family Tree and bring all of the people into Clooz 3 with no trouble at all.

Clooz Review by Ian C,  Nov 5, 2012

I have been using Clooz since it was first developed and found it to be just the thing I had been looking for as my genealogical record keeping was all document based (generic) rather than specific to individuals or families. The original Clooz began to slip a little as the database management needed upgrading and for a variety of reasons this did not occur. I effectively stopped using it regularly, as it was not adequately filling my needs. However the software was sold on to Ancestral Systems (who also have a genealogical bent as did the original author of the software) who have developed Clooz 3 into a worthwhile database manager of all genealogical evidence. I am an amateur genealogist (and retired computer programmer) and would heartily endorse the use of this software by both amateur and professional genealogists - it’s beauty is that it returns manyfold the time you put into entering the documentary data. If you are at all serious about ‘genealogical evidence’ then this will provide reports, cross references and hidden gems from the data you have entered and allow you to extrapolate the evidence you have, to provide a higher level of certainty for various other bits of data. It allows you to build on your research efforts and refine data/attributions which will mean your family tree will have ‘quality’ and greater certainty.

Biggest Pro: Database manipulation/reporting
Biggest Con: Lots of minor niggles, but they are gradually being sorted by the new owners, on a regular basis

Clooz Review by Charles Apple,  Nov 4, 2012

Previous versions were not well developed, however, Clooz is now owned and being developed by Ancestral Systems. The team at Ancestral Systems is listening to their customers and making rapid developmental progress where appropriate. An serious genealogist would be doing themselves a disservice if they judge the current version of Clooz, by Ancestral Systems, based upon previous versions and or experience.

Clooz is a document based organizer and forces a thorough and systematic evaluation of each piece of evidence and thereby improves the overall quality of your research prior to entering that data into a lineage based genealogy program. Following a simple numbering system one can easily locate and retrieve any document for anyone when needed. The new owner and support staff at Ancestral Systems are addressing issue after issue with new releases that work flawlessly.

To quote a well known genealogist, “Genealogy without documentation is Mythology.” To this end Clooz by Ancestral Systems excels.

Biggest Pro: Forces me to evaluate each document thoroughly and systematically.
Biggest Con: None that are not being addressed by the team at Ancestral Systems.

Clooz Review by heidej,  Nov 4, 2012

An incredibly efficient way to keep track of genealogy sources. Version 3 is greatly improved with many more options. I only wish i had a secretary to input all the data!

Biggest Pro: documents are cross refrenced so they’re easy to find.
Biggest Con: time consuming

Clooz Review by Pat Shaul,  Nov 4, 2012

I have been a user of the document organizer, Clooz, since it was first introduced. It allows me to catalog all of my evidence is a simple method. By entering the information into Clooz, I can easily retrieve the electronic or paper copy of the evidence using a simple numbering system. The new version (3.0) has been a great boost in the arm for the user community. The new owner and support staff have taken off in addressing issue after issue. Any upgrades have been properly tested and WORK!

Biggest Pro: Forces me to organize my evidence in a simple manner.
Biggest Con: Forces me to enter each piece of evidence so that I can find it.

Clooz Review by Joe Gano,  Nov 4, 2012

I have been using Clooz since the early days, got up to date with my records, then my use of it dropped off, not because of the software features, but just from lack of need.
Over time, my lack of use of it caused a back up in my documents-handling, and word of revisions to Clooz were being rumored about.
I waited for the latest rev, downloaded it, and found it to be better than the earliest versions. I was very pleased and use it very easily. It’s different from the earlier version, but the same basic concept is still in the bones of the product. It is a great organizer.

Biggest Pro: Easy conversion from earlier versions. Complete set of templates.
Biggest Con: No serious cons, just minor things that will be rev’ed out.

Clooz Review by Mike B,  Nov 4, 2012

I tried to transfer my data from Legacy to Clooz using the export choice in Legacy. When I tried to import it into Clooz it wouldn’t import correctly. Finally had to use the GEDCOM option.

Biggest Con: Failure to import from Legacy correctly

Clooz Review by MikeJ,  Nov 4, 2012

I have used Clooz since version 1 and am delighted to see development continuing.
Typing my documents into Clooz has, over the years, enabled me to re-examine my conclusions and spot additional research possibilities.
I have used the software mainly to keep track of who is mentioned in which document, and where I have my copy filed.

Clooz Review by Margaret,  Nov 4, 2012

I’ve been using Clooz since it first came out. It’s a really good record keeping system. I started with census, but quickly expanded to other records once I got the hang of it. I especially like being able to create personalized reports with Access database. It does overlap with other software, but I have found the report capabilities in Clooz to help more with my research.

Biggest Pro: Complete system for all my records
Biggest Con: Setting up the people in the first place

Clooz Review by BigTem,  Nov 4, 2012

I have used Clooz since version 1. It has always done what I wanted it to do, organize my census research. With new owners and outstanding tech support it is better than ever. I am branching out into organizing other research documents with great success.

Biggest Pro: Orgainzational capabilities and tech support, when needed.
Biggest Con: NONE that aren’t corrected promptly.

Clooz Review by Michele Doyle,  Nov 4, 2012

New owners, new direction. It is a great program with amazing support.