First Look – Heredis Mac X.2 – Part I (Page 1)

These are some thoughts I had after using Heredis Mac X.2 for an evening. One thing that has impressed me is the attention to detail that BSD Concept has put into this update. They’ve added features that many in the Mac community have asked for, and they’ve greatly improved the interface of Heredis. The last version of Heredis felt “clunky” at times, in how data was entered and viewed. They’ve worked really hard on this version and it shows.

Interface:

Heredis Mac X.2 - Interface

Interface – Simplified, but you don’t lose anything. Everything is still there, it’s just laid out better and is much more intuitive – it’s a very Mac-like feeling. A lot of companies that have both Windows/PC and Mac versions of their software, their Mac interface usually suffers. Not so in this case – the interface flows very well, and I believe that somebody new to Heredis Mac X.2 could be up and running with it in just a few minutes. When I first read that everything was going to be listed on one screen only, I was a little hesitant. Some things will still pop-up a window, such as searches and editing sources and notes, however you will still return to the main screen once you are finished. Many things are accessed through tabs, which helps keep clutter to a minimum.

Navigation:

Heredis Mac X.2 - Navigation

Navigation – Very smooth, with multiple options to navigate. As far as I can tell, every name in every list is clickable/linked and is a navigation link. There is also a small leaf symbol/icon (Heredis’ symbol) in the upper right-hand corner of the window with several smaller icons arranged around/inside it it – this can be used for navigation as well (parents, spouses, children, etc.). I highlighted in red, in the screenshot above, some of the ways in which you can navigate.

User’s Guide/Manual:

Heredis Mac X.2 - User's Guide/Manual

Manual/Usere’s Guide – Well-written and illustrated. It’s in Adobe Acrobat/PDF format, and is easy to navigate, even using Mac OS X’s Preview application.

Surety/Confidence/Reliability:

Heredis Mac X.2 - Surety/Reliability

Surety/Reliability Levels – Other Mac genealogy programs are starting to add this (such as MacFamilyTree) – many of the more popular Windows genealogy applications already have this function. This is going to become a must-have feature for genealogists – it is basically an easy way to note how comfortable you are with a source. You can use work-arounds and flags in some applications to simulate this, but that’s not an elegant solution. I can’t talk about this feature enough – it’s needed in every genealogy application, not just the ones the professionals use.

Notes/Comments/Transcription:

Heredis Mac X.2 - Notes and Transcription

Notes/Comments/Transcription – From my understanding it’s unlimited. It’s available for all kinds of data (persons, unions, events, etc.). It’s easy to use, but has many options for those who want a little more – different font sizes and characteristics (bold, underline, etc.), are available, as well as different text colors. This is another one of those things that genealogy programs need (in addition to the already mentioned surety/reliability levels) – a very strong note/transcription system.

Using it on large displays:

Heredis Mac X.2 - Display

Layout – Display – I use a 20-inch widescreen display (similar to Apple’s 20-inch Cinema display) – You can expand Heredis Mac X.2 to take full advantage of a large screen (I know, I know, not the most Mac-like of things to do). The dialogues/lists on the left hand side of the main individual screen can be resized as well as other areas of the application, allowing you to balance everything in an easy-to-view manner.

Continue to First Look – Heredis Mac X.2 Part I (Page 2)