I’d like to introduce a relative to the joys of family history rsearch by letting them see my own efforts to date and maybe encourage them to eventually buy a paid version of RootsMagic.
The basic answer is yes.
However, it’s not really an import. The Essentials version simply opens the database in exactly the same way as does the full version. The only difference between Essentials and the full version is that the full version has more features than Essentials. You don’t see those extended features if you are using Essentials. Your relative will be able to make changes in his or her copy of the database you shared. It’s just that your relative will only be able to use those features that are supported in Essentials.
If you download Essentials today it’s likely to be the RM10 version of Essentials. If you open an RM9 database with the RM10 Essentials, the database will be converted to RM10 format and can no longer be opened in RM9. If you are making copies of your RM database to share, you probably don’t care if the relative you are sharing with opens it with RM10 Essentials because you are not going to use your RM9 again to open the database you shared.
Thanks, Jerry, your replies are always so helpful.
Your comments prompt me to ask, should a full version be purchased later, would the user not only see and be able to use the extended features of the full version but would also be able to see any of my original data that might previously have been invisble to them so they don’t have to cover ground I’ve already researched and recorded unless, of course, they wish to do so?
First of all, any user with an Essentials version can upgrade to a full version by buying a license key and entering the key into the program. The program does not have to be downloaded again or installed again, The Essentials version and the full version are really the same program. It’s just that some of the features are locked on the Essentials version and can be unlocked with a license key.
Second of all, my initial instinct was that Essentials already lets you see all the data and just has fewer features. But upon further review, there are features in the full version that are not in Essentials that have their own data. The Tasks feature and the DNA feature are two like that which come to mind, and there may be others. But in any case, upon upgrading to the full version, you would be able to see any data that had been entered that wasn’t available to Essentials.
Thanks, Jerry.
I believe you’ve solved my problem and undoubtably saved me many hours of head scratching.