If we convert our files to RM8, can we go back to RM7 if we are not satisfied with RM8?
Nope. The database files are not backwards compatible.
You can go back, but there is not direct way to export a RM7 file from RM8 database . You could export a GEDCOM (with all options checked) but that STILL will not have everything you need
Thank you for your reply. If I download RM8, I will try to keep an isolated RM7 file on a separate drive, just in case. Do you know if the RM7 program is overwritten or deleted when we download RM8?
No, nothing happens to RM7 when you install 8. Nothing happens to your RM7 data file once you have imported it into RM8. The two programs install to separate locations and have separate copies of the data. Just keep in mind that updating your file in RM7 will NOT automagically update it in 8.
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I have been using the community preview since it was first launched. What I do is make an import into RM8 from RM7. This creates a separate database from RM7.
I then study how everything looks in RM8 and where I can see changes need to be made to my records I do those changes in RM7 - the program we are familiar with.
Then I delete my existing RM8 database and make a fresh import from RM7.
When you become more familiar with RM8 you can of course simply just use RM8 but initially you may find it more comfortable to do your editing in RM7 and sort of use RM8 as a viewer
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There is no option to down convert a RM8 database to RM7.
The workaround is to export a GEDCOM file from RM8 and then import that GEDCOM to a fresh database in RM7. Do not replace your already existing RM7 database because although most things will transfer to RM7 there are of course new things contained in 8 that do not exist in 7
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As I always say - each to their own but I don’t really see haw doing all your work in RM7 and continually importing and deleting in RM8 will help you learn how to use RM8, no matter how comfortable you are using RM7. Better to bite the bullet and move to the new program. RM8 didn’t take all these years of development to become a “viewer” for RM7!
I’m just taking it slow at the moment and doing what I call a “parallel run”. I’m maintaining dual programs - doing everything is RM7 and RM8 - so I can become familiar with the different steps / processes in the new system and seeing how it displays and reports. It also means that I can look at how new functions, such as the citation merge function, works and impacts other parts of the system. I was part of the community Beta testing but with the program changing with each new release, I’d rather take this time to learn and assess. It’s slow going but I think it means I won’t “burn the bridges”. But I must say it’s really tempting to “bite the bullet” though and just progress with 8!
For me, it is less than a viewer. With TreeShare/hints broken in RM7, I transfer the data to RM8 only for those purposes.
Thank you for this information. I have just joined the Forum to ask this very question and you have answered it for me. I really want to save RM7 and not interfere with it until I am really happy with RM8.
Thanks
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That is really useful to know, thank you.
Terry: I asked the initial question and it has been answered satisfactorily by several contributors. I appreciate the knowledge and experience shared. It was not intended to start a debate on how we choose to use the program and what measures we take to protect the integrity of our personal databases that we have spent decades gathering (much, much longer than RootsMagic has been developing its programs). Thank you all for your answers to my question.
I have been reading these posts and testing RM8. I cannot use it for my purpose. I like the screens and info but I always appear 2X in every descandant chart and my great grandparents 2X in every ancestor chart. In RM8 chart program I can edit but but without that option RM8 is usless to me so its stay with 7.
Priscilla
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I’m not sure why those issues with the charts might be occurring for you @Priscilla but I’m guessing that RM8 will provide some frequent updates as they refine the program and add in some functionality that has been deferred with the new release.
Perhaps check in periodically as those updates might fix the chart problem and you can transfer across then! 
Hello JillV
A simple 2 generation of descendants of my great grandparents prints over 18 pages in RM7 chart program. You can see why I need to edit. (17 children) I never want them all. Many of the boxes are split over 2 page edges. I appear 2X as my 2 grandparents were sisters. It is a mess which I can sort in RM7 not in 8
At this point I am editing a large database I have put together in the past 25 years which includes my original research and transcribing a number of family genealogies primarily from CT, VT, NH and MA into the database. After a few hundred hours with RM8 I decided to go back to RM7 through gedcom. There were some double dates, i.e. abt 1698/9 that did come come out as I had in the original, but generally the new database for Rm7 imported with relatively few issues. The fact that data entry and the time to do so was better in RM7 was why I returned to RM&.
Since I tend to recruit new people to genealogy research that have zero knowledge of computers and genealogy programs I am concerned that RM8 leaves newbies behind. The simple pedigree view of RM7 and earlier versions makes it easy for newbies to get started. They can simply add themselves and parents and grandparents and get a visual representation of what genealogy is about. As they get a feel of what they are doing, they can begin to delve into the process of adding sources.
My hope is that RM7 will remain available for purchase as the earlier versions are much more intuitive when one considers a learning curve to learn a new software. Although I may eventually begin to use RM8 full time, it is not user friendly for new users. We all have different approaches to how we research, and while it is fine to break down sources, in detail for some, for others of us, this is a distraction.
I started using Family Origins 2 or 3, have upgraded to all versions and used all except RM4, and am truly disappointed that this upgrade is no longer the ideal way to begin genealogy research.
If one has a linked ancestry tree, why can’t you use that to go back to RM7, or keep RM7 synced with RM8?
Terry: RM8 is not really functional yet so working in RM7 and then porting to RM8 to learn how it works (between lockups/crashes) makes excellent sense.
Your RM7 file is left intact and current. Perhaps in 6 to 12 months RM8 will be ready for real use and at that point RM7 will probably be killed.
Has there been any response from the development team at Roots Magic about the fundamental problems with RM8?